Something New

Forty Two

"Tired?" tanong sa akin ni George the moment he saw me going out of PKE with my shoulders down.

Malungkot na tumango ako sa kanya ng dalawang beses kaya kaagad nya akong niyakap, and just like that, just like a snap, everything felt warm again and it was more than enough.

Hinaplos nya ang likod ko makailang beses bago ako pakawalan para makita nya ang mukha ko, he held my face using both of his hands before giving me an understanding smile and kissing the tip of my nose.

"Ipagluluto kita ng paborito mo." sabi nya na ikinatango ko bago ko sya bigyan ng maliit na ngiti.

Dala nya yung pick-up ni Tay Eman, iyon na parati ang ginagamit nya dito sa Manila at kapag uuwi sa probinsya para maglipat ng mga furnitures o kung makikipagkita sa mga clients.

Christmas and New Year came, George was more than welcome to our family now. Nagcelebrate kami ng pasko sa amin pero sa probinsya nag-noche buena si George para magkakasama sila nina Tay Eman at Mikko.

Then Christmas Day, he celebrated with us, but I haven't introduced him to the whole clan yet because I wanted to do that kapag officially kami na. I did the same thing on New Year, I welcomed the year with my family, pero magkausap kami sa phone as we welcome another year.

As funny as it may sound, pero hindi pa kami official, almost more than two months na ding nanliligaw si George and he's as consistent as the word itself.

Hindi pa din naman sya nagtatanong kung pwede na bang maging official na kami, so I don't actually mind. Besides, kahit anong oras sya magtanong, with surprise or not, sasasagutin ko pa rin naman sya kasi doon din naman ang pupuntahan namin.

Kahit magkalayo kami at busy sa kanya-kanyang career, he never forgets to send me a message, or little tokens of appreciation, even his handwritten letters were still a part of my day because he still sends me one every time we're away from each other.

Kapag nandito sya sa Manila for some days, he packs my lunch and he sees to it that we'll be spending time together no matter how busy we both are.

Pinagpapaalam nya pa rin ako sa magulang ko and he sticks to his word. Kahit pa ang simpleng gawin lang namin ay gawin ang mga trabaho namin ng magkatabi, kapag oras na ng uwi, ihahatid na nya ako and then still, like we're still not use to it, we'll still miss each other again so we'll talk on the phone at night.

George is more busy now dahil unti-unting dumadami ang customers nya, may mga buyers sya ng furnitures here in Manila, plus some businessmen who noticed his designs and made a contract with him to design furnitures for their own homes or even their own office.

Slowly, he's making a name for himself and I am more proud of him. Nothing's a more major turn on than a man who knows how to handle his finances well.

Nababayaran nya on time or even before the bank would even remind him about the money he borrowed, at tuloy lang ang pag-gawa nila ng mga furnitures na dinidisplay at ibinebenta dito sa Manila.

Tay Eman continues to get orders from furniture shops in the province pero minimal na lang because George wanted to create his own brand, unti-unti binibitawan na nila yon and he's in the process of making new negotiations with them.

Gusto ni George na kapag nakita mo yung furniture, alam mong sa kanya galing, sa shop na binuo nya with me and Tay Eman's gang.

Kaya hindi na lang sila inuutusan to make this or that just so the other local furniture shops,(their old clients) can have a stock to sell, hindi na lang sila basta labor work. They are their own brand, si George ang nagdedesign, sina Tay Eman, Kuya Kaloy and Popoy ang gumagawa.