“Got a text from the teacher, they’ll take a little longer daw. The kids had too much fun during play time. Let’s go get some coffee?”

“Sure. You get the table?”

“Nah, I got this. You get the table.”

“Yaman ha.”

“Sira. Trip ko lang.”

“Sana always.”

“Papayag o babawiin ko yung libre?”

“Papayag syempre. Tara?”

“Lets.”

Naglakad kami papunta sa malapit na coffee shop and I went to the counter to place our orders while she got a table for us. I was observing her kasi ang tagal umusad ng pila and then I saw her round the all too familiar corner, and I knew our table was empty. As if she knew I was looking, she turned her head and met my gaze then gestured toward our space with a big smile on her face. I laughed silently and nodded in agreement. She fist-pumped and smiled even wider. She turned to get seated after mouthing a playful “hurry up” towards me. Napangiti nalang ako. Almost fifteen years of knowing her and she’s still the same woman I fell in love with. Of course she grew, we both did. But her being is still as radiant as it was during the day I met her.

That meet-up was a funny story on its own, one we always loved telling our kids. First day of school namin yun nung college, tapos ako, bilang resident sabaw na medyo sabog, mahuhuli na naman dapat sa klase. I was running like my life depended on it then boom, di ko napansin na may babae palang nakaupo sa may bench malapit sa classroom ko at naka-extend yung paa niya kaya ayun, nadapa ako. I guess you could say that I fell for her the moment I met her haha. Corny no? Pero totoo naman. I remember feeling so pissed and ready to yell at her then I looked up and saw her angelic face looking at me concernedly and it felt like the whole world faded away.

“Okay ka lang?”

“Ah, oo.” Biglang tumunog yung second bell and I tried to stand up but my leg gave out. I was expecting to land hard on my apparently injured leg kaya laking gulat ko nalang nung hindi nangyari yun. Slowly, my senses calmed down and that’s when I noticed that someone was holding me up. Napabalikwas naman ako sa kahihiyan.

“ I’m late. I need to go.” sabi ko at akma na sanang aalis when she held me tightly against her.

“Not limping like that, you aren’t. Anong class ba yan?” sabi niya habang patuloy akong inaalalayan. Wala naman akong nagawa kundi hayaan siyang kunin yung gamit ko. Buti nalang magaan lang yung bag ko at di ko pa dali yung instrument ko.

“Ah, music theory. Dyan lang” tinuro ko yung classroom ko.

“Classmates pala tayo eh. Tara, akong bahala sayo.” Slowly, we made our way to the classroom. Ang bait niya grabe. Tahimik lang kaming pumasok at siya na yung nag-apologize sa professor namin. Honest naman siya na nagkabanggaan kami tas mukhang nainjure daw ako kaya medyo mabagal yung lakad namin. Our prof just nodded and she went back to the seat beside me sa may likod ng classroom.

Tahimik lang kaming nakinig kay Sir. We didn’t really do much, first day kasi. Schola brevis daw muna sabi ni Sir. Nagpakilala lang siya tapos nagdiscuss ng syllabus ng mabilisan. Etong katabi ko parang nayayamot na kaya inabutan ko ng note. Nakalagay dun “thank you for helping me out. Kain tayo o kape para makabawi ako?”

Nagtataka siyang tinanggap yung note pero pagkabukas niya nito, nakita ko kung paano umaliwalas ulit yung mukha niya. , I want to make her happy all the time. Okay bat may ganun. Kakakilala ko pa lang sa kanya. Nagkaroon ako ng internal debate tapos muntik ko pang di marinig yung sagot niya.

“... yes.” Hala, I only caught the last word. Shet di ko siya naiintindihan.

Ang galing naming estudyante no? Nagdaldalan habang busy si Sir. Wag niyo kaming tularan.

Tulala pala ulit ako kasi bigla niyang sinundot yung pisngi ko. “Did you hear me?” nang-aasar niyang tanong. Okay, eto na, I’ll be honest para di ako mag-overthink. I shook my head and she giggled.

“Sabi ko, kung ikaw ba naman magtatanong, the answer will always be yes.” she smirked. Ugh, her confidence, grabe nakakafall. Pakipot, self. Pakipot. Pinigilan ko nalang tumawa pero may napansin siya.

“You’re blushing.” she noted.

“De, mainit lang.” pagpapalusot ko.

She flipped her hair, “I know. I’m here eh.” She quipped, winking at me.

“Sira. So coffee or a meal?” alok ko sa kanya.

“You get the coffee, I get the meal.” pagpayag niya.

