Kabanata 26
High Wind and Waves
"Maraming salamat po, Doc. Mag-o-observe po ako ng isang linggo at babalitaan ko po kayo." Tinanguan ko ang sinabi ni Sir Joselito at tinanaw ang kabayong naroon na sa kanilang sasakyang dala.
Maayos na ang posisyon nito. Days from now, it should gain some weight. Mababawasan na ang sakit sa pagnguya nito kaya makakakain na nang maayos.
"Ingat po kayo, Sir," sambit ko at hinayaan na itong makaaalis.
Naglakad ako pabalik sa clinic. Bumungad sa akin si Reeve na tinutulungan si Ron sa paglilinis ng area. May iilang dahon lang naman sa sahig kaya winawalisan ni Reeve. Si Ron naman ay nililinisan ang equipment na ginamit namin kanina na hindi ko nahugasan pagkatapos.
"Reeve," tawag ko sa kaniya. Tumigil siya sa pagwawalis at napalingon sa akin, nakakunot ang noo.
"Can you come to the office, please? May ipapaki-usap lang ako sa'yo."
Hindi ko na siya hinintay na magsalita pa at dumiretso na ako sa aking opisina. Ramdam ko naman ang pagsunod niya. Nang maupo ako ay naabangan ko siyang nakatayo at inililibot ang mata sa maliit na espasyo.
It had gotten smaller once he settled inside. Reeve's body size was a bit massive. Hindi kalawakan ang pinto ng clinic kaya naman pagtingin ko pa lamang sa kaniya ay nasisikipan na agad ako.
"Actually, sinabi sa akin ni Sir Julio na tutulungan daw kita rito sa farm. He told me you needed help on knowing about how this works," panimula ko. Mula sa paglilibot ng mata, pumirmi ang kaniyang atensyon sa akin.
Hindi ako nagbaba ng tingin sa malalim na titig niyang iyon. I was waiting for his response. Parang hindi niya nakuha ang nauna kong sinabi.
"I can manage on my own Ada, but if Dad wants it, then, that can't be helped. I'm willing to become participative if that helps you," aniya.
Hmm, mukhang wala siyang problemang kausap ngayon. I don't know what changed about Reeve. Is it about his hair style...or was it the way he talks right now? Sa muli naming pagkikita, he was spitting this playful and mischievous aura. Ngayon naman ay parang maamong tupa.
"Okay. I can help you with managing the farm but in return, you'll help me in managing this clinic. Uh, you see, wala na si Isidore rito ngayon at nandoon na sa Costa. Without him, we'll be needing some assistance. Sa susunod ay baka ako na lang mag-isa rito. Doctor Malvar might be retiring soon in his practice and that will be a burden to me."
"So, what do you propose?" aniya at humakbang nang isang beses.
"Well, I was thinking of putting you in a receptionist position dito sa clinic. We don't have a lot of appointments everyday but your work will be contacting the clients on the next check-up, aligning the schedules and well...you can help me sort some treatments in here, kapag hindi available ang vet assistant, of course." I cleared my throat. "Don't worry, it's just for the mean time. Naghahanap pa kami ng willing ngayon but it's hard to find one because malayo ang Campo Razzo."
"Okay," he drawled, eyes becoming warm.
"Okay?" I echoed. Tumango siya kaya napatango rin ako.
"Susweldo ka naman dito. Actually, I haven't proposed this to your father but I'm sure he'll approve of it, seeming that you agreed. Kanina ko lang ito napag-isipan."
"It's fine. I'm just here in his favor, if that will make him feel better," aniya na parang balewala lang iyon. I don't know if I should feel pissed about what he said...but it's his anyway. Problema nilang pamilya iyon at ang opinyon ko ay wala rin namang kinalaman sa kanila.
Huminga ako nang malalim. "Iyon lang naman ang gusto kong pag-usapan natin. I'm free at this hour so you can ask me anything. Pwedeng libutin natin ang farm para mas malaman mo ang iilang proseso," I proposed.
Why am I even trying hard on him? Pwede namang hintayin ko na lang siyang magsabi ng gusto niya dahil siya naman ang bagong salta rito. But if he's really willing, he should've asked me a lot of questions by now, nga lang eh wala naman.
I smiled bitterly. Of course, napilitan lang naman siya rito. If it hadn't for his father's condition and his suspension, he wouldn't even be here. Malay ko kung nasaan na siya dapat ngayon. Maybe with his new girlfriend...or I don't know. Maybe he does flings, pero dapat wala naman akong pakialam doon.
"Just tell me anything. I'm sure I can follow," aniya at tumitig sa akin. Nilabanan ko iyon bago ako tumango.
I stood up and told him to follow me outside. Nadaanan naming malinis na ang labas na bahagi ng clinic kaya naman dumiretso na ako palabas.
"The farm added some facilities, including the clinic, that surgery area and the clean facility for post-op. If hindi pa nasasabi ni Sid sa'yo, Sir Julio already planned the clinic when we were in our third year in VetMed. Maliit pa iyon noon and it just expanded when we were graduating, para naman kapag nakapagtapos kami ni Isidore ay may gagamitin ulit kami," panimula ko habang naglalakad na kami palabas.
Itinuro ko ang bagong barn na ipinatayo kung nasaan ang mga kabayo nila. "That's the new barn right there. Five years ago pang ipinatayo iyan and as you can see, puro kabayo na lang ang nandoon. They were separated from the cattles and other large animals. Mas dumami pa nga since Campo Razzo already expanded for the campers."
Humarap ako sa kaniya. "Like I told you, marami na ang nagbago. Campo Razzo might be big but it experienced a lot of hardships through the years. Medyo humina ang pamamalakad pero agad ding naagapan iyon."
