"Patrick Lauchengco's gonna get married by next year, oh my God, girl!"
"They're checking the girl's background, and dang, bitch! It's Mel Vizcarra!"
"No shit, for real?"
"Akala ko, friends lang sila!"
"Yeah, I thought so, too!"
Mat and I were in a club, and we were supposed to have fun tonight, pero wala akong ibang marinig sa paligid kundi tsismisan about Pat and Mel's upcoming wedding.
Babaero si Patrick, as we all know. Malamang sa club na 'to, more or less five girls, naka-hook up or na-entertain na niya before. And Mel's reputation being the hardest girl to catch in town is definitely huge news for some of these people kasi ang tagal nang friends nitong dalawa.
Ni wala ngang nag-akala sa amin na may relasyon pala sila, lalo ngayong buntis si Mel.
The club was dim enough to hide us from everyone, and I could smell the different mixes of alcohol, cigarette smoke, and perfumes.
Mat was dancing with a hot guy near our table, and I was sipping on my martini. Being a Dardenne is already a privilege kasi lagi akong nakakakuha ng space sa mga club na hindi ako basta-basta nalalapitan.
My mind was wandering, and I was thinking about Ivo and our breakup. Kaso biglang sisingit si Mum at ang plano niyang ipakasal kami ni Clark.
I didn't hate Clark personally. Ayoko lang ng idea na ikakasal kaming dalawa knowing na halos wala nga kaming intimate connection after I went back here sa Philippines.
I was busy scrolling on my phone when I saw my IG feed. Kuya was flooding my feeds with his wife's achievements. Sobrang dami niyang ina-upload na photo about sa kanila ni Jaesie. And not just simple couple photos, but those kinds na parang required kaming lahat na i-praise silang dalawa for being successful.
Jae's so greedy. Not the social climber, gold-digger greedy. She really hates sitting around and do nothing. Sobrang busy niyang babae, kahit friends niya, kailangan pa ng appointment a month ahead para lang makasama siya for a day or two. And speaking of it, may outing nga pala sila nina Kuya next month kaya hindi ako mabubulabog ni Kuya for a few days. Buti naman.
A few scrolls and I saw Patrick's IG series of photos. He was baking a cake and piping the icing on top of it.
Pat loves cars, and maybe Mel's influence is really strong for Pat to dive into the baking field. But he was doing great, and the final output has a slightly so imperfect "Happy Birthday, Papa."
Pat is so sweet for a man. Babaero siya, pero walang nadi-discredit sa kanya ng sweetness niya toward girls. And now he's gonna get married to Melanie. Sa kanilang dalawa, I doubt na si Mel ang naghahabol dahil hindi ko matapos-tapos ang suit niya because Mel kept on declining the wedding dates.
"Hoy!"
"What the f—" I almost threw my phone in the air because of shock. "Clark!"
"Hahaha! Tutok na tutok, ha." Tatawa-tawa pa siyang tiningnan ang phone kong bumagsak sa lap ko dahil sa gulat. "Nakausap mo na kuya mo?" tanong niya, at pinalo ko agad siya sa balikat para makaganti.
"What the fuck are you doing here?!" I yelled.
"Party ngayon dito ni Shiloh, invited ako."
Shit, oo nga pala. Invited din ako, but this is a club, and we had no idea kung sino ba ang puwede naming makita rito.
"How did you find me here?" I asked, glaring at him as he put his arms around my shoulder.
"Narinig ko sa counter, mag-isa ka raw dito. Si Mat, nakasalubong ko kanina, may kasama nang pogi, e."
"Ugh! My God." I grunted and scowled. Bigla na naman akong na-stress.Hindi ko napansin si Mat. Lutang na yata talaga ako. "By the way, Kuya's not available for a call, pero tinext ko na siya para sabihin ang plan ni Mum."
"Sabog ba 'yon si Tita Tess?" tanong ni Clark, sinundan ko ang kamay niyang padampot sa baso ng Mojito na nasa table namin ni Mat. "Ano'ng naisip n'on at ipakakasal ako sa 'yo?"
"Ewan ko kay Mum. Dinala pa si Tita Pia sa bahay, nakakainis."
Clark and I cheered our glasses and drank our own dose of alcohol.
The music changed and the speakers roared.
"Time to say goodbye
But don't leave me alone, just stay for the night
I need you, I need you tonight . . ."
I cringed at Clark, bobbling his head like crazy.
"Wala kang kasama?" tanong ko.
Umiling siya habang sinasabayan ang beat ng kanta. "Naghahanap nga ako! Kilala na ako halos ng mga nandito, ang boring."
I scanned him, and he still wore his maroon suit—gaya ng suot niya kanina noong dumaan sila sa bahay.
"Simulan mo na raw ang suit ni Pat," reminder niya.
