Sinigang na hipon, grilled liempo, crispy bangus belly at bicol express. Andaming niluto ni Mommy even though I told her to keep it simple kasi it’s just like any ordinary family dinner naman. The only difference is I’m bringing Gal here tonight and I did tell them that I’ll be inviting her and they had no other things to say other than the question, ‘Allergic ba sa hipon si Winter?’ in which I said no. Gal loves buttered shrimp pa nga.

     And yeah, I did invite Ate El to eat dinner here on a Thursday night so I’m happy to see na she’s here beside us eating her own serving of shrimp.

     Yep, we’re already eating na.

     Nung dumating kasi si Gal saglit nalang naman din then tapos na magluto si Mommy ng sinigang tapos si Daddy naman nagluto nung liempo then si Ate El may dala nung bicol express, luto pa daw to ng Mama ni Ate Denise, I invited her din kasi kaso busy daw siya tonight kaya she couldn’t come. Gal’s just wearing a short-sleeved button down saka high waisted shorts at hindi ko na rin mawala sa isip ko yung nadatnan ko kanina nung hinintay ko siya sa baba when she told me na she’s near na.

     Sabi ko kasi kahit wag na siya magdala ng kahit ano as ‘peace offering’ to my parents pero ayun ang kulit, may dala dala na canvas kanina habang naglalakad at binili niya daw yung painting from her friend para kayna Mommy. It’s a textured painting kaya hindi siya 2d lang, you could see the intersecting brush that gives the art more depth kahit na limited lang yung colors na ginamit.

     Mom happily accepted it naman at ipapalit niya daw to dun sa current piece na nakasabit sa may sala namin, edi ang saya lang naman nitong girlfriend ko at masshowcase na agad yung peace offering niya.

     So far so good, we’ve talked about our studies as usual since it’s a ‘parent’ thing, we told them na may exams kami both before the semester ends and other stuff like projects and reports.

Ate Rene also told some stories about her internship at pinaalala sa amin na onti nalang ay magiging certified resident na siya. Daddy asked Ate Elise if she was still doing gigs and sabi naman ni Ate na lay off daw muna siya at final year na rin niya kasi sa college, baka daw after nun if she decides to not get a job agad edi may magagawa siya which is her singing and hosting gigs.

Ang gagaling lang naman talaga ng mga Ate ko.

It might seem like we’re talking about so many random topics pero ganto talaga kami, we talk about family matters first over anything. I’m just looking for a spot para makasingit na ako and family matter din naman yung pag-iintroduce ko kay Gal as my girlfriend.

I glanced at the girl sitting beside me, she’s smiling while slowly clearing her plate. Nakita ko naman na paubos na yung sinigang niya and onti lang yung balat ng shrimp sa plate niya. I leaned closer to her ‘Gusto mo pa?’ I pointed dun sa sinigang sa tapat ko. She smiled at me before nodding.

‘Sige’ I was about to get her some ng bigla namang humarang yung kamay ni Daddy. ‘Cat oh’ pinagbalat niya pala ako ng hipon. Kaya pala hindi niya kinakain yung sa kaniya. ‘Thanks, po’ I smiled at him before continuing my agenda.

‘Ay Winter, you drink wine naman diba?’ biglang tanong ni Mommy. May wine ba kaming open? I thought naubos na nila nina Daddy last week?

‘Pwede naman po Tita’ pakipot nitong katabi ko. I gave her bowl back at agad naman siyang humigop nung sabaw. ‘Nice, mag-oopen daw kasi ng bote yang sina Rene mamaya malay ko ba sa kanila’

‘Iinom ka din naman ng isang baso aangal ka pa’ pag-expose sa kaniya ni Daddy. Natawa naman kami ni Ate, nagbabangayan nanaman sila, they’re probably not even aware na there’s other people with them other than their daughters.

I don’t know how pero I just witnessed my own parents, my sister, my closest cousin and my girlfriend have a straight conversation about what is better. Bangus or Tilapia. God, I never knew that would happen.

I’m thinking it’s because Gal’s mom knows how to cook and she got some of her info from Tita Rica but yeah, they all agreed na mas okay daw ang bangus kasya sa tilapia. Yes, mas mahal daw pero they all prefer bangus over tilapia. Um-oo nalang din ako since usually boneless naman yung bangus na binibili ni Mommy. Mabait naman yung mga pinagbibilhan namin sa palengke and if you ask them if pwede nila i-debone yung bangus they’ll do it for you naman.

Napakuha naman ako nung bangus na luto din ni Mommy dahil sa conversation nila and while at it, nakita ko si Dad, he kept on looking at Winter. He's about to ask her something. I can sense it.

‘Winter’

‘Po?’ told ya.

I readied Gal for this naman, sabi ko pag di niya kaya sagutin, tingin lang siya sa’kin. Eh kaso ang confident nito na kaya naman daw niya lahat kaya sige, her choice not mine. ‘You’re single right?’ I glanced at her, she’s smiling dun sa taba ng bangus sa plato niya.

‘Out of the market na po’ she confidently said, ayan, tama yan Gal. You’re walking on the safe path. ‘Ah talaga?’ she nodded at Daddy’s second remark. I didn’t want to seem conscious naman kaya I stopped looking back and forth between the two of them.

Why do I feel like I’m more nervous with this than her? ‘That’s good to hear’

‘Tito, sa gandang yan ba naman ni Winter, sinong hindi magkakagusto sa kaniya?’ bigla namang singit ni Ate El. I’m not sure if she’s helping or not pero I’m ready to pounce on their conversation na. Parang ito na yun. Ito na talaga yun.

I saw Daddy drop the hold on his utensils, he barely made a sound kaya I’m being hyper aware of what’s happening now. Nagbabalat si Ate ng hipon tapos si Mama ay naghihiwalay ng taba dun sa liempo on her plate and Winter’s eyes are darting everywhere.

Maybe I’m too aware.

‘Maganda naman talaga si Winter kaya nga I’m happy to know na taken na siya’ he looked at Gal. They smiled at each other briefly bago mag-alis ng tingin si Dad. ‘Taken na, right?’ pag-clear out niya. She nodded first before answering. ‘Opo taken na po’

Okay, they know na she’s taken na already and there’s enough silence for me to dive in na so. Ito na. Ito na yun.

I’m telling them na. No more going back.

This is me coming out and this is me proudly showing them the person who I’m learning to love. The girl I choose to love.

Inhale,

Exhale.

1,

2,

3,

go-

‘Taken by her po’ ‘Taken by me po’

I bit my lower lip. Did we just say that at the same time?

I snapped my head to look at her. She’s smiling at me, a reassuring one. I felt her hand going down to hold me by my thigh, letting me feel her warmth, letting me know that she’s here wit