Signed, Sealed...Undelivered

Chapter 31: Us

My relationship with Mike instantaneously leveled up from reunited friends to lovers. We crossed over to the lover's lane quite fast. My normal life routine had been shaken up, but I'm not complaining.

Every morning the first message I see on my phone is his. This immediately brightens my day. And even with insufficient sleep the night before because we had been chatting over the phone, I don't feel the lack of rest. I'm even more energized. There were some days that I'm up earlier than him and I get to message first. I try to be creative with my morning greeting. He found this amusing and would come up with his witty morning message.

People at the office had noticed that I'm more cheerful and blooming now. I didn't deny that I'm in a relationship. My Team had accepted that I'm not as available as I had been before, particularly for lunch or after-work dinner. They get treated though when Mike would send over snacks good for the whole Team.

I had been inseparable from my phone and more active on chat applications. One night, Papa chided us on our excessive chatting.  

(After dinner...)

I had been in good spirits since Mike and I got together. I felt like an energizer bunny, and that night I volunteered to tidy up the dining area and do the dishes. There were no complaints from the family, and Don was particularly grateful for the pots and pans that he need not deal with.

Mike had just spent his Saturday afternoon with me at our house and went home for dinner with his family. We were Facetiming while I was washing the dishes. He was telling a funny childhood "dishwashing" story.

"Hahaha!" I guffawed.

Papa came into the kitchen when he heard me. "You're still not done with the dishes, Dear?"

I looked behind and saw Papa walking up to me. He took two glasses and saw that Mike and I were on a video call.

"Ah, that explains why it's taking you longer to get the dishes done." He peered at the screen.

"Hi Uncle," Mike waved shyly at Papa.

"You already miss each other?" Papa teased.

"Pa..." I whined. "I was just saying goodnight to Mike." I lied.

"Oh, okay. Goodnight then Mike!" Papa said.

I had to end our Facetime call. When Papa was already out of the kitchen, I messaged Mike: I'll call you back as soon as I'm done with dishwashing (a winking face emoji)

(Back to present)               

It's the second-week screening for "Toy Story 4". Mike's first movie suggestion was "Annabelle Comes Home", but I'm not a horror movie fan. We saw that "Men in Black International" was still showing, but I've read the reviews and it'll be a waste of money. Toy Story was my choice, simply because Keanu Reeves was in it. He voiced one of the characters.

We're watching the last full show on a Saturday. It's almost a full house cinema. There were a few empty seats, particularly the ones in front. The air-conditioning system was on full blast.

I wasn't dressed to combat the cold atmosphere because we weren't supposed to watch a movie. We went to the mall to pick up the white sneakers he had brought for cleaning and the hooded jacket with a defective zipper. We both didn't feel like going home yet. And so here we are. I was casually dressed – in a statement t-shirt, cargo shorts, and rubber shoes. Mike was in black baggy shorts and a plain light blue shirt.

Around 30 minutes into the film when I start to feel the chilly A/C. I instinctively moved closer to Mike and crossed my arms to hide my hands. He felt me shifting in my seat.