Nadismaya naman ako. “Ako dapat bumawi sayo ah. Duga mo. Akin na yung meal.”

She laughed at me. She LAUGHED. Well, tahimik yung laughter niya. Ang cute niya mehn.

“Papayag ka o ako yung di papayag sa offer mo?”

I really wanted to get to know her more so I guess I have to settle for a compromise. “Only if the roles are reversed next time.”

“So may next time?” ay mare, I wasn’t prepared. Pero batang may laban din ako kaya, sinagot ko siya.

“Kahit all the time pa eh. Basta gusto mo rin.” sabay kindat.

Nagulat ako kasi she smiled a very soft smile and quietly said, “I think I just might like that.”

Here we are, almost 15 years later, arguing about the same things. Ang daming nagbago sa buhay namin but we still have each other and I couldn’t be any more thankful. Grabe napatagal pala yung pagrereminisce ko, ako na yung sunod sa pila haha. I placed our orders, well more like paid for them nalang. Kilala na kami nila ate. This was the resto we went to that first day we met. The one we kept coming back to over the years. Nung nakita ako ni ate diretso niya ng pinunch yung order ko. Inabot ko nalang yung card ko at hinintay siyang matapos. With a smile, I waved bye and waited for our order sa gilid ng counter para di makaabala ng ibang customers. A couple of minutes later, ate waved me over and handed me the tray with our food. “Enjoy your meal, mam!” Tumawa ako at nag-abot ng tip. “Lagi naman ate. Paborito nga namin dito diba.” Tumango si ate at tumungo na rin ako sa table namin.

Pagdating ko, natawa nalang ako kasi sobrang excited niya agad sa pagkain.

“Yehey!! Grabe ang tagal mo ha, akala ko inubos mo yung menu.” pang-aasar niya sa akin habang inaayos yung pagkain namin. Bat niya kamo inaayos? Well, we share kasi. We were always too indecisive so it became a habit to choose two things together then split it. That way we both get to taste things we like though I know some days she gets what I want so I can try both. Alam ko yun kasi minsan ganun din naman ako. We never really outgrew that practice haha, masaya naman. Parang food trip ganun.

While she was plating up, I got my phone out and took a photo of her.

“Uy ngiti ka.” I whispered to her. “But don’t look at me. Kunwari di mo alam.”

Tumawa siya at nagpatuloy sa kanyang ginagawa, “Alam mo ikaw, siraulo ka talaga.”

“You love me anyway.” sabi ko sabay belat.

Nagkibit-balikat nalang siya at di na pumalag, “That I do.” Maya-maya pa, okay na yung food at inusog niya palapit sa akin yung plato ko. “Here, let’s eat?”

“Game.” I took my fork and dug in. Sarap pa rin nung pagkain dito. And it’s always fun having good food with great company. Just like the old times.

As we were eating, we talked about nothing and everything. We talked about work, the playdates we had to host for the kids’ friends over the next few weeks, the menu for the brunch we were hosting. As in, ang dami din talaga. Di namin namalayan that we’ve been there for over an hour na kung hindi pa nagring yung cellphone niya. While she took the call, I chanced a glance at my phone. I saw the time at napatayo ako agad. I fixed my bag and I looked at her and saw that she was doing the same. In sync, we packed our stuff and piled our plates then moved to go. Late na pala kami sa pagsundo sa mga bata. Napailing nalang ako at nagmadali na kaming pumunta sa school. Buti talaga malapit lang yung resto. Tawang-tawa ako dito sa kasama ko kasi parang di mapakali na ewan. Before we went inside the gates of the school, I pulled her to the side.

“Hey. Breathe. It’s okay.” sinubukan kong pakalmahin siya kahit konti.

Tumango lang siya at sinubukang huminga at kumalma.

As she was doing that, I told her. “I’m sorry. Nalingat ako sa oras.”

I thought she was still calming down pero binatukan niya ako. “Gagi. Tayong dalawa nalingat. Ayos lang, magsorry nalang tayo sa mga bata okay?”

I smiled at her and nodded. She still never fails to inspire me to be better. Ganun talaga, bilang magulang, we need to set good examples for our kids. And yeah, today, we screwed up a little, but we will apologize and hope they’re okay. Though sabi niya naman na sabi ni Teacher okay lang yung mga bata but they were curious kung asan na kami.

“Tara lets. I’m okay now.” sabi niya sa akin at hinila na ako papunta sa classroom ng mga anak namin. When we got there, nakita kami ng mga bata at nagsimula ng mag-ingay yung isa sa saya.