"Next month!" I shouted so he could hear me.
"May outing kami next month!"
"I know!"
"Paano mo susukatan si Pat?"
My eyebrows instantly raised just to ridicule his offer. "Hindi naman whole week 'yon, hello?"
He grimaced and nodded. He then tapped my shoulder and took the glass saka siya nakisayaw sa mga sumasayaw sa dance floor paalis sa puwesto ko.
Grabe, nanguha pa ng order nang may order. Wala ba siyang pambili ng drinks?
♥♥♥
It was already twelve in the evening, and I was a bit tipsy because of the vodka.
"Kanina mo pa 'ko hinahawakan sa puwet, pare, a. Type mo ba 'ko?"
I laughed like crazy when Mathilda used her macho voice to intimidate the drunk guy trying to harass her. She even pushed the guy and raised her head to challenge him to a fight.
"Ano?" Mat confronted the guy. "Isang hawak mo pa sa puwet ko, babasagin ko 'yang mukha, 'tang ina ka."
"Mat, easy, girl." I pulled her away from trouble, and the bouncers pushed the man away from us.
"Nakakaloka!" she immediately changed her voice to sound like a girl before we went out of the bar. "Hawak nang hawak sa puwet ko! Wala ba siyang puwet! Mukha pang paa, my God!"
Tawa lang ako nang tawa sa kanya habang papalabas kami ng bar. We were both drunk, and neither of us was in the right state to drive properly.
Pagdating namin sa parking lot, I called Kuya Ronie to ask for a ride.
"Kuyaaaa! Service mo 'kami ni Mat!"
"Si Mat? Kasama mo?"
"Hi, Ronericooo!" Mat followed that with a hard laugh.
I heard Kuya's sigh and Jaesie's light voice sa background. Nag-uusap yata sila.
"Psst!"
Sabay pa kaming napalingon ni Mat sa sumisitsit.
Clark was walking toward us. His left hand was in his maroon pants, and the other was holding his removed suit over his shoulder.
"Akala ko, nakauwi na kayo," sabi niya. "May nagrereklamo sa inyo sa loob. Nang-away ba kayo ni Mat?"
"Kuya, nandito si Clark," sabi ko habang nakanguso.
"Lasing din?"
"Nope."
"Pahatid na kayo ni Mat sa kanya. Bigay mo 'tong phone, kausapin ko."
"Clark." I offered my phone to him. "Kuya."
Clark shrugged and grabbed my phone.
I hugged Mat and closed my eyes. Inaantok na ako, gusto ko nang umuwi.
"Boys are getting down, sisters fool around . . ." Mat sang. ". . . let me tell you a story about my side of town."
We were dancing and sang as we hugged each other.
"What turns you on and set you free, grooving all night long and listening to this song . . ."
"Hoy, kayong dalawa diyan, sumakay na kayo sa kotse. Uuwi na rin ako."
I was feeling empty for a moment. There was something about this day that didn't make any sense to me, and I had no plans to consider it a day at all.
Nasa mourning period ako, pero pinigilan 'yon. And now, everyone wanted me to act like okay even if I'm not. Yung sadness ko sa loob, hindi nila hinayaang ilabas ko, and it was destroying me from the inside.
"A backless dress and some beat up sneaks
My discothèque Juliet, teenage dream
I felt it in my chest as she looked at me
I knew we were bound to be together
Bound to be together . . ."
Parang naiwan sa utak ko ang music ng club. Mat's house was located near Shaw, and my place was in the middle of Makati.
The kick of the alcohol subsided, and I was staring out the car's window.
I had been distracting myself for the whole day, and now Ivo's memory was a traitor trying to lure me again into madness.
We broke up almost two days ago, and I was feeling overwhelmed because I had no time to mourn and my Mum has another devastating plan on her hands.
I stole a glance at Clark, driving my car, whistling the tune of Baa Baa Black Sheep.
I knew Clark Mendoza more than I knew Kuya's close friends. For them, he's that guy na ginagawang joke ang lahat, at kahit walang nakakatawa, nakakatawa pa rin para sa kanya. Everyone was so aware of that persona of him, but that was never the Kuya Clark I knew.
He was that genius high school student who always stayed with his white grand piano every weekend and played his favorite sonata. He was that nice and quiet boy who liked to please everyone with his good manners. I could even remember him watching me in the doorway of my classroom, waiting for the crying Sabrina to finish writing her notes kahit na nag-uwian na ang lahat ng classmate ko.
He was that kuya who always waited outside my room every time na malakas ang ulan just to take me home because Kuya Ronie was so hostile that he had to ask Clark to pick me up and bring me home in exchange for a full set of gaming cards.
Those were the years na focused ang parents ko sa growing company namin kaya napabayaan nila kami ni Kuya to the point na kung sino-sino na lang ang nag-aalaga sa amin kapag wala sila sa bahay. Clark took care of me more than my own family did, and I could see a hint why Mum liked and favored him ever since then.
