Two and a half hours and three tipsy bodies later, Asia found herself seated at the cushioned couch in the VVIP room prepared by Max. ‘Yung mga kasama niya nasa baba, nag-sasayaw— sila Niel, Kian at Greg at Rafa, specifically. While Rence, Richard, Enzo and Europe were just at the other corner of the couch, talking while drinking on their drinks. Habang si Izza, nasa tabi niya, mabagal na sumisimsim sa beer niya. “Are you not going to join them?” she half shouted at Izza. The thing is, hindi sobrang ingay ng VVIP rooms, given nasa far right side siya ng second floor. “Mukha’ng nag-eenjoy sila Kian sa baba.” Max informed her that every VIP rooms were already taken, at dalawang VVIP rooms nalang ang available for the night. Ang alam niya, VVIP are exclusive only for private parties within the night party, and also to some very close family and friends of Max. Hindi naman sa hindi sila magkaibigan ni Max pero hindi naman sila sobrang close for him to o
If there was one more thing she’s good at, it’s pretending to be asleep when she isn’t. For all her life since, she’s mastered the art of pretending to be asleep, making everyone actually fell for it. Like, say, right at the moment. Asia spent the night with the rest of the operators in Europe’s… house. Well, it was a penthouse, actually. Europe promised to drive her off to the mansion first thing in the morning and there they are. Nasa passenger seat siya naka-upo, habang nasa likod si Rafa, nakahilata dahil sa hangover. She insisted on joining dahil ito raw ang nag-aya sa kanya and she felt responsible for her. Asia didn’t argue nor complain about it. Hindi sila nag-uusap ni Europe, naka-focus lang ito sa pagmamaneho. Since medyo malayo ang penthouse nito sa mansion ng mga Acosta, she just pretended to be sleeping kesa ang mapanisan siya ng laway dahil para’ng hindi naman siya nag-e-exist sa binata. She had no clue what ticked him off.
One thing about their family: marami sila. Like… a lot. Sabi pa ng isang Auntie niya, hindi sila maramot sa pamangkin at apo. They were blessed with a lot of family members, kaya sobrang dami niya’ng pinsan; and that means, sobrang dami niya ri’ng binibigyan ng regalo tuwing pasko at birthdays. One tradition of the family every Christmas season: uuwi silang lahat, no exemptions, sa probinsya kung saan pinanganak at lumaki ang great grandlolo nila— the man who started it all for them. Hindi nga lang sabay-sabay minsan, but the most important thing, lahat sila present sa Pasko at Bagong Taon. But imagine all of them boarding a plane together, they might as well bought their own aircraft dahil occupied nila lahat ng seats sa dami nila. Kahit i-divide sila into two groups, marami pa rin sila. Silang magpipinsan palang, puno na agad ang half part ng eroplano. The fact that half of them were already in the province and half of them still in the mansion, the first t
For the rest of their flight and until they landed, Awa was fidgeting on her seat, biting her lips or her recently polished nails. She couldn’t seem to be at ease, not after the embarrassing incident that happened at the mansion. Hindi lang siya makapaniwala na matatanong ng Papa niya ang bagay na iyon, but she couldn’t even believe how small the world really is. Sure, being in the corporate industry, people are bound to meet, one way or another, pero masyado naman ata’ng cliché na magkakilala ang Papa niya at si Europe. Naalala niya tuloy ‘yung voice over sa isang news channel: “business is all about making connections.” Europe and Asia having the same weird names na pareho pa’ng galing sa continent might be considered coincidence, but for her father to actually know the guy is just over the word coincidence. But, oh well, that is the corporate world for you. It wasn’t until she finally saw her cousins that she started to relax. They were playing
“Jowa mo na ba?” “No!” her answer came as quickly as denial. “I mean, we’re not…we’re just friends.” Pinagtaasan lang siya ng kilay ng dalawa. “I swear!” “Then why is he here? To celebrate an intimate family tradition?” “Papa invited him over, I have nothing to do with that.” “Wala ba siya’ng pamilya to celebrate the holidays with?” usisa ni Rich.