“Tita Chichu!” Aba, loko tong anak ko ah. Si Jisoo pa unang pinansin at sa kanya pa talaga tumakbo. I sputtered and Jisoo laughed at me habang binubuhat si Ruby. I rolled my eyes when I saw the smirk on my daughter’s face. Ito na yung payback niya. She hit me with her puppy dog eyes and I melted. Relenting, I smiled at her and my little girl winked at me. Kinuha ko nalang yung gamit niya at yung gamit ng anak ni Jisoo who quietly approached me wearing a toothy smile on her little face with her arms outstretched too, nagpapabuhat din. “Hello, Simon! Sorry we were late.” sabi ko habang kinakarga siya.

“It’s okay Tita. We were just playing.” sagot nito habang sinasandal yung ulo niya sa balikat ko. Ayos to, nagpalit pa kami ng anak ngayon. I looked at Jisoo na nauna na dahil sa anak ko and saw her laughing with Ruby. Hay, I guess we did take this godparent thing very seriously. I decided to humor Simon and asked him, “So what did you learn today?” at ayun, parang si Jisoo talaga tong batang to, pag masimulan siyang kausapin tungkol sa mga hilig niya, di na to titigil dumaldal. My kid is the other way around, tatahimik lang yun pag napagod. I just listened to Simon talk my ear off about the stories they read during the break and how they played dodgeball and won kaya daw matagal silang nadismiss. Finally catching up to my kid and Jisoo, I handed Jisoo Simon’s stuff and she looked at me gratefully. Tas nagsalita naman si Ruby.

“Mommy, what took you so long?” sabi nito habang sinusubukang magtaas ng kilay na dahilan para matawa ako. “Mom!” ay lagot, baka magalit. Sige sasagutin ko na si mini-me.

“Sorry baby, Tita Chu and I were eating and we lost track of time.” I looked at her in the eye.

She seemed to consider my apology and I thought it’ll be fine but she said, “I forgive you. But Sim and I want to play in the playground for a while, can we please do that?” I looked at Jisoo and she shrugged, “Wala naman akong ibang gagawin, Jen. If you’re okay with it then I’m good too.” Tumango nalang ako. Wala rin naman akong naiwan na trabaho so I have time. “Okay, baby. We can do that.” She let out a triumphant shout and extended her hand to high-five Simonon kaya nilapit ko yung bata.

“Jisoo, palit na tayo ng anak bilis.” sabi ko habang inaabot sa kanya si Simon.

She smiled at me and carefully placed Ruby in my arms. “Ang kulit niya talaga, Jen. Mana sayo.” Aba, aba. Tinaasan ko siya ng kulay at tumawa siya lalo.

“Hep, hep, bawal kurot, baka mahulog si Simon.” sabi nito habang ginawang shield yung bata.

“Ikaw talaga, Kim Jisoo.” yun nalang ang nasabi ko.

“O paano, usual park?” sabi nito habang pinapasok si Simon sa kotse.

Tumango ako at nagsimula ng maglakad papunta sa kotse ko. “See you there! Drive safely, okay?” Pahabol ko.

“Copy, boss. Kayo din ni Ruby. See you in a bit.” sabi niya at pumasok na siya sa kotse niya at pinaandar ito.

I walked to my car holding Ruby close to me. I opened the car door and situated her as safely as I can and then pumasok na rin ako at nagsimulang magmaneho papunta sa park.

“How was your day, baby?” tanong ko sa kanya while driving.

At ayun, dumaldal na din ito na parang walang bukas. I’ll never get tired of hearing her talk about things she loves. Sobrang cute nung light she gets in her eyes whenever she becomes so passionate about something. She talked about this song they heard daw and she wants me to teach her how to play the piano na. Aliw na aliw ako sa mga kwento niya pero syempre, safe driving pa rin kaya it took me 30 minutes to get to the park and start finding a parking spot.

But I should have known na di ako papabayaan ni Jisoo.

She was there pointing to the spot beside hers. Honking my horn in acknowledgement, I parked quickly and went out and opened the door for Ruby too. Sobrang energetic na nung mga bata so we walked faster and when we were in the playground already, Ruby grabbed Simon’s hand and they looked at Jisoo and I and they said, “Can we please go to the slides?”

We both nodded and said “only where we can see you, okay?”

They both nodded but Jisoo and I looked at each other and wordlessly agreed to sit on the benches facing the slide. It’s been years and we can still communicate without talking. We walked over to the benches and kept our eye on the kids. Masaya silang naglalaro and we usually just watch over them in silence kaya nabigla ako nung binasag ni Jisoo yung katahimikan.

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