Chapter 18
President
"No pressure, though." he gave me a smile.
"But it would be nice, love." I realized.
Ingay lang ng hair dryer ang namayani sa kwarto sa mga sumunod na minuto. I was thinking about what he said while doing my makeup. I thought of so many possibilities. I weighed the pros and cons.
"Ang tahimik mo, mahal." he pointed out while straightening my hair. Hala, kanina pa siya nagpplantsa?
"I was thinking about what you said."
"I told you, no pressure." he smiled. "By the way, don't put much eye makeup. I'll blindfold you later. Kahit nga hindi ka na magmakeup, baby, e. You are beautiful."
Pabiro ko siyang inirapan na ikinatawa niya. Napansin kong kinukulot niya na pala ang buhok ko.
"Why so patient?" ngumuso ako.
"Why not?"
I just stayed quiet in my seat while waiting for him to finish. Sakto rin namang 2 pm, nakaalis na kami.
"Oh my gosh, baby! Are we going to the port?" tanong ko ng mapansin ng dinadaanan namin.
"Shh. You'll find out later. Gutom ka na ba?"
"Can we have some donuts? Krispy Kreme?" I smiled and he agreed.
"First meal together sa first anniversary." I opened the box, showing it to the phone that I set up on the dashboard. It was on video recording. I'm collecting our memories so we could look back at those moments, even the simple ones, after years.
"Iya, careful..." inalalayan niya ako habang naglalakad. Nakablindfold kasi ako dahil may surprise daw siya.
"Malayo pa, baba?" tanong ko.
"Eto na. Are you ready?"
Dahan-dahan niyang inalis ang blindfold sa mata ko. Nang magmulat ako ng mata ay kumurap-kurap pa ako para tuluyang luminaw ang mata ko.
Napatakip ako sa bibig nang makita ang nasa harapan ko. On the headboard, there was balloon letters that says 'happy anniversary' in cursive. Color rose gold iyon. Mayroon ding malaking number 1 sa bed. There was a hubouquet of sunflowers, a huge pink box, and two dust bags.
"Happy one year." Matthew hugged me from the back and kissed my temple.
"Happy one year, love! Thank you! I love you so much." humarap ako sa kaniya at yumakap.
"Mahal kita." bulong niya habang niyayakap ako pabalik. "Go on, open your gifts." malambing niyang saad habang hinahaplos ang buhok ko.
"Later." I pursed my lips dahil nagtutubig na ang mata ko. "I'm so grateful to have you, love..." I sniffed.
"Are you crying?" he chuckled and hugged me tighter. Nang tumingin ako sa kanya, pumatak na ang luha ko kaya parehas kaming natawa. He wiped my tears and kissed my eyes. "Let there be only happy tears flowing from these beautiful eyes."
"Thank you for you." I smiled. Infinite gratefulness is what I have for this man. Mahal na mahal ko 'to.
Matagal-tagal kaming nakatayo at magkayakap, puno ng pasasalamat at pagmamahal sa isa't isa. Kalaunan ay nakumbinsi niya rin naman akong buksan na ang gifts niya para sa akin.
"Oh my god! It's Toram and Tamtam!" naexcite ako nang makita ang artist-made collection ng favorite kong pop group. Nakasulat sa dust bag kaya nakita ko agad.
"I love this! So cutie!" niyakap ko iyon parehas. Super soft!
May malaki pang pink box sa tabi at nagulat ako ng buksan iyon. There was a pink polaroid camera and polaroid films, my favorite chocolates, a pair of white sneakers, a sweater, and a pink scented envelope.
