Nagdalawa man ang isip ay pinuntahan na niya sa itaas ang dalaga. Pinakiramdaman muna n’ya ang loob ng kwarto. Wala s’yang marinig na kahit anong tunog mula sa kwarto kaya’t mahina s’yang kumatok dito. Nang hindi sumagot ang dalaga ay dahan-dahan itong sumilip. Nakita niya itong nakadapa sa kama, mukhang nakatulugan na ang pag-iyak. Hindi pa rin ito nakakapagshower. Dahan-dahang pumasok sa kwarto ang binata. Lumapit sa kama. Pinagmasdan ang dalagang nakadapa sa kama, naririnig pa rin niya ang mahinang paghikbi nito kahit nakatulog na.
Awang-awang naupo si Gerald sa gilid ng kama. Sa isip-isip nito ay natawag na niya ng kung ano-anong masasamang pangalan si Andrew. Ilang beses na rin niyang namura at nabugbog kahit sa isipan lang. Pinapanalangin niyang huwag sanang magkrus uli ang landas nila dahil hindi niya alam kung ano ang gagawin niya dito ‘pag nagkaharap uli sila. Malaki ang posibilidad na isa sa kanila ang uuwing puro pasa ang katawan.
Minabuti ni Gerald na hayaan na lang na makatulog ang dalaga, dahan-dahan na niyang binubuksan ang pinto nang marinig niyang tinawag siya ni Sarah. “Ge...”
Napalingon ang binata sa kanya. “Sorry. I just wanted to check how you were doing. Hindi ka pa pala nakakapasok sa banyo.”
Umupo si Sarah sa kama at tumungo. “Hindi pa. Sige, papasok na ako sa banyo. Bababa na lang ako para dalhin ang damit ko.”
“Okay. I’ll just wait for you downstairs,” ang sabi ni Gerald sabay labas ng kwarto.
Makalipas ang ilang minuto ay nakita na ni Gerald ang dalaga na nasa entrance ng kitchen na basa pa ang buhok at nakasuot ng robe. “Saan ang wash area?”
“It’s right in there. Gusto mo ako na lang…”
“Ako na Ge. Nakakahiya naman,” she said then went straight to the other room.
Wala nang magawa ang binata kundi ang maghintay. When finally she was back in the kitchen, he said, “You want coffee or tea?”
“Tea na lang.”
“Sige, akyat ka na lang ulit sa kwarto tapos ihahatid ko na lang doon.”
She simply nodded and walked towards the stairs and up back to the bedroom. She left the door ajar and settled on the bed. She had her back resting on the headboard and her legs and feet under the covers. She stared right into space. This was how Gerald found her when he came with the tea. He softly rapped on the door to get her attention. When she saw her, she gave him a faint smile and asked him to come in.
Nilapag ng binata ang tray sa kanyang kandungan. “Here you go. That’s chamomile, to help you feel relaxed.” Umupo naman s’ya sa gilid ng kama.
“Thank you. Thank you for doing all of these,” she said and took a sip from the cup. Ngiti lang ang isinukli ni Gerald. “Sorry din to drag you into this mess.”
“Don’t worry about it. Basta magpahinga ka lang d’yan tapos ihahatid na lang kita pauwi whenever you feel like it.”
For a few minutes they were quiet while she drank tea. Nang maaubos na ay inilapag ni Sarah ang tasa sa tray at inilagay ito sa night stand sa tabi ng kama.
“You feel better?” he asked.
“What is wrong with me?”
“Hey, nothing’s wrong with you. Si Andrew ang may problema hindi ikaw.”
Dahan-dahan na namang tumulo ang luha ng dalaga. “Eh bakit ganun? Di ba s’ya nga ang pinili ko? How could he do this to me?”
“You chose him but he didn’t choose you. It’s his loss. Mahirap sabihing just move on and forget about him pero that’s what you should do. He doesn’t deserve someone as beautiful as you.”
“May pagkukulang ba ako sa kanya? Didn’t I love him enough? Hindi ba ako maganda? Mas sexy ba s’ya sa akin?”
He cupped her face and made her look into his eyes, “Stop that. I saw how you loved him. At ‘yung babae… walang sinabi ‘yon sa ‘yo.” Sarah looked at him with questioning eyes. He let go of her face and said, “Nakita ko na s’ya? They went to my shop together last Saturday. They checked out some cars. He said she was a cousin but that’s not what I saw. Alam ko she wasn’t. I guess the second car that he was going to buy is actually for her. Her name is Jeane Santos and he said she just got back from the States. I asked Carlie if she knew if you and Andrew were having problems but she said she hasn’t gotten in touch with you for a while now so wala s’yang alam.”
“Ilang araw na kaming hindi nagkikita at nag-uusap. That should’ve been a warning signal for me. Pero ang tanga-tanga ako. Iniisip ko masyado lang s’yang busy with the restaurant. Busy pala sa ibang bagay. How could I be so stupid?” ang sabi ni Sarah sabay tungo.
Hinawakan n’ya ulit ang mukha ng dalaga. “Ssshh… stop already,” he softly said then kissed her forehead.
Ramdan na ramdam ni Sarah ang pagmamahal ni Gerald with that simple kiss. Napapikit s’ya ng mata habang nakadiin pa rin ang labi ng binata sa kanyang noo. She felt him pull away. She looked up at him and saw him looking at her with eyes burning with love and passion.
“How could you love me this much?” she softly said.
He didn’t say anything anymore but lowered his lips and lightly touched hers. Napapikit muli si Sarah nang maramdam ang labi n’ya at hindi n’ya namalayan na sinusuklian na n’ya ng halik ang ang binata. He kissed her deeper when he felt her hands snaking around his neck. Maya-maya pa ay bumaba na ang mga labi ni Gerald papunta sa leeg ni Sarah. She didn’t stop… she didn’t want to stop him. He then started pulling down the robe off her shoulder and following it with kisses. She helped him by untangling it’s knot and parting it in the middle.
“Oh God you’re still my beautiful Babe,” he lovingly said in between kisses.
“Please love me… just love me,” she pleaded to him.
He stopped kissing her and looked at her. “I will love you in any way you want me to,” he meaningfully said. He then quickly got undressed and went under the covers, on top of her.
From that moment, he made her feel all the love that he has been saving up for her – only for her.
Chapter 13
Start from the beginning
