We Are Alright

II

THEM

A little past noontime inside an almost empty coffee shop, everything and everyone looked sleepy except for the three women, in their late twenties, who were huddled together on a table by the window.

"This place has changed a lot since the last time we were here" Paula commented as she surveyed the interior of the coffee shop she used to frequent with her friends after school hours has ended.

Sunny smiled, "It's been eight years. The furniture here sure looks aged"

"We've aged" Hani said as she stirred her coffee.

They were silent for a few minutes as they recall the events of the day that brought the three of them together again after many years.

Sunny cleared her throat, "So, Tay and New have gotten married"

Hani smiled softly, "Imagine that. And, it seemed like they've been together for quite some time now"

Paula reclined on her seat and inhaled harshly. "That's shitty. They denied having a romantic relationship with each other no matter how hard we probed but now that the public has forgotten about them, they suddenly pulled this kind of stunt"

"After everything that transpired over the years, you still have not let go of your bitterness towards them?" Sunny looked at Paula sharply "Have you forgotten how you were the one who introduced 'TayNew' to us. You were once their biggest fan"

"And we all became their biggest antis" Hani added dispassionately "Remember how we bullied New back then through social media until he eventually left the entertainment industry"

"I never bullied anyone! I just wanted to know the truth. Did we not deserve the truth?" Paula was indignant as the memories of her youth flooded her.

"It was not their duty to disclose everything to the world" Hani said firmly "We scrutinized their lives against their will because we thought it was our privilege as fans"

Paula scoffed, "It was part of their job. When one enters the spotlight, it's inevitable that everything he or she does will be subject to other people's scrutiny. Like I've said in the past, they should not have chosen the spotlight if they did not want the kind of attention that came with it"

Sunny laughed mirthlessly, "We made assumptions and gave unsolicited advices as if we knew more about their lives than they did. No one deserves to be at the receiving end of that toxic kind of attention"

US

New found Tay sprawled on the floor of their guest room rummaging over his stash of memorabilia from when he was still an actor. He never meant for Tay to find his collection but he got too preoccupied with their recent move that he forgot to hide them in a much-secured area.

New sighed and went over to sit beside Tay on the floor. The older man was holding a fan-made photobook that contained pictures of him and Tay.

"Oh, this was given to me by that sweet high school girl who loved to wear those silly headbands. You remember her?" New laughed as he recalled the teenager who followed her around during his schedules. "She's probably finished getting her Master's Degree by now. She told me that was her dream"

New held a jacket that remained to be one of his favorite gifts. "This was given to me by an overseas fan" he proudly held the jacket to Tay. "I miss wearing this" he pouts cutely to Tay.

"You don't know which of these gifts were given by genuine fans and which came from fans who turned their backs on you" Tay put the photobook back in the box and faced New who held the jacket tighter.

"It doesn't matter who they're from because all these gifts were given out of love" New looked at Tay firmly even as tears started to well up on his eyes "And, it doesn't matter if their love has changed because I will always be grateful that at some point I was loved"

New held out his hands to Tay and the latter pulled him closer for a hug, "I'm sorry that I couldn't let go of the past. I find it difficult to forgive them for their hatred and to forgive myself for not being able to protect you"

New didn't say anything. Instead, he let the tears fall from his eyes as he held Tay closer to him.

"I know that you are afraid to talk about your pain with me because you know that it would hurt me too and for years I let you do it your way. Partly, because I was also afraid that it would break our fragile relationship" Tay continued.

"We spent a lot of time skirting through the topic but now, even if you've already said that you'd rather not talk about it on the first day of our married life, I think that this is the best time for a new beginning" Tay said as he caressed New's hair gently. The younger one nodded against the embrace. He dried his tears and sat properly in front of his husband.