"Merry Christmas, Doc Patrisha!"
"Merry Christmas too, Elaiza."
Parang hangin lang kung dumaan ang mga araw at ngayon ay Christmas na. Noong mga nakaraang araw, bukod sa busy ako sa duty ay halos araw-araw kong kasama si Noah.
Simula nung umuwi sila ni Olivia galing Tagaytay, I've been spending time with Noah lately. Sobrang hectic na ako sa trabaho, pero ginagawan niyang paraan para lang may oras kaming mag-kasama.
It's not like I was surprised since Noah is the type of guy who is really easy to get along with. He compromises, his smart and charming. The fact that we drifted apart for almost a decade got us tons to talk about to fill those years that we were apart.
Although, I have been spending too much time with him that I only saw Leo a couple of times this week. Bukod sa patong na patong ang projects niya, 'di na rin siya dumadalaw o kahit dumadaan man lang sa condo ko simula nung namili kami ng mga regalo. Nakakapagtaka ng slight pero wala naman kaso sa akin 'yun. Nagkataon lang siguro dahil dire-diretso kong nakasama sila ngayong taon ay namimiss ko ang makulit nilang presensya.
May work ako ngayong Christmas eve. My mom wanted me to take the night off, pero may anim na interns na kumuha nun. Ayoko namang magkulang ng nakaduty kaya I decided to take the 2 nights off starting tomorrow pa.
Besides, 'di naman ako magwowork ng hanggang first day of January kaya okay lang sa akin na maging busy ngayon. 'Di naman 'yon naging hadlang kay Noah. Nagawan niya pa 'rin ng paraan para mapuntahan ako sa trabaho....
He took me by surprise. He didn't give me such notice na he'll come. It was already 2 am and I just finished my shift. Dahil madaling araw na, balak kong matulog sa hospital at hintayin na lang sana si Yandro matapos pero nag-text bigla si Noah na nagpawala ng antok ko.
From: Noah
I'm outside. Pack your things. I'll drive you home later.
As soon as he texted me, pinuntahan ko si Yandro sa headquarters na nagpapahinga. Nagpaalam ako sakaniya at 'di naman siya nagtanong pa, dala na 'rin siguro ng pagod at antok. Magkikita naman kami mamayang gabi dahil may Christmas party kami sa bahay at kasama ko sila dun ni Leo.
Paglabas ko, nakita ko agad si Noah habang nakasandal sa Mercedes Benz GLA niya. Alam ko yun dahil ganun ang kotse ni Kuya Aries ngayon.
Ang gagara masyado.
He was with no one else, so I assumed Olivia was with his Mom. Nang makita niya ako, ngumiti siya agad sa akin. Ang ganda ng ngiti ni Noah kahit sa malayo. He smiles like that in front of me, but that doesn't change the fact that he's the most formal and masculine man that I know.
He took my stuff immediately as I approached him.
"How did you know?" I asked him right away.
He smirked, "Duh, Doctor Rodriguez, I have connections." He chuckled and patted my head. He held my shoulder as he took my bag from me. Masyado siyang malapit, naamoy ko yung manly scent niya. Naconscious ako nang bongga.
Sumakay na kami sa loob ng kotse at nilingon ko siya.
"Where are we going? It's past 2. 'Di na Christmas."
"But it's never too late to celebrate Christmas, Ela. Trust me. I know just a place."
So he drove me there. Napaidlip ako dahil sa pagod, at nagsilbi 'yong power nap kaya 'di ako ginising ni Noah.