I don't want to say that it was because of him but yes, partly, damay rin naman siya roon. He was one of the sole reasons why Sir Julio got strict of the management and even fired some of the employees. I understand that Sir Julio became a lonely and angry man because he let his son leave his hometown. Nandito pa nga si Isidore pero totoo nga ang sinasabi nila, marami ka mang alagang tupang inaalagaan, hahanap-hanapin mo pa rin iyong isang nawawala, especially if it was your favorite. You'll risk losing the greater number and find the lost one.
"What will be your plan after this? Ano ang gagawin mo para magtagumpay pa ito?" I asked him. Humalukipkip ako at sinubukang basahin si Reeve.
I may have known him from the past but things change. I do not know what he'd been up to. Ang alam ko lang naging piloto siya at nakamit niya nga ang pangarap. He often contacts his family but never had the plan to visit. Siguro ay nalunod na rin sa paraan ng pamumuhay sa malaking lungsod. Why would he even settle living in here when he could have all the luxuries in the big city?
Bago pa siya makapagsalita ay inunahan ko na. "I'm sure you don't plan on staying."
Tinalikuran ko na siya at naglakad-lakad na. Naramdaman ko ang pagsunod niya sa akin kaya nagtuloy-tuloy lang ako sa pagku-kwento. I told him about the new procedures in the farm, especially now that we have this milk processor to make milk. May partnership din ang Campo Razzo sa isang slaughterhouse kung saan ipina-process ang meat products na galing sa alaga ng farm.
I was actually against that idea. Ngayong naging doktor na ako ng mga hayop, I've given much care about the animals, lalo na ang ginagawang breeder at mapagkukunan ng karne. Pero iyon ang magiging kapalaran nila at hindi ako makakaapela. The least I could help other animals is to alleviate their pain and make them feel better.
Natapos ang buong araw na iyon na kinakausap ko si Reeve. I don't want to impose an awkward atmosphere between us and I was trying to ease the tension by telling him things about the farm. In that way, hindi ko na iisipin pa kung anuman ang nangyari sa amin noon.
I'm sure it wasn't important to him. Hindi na rin naman ako nasasaktan habang iniisip iyon, although, sometimes, I wanted to ask why he just left without saying a word. I wanted to ask him why did he not wait for me. Pero siguro ganoon naman talaga kapag mababaw lang ang nararamdaman mo sa tao. What happened between the two of you, will not be important anymore and it won't hold any value at all.
"Si Sir Reeve ay dati mong kasintahan, diba, Ada?" tanong sa akin ni Doc Malvar habang nagliligpit ako ng papeles sa ibabaw ng aking desk.
"Po? Uh, opo." I awkwardly smiled.
"I'm glad that you're still getting along with him."
"Wala naman po sigurong dahilan para maging awkward po kami sa isa't isa. At matagal na po iyon."
Doc Malvar just smiled. "You were so young back then, right? Ilang taon ka noon? Thirteen. Young love, of course."
Tinawanan ko lang iyon. Doc Malvar is just one of the oldest employees of the farm, kaya rin siguro natatandaan niya pa ang pagbisita ko sa farm noong bata pa ako at pagtulong. I had dates with Reeve here kaya rin siguro hindi niya iyon makakalimutan.
Iilan na lang sa matatagal na empleyado ng farm ang nanatili rito. Some were fired and some just resigned. Kaya karamihan sa mga kasama ko ngayon dito ay bago na at hindi talaga kilala si Reeve.
Mabuti nga iyon. At least only a few people will know about my past relationship with him. But people could say it's just some sort of a play. Mga bata pa naman talaga kami noon at hindi pa talaga alam ang totoong pagmamahal.
"But you look so joyful back then, hija," sambit ni Doc. "You reminded me of my daughter, too. In love iyon sa murang edad at agad ding tumigil sa paghahanap ng nobyo dahil nasaktan sa unang pag-ibig. She was joyful too, not until the heartbreak."
Doc Malvar smiled again. "Ganoon naman talaga ang pag-iba. There's nothing wrong with heartbreak because it taught us things that we should remember. There's nothing wrong with love either at a young age."
"Wala naman po talagang mali roon. It just that nowadays, teens just think relationship is the most important thing right now. Mas marami pa naman pong importanteng bagay kaysa roon."
And that's what I was wrong before. Sana pala inalam ko rin talaga kung ano ba talaga ang gusto ni Reeve. He keeps telling me before that he'll talk to his dad. Ang alam ko gusto niya sa Maynila pero hindi ko akalain na basta-basta na lang siyang pupunta roon at hindi magpapaalam sa akin.
What's the point of saying goodbye, anyway? Nagpaniwala siya sa maling salita. Even if I talked to him, would he actually stay?
Of course, he won't. Naalala kong sinabi ko noon na susuportahan ko siya kahit umalis man. I even told him that when he finds somebody that he likes while still in a relationship with me, kailangan niya ng hiwalayan ako para mas madali para sa aming dalawa.
Pero hindi na pala mangyayari iyon kasi aalis siyang wala ng koneksyon sa akin. Ayaw ko na lang ding isipin kung ano nga ba talaga ang mangyayari sa aming dalawa kung sakaling...kami pa rin noong umalis siya. Maybe, we wouldn't last long. Sa layong iyon, mas mabuti nga sigurong ganito ang nangyari sa aming dalawa.
His dreams are important for him. My dreams are important for me, too. I wasn't okay a few months after he left but I managed to survive.
Kaya ngayon, ang gusto ko na lang ay katahimikan. I just want to work and stay here peacefully without being acquainted with him. Alam ko namang hindi talaga siya tatagal dito. Hindi na ako magugulat na isang araw ay ni anino niya ay hindi ko na ulit makikita.