Return Of The Wife

Chapter 2

[2]  Finally Back

Pagkababa ko pa lamang ng eroplano ay grabe na kaagad ang bilis ng t***k ng puso ko. Anim na taon na ang nakalipas at naririto na naman ako. To the place that reminds me of my painful past.

Wala pa ring pinagbago, that same old feeling.

Naglakad na ako hila-hila ang maleta ko. I' am wearing an Armani couture with a color black Dior bag. A chanel no. 5 perfume and a D&G pair of shoes. Bawat lakad na talaga namang kinaiikot ng mga ulo.

I passed by a man in his twenties who almost choked on his coffee habang walang pikit-matang nakatitig sa 'kin. Ipinaling ko ang ulo ko sa kaniya na talaga namang ikinagulat niya.

I smirked at him and I almost let out a laughter when I saw how he blushed.

I giggled. Men. Always the same.

Pinagpatuloy ko na ang paglalakad. Hanggang sa may makita akong maraming tao na may kung anu-anong dala. May mga placards na may nakasulat na pangalan, ang iba naman ay nanghahaba ang mga leeg sa kakalingon ng kanilang mga kamag-anak. I lowered down my sunglasses to look for Aby.

"Yara! Over here!" I heard her shout as she put her hands up. Masama na rin ang tingin ng mga katabi niya dahil sa aksidente niya itong nadadanggil.

I shook my head at dumiretso kay Aby.

"Hi, I miss you!" She said then hugged me kahit na may nakaharang pa na bakal.

"I miss you more! Grabe ang laki ng pinagbago mo, look at you!"

She flipped her hair at pabiro na tumingin sa 'kin. Ibang-iba na ang itsura ni Aby, since she gave birth to their second baby. Alex was thrilled nang malaman na magkakaroon sila ng baby boy.

"Kamusta ka na, ito na ba si Alexis? Ang laki na ah!" I patted the top of the head of a little boy beside Aby. The little boy looked a lot like his Dad. May dala itong laruang robot.

Naglakad na kami papunta sa sasakyan kung saan nag-iintay si Alex. Aby was carrying Alexis habang ako naman ay nakasunod sa kanila.

"Nasaan na nga pala si Gerry at Terrence?"

"Susunod sila, they'll be here tomorrow."

Tumango naman si Aby.

Nang makasakay na kami sa kotse ay wala siyang tigil sa pagsasalita tungkol sa mga nangyayari sa Pilipinas. About their life, the fun that I missed. Nakaramdam ako ng inggit sa tuwing nagkukwento si Aby ng mga family gatherings nila na dapat ay kasama ako. Ng mga masasayang lugar na napuntahan nila kasama ang pamilya niya.

And true, I envied her for having a complete and happy family.

She's also talking about Damien and his life after I left the country. She said that Damien was devastated when I left him, I just snorted at her. It can't be, he can't be devastated because of me. Puwede pa kung pera niya ang pag-uusapan.

"And you know what? Kiana quitted her career, rumor has it that she's already married!"

I rolled my eyes.

"What happened to you Aby? Hindi ka naman ganito ka-tsismosa dati ah?" I commented sabay tingin sa labas ng kotse. Hindi naman nakalagpas sa 'kin ang pag-irap niya. Lihim na lamang akong napailing.

What she said might be true. 'Yung tungkol kay Kiana, since hindi ko na nakikita ang mga billboards niya. Ibang mga mukha na ang nakapaskil sa napakalaking billboard sa kahabaan ng highway.

Maybe she's married after all. Mukhang natupad ang pangarap nila na magpakasal, I bet that they even publicized it para ipangalandakan na sila rin sa huli ang magkakatuluyan. Ano kayang naging reaksiyon ni Lolo? I'm pretty sure na si Lola Esperanza ay sobrang saya. That old crooked wirh her attitude problems.

Si Lolo.

I suddenly felt sad. Kung puwede ko lamang isama si Lolo sa America ay ginawa ko na. I miss him so badly. I want to see him already but I don't know how.

"Alex pakibaba ako sa site, I need to fix some things bago dumiretso sa bahay na tutuluyan ko."

"What?!" Aby faced me. "Akala ko ba sa amin ka magi-stay? Why did you changed your mind. Is it because of the things I said?"

Kamuntikan ko nang mabatukan si Aby dahil sa kadramahan niya. Nagsisimula na ring magtubig ang mga mata niya samantalang si Alex naman ay relax na relax lang na nagdadrive. Mukhang sanay na ito sa ugali ng asawa na basta na lamang sasabog na parang bulkan.

"Gaga!" I shouted "Iche-check ko lang 'yung site. Kasi bukas na bukas din ay magsisimula na kami."

"Pero bakit 'di kayo sa bahay na lang mag-stay?"

Umirap ako sa kaniya. "Para ano? Para ipamukha sa 'kin na may masaya ka at kumpletong pamilya?" I asked bitterly, natahimik naman siya habang nakatingin sa 'kin ng diretso.

"Yara naman. . ." She called me alsmot crying.

"Joke!" I said then burst out my laughter. Kumunot naman ang noo niya. "Ito naman 'di na mabiro. Isa pa,  I already bought the house next to yours,"

Aby's eyes widened at nagsisimula na niyang paypayan ang sarili niya gamit ang dalawa niyang kamay. She does that everytime she gets excited. I saw Alex shook his head.

"Omg! Omg! Hindi nga?! Gosh, we're gonna be neighbors, I can't believe it!"

"Honey," Alex called his wife as he parked the car near the construction site. "Don't overwhelmed her. Yara dito na ba kita ibababa?" He asked. Nandoon nakapaskil ang malaking tarpaulin ng E-Hotel na itatayo roon.