The Voltes Four had her cornerned at dinner. She expected that much, still she couldn’t believe how actually annoying the feeling is. Kumakain nga ang apat sa harap nila pero ang mga mata ng mga ito ay nakatutok kay Europe, na, surprisingly ay hindi alintana ang paninitig ng mga pinsan sa kanya. He’s surprisingly good at playing dumb. Good for him. Mukha’ng sinadya nila’ng i-corner sila ngayo’ng gabi, sa pinaka-malayo’ng table ba naman sila pumwesto, ‘yung tipong wala masyado’ng makakarinig. Isa pa, busy mag-usap-usap ang mga tao sa dining area, she doubts anyone would be poking their noses on their business given na may kanya-kanya silang mga chismis. After all, it’s not everyday that the whole family tree of Apolonio Acosta gets together for a dinner like this. “Hindi mo ba kami ipapakilala man lang, Ate?” pasaring na tanong ni Last, naka-taas ang kilay, may naglalaro’ng ngisi sa mga labi. How she badly want to pull her hair; alam n
It was almost twelve midnight and most of Asia’s family are still up, though some of them have gone up to bed early, the rest of them have decided to do a few shots. Karamihan mga pinsang lalaki ng dalaga, at mga kapatid niya, including himself. Europe couldn’t really say no to the Acosta’s now, could he? Fun fact (not really): the Acosta’s could seriously hold their liquors. They’ve been drinking for the whole two hours and a half now, and yet, none of them show any sign of being drunk. They still could talk without slurring, they can still walk straight, and he’s pretty sure that they would still remember everything that is happening around them. While he’s playing safe with the alcohol, Asia’s family was drinking with reckless abandon. Drink ‘til they drop. He carefully declined another drink. Hindi naman na rin siya pinilit ng mga ito, which he was glad about. He’s done with alcohol for the night. It’s not in his nature to drink u
“Wala ka na ba’ng mas ibabagal pa rito, Raf?” maktol ni Awa habang nasa tabi ng pinsan, magkasalubong ang kilay, konti nalang at malapit na niya’ng agawan ang pinsan ng manibela sa bagal nito magpatakbo. “Seriously, Raf, this is a very special event.” “Tangina, Asia Winnessa, hindi mo ba nakikita’ng traffic, huh?” “Hey, you two, take it easy.” Saway na ni Europe mula sa likod ng sasakyan. “Hindi naman uusad ang traffic kahit mag-away kayo’ng dalawa.” “Sorry,” panabay na sabi nila’ng mag-pinsan. Asia being a little bit embarassed at how she just acted. Kung bakit naman kasi sobra’ng traffic sa Pilipinas, diba? ‘Yung kahit ano’ng gawin na improvement sa kalsada, kahit ilang ulit na mag-iba ‘yung route ng mga sasakyan, ganun pa rin… ma-traffic pa rin. They were currently on their way to Rafa’s book launch. Kararating lang nila galing probinsya and they immediately drove straight to where the book launch is happening.
