Sin City

17: Honeymoon phase

"Hi, mahal!" I excitedly put the paint brush down to welcome Roux nang marinig ko ang pagbukas ng main door ko. I have turned my second room into my painting room at malapit iyon sa main door kaya bago pa man ako makalabas ng kwarto ay nauna nang makapasok si Roux sa kwarto.

Nawala agad ang ngiti sa labi ko nang makita ko si Roux, he looked sad and disappointed. Kinabahan ako bigla, but I had to be strong for him. Hindi naman pwede na pareho kaming malungkot. He went to the bank to talk about the loan and then to Joey to talk about the business, so I'm worried that his loan wasn't approved.

"Hey, is everything okay?" malumanay kong tanong sa kanya as I walked towards him. I caressed his face to comfort him, "how did it go, mahal?" nag aalala kong tanong sa kanya. Roux only looked at me and heaved a sigh. So hindi nga siya na approved? I immediately thought about my dad and my kuyas, but I quickly shrugged that thought off because I know Roux wouldn't want it.

"It's okay, mahal," I tried to sweetly smiled at him. "May iba pa naman, tsaka may next time pa." Hindi ko alam kung anong magandang sasabihin sa kanya to make him feel better. I'm worried that he feels disappointed of himself, ayaw ko ng ganun.

"Is there something that I can do to make you feel better?" I asked again habang hinahaplos ang pisngi ni Roux. I felt bad looking at his sad eyes.

He pouted and nodded. "Kiss," he said bago ito ngumuso. Agad ko naman itong hinalikan. Napadilat nalamang ako when I was about to pull away but Roux held the back of my head tightly as he deepened the kiss.

"Roux!" sita ko rito as I tried to push his chest, pinanlakihan ko ito ng mga mata. He immediately bursted out laughing, ang lapad pa ng ngiti nito. "Napaka landi mo talaga!"

"Surprise!" he gladly exclaimed and showed me a piece of paper. Deed of sale. "It's ours, Jillian! The bank approved my loan and Mabuhay is ours! Are you proud of me?!"

"Oh my fucking god!" I gasped as I grabbed the paper and read it. Nakapangalan na ang Mabuhay kay Roux. My mouth fell on the floor when I looked at him, he was grinning widely, his eyes were glimmering in happiness. "You did it, mahal!" napatalon talon ako sa tuwa. "I'm proud of you!" agad ko siyang niyakap at sabay kaming napatalon talon sa saya.

He hugged me tightly and showered me with kisses. "Sa atin na ang Mabuhay!" masayang sabi nito habang yakap yakap pa rin namin ang isa't isa.

"This calls for a celebration, mahal," masaya kong sabi kay Roux after we pulled away from each other.

"Libre mo?" tinaasan ako ng kilay nito habang nakataas ang isang sulok ng labi.

"Syempre!" sagot ko agad rito. "Boss Amo Manager Roux Jillian Qil ka na eh!"

He laughed and hugged me again. "Ikaw pa rin ang boss ko," pinagdikit nito ang mga noo namin at tinitigan ako. I couldn't hide my smile because I'm so happy for my love. Bakas talaga sa mga ni Roux ang saya. "Ikaw? How's your day, mahal?" he asked me.

Tumalikod ako kaya niyakap ako nito mula sa likod. Ipinatong nito ang baba niya sa balikat ko habang nakatingin kami sa mga pininta ko. Mula kasi noong binigyan ako ni Roux ng canvasses, I started painting again. I painted and painted til I didn't realize that my second room was covered with painted canvasses. I have been painting all sorts of things, kung ano lang ang nasa mood kong ipinta.

"Yan," turo ko sa pinagkakaabalahan ko kanina. It's still unfinished, background paint pa lang ang nagagawa ko. "My work in progress, I'm trying to paint a house," nakangiti kong sabi kay Roux. Ramdam ko ang pagtingin nito sa akin.