The Former Mrs. Tan

Herbert Tan

My hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as I turned right to enter the La Galleria mall parking.

I was the wrong person for him. I already accepted that fact years ago. I'd better make sure that she's the right person for Herbert.

Why? I heard my logical mind asking. Because, I believe, he deserves more. That's the only way I could make up to him, for the genuine love he had given me.

My mind jolted back to reality as I wiped the tears from my eyes that were about to fall.

Then I asked the person in the toll booth where should I park for the ICT Expo.

"Third level, right side," he said. "That would be fifty pesos for the first three hours and ten pesos per succeeding hour."

I thanked him and took the parking ticket. I'll pay for it when I get out of the mall.

The exhibit had started when I got there. People swarmed around the booths checking on the latest computers and gadgets. I stood at the center of the trade hall looking for Herbert, or at least his exhibit booth of his computer sales company aptly called Think Tan.

For the first time after so many years, I felt proud of him now that his business was picking up. He was really into computers. I remembered when he told me that the first time I've met him.

IT WAS OUR FIRST DAY of a job at a new company called Contact Point, Inc. in the Marcelo-Cimitarra border.

The old building was formerly occupied by a local bank. The facade still retained the old Spanish architectural art but once you enter the premises it transported you to the future. It was renovated into modern interiors, high-tech elevators, and the ambience of an American corporation.

After signing my name at the lobby, I was instructed to proceed to Harvard. Funny, they named their training rooms after famous colleges and universities around the world.

So I entered Harvard training room and saw a few people seated and chatting to one another. I took the nearest vacant seat and sat down. I smiled at the Chinese-looking guy seated beside me.

"Is this the NEO training?" I asked just to make sure I was in the right place.

"Yup," he said and offered his hand for a handshake. "Welcome to the work force. I'm Herbert Tan. What's your name?"

"Irene Alejandrino," I said as we shook hands.

He looked cute; not handsome, just cute. He looked smart probably a geek because of his eyeglasses, but it looked cool on him. His thin lips parted into smile and his chinky eyes followed and glowed as if he just casted a charming spell.

We talked and exchanged information about ourselves as we sat beside each other during the course of the one-day New Employee Orientation.

We even took our breaks together at the company's cafeteria. At the end of the day, I'd learned from him that this was his third job after he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Math major in Computer Sciences.

Back then, there was a stronger focus in Information Technology and the Computer Sciences had not yet become a specific degree.

His first job was manning a computer shop in La Galleria. Aside from assisting in the sales of computers, parts, peripherals, and accessories, he also assisted those people who rent computers by the hour or those who wanted to print their documents. Our country was newly adjusting to the demands of computer technology back then.

His second job was an indexer for more than three years. It sounded Greek or geek to me. He said he outlined abstracts or summaries he had read and those outline numbers became some internet protocol addresses in search engines.

I, myself, was not new to the workforce. I've been into two jobs, too. My last job was Executive Secretary to the Vice-President of an advertising firm. The position was just a misnomer. The pay was just above the minimum wage required by the government. My parents had been disappointed.

"That's the end of you, Irene," I remembered my father told me.

So when I saw in an ad that a new American company was opening and was looking for employees who speak American English fluently, I applied. Thank God for the strict education at Convento de Santa Clara y el Colegio. We were trained to speak Spanish and English since grade school. It was not difficult for me to get the job.

After the NEO, we went on with our American English skills training. Our trainer flew all the way from the United States of America to conduct a ten-day training. Since Business Process Outsourcing that time was new not only in the island but around the world, we have to sound like Americans when we speak over the phone.

The ten-day training was fun. Herbert provided comic relief during dull moments and I kept on laughing at his antics.

When we were done with the language skills training, Herbert and I went our separate ways. He went on with the Technical Support skills training for phone and internet services while I went on with the Customer Service skills training for collections and billing.

The training took us a month to get used to the computer systems, the product and the business itself. It also included a week of taking in calls to acclimatize us to the work before we officially started as call center agents.

But still, we met during breaks and went out after shifts. Since our trainers were Americans and we followed the US time zones, we were in the night shift. It was confusing at first, especially when you ask us about date and time.

"Do you mean local time or US time?" we would ask back.

It also changed the city life in Marcelo. 24-hour convenience stores, local coffee shops, bars and restaurants grew in popularity. We started going out for drinks at early morning, at the end of our shifts. Some found it weird, but that was our call center life. We were vampires with a thirst for beer just before sunlight.

There was something in Herbert that made me comfortable and free. I felt secure with him around and I admired his thoughtfulness. He once told me that he liked me. I told him I liked him, too. However, I might have misconstrued it into something like "I like you" equates to "I love you."

Sometimes, I would call home telling my parents that I would be sleeping over at the office or in some friend's place. But honestly, I was with Herbert in some motel in Marcelo.

Both of us were tired from our respective shifts and we just bought some pizza and ordered some beer to unwind before going to bed. After a few bottles of beer and slices of pizza, I lay down on the bed. Herbert was still sitting on the chair looking at me.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked.

"You're drunk," he said.

"No, I'm not," I said as I got up to go into the bathroom. "I think I just need a shower."

I was actually tipsy enough that I didn't mind Herbert sitting there, staring at me. I took off my clothes as I entered the bathroom, leaving my clothes on the floor by the door.

I went straight to the shower and turned it on. The cool water sprinkled on me, a welcome respite from the heat. I wet myself all over and closed my eyes to shut out the spray. When I took the soap and started rubbing it on my body I heard the shower curtain rustle.

I turned around and saw Herbert standing there, naked.

We stared at each other, speechless. He approached me until we were facing each other. With the soap still on my hand, I started rubbing it on his body starting from his shoulders down to his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me on the lips.

Suddenly, I felt his warm hand cupped my cunt. Slowly, I felt his middle finger stroked that perfect spot for stimulation. I widened my thighs to give way for his stroking hand while I responded to his kisses. My soapy hands went over his whole body, dropping the soap on the floor, as the water flowed down on us. He continued with his stroking and kissing. My hand slid down to hold him there.

He started to get erect when I held him softly, yet firmly, then stroked it gently with my hand until I heard his heavy breathing. Unable to stand the hand jobs we're doing, he asked me to turn around and to bend a little bit over. He entered me from behind and started thrusting his c**k in me. The sound of the shower, the splashing of water, the slapping of our bodies, our moans and our heavy breathing filled the bathroom until both of us came.