One and Only XI

It’s been a wonderful first year for the two fo them and for the most part it was smooth sailing. Sure they had their arguments and petty fights but they always found a way to patch things up. They had long been planning a little camping trip together to celebrate their first anniversay but unfortunately work got in the way. She was on tour for their anniversary and wasn’t going to be home for another 2 weeks. He wanted to join her on her tour but there was just no working around his busy schedule so they just agreed to celebrate their anniversary when she got back home.

She’s laying in bed when she notices her phone blinking.

“Happy Anniversary may surprise ako for you check your email.”

Curious she quickly rushes to the desk where her laptop is and takes a seat. She opens up his email and sees a video attatchment.

“Happy Anniversary Bebe ko” he greets her with a smile. “Miss na kita and I can’t wait for you to come home para makapagcelebrate na tayo. Marami akong gustong sabihin sa ‘yo pero mas maganda kung sabihin ko in person so hurry back home wag ka nang mageextend ha. Anyways this is just a little something for you na ginawa ko enjoy and I love you. Mwah!” the video pauses for a second before it continues. He put together a slide show of their pictures, telling their lovestory. She’s teary eyed as she is watching this missing him even more. She doesn’t realize right away that it’s his voice singing in the background. She smiles hearing him singing, maybe he didn’t have the greatest voice in the world and he didn’t have a nack for singing but to her his voice was the only one that could melt her heart.

She watched that video everyday, counting down the days till she saw him again.

The week before she came home he spent most of his free time at her house with her family. He would spend all the free time he could with her mom learning how to cook her favourite dishes. Two days before her returns home he’s in the kitchen with her mom standing over the stove. He takes the lid off the pot and takes a taste of it.

“Tita okay na ba to?”

She turns around to face him and takes a taste for herself. He’s looking at her anxiously awaiting her verdict. He’s been trying to perfect this for over a week now and he really needed to get it right now. She’s standing there silently taking her time and then finally she looks at him and smiles.

“Na perfect mo na din, masarap.”

He smiles at her relieved and as she is turning her back to clean up a little bit he asks “Pasado na? Pwede na akong magasawa?”

She quickly turns back to face him shocked at what he just said, she wasn’t sure if he was just joking around or if he was serious. He’s just smiling at her.

“Seryoso ka?” she asks him as she leans against the counter.

He nods his head. “Kinausap ko na po si tito. Alam kong medyo mabilis ang lahat nang pangyayari pero I don’t see any reason to wait any longer. Mahal ko po si Sarah and nung una pa lang po akong nagpaalam sa inyo alam ko na po na sya yung gusto kong makasama habang buhay. Tita with your blessing I want to ask her to marry me.” he says pulling the ring out of his pocket to show his future mother in law.

Her mom is standing still thinking quietly to herself for a bit when a tear rolls down her cheek. He sees it and suddenly gets worried.

“Tita okay ka lang? Tita kung hindi pa kayo ready I can wait...”

She looks up at him wipes her tears away and smiles “No, okay lang, you have my blessing. Hindi ko lang naisip na ganito kabilis mangyayari ang lahat. Pero nung tinggap kita bilang boyfriend nang anak ko pinagdasal ko na dumating tong araw na to kasi ayoko na syang makitang masaktan ulit. Lloydie, salamat, salamat kasi alam kong nasa mabuting kamay ang anak ko.”

Everything was set. He had been waiting all week for this moment. He checks his watch every few minutes impatiently waiting for her flight to land. He had lunch ready at his condo and everything they needed for their camping trip was all packed up and ready for them when they departed after lunch.

Her plane has finally landed and he’s waiting outside the gates for her. She is one of the last people to exit and once he sees her he calls for her right away. Upon hearing his voice her face lights up and like a kid she jumps up in excitement. She had been gone for almost two months and they both couldn’t wait to see each other. She makes her way over to him and quickly places a kiss on his lips. Shocked he stands still for a moment. She must have really missed him because it wasn’t in her personality to be so affectionate in public, she was always very careful to keep their PDA at a minimum.

She’s holding his face in her hands and is leaning her head against his with her eyes closed still “I missed you.”

She finally opens her eyes and looks at him lovingly with a smile on her face. He takes her hands from his face and holds them in his own.

“Na miss din kita...”

After retrieving all of her baggage they head out to the car and go on their way.

She’s looking out the window as he drives, her hand in his.

“Teka, saan tayo pupunta, hindi naman ito yung way papunta sa bahay ah?”

“May surprise ako para sa ‘yo...”

She looks back at him curious as to what the surprise could be. She’s silent for a moment trying to be patient but she can’t hold back her curiousity.

“Kailangan bang surprise pa yan? Sabihin mo na sa kin please, please.” shes now turned facing him in her seat making lambing to him as he drives.

He looks over at her pleading with him like a child and laughs.