But Clark never played his piano anymore. None of his school credentials gave a hint of his glory days as an achiever. We barely see the old him after that incident. It felt like Kuya and I stole his life from him, and my parents didn't know how to pay the debt they owed to Clark kahit gaano katagal na panahon na ang nakalipas.
I held my left arm where my old scar was covered with a "saved by an angel" line tattoo.
Clark was taking things lightly about my Mum's plan. I had no plans to marry him. Mukhang mas lalo na siya. Kung aampunin siya ng parents ko, wala akong ire-react, they could do that. But marrying me?
Our answer was an obvious no, kaya hindi ko talaga nakukuha ang bakit kami umabot sa ganitong situation.
Tahimik lang kami sa kotse hanggang sa maihatid niya ako sa penthouse ko gaya ng parati niyang ginagawa noon pa man.
I had to do something. Kailangan kong ma-persuade si Mum na tigilan ang pag-iilusyon niya para maging son-in-law si Clark. Kung gusto niya, ampunin na lang niya si Clark, mas okay pa.
♥♥♥
"Si Clark? Bakit?"
"Exactly!"
I talked to my co-designer na umaayos sa tux ni Patrick. May measurements na kami bago pa sila lumayas nina Kuya sa kung saang dimension existing sa Earth. We were working on it kasi November na. Two months na lang, kasal na nina Pat and Mel, and everyone was freaking out kasi nape-pressure sila sa ikakasal na Lauchengco.
Tita Liz wanted an intimate wedding, so more or less, family members and friends lang ang invited. And there was Mum, the kontrabida of all time, asking Tita Liz, bakit daw walang media coverage gaya ng ginawa kina Kuya.
And Kuya and I were like, "Mum! Bakit ba nangingialam ka, hindi mo naman anak 'yan?"
Love ko si Mum and her beautiful genes, pero grabe siya mangialam ng buhay ng iba, nakakainis. Pati buhay ko, pinakikialaman na rin.
"Pero good choice naman si Clark," sabi pa ni Maurene habang kina-cut namin ang fabric for the suit's arm.
"Clark's a good choice kung hindi kami close. Friend siya ni Kuya. Parang anak na nga siya ni Mum, so I don't see the point of us marrying each other."
"Anong sinabi ni Ronerico dito?"
I frowned at that. Wala pa kasing negative reaction si Kuya na ilang araw ko nang hinihintay. Until now, tikom pa rin ang bibig. Nagtataka nga ako kung bakit wala siyang reaction kahit na sinabi na ni Mum ang plano niya.
Mau and I spent the whole day trimming Pat's suit. Sa boutique ko sa Rockwell ang location namin kaya nga nagtataka ako na paglabas ko para umuwi, naabutan ko si Kuya Ronie na kasama si Jaesie. Nakatayo sila sa gilid ng boutique ko.
"Sab."
Kuya and Jaesie are a perfect combination, visually speaking. Kuya Ronie is tall and wore his clothes as if he owned the whole land, kahit pa naka-loose shirt, khaki shorts, and slip-on lang siya. Jaesie on the other hand, stood her ground so gracefully, ready to slap all the bitches' faces to shut them up. Isa ako sa designers ng damit ni Jaesie, and her body is one of my main sources of envy. Ang laki ng boobs niya, ang laki pa ng butt, at sobrang slim ng waist. Take note of her freaking abs. Although, may muscles ang arms niya, siguro kabubuhat ng trays sa Purple Plate, pero kahit pa!
Part-time model namin sila ni Stephanie Myles kaya hindi na rin shocking na magaling silang magdala ng damit. But their confidence wasn't something someone should admire because it really was overflowing. We couldn't contain it anymore.
"Sinisimulan na namin ang suit," paliwanag ko.
"We know," Kuya answered and offered his hand. "Come here. Sama ka sa 'min."
"Where?"
"Outing?"
I was about to take his hand pero binawi ko rin habang tinitingnan siya nang masama.
"You don't take me to your outings, Ronerico Dardenne." I hid my hand and stared at Kuya with judging eyes.
Dinuro na ako ni Kuya para mag-warning. "Sumama ka. At isang Ronerico Dardenne mo pa, ha. Ikakandado kita sa trunk ng kotse."
"Bakit nga kasi?"
"Gagawan natin ng paraan yung inyo ni Clark."
My mouth dropped open, and I almost jumped close to Kuya with a huge grin. "Really?"
"Doon na tayo mag-usap," sabi agad niya. "Sumama ka na sa 'min. Male-late na kami."
"Yehey! I love you, Kuyaaa!"
Sa wakas! Kumilos na rin ang kapatid kong walang silbi.
♥♥♥