Chapter Three

            If not getting hangovers the day after swigging heavily is a superpower, then Awa wanted to have one.

            To say they got wasted was only putting things mildly.

            They were wasted beyond comprehension.

            Sa kalasingan nilang lima, hindi na nila nagamit ‘yung higaan na pinagpaguran niyang ayusin. She knew they would end up like that, dahil kailan nga ba hindi?

            They do have high alcohol tolerance, except for Ember, but they all drank past that and got themselves shitfaced drunk. It’s a good thing they were inside the confines of her unit, otherwise she wouldn’t live to see and remember the mortification of doing shit things while drunk, if ever they did it in public.

            Kahit sabog at lutang, she tried to make herself look presentable. She didn’t want to ruin her image just because of a freaking hangover.

            “In fairness naman sa’yo, girl.” she heard her secretary said.

            Oh, great!

            “Hindi halatang hangover ka. Iba na talaga, ano, kapag maganda?”

            “Of course, walang tapon sa genes namin.”

            “He’s already inside pala.”

            Her eyes almost bulge out of its sockets. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

            “Because I don’t see the need to tell you. Again.” Mia creased her brows. “I did tell you your sched for today.”

            Mas lalong nanlaki ang mata niya sa narinig.

            “You did?”

            Tumango ang sekretarya. “Kahapon pa.”

            “Ba’t di mo man lang in-entertain sa loob?”

            “Hindi ako pumapatol sa kakilala, ano!”

            She shrugged. “Sabi mo, e.” she cleared her throat before she dusted and flattened her pencil cut skirt. “Okay na ba?”

            “Aside from you look delectable?” nagkibit-balikat ang dalaga sa kanya. Pinasadahan siya nang tingin mula ulo hanggang paa. “Yea, I guess you’re okay.”

            “Hindi tayo talo.”

            “Hindi talaga, girl.” kumindat ito sa kanya. “My date last night was… adequate.”

            “Respeto sa single, diba?”

            Humalakhak ang kaibigan. Biglang tumaas ang isang kilay niya.

            Hmm….

            Maganda ang gising, humahalakhak. Mukhang nasarapan ang gaga!

            “Get going, Boss. Baga mabagot ang bisita mo.”

            Hindi na niya pinansin ang kaibigan at mabilis na tinahak ang daan papunta sa opisina niya. She held the handle, heaved a breath, before she pushed the door open.

            She expected to see a mess. Knowing how temperamental her guest is, she expected that much. She even expected him to be pacing around her office, she wasn’t ready to see him patiently waiting on one of the couches.

            She took careful steps towards him and called, hesitation evident in her voice. “Jed?”

            Agad lumingon ang binata sa direksyon ng boses niya. A huge, bright smile immediately appeared on his face, taking her completely by surprise. She’s used to see a Jed with either a deep frown or a permanent scowl. But none was present on his face right now.

            “Awa!” he exclaimed.

            “Jed.” she greeted with disbelief. “Ikaw ba talaga ‘yan?”

            Her cousin chuckled good-naturedly. “Of course! Bakit?”

            “You changed… a lot.” Pinasadahan niya ang kabuohan ng pinsan. He was still the same, only much upbeat, more… grounded, minus the scowls. He didn’t look like he was ready to attack his prey or whatever. “I still can’t believe my eyes.”

            Mas lalong natawa ang binata.

            “And you’re laughing, laughing!”

            “Dati pa naman, a?”

            “Yea but it was menacing.”

            “That much had changed, huh?”

            She nodded, still dumbfounded.

            “Well… I guess Boston did me okay.”

            “I bet Boston did.” Lumakad siya papunta sa isang couch at maingat na na-upo roon. She suddenly got vertigo. “It’s been… what? Three years? And look at you now!”

            “Time changes people, I suppose.”

            “Teka, ba’t dito ka pala dumeretso sa opisina ko?” nag-angat siya ng tingin dito. “You just landed, right? I’m sure you have jetlag.”