“Hindi pwede, matagal kong pinaghirapan tong surprise na to kaya wait ka lang malapit na naman tayo eh.”

She pouts at him and says “Sige na pleeeaaaseee” as she showers his face with kisses.

He’s smiling from ear to ear trying hard to concentrate on the road “Sandali lang, Be, nagdadrive ako baka maaksidente tayo...”

She gives up he wasn’t budging so she turns back in her seat and just has her eyes on the road.

Traffic. She’s sitting there her head leaning back her eyes fixated on the heavy traffic they were stuck in.

“Be, sige na, tingnan mo o ang traffic matatagalan pa tayo, sabihin mo na kung ano yung surprise mo...”

He looks over at her and can’t help himself from smiling at her making pacute to him.

“Ayaw mo talagang magantay? Pinaghirapan ko to and I really wanted it to be a surprise, pero if you really want me to spoil it then...”

He’s just about to cave and tell her already when she stops him

“Wag, sige na okay na I’ll wait, mas exciting kung surprise sya...” she says smiling with excitement.

Relieved he pinches her cheek softly and says “Ang kulit mo talaga”

She shrugs her shoulders at him and just smiles before leaning her head onto his shoulder. They finally make it to his place and just before they step out of the car she looks over at him.

“Diba surprise wala bang pangtakip nang mata?”

He laughs at her and she smiles at him eagerly.

“Ganito na lang” he says as he helps her out of the car. He stands behind her and covers her eyes with his hands. He opens the door and leads her up to his suite.

“Dahan dahan, sandali lang buksan ko yung pinto ipikit mo na lang yung mata mo.”

He unlocks the door as fast as he can and takes her by the shoulders, her eyes tightly shut. Okay wait ka lang may aayusin lang ako.

She stands by the door as he rushes to the window and shuts the blinds. He lights up some candles and then tells her to open her eyes.

She waits awhile before she finally opens up her eyes. He’s standing before her in anticipation of her reaction. She looks around the room and puts her hands over her chest then looks at him.

“Be...” was all she could say.

He makes his way over to her and leads her to her seat.

“Mas maganda kung gabi sana para matanaw natin yung mga bituin pero I couldn’t wait for dinner tsaka may iba pa akong surprise for you mamaya...”

“Meron pa? Lloydie nagabala ka pa, alam mo naman na hindi ko kailangan nang mga surprises like this, alam mo naman na just being with you is enough for me.”

“Alam ko pero first anniversary natin so I wanted to make it extra special and I have a feeling na magiging sobrang special nitong celebration natin” he says with his hand in his pocket holding the box in his hand.

Just then her stomach grumbles and she looks at him shyly “Kain na tayo...”

He smiles at her and takes his seat. As they are eating he would look up at her every few seconds to see if she was enjoying her meal. She catches him staring at her.

“Bakit? Masyado na bang madami yung nakakain ko kaya tingin ka nang tingin?” she says looking down at her plate.

“Hindi, hindi, kain ka pa, tinitingnan ko lang kung nasasarapan ka... masarap ba?”

“Hindi pa ba halata? Saan ka umorder?” she asks him with a smile.

“Ako nagluto...”

She looks up at him surprised.

“Nagpaturo ako sa mommy mo.” he says proudly.

She puts her hand out onto the table and he places his hand in hers “I love you.” was all she could say at the moment. They sit there silently stealing glances from each other when they catch each others eyes and start laughing.

“Ano ba? Para tayong mga tanga, ba’t ganyan ka maka tingin?”

“Namiss lang talaga kita... eh ikaw ba’t ka ganyan maka tingin”

“Wala... iniisip ko lang na ang swerte ko sa yo...”

He laughs softly looking down at his plate “Ako nga yung swerte sa yo eh. Alam mo if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be like this naman eh. You’ve made me want to be a better person...”

After lunch he collects all the dishes. She’s standing behind him just watching him, imagining in her mind what life would be like if they got married. He’s just about to start washing the dishes when she walks up beside him.

“Tulungan na kita.”

“Wag na ako na, kaya ko na to.”

“Sige na tulungan na kita, it’s the least I can do.”

He looks over at her and is about to argue that he can do it when he sees her tying her hair up.

“Sige na nga...” he conceeds.

They finish washing the dishes and she turns back to the table to blow out the candles. She then walks towards the window and is about to open up the blinds again when he stops her.

“Iwan mo an yan aalis na din naman tayo, halika na.” he says with his hand out waiting for her to walk back to him.

She walks over to him and takes his hand “Saan tayo pupunta.”

“Secret muna yun...”

He’s smiling mischievioulsy at her and she frowns at him as she leans her head onto his shoulder.

Whining she says “Nanaman...”

He kisses the top of her head and says “I promise it’ll be worth it”

She pouts her head still leaning on his shoulder and she whispers to herself “It better”

TBC