Taking Chances

The Gamechanger

"Uy... Yung wrinkles mo lumalabas o. Tsaka yung ugat mo sa leeg... Stop na dude. Lalo kang pumapangit e!"

"Umayos ka Guidicelli ha! Defend yourself. Don't let them treat you that way. You're good enough for anyone kahit sino pang artista o prinsesa yan. Anywhere in the world." Nic said defiantly, poking a finger on his head to drive the point.

Matt pinched her cheeks. "Akala ko ba mas pangit pa ko sa waiter... Ang gulo mo talaga!" Matt put an arm around her shoulders.

"Seriously, when you truly love someone, everything changes. Pride will be the last thing to matter. Kasi ang iisipin mo lang sa araw araw, e kung pano mo pa sya mas mapapasaya."

Nic rolled her eyes.

"God, I'm not listening to this. Bahala ka." She stood up put on her helmet and walks out on him, looking to vent her anger on the race track.

Matt snapped out of his reverie as the teaser for Sarah's new series came on. He smiled as her face filled the screen. She worked so hard for this, and finally the drama was coming out.

"Son, is she why you're starting to take our business seriously?" His dad called to him from his desk. "I'm happy that you're helping more. But if there are wedding bells on the way, kaya ka biglang nagkakaganito wag mo naman kami gulatin ng mommy mo."

Sarah became so busy with shooting and promotion that he found himself having more time in his hands. And so he decided to finally learn the family business. Of course it was part of the long term plan that very much included Sarah as his wife, but at the rate that her career was going he knew that this was still in the remote future.

Sarah was spinning around in winterclothes, feeling the snow with her fingertips. His heart swelled with pride.

"Dad, I honestly wanna learn the business. Tsaka wag ka magalala. I'll even ask you for the best way to propose when the time comes," he said, smiling sheepishly. He turned off the TV when the commercial ended and returned to the documents in his hands.

"Well I hope you get to explore the world more before you settle down. You're still young son."

"Well you and Mom married early."

His dad sighed. Matt knew that his dad would've done the same thing if he lived his life over again, giving up his position as an automobile engineer in the US to be in the Philippines and start a family.

"That was my choice. And it turned out to be the right one. I'm just making sure that you weigh your options properly."

Matt got up from the sofa to look at his dad's collection of F1 models. If his dad knew about the offer, his dad would absolutely flip. He was after all the reason why he got into race car driving.

Pain tugged at his heart when his eyes drifted to the photo of him as a child with his dad, both in their racing suits.

"I'm happy where I am dad," he said, looking away and trying his best to sound cheerful.

Somehow he felt like he was letting his dad down by not even telling him about Nic's invitation. But he knew that it would hurt his dad more if he knew about the offer and that his son simply passed up on it.

He looked at his dad, his biggest hero and role model and mentally asked for forgiveness. But he has made his decision and it was final."Teka nga," Matt said.

"Let' get down to business. Dad, show me how the inventory system works..."

______

Sarah fidgeted at her script. Somehow she couldn't get to memorize her lines. They've been taping until morning and she had to cancel out on Matt again. She couldn't help but notice the hurt in his voice when she told him though he tried his best to sound OK.