            “Yes pero that could wait for later.” Jed smiled at her and sat at the couch he was occupying earlier. “I came here because I wanted you to meet someone.”

            “Someone?”

            Wow, mukhang forever single na naman ang ganap niya sa buhay.

            “Yes, my, um, girlfriend.”

            Girlfriend…

            She paused, processing what she just heard.

            Tama ba ang rinig niya?

            “You have a girlfriend?!”

            Naiilang na ngumiti si Jed sa kanya.

            Aba, nahihiya ba ‘to?

            “Holy shit ka, Jedediah!” pinaghahampas niya ng bag niya ang katawan ng pinsan. “Kaya pala hindi ka na umuwi ng Pinas! I’m so happy for you!”

            Bigla naman bumukas ang pinto ng opisina niya, making her stop hitting Jed midway, nabitin tuloy sa ere ang kamay niya.

            “Ate―” White halted, nagpalipat-lipat ang tingin nito sa kanilang dalawa. “What were you guys doing?” lumapit ito sa kanila at kinunutan ng noo si Jed. “And who are you?”

            Muntik na siyang matawa sa tanong ni White. Mukhang hindi lang siya ang hindi agad nakakilala sa pinsan. Bukod kasi sa ibang aura nito ngayon, he was neat-looking. Gone was the long, shaggy hair, as well as the facial hair; may piercing pa rin naman pero sa isang tainga nalang. He was also dressed casually smart: dark-colored jeans, a shirt, a blazer and a pair of leather shoes.

            Siya ang binalingan ni White nang hindi sumagot si Jed. “Who is he, Ate?”

            “Hindi mo talaga makilala?”

            “Magtatanong ba naman ako kung oo, Ate?”

            “Hello, White.” Jed greeted with a smile. “You look more beautiful since the last time I saw you.”

            “Well, that’s creepy.” White took a step away from Jed. “Do I know you?”

            “That’s your Kuya Jed.”

            “What?”

            “Bingi lang?”

            White throw another glance at Jed and then back at her, then back at Jed again. It lingered for a few seconds, as if studying him, before it finally dawned on her. “Kuya Jedediah?!”

            “The one and only.”

            White cantered to him and studied his face closely. Once in a while, she would furrow her brows and pout. “No, that can’t be you.”

            “It’s me, White.”

            “Yea, it’s definitely him. I assure you.”

            “But… you’re… decent.” Her cousin stressed the word decent, it made both her and Jed snigger. “You were never decent.”

            “That I must say is true.”

            “I still couldn’t believe it, Ate.”

            “Neither do I.” she walked over to White and drape an arm over her shoulder. “But, this is him now.”

            “Kamusta, White?” Jed gestured for them to sit, iginaya niya ang nakababatang pinsan sa couch. “I’ve missed you.”

            “So ako hindi mo na-miss, ganun?”

            “Nagtatampo ka agad, e. Of course I missed you, too.”

            White smiled, eyes fixated at Jed. “Yea, I’ve missed you, too, Kuya. And you sure missed a lot.”

            “Like?”

            “Oh, nothing much.” White shrugged. “Just Ate Awa’s usual crazy antics.”

            “You mean, kayo’ng Voltes Five?”

            Their family branded them “Voltes Five.” It was originally just “Fantastic Four” dahil silang apat lang naman talaga iyun nung una. But when Aye decided she wanted to stay in the country after graduating her college degree, at nagsimula itong sumama sa kanilang apat, matik na pinalitan nila ang fantastic four ng voltes five.

            Kilala sila sa pamilya bilang ganun.

            Because once daw na magsama-sama silang lima, para silang nagvu-volt in, creating chaos instead of being the superheroes.

            “Siya lang mostly.”

            “Diba may ipapakilala ka nga sa’min?” she interrupted, anxious to change the topic. There seriously is no need to rehash the past. “Your girlfriend, right?”

