The start of their first day as an official couple was spent apart. Matt had to go to taping while Sarah had rehearsals for her concert, which was already less than two weeks away. It was ordinary routine for both of them, but it was made special by the thought that now, they had each other to belong to and come home to after the stress of work.
Matt asked Sarah to put him on the phone while she practiced her song so he could listen to her voice during the break. He laid his head at the back of his seat and closed his eyes.
He loved that the beautiful girl behind the beautiful voice belonged to him.
"Galing naman ng mahal ko... Lalo ako na-iinlove grabe..." Matt said as soon as she picked up the phone.
"Weh... Bolero..." Sarah sounded embarassed. "Kamusta naman dyan?"
"I'm almost done... Two sequences to go then I'll head there to pick my princess up."
"Ganon ba... What makes you think na sasama naman ako sayo?" Sarah teased.
"You are cruel." Matt tried to sound hurt to make her feel guilty. "Sobrang ginalingan ko kaya para matapos kami agad at makita na kita tapos tatanungin mo ko ng ganyan."
"Haha... Joke lang. Malapit na din kami matapos." Sarah paused. "I can't wait to see you too..." She said in a hushed voice.
That sounded like honey to Matt's ears. He loved how Sarah was now more open in showing her feelings for him. "Talaga?"
"Talagang talaga." Sarah whispered.
Matt felt his heart flutter. "I'll be there in a while." He smiled and then continued, "Tapos we'll go see this special girl... My first love. She's been dying to meet you."
"First love?!!!" Sarah asked loudly out of surprise. "Umayos ka Matteo ha! First day natin tapos papakilala mo ko sa babae mo?!"
"Ang cute naman magselos ng mahal ko..." He chuckled, but then noticed that the director was already motioning for him to come back. "Honey, I have to go."
"Teka! Anong special girl at first love pinagsasabi mo dyan?" Matt laughed at the animosity in her tone.
"You are too cute. See you in two hours."
"Matt!-" Sarah was cut short as soon as he ended the call.
Matt stood up and approached the set. He laughed at the idea of Sarah going ballistic over what he said. She really did love him.
Life was really, really good.
---------
Sarah got into his car noticeably silent and not a little irritated. Matt mustered all his strength to stop himself from laughing. He was so amused at how jealous she was.
They drove in silence for some time.
"Bibigyan kita ng isang minuto para magexplain." Sarah suddenly said, with her eyes fixed on the road and her brows furrowed in anger.
Matt tried to sound serious. "My first love came home from Italy. I'm gonna introduce you." He took her hand and kissed it. "Kailangan ko lang magpaalam na may bago na kong mahal."
"Ganon? Kailangan magpaalam? Ano bang relasyon meron kayo ha?" Sarah withdrew her hand and hit his arm.
"Aray... Oy masakit ha. Tumigil ka dyan baka halikan kita."
"Halikan mo yung first love mo! Wag kang makahalik halik sa kin."
"Ok masunurin naman ako e. I'll kiss her... And then I'll kiss you..." He looked at her teasingly.
This made Sarah explode. "Matteo!!! There'd better be a good reason kung bakit mo ko inaasar ng ganito or I swear, this will be the shortest relationship that you'll ever have!!!"
"Hay ang cute cute mo naman talaga sweetie... Relax... I'm sure you two will get along just fine."
-------
They ended up in front of a big house in Tagaytay. It was owned by Matt's family. Sarah knew that they would spend weekends there from time to time. She was horribly disturbed at the thought that his ex was staying there. "Wala bang pang-hotel yung babaeng yon?" She thought.
Matt was walking behind Sarah, his hands on her shoulders, gently prodding her towards the door. She was still pissed off because Matt wouldn't give him a straight answer throughout the ride.
"Cmon sweetie... Pasok na tayo. Gutom na ko."
"Mamatay ka sa gutom dyan bahala ka." Sarah muttered angrily with her arms folded across her chest, but she kept on walking as instructed. They drove a long way to get there she had no other option than to do as she was told. Also, her stomach started growling at the very thought of food.
Matt rang the bell as soon as they were at the door. Sarah shot him a look of disgust, Matt answered her with a playful wink. She wished she could push him down the stairs.
A pretty old lady met them. She looked up at Matt and her face instantly lighted up.
"Matteo!!!!" She lifted her small hands to hold his face. "Ang pogi pogi na ng apo ko... Manang mana sa lolo." Matt bent down to kiss and hug his beloved grandmother.
"Sarah this is my beautiful first love, my Lola Pacing." He said proudly.
Sarah was thrown off the wall. If only Matt told her the truth, then she would have brought something nice for her. She wanted to kick Matt for not allowing her to prepare for this.
"Lola, this is the girl I've been telling you about." Matt said pointing to Sarah.
