Wedding Invitation

Chapter 16

Chapter 16 ^__^

Jessy invited Austin and me over at their house to have dinner with them. I came a bit early to help her out in the kitchen. Jessy eyed me curiously as I was helping her prepare the salad.

"Cathy, blooming na blooming ka yata ngayon. Tell me, seryoso na ba ang relasyon ninyo ni Austin?"

Natawa ako. Maybe she noticed the certain glow on my face and the smile that had been pasted on my face the whole time we were talking.

"Hindi pa kami serious. Casual dating lang. Isa pa, mukhang busy siya ngayon, eh" sagot ko

"Baka busy siya sa negosyo nila. Di ba, sabi niya, may pag-aaring resort ang pamilya niya sa Boracay at Camiguin Island?

"Jessy, scripted lang iyon. Basketballista si Austin. Gumawa lang siya ng kuwento para mapabilib kayong mayaman siya" pag-amin ko

"Talaga? But the way he talks, it's as if he knows a lot about managing resort" aniya

"At nang makita ko siya sa Greenbelt, he was with a group of people an dit seemed like he was talking business with them. He was even dressed in a business suit. He didn't look like a Basketball player to me"

I just laughed at what she said. Paano manyayari na ang kaibigan ng kapatid ni Rosy ay magiging may-ari ng mga resort gayong ang sabi ni Rosy, isang simpleng basketballista daw ito?

Maybe Jessy misinterpreted what she saw. Isa pa, nang makita niya si Austin ay hindi pa niya alam na basketballista ito. Ang buong akala niya noon ay mayaman ang binata. I didn't give it much thought. Kilala ko si Austin. Alam kong hindi siya magsisinungaling sa akin.

"How are you adjusting to married life?" I asked Jessy teasingly.

"Pinaplano na ba ninyo ang magka-baby?"

"We're trying. I really want a baby as soon as possible. Alam mo naman, hindi na tayo bumabata"

"I'm hoping it would be soon. Excited na yata akong maging ninang ng magiging baby ninyo"

"Sana nga, Cathy. Being with Kenneth has made me more complete. But I know having a child will be an added bonus to our spectacular life"

Sa sinabi niyang iyon ay parang gusto ko na ring magkapamilya. Having Austin in my life for a short time made me think about the future on a brighter light. Dati kais ay medyo pessimistic ako at madaling panghinaan ng loob. But being with someone who adored me had made a positive impact in my life. Sana lang ay ganoon sin ang pakiramdam ni Austin para sa akin.

Nang dumating si Austin ay may dala siyang bote ng wine at bulaklak. He was all smiles as he greeted the newlyweds.

"Nice to be back in your house" bati ni Austin.

Masayang sinalubong naming siya. Nakipag-kamay siya kina Jessy at Kenneth, pagkatapos ay lumapit siya sa akin at hinalikan ako sa pisngi.

I felt butterflies in my stomach when he looked at me. Hanggang ngayon kasi ay hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala na bahagi siya ng buhay ko.

"Cathy, this is for you"

Iniabot niya sa akin ang isa pang bungkos ng mga bulaklak na dala niya.

"Thank you. You shouldn't have bothered"

Tumawa siya.

"It's no bother. You know how much I love to shower you with gifts"

Tumingin siya kay Jessy.

"Hindi ko maintindihan itong kaibigan mo, Jessy. Ayaw na ayaw niyang ginagastusan ko siya"

"Ganyan talaga si Catherine, simple lang ang trip sa buhay. She doesn't like frivolous things" sagit ni Jessy.

"Thanks for the advice, Jessy. I'll keep that in mind" sagot niya.

He looked at me and gave me a playful wink.

We went to the dining room. Habang kumakain, hindi naiwasang magtanong ni Kenneth tungkol sa trabaho ni Austin. Ang lama kasi ni Kenneth ay manager si Austin ng resort, hindi pa niya alam na isang Basketballista si Austin.

Mukhang wala rin naikuwento si Jessy tungkol sa ipinagtapat ko sa kanya tungkol kay Austin. And for that I was grateful to her. Hahayaan ko na lang na si Jess yang magpaliwanag sa kanyang asawa sa tamang panahon.

"Please, guys, let's not discuss business tonight. Let's talk about something else" sabad ni Jessy.

I looked at her and gave her a grateful smile. Napunta na ang usapan tungkol sa pagbuo nila ng pamilya. Game naman ang mag-asawa sa mga biro namin ni Austin. At siyempre, hindi rin maiwasan na tanungin kami ng mga ito tungkol sa aming relasyon.

"Austin, any plans of getting hitched in the near future?" birong tanong ni Kenneth.

Naramdaman ko na lang ang panginginig ng aking mga kamay na may humawak na baso sa tanong na iyon ni Kenneth.

"Hon, you're embarrassing Cathy. Let them get to each other more. Masyadong bago pa ang relasyon nila para pag-usapan ang kasal, di ba Austin?" wika ni Jessy.

She looked apologetically at Austin.

"Kung ako lang ang tatanungin. I'm more than one hundred percent ready to marry her. But knowing her, I know she has some hesitations whether or not to accept my offer for a lifetime commitment" sagot ni Austin

Napatingin ako sa kanya. Hindi ko inasahan ang sagot niyang iyon. We had never talked about the future so this was a new to me. Hindi ko sigurado kung talagang seryoso siya sa kanyang ipinahayag o nakiki-ride on lang siya sa usapan.

Not once did I hear him talk about love and marriage. even the word "Commitment" had not been uttered and now he was practically announcing to my friends he wanted to marry me.

Hindi talaga ako makapaniwala. But of course, I didn't want to let him see how shocked I was because of what he said. Ayoko rin kasing umasa na tutuparin niya ang mga sinabi niya.

I didn't want to be presumptious to think he was really serious about our relationship.

"O, hindi na nakaimik si Catherine. Mukhang nabigla yata sa sinabi mo, ah" ani Kenneth sa tonong nagbibiro.

I cleared my throat before answering.

"Itigil na nga ninyo ang usapang iyan. Ang mabuti pa siguro ay mauna na kaming umalis. Nang sa gayon ay maumpisahan na ninyo ang baby project ninyo" balik-pang-aasar ko.

Tumayo na ako sa mesa at unti-unti ko nang nililigpit ang kinainan namin.

"Ayan, napikon tuloy si Cathy. Ikaw kasi, hon, lagi mong binibiro" ani Jessy sa asawa pagkatapos ay tumingin ito sa akin.

"Ako na ang bahalang magligpit. Kung kailangan mo nang umalis ay mauna ka na. Alam kong may pasok ka pa bukas"

"Thanks for the dinner. Sana maulit ito" wika ko

ABANGAN.....
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