Kanina pa pa-ikot-ikot si Awa sa higaan, samantalang ‘yung tatlo’ng katabi niya ay ang hihimbing na ng tulog. Slowly and carefully, she slipped out of the bed and tiptoed her way out of the room.Naabutan niya si Europe, naka-upo sa high stool sa may kitchen island, may hawak na isang can ng beer. Hindi pa ba lasing ‘tong lalaki’ng ‘to?Tumikhim siya to announce her arrival. Lumingon si Europe sa direksyon niya, nginitian niya muna ito bago siya dumeretso sa fridge, buti nalang at may stock ng gatas sa fridge ni Europe. She grabbed the carton and poured herself some before making her way to the island and sat comfortably at the other stool. There was a moment of silence between them, hindi niya na makayanan ang katahimikan, so Asia decided to break the ice.“Do you think it was my cousin, Raf, that Rafa was talking to earlie—““Did you mean it?”“Mean what?”“What you said earlier,” Europe answered. “Did you mean it?”“I said a lot earlier, Europe, alin sa mga ‘yun ang tinut
The game went on for a few rounds, the questions and dares got a little harder than she expected. Questions such as: ilan na ang naging boyfriend niya, to which she answered three, na hindi sila gaano’ng convinced so she drank two shots of alcohol. Also questions like: who was her first love and how she moved on from her exes, and with whom was her longest relationship with and if she ever had sex before. “The longest relationship…” she mumbled. “I’d say… Troy? Probably Troy, yea.” “Troy? As in, Troy Cruz?” gulat na gulat ulit na tanong ni Kian sa kanya. “Mm-hmm.” “You were exes?!” “Yep.” sinamahan niya pa ng tango. “But he’s married now so… and wer’e still friends, too, so everything’s well.” “Diba you did a project together just recently?” “We did, yea, special request kasi ng photographer friend ko from New York, di ko matanggihan. He was basically the reason why I survived living independently abroad.” “You lived abroad?” “Yep, my whole career as a CEO basically start
After maka-ikot at makabalik na ulit sa kanya ang tanong, Kian excitedly asked, na mukha’ng kanina pa talaga nito hinihintay. “So, Awa, which entertainment company do you own?”Shaking her head and smiling, she replied, “You take a guess.”There was excitement in Kian’s eyes at the thought. “Imposible’ng Joy kasi hindi mo aura ‘yung ganun. OT?”Still smiling knowingly with her lips slightly pursed, she kept herself quiet. Rafa at the other end was chuckling quietly to herself. Lumipad ang tingin ni Kian sa kaibigan at nanungot ang noo nito.“You know something, don’t you?”Everyone looked over at Rafa who just kept herself quiet. “You do know something, Rafa.”“I might but it’s not my question to answer, Kian.”“WA.” she suddenly blurted out. Agad-agad lumingon si Kian sa kanya, nanlalaki ang mga mata. Kahit si Niel ay nilingon siya, unblinking, shocked, speechless. Mahina siya’ng napatawa dahil sa reaksyon ng mga kasama. “For real?” halos panabay na sigaw ni Kian at
The answer to that was to be expected, but of course, hindi pa rin nila mapigilan hintayin ang magiging sagot ni Izza sa tanong na iyon. So when Izza finally replied, “Of course, Rence, I will.” with such glee, they all cheered for them, umulan bigla ng throw pillows. “Wow,” Richard muttered under his breath, a little shocked. “Holy shit!” natatawa’ng sabi nalang ni Greg. For a few moments, the whole living area was filled with clapping and cheering, of Congratulations and Thank you’s. “Gagi, hindi kami ready sa proposal mo, Rence!” na-iiling na bulalas ni Kian. “Pero, potek na ‘yan, bakit ang romantic pa rin?!” “Girl, inggit ka lang, iinom mo muna ‘yan.” tukso ni Niel. “Congratulations ulit sa inyo’ng dalawa,” bati ni Awa sa dalawa. To which they both replied in unison with, ‘thank you.’ “Siya, we’ll celebrate it again later, for now…” nakangiti’ng anunsiyo ni Niel at tumingin sa dereksyon niya. “it’s finally Awa’s turn to ask.”Since si Rence ang huling nagtanong, ito na