Lola Pacing looked at Matt with wonder. Her lovely face brightened with delight when her eyes met hers. "Tama ka nga Matt... Napakagwapa ng bago kong apo." She came over to Sarah and hugged her tight.
Sarah hugged her back. She was so touched at how warmly Lola Pacing welcomed her. In her mind, she asked for forgiveness for all the bad thoughts than ran in her mind towards Matt's first love.
-------
Sarah couldn't help but admire Matt and his grandma while they exchanged stories over dinner. He was so sweet to Lola Pacing, he always showered her with compliments and she would always answer him with affection.
Though she wanted to beat Matt up for the joke he played on her, she was already able to forgive him because she saw how good Matt was to the old woman.
"E hindi na nga ako makapagbasa ng Bible sa kwarto dahil sira yung lampshade ko." Lola Pacing confided.
"Ganon ba? I'll take a look at it." Matt stood up.
"E hindi... Kumain ka pa! Mamaya mo na yon tingnan." Lola Pacing held his arm to stop him.
"Tapos na ko Lola. Kwentuhan muna kayo ni Sarah. Sandali lang ako." Matt turned to go.
"Ang bait bait ng apo kong yan." Lola Pacing told her as soon as he was gone.
"Oo nga po e. Medyo pilyo lang." Sarah said, remembering how he brought her there.
Lola Pacing laughed. "Ay sinabi mo pa... Kung alam mo lang ang pinagagawa nyan nung bata sya... Ay teka... Sumama ka sa kin hija."
Lola Pacing held on to Sarah's arm and they went to the living room. Lola Pacing told her to bring out the photo albums from the drawer. Sarah sat beside her on the sofa and opened one.
Inside were pictures of Matt as a baby, as a toothless toddler, as one of the tallest boys in class... Sarah's heart softened as she saw the man she loved, someone who looked so big and strong as an innocent little child.
"3rd birthday ni Matt..." Lola Pacing pointed to a picture of Matt riding a toy car. Sarah bit her lip at how cute he looked.
"Uwi ng lolo nya yung kotse kotsehan mula Italy. Napakagulo nyan noon paikot ikot sa bahay na nakasakay sya dyan. Kita mo hanggang ngayon mahilig pa din sa sasakyan." Sarah imagined little Matt as he played. Did he imagine that he'd grow up to be a racer back then?
"Ito naman yung huling picture namin bago kami lumipat sa Italy ni Francesco for good..." Lola Pacing was referring to their picture at the airport. She looked beautiful when she was younger, and Matt's lolo also looked dashing for his age.
Matt was between them, scowling at the camera. "Galit na galit yan kasi ayaw nya kami umalis." Sarah looked at Lola Pacing, she was staring at the photo with so much love. "Tatlong buwan kami hindi kinausap."
Sarah laughed. Tampururot ka pala ha, she thought.
"Pero mapagmahal talaga na bata yan. Eto o, art project nya daw para sa amin." She put her hand over a picture of Matt in his uniform, holding a painting of the three of them together. He had so much pride in his eyes. "Mahilig magpadala ng litrato at sulat yan sa min noon."
Sarah smiled at the boy who already showed the markings of a handsome man. Even before, he was someone who would do the sweetest things for the people he loved.
Lola Pacing then took Sarah's hands. She was startled to notice that Lola Pacing had tears forming in her eyes. "Maraming salamat Sarah sa pagpapasaya mo kay Matteo. Hindi ko pa nakitang ganyan yan sa buong buhay ko. Sana palagi kayong magmahalan at maging masaya."
Sarah saw how sincere she was. She was so moved but she tried her best not to cry. "Aalagaan ko po si Matteo Lola. Pinalaki nyo sya ng napakaayos. Ang bait bait po nya sa akin."
"Salamat naman. Ipagdadasal ko kayo palagi." She felt her soft hands pressing on hers. Sarah smiled at her. She was thankful for all the things that she shared about Matt. Now that she knew who Matt was in his grandmother's eyes, she loved him even more.
"Ok na yung nightlight mo Lola. Pinalitan ko lang ng-" Matt stopped on his tracks when he saw that the girls were almost crying. "Ok lang kayo?"
"Oo! Pinakita ko lang kay Sarah yung picture mo na nakahubad at naliligo sa batya. Naiyak kami sa tawa." Lola Pacing said.
"Ita-tag na lang kita sa Instagram ha!" Sarah said, waving her phone at him.
"Oy wag Sarah! That's not a good joke!" Matt looked so alarmed. "Burahin mo yan!" He went to get Sarah's phone but she moved farther away before he can get to her. "Akin na sabi!!!"
"Beh!" Sarah said, sticking her tongue out at him. "Buti nga sayo!" Sarah cried out, referring to the trick he did to her earlier. She remembered how jealous she was to hear that Matt was still keeping tabs on his first love. But then she had to admit that Matt was right, they really did get along well.