Sunbathe Under The Thunderstorm

Chapter 8: Gentle gesture

THE LOOK on everyone's faces showed confusion when Koa suddenly entered our office with a beam. "What a great day, everyone!" he even greeted cheerfully.

Syempre natigilan ang pag-uusap namin tungkol sa project nang bigla siyang iniluwa ng glass door ng kwarto. Naabutan niya kaming nakaupo sa center table kasama ang mga tambak na papel pero wala man lang siyang reklamo. Pero kahit na wala siyang nasabi tungkol doon, tinanggal pa rin ni Catherine at Yno ang mga nakakalat sa lamesa saka nagligpit.

Koa waited for that with an excited smile on his face without giving us the serious boss look, then placed a huge paper bag of a very familiar brand of cake. Tinanggal niya ang isang maliit at isang malaking box mula roon. He put aside the small one and opened the big box in front of everyone.

"Shet! Mango Magnifico!" almost everyone suppressed a scream upon seeing that cake, except me. Almost a ran, they gathered to the kitchen corner of our office and hurriedly pick a fork and saucer for the cake.

"Grabe naman, Sir! Bakit po may pa-cake?" Catherine sounded curious yet excited.

"I just think we did a good job in this project," Koa confidently answered.

"Pero November 29 pa lang. Sa December 6 pa ang presentation natin? Hindi ba after approval pa malalaman kung success talaga?" Nola stated, while looking at the cake.

Koa scratched his nape and cleared his throat. "Kailangan nating ma-manifest ang success. Let's be optimistic. Oo, tama 'yon! Kaso mukhang ayaw niyo yata. Itatabi ko na—"

"Ay, Sir!" He was cut off by Catherine's hand. Halos mahawi niya ang kamay ni Koa nang iharang niya 'yon matapos magtangka si Koa na kunin ang cake. "Hindi naman kayo mabiro," dagdag pa niya.

Hinayaan ko naman silang mag-unahan sa cake na iyon hanggang sa napansin kong nasa tabi ko na si Koa. He successfully caught my attention with a poke and a harmless smirk on his face. Iniangat niya ang bitbit niya para ipakita sa akin. It was the small box earlier and it was already torn so I could really see what's inside and it came with a fork and a bread knife. My favorite flavor from that brand of cake, Pistaccio Cioccolato.

My eyes became narrowed as I looked at him in suspicion. Natatandaan niya ba ang okasyon sa araw na 'to? Alam niya kayang anniversary sana namin ngayon kung hindi kami naghiwalay? It was supposedly a special day if only I didn't break up with Koa.

Supposedly. . .

If he only reached out to me after that day. . .

I waited for him to come to our house but there was no sign of him. . . Those times I felt damaged—disappointed, sad, and mad. I wondered if it was to easy for him to let go. Naisip kong malabo na kaming magkabalikan, kaya mas minabuti ko na lang din maging abala sa ibang bagay. No one really knew about that pain because I diverted my attention in building careers in business and in linguistics associations.

So we didn't talk after the day we broke up. We never had proper communication even until the end of our relationship.

That sucks. . . I guess?

I tilted my head as I tried to dissociate my focus from those thoughts and get back to the situation here. Halos hindi ko na rin namalayang nakaupo na ako sa cubicle ko, nasa akin na ang slice ng cake na binigay ni Koa, at nakasubo na rin ako kahit papaano. Pero pakiramdam ko, nagsisi lang ako sa desisyon kong ibalik ang atensyon ko sa mga tao rito. My right brow raised a bit when I saw how closed Koa and Nola were. Magkadikit sila at mukhang nagbubulungan habang nagtatawanan ang iba naming kasama sa table.

Am I thinking the right thing? What if girlfriend niya 'tong si Nola pero patago lang? So why would he give me a separate cake that I love in this specific day with no valid reason?