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"Erm...," she begins, trying to make conversation, "Yung aso mo, para ba siyang guide dog?"

They were inside his black Mitsubishi Pajero on the way to his home.

"Guide dog?," he asks.

"Oo," she answers, lightly tapping the space in between them, "Sa London kasi, they call them Seeing-Eye Dogs. Trained sila to assist visually impaired people. Usually mga ano sila, umm, Labrador. Pero pwede rin Golden Retriever or German Shepherd."

Jherald, who is in the driver's seat, looks at Richard through the rearview mirror trying to meet his eye. Richard decides to ignore him.

"Andami mong alam sa aso, Maine. Have you ever considered a career in dog caregiving?," he teases.

She whips her head fast, "Grabe ka!"

"Kidding," he smiles, "You like dogs talaga?"

"Yes! I had a pet ChowChow nung nasa London ako. I swear nabiyak ang puso ko when I left her. Anong breed si Derrick?"

"Derrick is mix. He is a cross between a bulldog and a shih tzu."

"So that makes him—"

"—bull-shit," he says, his face too serious, "Derrick is bull-shit."

She laughs. "May issue ka kay Derrick, bes—boss. Pota, sorry. Boss na pala kita."

"No, huwag boss. Chard lang. Nobody from my household calls me boss or sir. Di ba, Jhe?," he leans forward and taps Jherald on the shoulder, "Di ba? Di ba?"

"Ay, oo. Chard lang yan, Maine," he raises an eyebrow and smirks, "CHARD."

And they all settle in a comfortable silence for the entire duration of the trip. Nobody spoke a word until the car turned to enter the gates of Bel-Air Village.

"Pota, Chard," she exclaimed all of a sudden, "Dito ka nakatira?"

"Asan na ba tayo?," he rubs his eyes. Turns out he dozed off without him knowing it.

"Papasok ng Bel-Air! Dito ka ba or may dadaanan lang tayo dito?," she asks, unable to mask the excitement in her voice.

"Ah. I live here," he shrugs, "Bakit?"

"May kakilala ka ba dito na Mendoza ang family name? Teodoro Mendoza."

"Maine, I don't even know who my neighbor is," he replies as he shakes his head.

"Hindi siya maitim, hindi rin siya maputi, ahm ano siya, brown. Oo, yun. Brown. Tapos round yung mukha niya, malapad ang noo na minsan shiny. Tapos ano pa ba, ahm... slightly singkit ang mata, medyo malaki ang ilong. Pero medyo lang. Yung height niya sigu---"

"—wait," he holds a hand up, "Wait. Hiningal ako sa litany mo. Kahit idescribe mo pa kung nasaan ang nunal niya, how the hell would I know who he is?"

"Eh baka lang naman nakikita mo siya dito sa village niyo, di ba? Malay ko ba baka nakasalubong mo na pala siya habang nagja-jo—... Ay pota, bulag ka pala."

"Yes, Maine," he nods, "Hindi ako nagja-jogging kasi bulag ako. Well, slightly bulag."

She presses her mouth into a thin line.

"Bakit, Richard," she attempts, "Hindi na ba pwede mag-jogging ang bulag?"

"Bulag nga eh!," he argues, " Paano makakapag-jogging?"

"Hindi ka naman lumpo. Mata ba ang ginagamit mag-jogging? Paa, di ba? So hindi excuse yun para hindi makapag-jogging."

"O, eh paano ko makikita ang dinadaanan ko?"

"Yun lang, hindi mo makikita," she says, crossing her arms.

He turns his head to look at her. "Ang gulo mo kausap, Maine."

She stays quiet, not knowing what to say.

He is still looking at her, his eyebrows meeting, "So why are we talking about jogging nga ulit?"

She shrugs.

"I have never liked jogging," he says, "Ayoko ng pawisang singit."

Jherald breaks out into uncontrollable laughter at the driver's seat.

"But if you insist," he continues, "I can jog na since I have a caregiver now. Hindi na problema ang pawis sa singit or anything like that."

She turns to look at him so fast he actually felt the air from her sudden movement.

"Oy, ano ka? You are perfectly capable of doing that!"

"Ang alin? What did I say?," he asks in all innocence.

"Gusto mo ako ang magpunas ng pawis ng singit mo? Excuse me, Mr. Faulkerson. NO. No, no, no, no."

He laughs so hard he had tears in his eyes when he finally was able to calm down.

"Sinabi ko ba na gusto kong punasan mo ang pawis sa singit ko? All I wanted was for you to prepare a change of clothes for me para makapagpalit agad ako."

"Ah. Sige."

"Hirap kasi ako because all of my workout and running clothes nakalagay na sa attic. I cannot go there anymore," he patiently explains.

"Okay na, napahiya na 'ko. Tama na," she answers, all red in the face.

"I didn't mean to embarrass you. Sige, para quits na tayo, papayag na 'ko na punasan mo ang singit ko. Para hindi ka na mapahiya," he teases.

"Isa pang ganyan, Richard Faulkerson Jr., papartneran ko ng black eye yang glaucoma mo."

*****