"Eat!" I heard James say.
"Ang hirap, para tayong nasa spotlight eh!" I answered. We are in some kind of a mini stage in front of all the guests. Well, what do I expect? We're the bride and groom.
He laughed, “Don't mind them. Just eat. Subuan kita, gusto mo?"
"I can manage," I answered sabay subo ng pasta. I heard James chuckle.
"Did you like it?" he asked.
"The pasta?" I asked.
“No, the whole wedding. Is it how you imagined it to be?"
"Yah! Ang galing pala ng plans ko. I loved it. I really do. Thanks. I almost forgot this dream, but you remembered. It's exactly how I imagined it to be. Pero …”
"Pero?" tanong n’ya, kunot ang noo.
"But," I repeated.
"But, in your imagination, hindi ako ang groom?" He asked. He pouted. It was my turn to laugh.
"Si Jeff ba ‘yung groom mo sa imagination mo?” He asked again.
"Maybe," I teased. He is still pouting. He was so darn cute. I smiled, "Honestly, blank ‘yung face ng groom sa dreams ko. But seriously James, thanks so much. I'm just a little sad 'coz in my dreams, meron si kuya at si Daddy."
"Oh, I'm so sorry," he said softly.
"Don't be. You did more than enough. I know whereever they are, they're happy that I'm starting to feel at home here."
He smiled, "That's good to hear, Chekay"
"I just miss them a lot," I sighed.
"Your mom, your sister and everyone who came here are all here for you Chekay. Remember that.” He assured me. I smiled. James really had his way of making me feel better.
"Oh, wait! Your dream wedding is not complete without this part. Just wait.” James suddenly blurted. Ano pa kayang baong pakulo nitong lalakeng ‘to? He disappeared somewhere. Pag balik n’ya. He was holding a guitar. Someone got a chair and placed it in the space in front of the guests.
Someone gave him a mic. He started to talk, "Good evening everyone. Are you guys enjoying your meal?"
"Yes!" Sabay-sabay na sigaw ng guests.
"Thank you everyone for coming. Especially to those who came on such short notice. We really appreciate you taking time to come here and join us." Aba, parang magmimini concert lang ang dating n’ya ah!
"Well, aside from the venue and the dress she's wearing, Cheska did not know any of the details of this wedding. I wanted to surprise her."
"Oh," sigaw ng guests in unison.
"I guess most of you already know that Cheska was my high school best friend. Back in high school, we would always talk about different stuff --- our plans ... our dreams ... One time, we talked about her dream wedding. I did not know this conversation would come in handy."
Everyone laughed.
"The motif, the flowers, the song-- everything was her plan. That was around 10 years ago. I hope I was able to execute her plan. But, there's one thing I haven't done yet. You see ... Cheska has this mushy and cheesy side.”
The guests' laughter became louder. Inirapan ko nga s’ya! Mushy and Cheesy ka d’yan! "Cheska wants her groom to serenade her. And she has a particular song in mind. A song -- which I did not particularly liked back in high school 'coz it was a boyband song. When I voiced out that I hated that song, she said I don't have to worry 'coz I won't be her groom anyway and she did not talk to me for a week!”
