Sam and Gerald didn’t see each other days after the wedding. But the moment they did, Sam started asking Gerald about Sarah.
“Bro, so have you asked Sarah if I can get her number?” Sam asked.
“Sorry pero hindi pa. I haven’t talked to her after the wedding.”
“Please help me with her ha.”
“Do you like her that much?”
“Yes bro. Remember 2 years ago when you and the guys went out-of-town with Kim and her friends? Di ba you asked me to switch shifts with you so you can go with them? And then I told you guys, when you got back, about the daughter of one of the patients? She was that girl. Noon pa lang I wanted to ask her out na. Kaya lang it’s not right. I dunno but there’s something about her that just draws you in. When she looks at you, it’s like you wanna just hug her and take care of her for the rest of your life.”
“I know what you mean,” Gerald said in his head.
“After all this time I haven’t forgotten about her. Part of me has been wishing that I would see her again. And now that I’ve been granted that wish, there’s no turning back. Kaya lang alam mo naman bro na hindi ako magaling sa mga ganyang bagay. Ang since you two look close naman, you are the best person to ask help from,” Sam continued on.
“I told you we are not that close kaya I don’t think I am the best person for that. Baka mamaya ma-disappoint pa kita.”
“Well, giving me her number would be a big help. But you gotta help me with the first step. I don’t wanna screw this up.”
“Oo na, sige na bro. I’ll call and tell her that I’m gonna give her number to you.”
“Thanks bro! Sige, I’m gonna do my rounds na. Thanks talaga!”
The rest of the day, Gerald was bothered by Sam’s revelation that he decided to visit Enchong in his clinic for some “consultation.”
“So what brings you here?” Enchong asked.
“Di ba we have this silent rule in our barkada about going after the same girl?”
“Alin dun? ‘Yung first-come-first-served? What about it?”
“Sam told me this morning that Sarah is the girl he was telling us about 2 years ago.’Yung daughter ng isang ER patient na he wanted to ask out sana. So if he already met her 2 years ago, technically he’s the first one who saw her. Which means I cannot make my move.”
“Does that rule apply to girls we’ve seen years back? Look, he didn’t actually meet her. Hindi nga n’ya alam kung anong pangalan nung girl eh. Kung talagang may gusto s’ya kay Sarah, he should’ve made his move noon pa. Two years is a long time. Para sa akin you and Sam met Sarah at the same time kaya that rule doesn’t apply.”
“I don’t want a girl getting in the way of our friendship. At isa pa, he is asking me for help kasi akala n’ya close kami ni Sarah.”
“What made him think that?”
“He saw us together at the wedding at mukha daw kaming old friends.”
“Well bro, the two of you looked really comfortable with each other nung wedding ni Fred. No one would really think na you just met each other that day.”
“Bro you’re not helping.”
“I’ve said my stand. Both of you are on equal footing. But it’s still up to you if you’re gonna give way to Sam.”
“Siguro I should do the right thing and give Sam the chance. Baka ma-guilty lang din ako if I went ahead anyway knowing that Sam already asked for my help. If we were supposed to meet then but I let it slip, maybe it’s really not meant to be.”
