SECOND CHANCES(A Lesbian Story)

Chapter 17

Vic stopped pacing. Her hands stopped rubbing the back of her neck. She shove both hands into her pockets, visibly relaxing as she stood, smiling at her now. She was just smiling... as though that was the most amusing thing she had ever heard. May pagka schitzo din tong gwapong 'to eh.

"Is there any more coffee in that pot?"

"Get out of here!" Mika thought her mad... absolutely mental.

But Vic was still smiling. "Pour me a cup, please." And with that, she flopped into a chair, grinning broadly as she relaxed her legs on the sofa.

Mika moved swiftly. She snatched up the coffee cup and saucer she had set for herself and flung them at Vic, one after the other. "I said get out of here, Vic Galang!"

The cup flew straight for Vic's face and bounced off the arms she put up in self-defense. She was roaring with laughter now... and it was more than Mika could stand. And then she was on her feet, moving ever so slowly towards her, still laughing at her behavior. "Does the china belong to you?"

Everything had gone wrong. It was too much for Mika. Even the saucer was broken. It had hit the bookcase and shattered into a dozen of pieces... and no, it was not her crockery. She burst into tears. All the tension... weeks and weeks of pent up emotions suddenly surfaced in her and she started sobbing as Vic's arms came around her.

Vic let the taller woman cry, holding her as though she too were made of china. "It is alright, Mika. It is all over now. I told you once before, enough is enough." Her voice was gentle now... very quiet, calming. "You do not need to tell me how you really feel... but I would very much like to hear you say it." She put a hand under her chin making the other woman look at her.

Mika felt utterly defeated, exhausted even. Her vision was blurred and her tears kept coming, trickling down her cheeks and into Vic's fingers. "I love you," she said simply.

Vic smiled at her before cradling her head against her shoulder. "It is just as well you are resigning from your job. If you had not, I would have had fired you anyways."

"Y-you would?"

"Most definitely." She held her tighter, nuzzling her face against her hair. "You see, I have another job lined up for you, my darling..." She smiled. "As my wife." She finished.

"Your what?" Mika pulled away... staring at her... placing her abnormally cold hands against her abnormally hot face. She felt dizzy... unable to believe what she'd just heard. "Your wife? Me?"

Vic frowned, uncertainty creeping into her eyes. "Mika, you have to marry me. You must! I mean.... What I meant is, will you? Will you marry me, Mika Aereen Reyes?"

It was Mika's turn to laugh now, but she gave Vic her answer quickly because she could not bear to see the worry in her eyes. "Yes! Oh, yes, Victonara Galang. But..." she shrugged helplessly, laughing and crying at the same time again. "The twins told me you were going to marry Shiela Pineda."

"What?"

They stared at one another, each expecting an explanation. It was Mika who pulled herself together first. "Oh, Vic, pour me a drink. There are some glasses and a bottle of brandy in the cupboard over there. I need something stronger than coffee."

Vic did as she asked, bombarding her with questions at the same time. Mika told her quietly and calmly what the children had said. She told her word for word, but it did not seem to make sense to Vic.

"But I did not propose to Shiela at Christmas! Then or any other time. On Christmas Eve, I finished with her. That was when I finally stopped fighting against what had happened to me... when I accepted that I was in love with you and there was nothing in the world I could do to help myself. I knew then that nothing less would do, that you had to be my wife. So I told Shiela there was someone else, that..." She broke off.