When the van stopped, Kim looked up to find Gerald’s house in front of her.  Kuya Fredo alighted to open the gate since Joven is in Gensan.  Ali still hasn’t gone back, probably because he still has to return the chopper to the Airforce headquarters.

          As the gate was being opened, Kim got a chance to look at the house that Gerald worked so hard for.  A swelling sense of pride enveloped her.

          After asking Kuya Fredo and Ate Tata to buy her some art materials, Kim got out of the van and walked up to the foyer as she searched her bag for the set of keys Gerald gave her.  She opened the door and locked it behind her, knowing that her driver and PA would call her as soon as they get back.

          She was standing in the middle of the high-ceilinged living room.  Kim looked around her and realized that despite the masculinity of the interiors, her presence is very much evident in this house.  One cannot be faulted if he thinks that the furniture were more her choice than Gerald’s.

          Kim slowly walked through the ground floor, touching things she either bought for Gerald or helped him choose.  From the stainless steel fruit tray on top of the dining table, to the double-door refrigerator that she gave him for his 20^th birthday.

Her eyes hovered over the framed pictures of Gerald which hang along the hallway just above the stairs leading to the rooms.  These were gifts from the SSM staff.  As fresh tears start to roll down her already tear-stained cheeks, a sad smile formed on her lips as she longingly looked at each picture of the boy she loves.

As she made her way up the stairs, she remembered the day they spent furniture-hunting at Serendra.  She was wearing a pink shirt and white shorts (which Ge didn’t want her to wear, but she did anyway just to irk him), and Gerald was wearing a white shirt.  It was a free day for them and Ge asked her to help him choose the furnishings for this house.  She felt so happy and contented that day.  It was as if they were choosing the furniture for their future home.  Gerald even about it.

“Baby, di ba tayo mag-lalagay ng nursery?” was Gerald’s soft whisper when they passed by a store for toddlers.

“Ge, ano ba?  Mamaya ma-tsismis pa tayo nyan…ang ingay-ingay mo,”  she admonished him, but felt guilty right away when she saw his face fell.  It was a very brief moment because when Ge looked up at her again, he smiled with understanding.

Kim now stood in front of Gerald’s room.  She knows it isn’t locked, but she still hesitated a bit before turning the knob.  Upon entering, her eyes immediately rested on the framed photos beside his bed.  It was a collage-like frame with several pictures of her, some with Gerald but most on her own.  She sat on his bed and picked up the frame, and as she choked on her sobs, she hugged it as if it was Gerald.  She lay on the bed without putting the pictures down.  As her head touched Ge’s pillow, she inhaled his musky scent and missed him even more.  She placed her free hand under the pillows and closed her eyes, trying to imagine that Gerald is right there beside her when she felt something.  Kim pulled it out and found herself staring at her own picture taken during her debut celebration, the one sponsored by the KWers at the Secret Garden.  She didn’t know Gerald has a copy, and under his pillows at that.  Her heart swelled with love for him, knowing that wherever he is, he must also be dreaming of her.

Kim didn’t realize that she fell asleep on Ge’s bed until she felt something vibrating under her right leg.  She searched for it with her hand and came up with her cellphone.  Ate Tata is calling her.

“Hello?  Ate, san na kayo?”

“Kim, kanina pa kami dito sa baba.  Asan ka ba?”

“Sige, wait lang.  I’ll open the door.”

As she gets up from the bed, she placed the picture frame where it stood earlier, but did not put her picture under the pillows anymore.  She made the bed and fluffed the pillows before getting out of the room, bringing her picture with her.

“San ka galing, bakit ang tagal mo sumagot,” was Ate Tata’s worried query when she opened the door for her.

“Nakatulog kasi ako sa room ni Ge,” Kim sadly told her.

“Miss mo na sya ‘no?”

“Oo naman.  Obvious na obvious naman ako sa’yo eh, itanong pa daw ba,” Ate Tata’s ward poutingly retorted.

“Sundan mo kaya dun?”

“Ha?  Pano naman kaya eh ang dami ko pang commitments.  Baka sakalin ako ni Ate Portia.  Magalit pa sa’kin si Mr. M.”

“Eh ano?  At least, napakita mo kay Ge na mahal mo sya.”

“Pa’no naman yung trabaho ko?  Saka babalik na yun next week eh.”

“Sabagay.  Hay naku, bahala ka na nga.  Teka, punta ka pa ba sa Le Souffle?  Importante daw yun, sabi ni Melissa.”

“Ay, oo nga pala.  Sige, halika na.  Sa bahay ko na lang gagawin yung dapat gagawin ko sa mga materials na dala mo.”

With one last loving look, Kim locked the door to Gerald’s house, thinking it seemed more appropriate to say it was her home which Gerald owned.