Good morning! :)
Kelvin's text message was the first thing that Celine saw that morning when she checked her phone. Agad siyang napangiti. Alas dos nang madaling-araw nang makauwi sila kanina. They didn't talk much, but the silence wasn't awkward at all. If anything, it was soothing.
Hindi pa rin siya makapaniwalang nagawa niya iyon. She thought that she would chicken out again. Baka pangunahan siya ng kaba o takot. Pero hindi iyon nangyari. And that little leap of faith was very rewarding.
Morning. :), she replied.
Halos kasi-send pa lamang niya iyon nang may bumalik na namang mensahe.
Had a good sleep?
-Yes. Ikaw?
The best one so far.
Hindi ba talaga niya gusto si Kelvin dati? How can she not? This guy is impossibly sweet.
What are you doing today? he asked.
Maglalaba, she typed, but then she shook her head and erased it. Wala, she replied instead. Her laundry can wait. Ikaw?
I'll watch a movie later.
-Ah. Sino kasama mo?
I don't know. I haven't asked her yet.
Kumunot ang noo niya. Her? Did he mean the woman who gave him her number? But he said she wasn't his type!
Wanna watch a movie? came another message.
Natawa siya sa sarili. Oh right. Ang hirap kasi ng unassuming. Nasa harap na nga ang sagot, hindi pa rin pinapansin. Of course it makes sense that he'll ask her out. They were holding hands all night last night, for crying out loud! If that isn't a sign, then she doesn't know what is.
Okay.
--
Celine chose a simple dress to wear. She was already used to wearing dresses dahil karamihan sa mga damit niya sa Chicago ay dress. When Kelvin lent her his apartment for two years, she found a closet full of new clothes inside. There was almost no space for her to put her own clothes in.
Kelvin told her that they're hers when she asked. Bahala na raw siya kung gusto niyang isuot ang mga iyon o hindi.
Noong una, hindi niya iyon ginalaw. They're too expensive for her. Kahit walang price tag ang mga damit, alam niya sa tela at brand na mamahalin ang mga iyon.
Pero makalipas ang ilang buwan, naengganyo na rin siyang isuot ang mga iyon, especially during fall and winter dahil hindi kaya ng mga damit niya ang lamig. The clothes fitted her well. Dahil sa mga damit na iyon, pakiramdam niya'y araw-araw siyang maganda.
She didn't know that clothes could boost her confidence that much.
May makeup din na nakahanda sa isang drawer and jewelries as well. Kelvin told her that she could use them all. Not only did he lend her his apartment for free, pinuno pa nito iyon ng mga gamit na kaiilanganin niya.
She's forever indebted to him because of that. He made her stay in Chicago comfortable. So she took care of the things he gave her and she used them well dahil alam niyang sasama ang loob nito kapag hindi niya ginamit ang mga iyon.
But of course, she didn't bring any of them home. She left them all in Chicago. What she brought home was her new found confidence and love for him, if it was indeed love already.