            Her plan seemed to work seeing as how quickly White’s mood perked up at the mention of girlfriend.

            “Really Kuya?”

            Hindi nakaligtas sa mata niya ang nagtatanong na titig ni Jed sa kanya bago sagutin ang pinsan. “Yes. Kaya nga ako nandito to invite you for lunch.”

            “I’m clearing my schedule.”

            “Me, too!” White shrieked with delight. Dali-dali itong tumawag sa manager upang ipaalam ang desisyon nito. She even heard her say, “I already told the Boss about it, tanong mo pa sa kanya.”

            She called Mia herself, asking her to clear her afternoon. Of course, she’d always choose family over work. Hindi niya nga lang matatakasan ang isang meeting mamayang alas dies.

            “I still have a meeting at ten.” Sinilip niya ang relo’ng pambisig. “We’ll meet you at… which restaurant are we dining over?”

            “Kay Ate Rich nalang.” White suggested.

            “Yea, I’ll make a reservation.” Jed planted a kiss on her temple. “Susunduin pa ba kita?”

            “Kahit ‘wag na.” she kissed him back on the cheeks. “I can drive, you know.”

            “Ako nalang ang sunduin mo, Kuya.” Naglalambing na yumakap ang pinsan sa binata. “May isa pa akong shoot ngayon, e.”

            “Oh, sige. Text me your location.”

            White nodded before regarding her with a pout. “Ate, bago ko makalimutan, pahiram ng power bank. I left mine at your unit.”

            “Inom pa, ha?” iiling-iling niyang binunot mula sa bag ang hinihiram ng pinsan. “Sige na, umalis na kayo. Shoo!”

            White quickly kissed her on the cheek before scampering to the door. “Thank, Ate! See you both later!”

            “Una na rin ako, Awa.”

            “Sige, text mo nalang ako, okay? Tapos i-prank mo na rin si Rich para sa’kin.”

            After Jed left, pumasok naman ang sekretarya niya sa loob ng opisina.

            “I already cleared the sched for the whole afternoon, which wasn’t much.” Naglapag ng isang folder si Mia. “And your meeting’s in a few minutes.”

            “Thanks, Mia.” Kinuha niya ang folder and skimmed through the pages. “Please bring me coffee, the usual.”

            “Copy that, Ma’am.”

            It was a shock that she survived a morning encounter without caffeine. She couldn’t function well without coffee in her system.

            Ever since she went to the States, she’s learned to rely on coffee every morning, or just any time of the day, to keep her awake. Her Master’s alone was hard enough, with her working part time, she couldn’t afford much sleep. The only way to keep her awake, and sane, was coffee. (And, yes, writing, too. How she survived that? She has no idea. She’s just glad she did.)

            “Here’s your coffee.”

            She inhaled the strong aroma of her usual morning blend.

            I’m alive again!

            “Thanks.”

            “Anything else you need?”

            “Just remind me of time, Mia.”

            The meeting went for about half an hour, it mainly conferred about the plans and ideas for the upcoming comeback and anniversary showcase. Pagkatapos nun ay mabilis na financial report lang bago niya i-adjourn ang meeting.

            She went into reviewing files and signing papers that needed her signature, pampatay na rin ng oras habang hinihintay ang lunch break.

            Awa’s actually excited to meet the woman who’s made the ultimate womanizer Jedediah Acosta fell in love. It intrigues her how Jed gave up a life of women here and there― a kind of lifestyle he’s breathed half of his life― for a relationship this serious, akala niya talaga ay hindi na magtitino ang pinsan niya.

            It still renders her speechless, how love could actually change and transform people; what love does to people and how much people are willing to sacfrice for it.

            The thought reminded her of herself: relentlessly seeking for love, to the point where she feels like she’s already on the point of desperation. 

            How much is she still willing to go for love? How much could she give up?

            But an incessant question kept nagging at her: is she actually ready for love itself again?

            Is she even ready for a love that could alter a life she’s struggled to live?