After dinner, she tried staying away from Europe. Emphasis on tried. Dahil after nila mag-dinner, they decided to watch a movie, totally random picked, at talaga’ng sinadya silang pagtabihin ng mga kasama nila. The movie was… not entertaining enough to them. Laging kinu-kontra ni Niel at Kian ang mga scenes althroughout the movie. “Bakit pa ba natin kasi pinanuod?” maktol ni Greg. “Lalaitin niyo lang naman pala.” “Constructive criticism ang tawag dun.” depensa ni Kian. “Aling banda doon ang constructive, ha?” “Lahat, duh!” Actually, talaga’ng nilait lang nila ‘yung movie. Minsan tinatama pa nga kasi hindi naman daw ‘yun ang nangyar sa libro. And she completely understand; nabasa na rin niya kasi ‘yung libro, in fact one of her favourites, and they totally ruined the whole story. After watching, since maaga pa sa kanila ang ten o’clock, they moved the table to the side and they formed a circle in the carpet. Niel decided for them to play: truth or dare. They have this rule:
Nakakunot ang noo ni Awa nang magtanong siya. “Why? Aren’t they friends with her?” Iling ang naisagot ng binata sa kanya. “Not really.” “Can I ask why?” “For reasons that are: one) we’re more like an arranged couple.. or something like that, two) they didn’t entirely like her personality.. and to quote Niel, “she’s a bitch.” “And three) because she took us for granted.” “Wait…” she paused, her hand hanging halfway out of the ecobag, “what do you mean arranged couple?” “You know how in corporate families, arranged marraige is a common thing.. to further expand the company and the connections, right? So both our parents wanted the same but since we were still in high school then,they settled for us to become a couple.. for the time being. “I was friends with Rence, Enzo and Greg, then. So they know all about that deal. Aya was, then, my first and only girlfriend. I admit, I didn’t like her at first but eventually I came around. “Himala nga at natagalan namin ang isa’t isa at
“Wait,” Last urgently said, she could swear she’s making this sniffing sound. And knowing Last, kinakabahan na siya dahil sa talas ng memorya at amoy nito. Sigurado si Awa na may ideya na ito kung sino at kanino’ng amoy iyon. “I know this smell…” “What?” naguguluha’ng tanong ni White. “This smell is familiar,” “Baka si Raf lang,” dinig niya’ng sagot ni Ember sa background. “Nandito siya, e.” “No,” mabilis na sagot ni Last, “I know how Kuya Raf smells…” “The fuck?” natatawang sabi ni Raf, “And how exactly do I smell, Last Alaine?” “Amoy malandi at playboy.” mabilis na sagot ng nakababatang pinsan, na tinawanan nilang lahat. “Totoo kaya!’ “That was rather harsh, Huli.” “Truth hurts, Kuya, suck it up.” “Para’ng hindi tayo mag-pinsan, ah, need I remind, you that we’re all basically carved from the same wood.” “True, but you were carved first, so there might be slight differences here and there.” Last retorted back quickly. “Anyway, as I was saying, Ate Awa… sinong nagnakaw sa
Chapter Sixty Eight “You, guys, are always heavy on food,” Asia commented as she swallowed a spoonful of baked potato casserole she ordered. “And alcohol.” She added before chewing her food, to which her eyes bulged and darted down her food. “Holy Hera!” she softly exclaimed. “This is delicious!” That earned a laugh from her friends, probably starting to get weirded out with her. Sue her, it was her first time eating a baked potato casserole and it automatically hit her top fave food. She fished her phone from her bag and took a snap before she continued to savour heaven in a form of potato. Nasa isang food park sila malapit sa, as usual, bahay ni Europe. Hindi ba niya alam ba’t trip ng mga ‘to lagi tumambay sa bahay ng binata. At, oo, mag-o-overnight na naman sila mamaya. According to Kian, libre raw ng manliligaw ni Rafa ang lunch nila ngayon. They actually got to meet them earlier, kaso may biglaang lakad ito kaya umalis
“San ta’yo?” was Kian’s question after the event. May iilan pa’ng libro’ng tinatapos na pirmahan ni Rafa, kaya hinihintay nila ito sa may tabi. “Nag-aya si Rafa, e. Libre niya raw.” “Tapos deretso overnight?” umaasa’ng tanong ni Greg. “Oo yata.” “Saan tayo mag-o-overnight?” asked Niel and everyone’s eyes flew over where Awa and Europe were standing. Mukha’ng napansin ito ng binata kaya agad ito’ng lumingon sa kanila at pinagkunutan ng noo. “What?” “Overnight daw,” “Geh,” was his only reply. Binalik ng binata ang tingin niya kay Asia. “Coffee?” Asia turned to face Europe, a wicked, teasing smile on her lips. “Ikaw, ha, are you low-key trying to ask me out on a coffee date?” Europe shrugged and looked at her straight in the eyes, “Maybe.” For a brief moment, they held each other’s gazes, as if they were in their own little bubble, like everything around them turned into a blur. “Absolutely,” Asia beamed, “pero pwede ba’ng iba puntahan natin? I know a place.” Tumango lang n