I got out of the car. "I'll take a cab home, don't worry I can handle myself." I saw how Abygail frowned. Napailing na lamang ako at dumiretso sa loob.

May mga workers na ang naroroon, nagulat pa sila nang makita ako sa site. Dapat ay bukas pa ako pupunta pero I want to check the site already. Maybe to divert my attention, somehow.

Dumiretso ako sa isang maliit na kuwarto malapit sa mga construction materials. I knocked at kaagad naman akong pinagbuksan ng pinto.

"Hi, are you the owner? Akala ko bukas ka pa pupunta. By the way, come in." Pumasok na ako sa loob at naroon nakadisplay ang mga blueprints at plano para sa hotel.

A man in his late thirties accompanied me, he's wearing a black polo with a head gear on. I sat down and looked at the blue prints.

Ang plano ay gawing tropical ang hotel since Philippines is a tropical country. We also hired an interior decorators for the place. And I don't have any idea kung sino-sino ang kinuha nila. Aine was the one who listed all the finest Architects, Engineers and all the people we'll need.

"Are you the Architect?"

"Yes, I am Architect Reyson, papunta naman na si Engineer Santos."

I nodded. Just when I was about to stand up ay may pumasok sa loob ng kuwarto. I looked at the man at para akong tinakasan ng kaluluwa ko. Kahit siya ay natigil sa kaniyang tayo at animo'y nakakita ng multo. I was happy and worried at the same time.

That familiarity.

He shook his head then slightly smiled.

"Yara, it's so nice to see you again." Lumapit siya sa 'kin and offered his hand. I gladly took it and we shook hands. Ramdam ko ang panlalamig niya. Siguro'y hindi niya rin inaasahan ang mga pangyayari.

"Me too, Jake."

And I'll be damned. Jake fuckin' Santos is here standing in front of me.

~*~

"So, kararating mo lang dito sa Pilipinas ngayon? And you don't even have a jetlag." He said amused, I laughed at him and then took a sip of my coffee.

Jake Santos is Damien's bestfriend. And he is also my ex-boyfriend. We dated back when we were in high school. Siyempre, pinipigilan ko ang nararamdaman ko para kay Damien so I tried to divert it, using Jake.

Jake also wants to have a girlfriend before, para iwasan na siya ng mga fan girls niya at makapag-focus siya sa studies niya. So he courted me for a month at sinagot ko naman siya. The next day, I found out that Damien was gone to New York and after a week I found out that he already got a girlfriend. Naghanda pa talaga si Lola Esperanza para lamang i-celebrate iyon.

Though nagtagal kami ni Jake, hanggang sa makagraduate kami ng high school. But still, we couldn't love each other the way couples should. We treated each other as good friends. Nothing more, nothing less.

At doon ko rin nalaman na hindi ko talaga kayang iwasan at ipagwalang bahala ang nararamdaman ko para kay Damien. After graduation ay sinundan ko siya sa ibang bansa kung saan siya nag-aaral noon. Sa New York, but when he found out that Lolo sent me there too for college ay bigla siyang umalis at pumunta sa France. I even followed him there, a foolish thing to do.

I was so young, so dumb. I was a gullible little girl, always want to believe that there will be a fairy tale ending for me. Well, now I know that those kind of stories are only found in books. They don't exist in real life.

"Yara. Are you okay?"

"Ha? Ah yes, sorry medyo napagod lang." I lied.

He smiled at me then stood up.

"Come on, ihahatid na kita sa bahay mo. Baka dito ka pa matulog, you'll make a scene, like what you did at our graduation." He said, tinampal ko naman ang braso niya habang hinahayaan siyang alalayan ako.

"I was tired that day and I was nervous!" Noong graduation kasi namin ay panandalian akong nawalan ng malay dahil sa pinaghalo-halong nararamdaman. And he couldn't forget it dahil napagkamalan akong buntis and of course they thought that he was the father.

Nang makababa ako sa stage after I got my diploma ay sari-saring papuri ang natanggap ko. They were all congratulating me about my pregnancy at ang iba naman ay nagtatanong kung kailan ang due date ko.

Even Lolo got mad. Muntikan na siyang magka-heart attack dahil sa kagustuhan na mapatay si Jake. I laughed so hard that day dahil biglang tumalon si Jake sa lumang pond ng school makatakas lang kay Lolo.

Those days...

We were laughing as we head out the cafe when my world suddenly stopped. I halted and I couldn't take my eyes away from him. From the man I used to love. Damn! He still have that handsome face, though nagmature siya ng kaunti. His eyes were firmer and more intense. It made me lose control when he looked at my direction.

For six years I've tried to forget him and for six years I failed. Truly, no other feeling is more powerful in this world than that feeling of hatred. You can loose all your cool and the walls that you built will shatter.

And that feeling of hatred is what I am feeling for this man.

Nakatingin pa rin siya sa 'kin hanggang sa naramdaman ko ang mga braso na pumulupot sa bewang ko. I saw how his forehead formed lines and I looked at Jake who is smirking at me.

"Come on now, he's not worth the tears." He said as he wiped away my tears. Nagpatianod lamang ako sa paggabay sa 'kin ni Jake patungo sa parking lot.

Akala ko wala na. Akala ko tapos na. Pero bakita ganito? Bakit akala ko lang pala.

All those time, I thought that I already buried my hatred towards him. Hindi pa pala. Para lamang itong natutulog na bulkan na nag-iintay na sumabog. And the dice is finally rolling, I knew for sure, hindi lang ito ang magiging pagkikita namin.

*****