To Have and To Hold (complete)

Chapter 29

The day had started very well for Gabriel. He woke up when his alarm clock chimed 5 am without any headache (he’d been having migraine attacks since the incident at the island), walked around the block for thirty minutes (he could not jog yet, the stitches still hurt), showered, dressed, and ate breakfast (while reading the morning paper) within one hour. By 7:30 am he was already sitting behind his desk in their Makati office looking over some papers awaiting his signature and of course, his day’s schedule. As expected, half of his workday had already been blocked out for another series of back-to-back meetings with the managers of several subsidiaries belonging to the Montoya Group of Companies.

Thankfully, his Executive Assistant, Ethan, was mindful enough to leave him the 2-hour lunch break he’d insisted on the day he came back from the island. His work often made him stay very late in the office, so it was the only time that he and Louisa could attend to their wedding preparations together. Scanning down the business calendar on his laptop he saw that his last appointment was for 4 pm. Finished this early with all his pending paperwork meant that he could leave early, giving him extra time to spend with his fiancée.

Louisa, he’d learned, was very much like him; a very hands-on person who would never be comfortable leaving their wedding arrangements entirely to their planners. They had planned on meeting with them at least three times a week. The event itself would take place three months hence compelling him and Louisa to pitch in to ensure that everything would go smoothly. His mother had balked at the very short preparation time. Gabriel had to struggle in convincing her to give up her dream of a grand wedding for him and Louisa. It was only when he started insinuating that perhaps it would be better if he and Louisa just eloped that his mother finally gave in.

Gabriel smiled as he thought (for the hundredth time since waking up) of his fiancée. He’d been learning so many things about her since their engagement party and he was amazed at how much alike they really were. They both preferred simplicity to grandiosity, sunny to rainy, quiet cafes to loud, noisy bars, reading books to watching TV, pop/RNB to rock. They shared the same favorite ice cream flavors – strawberry and pistachio, they both loved horses, plants, blueberry cheesecake, and nighttime swimming. And considering that they were both born in July, Louisa on the 28th, him on the 30th (albeit 5 years earlier), Gabriel was sure that he would be discovering more similarities between the two of them in time. The only downside to that was that they were both bedeviled by the same red-hot tempers. But as with everything else, that could be worked on, too, he was sure.

An insistent soft buzzing intruded on his pleasant thoughts. He pushed the loudspeaker button on his desk phone and was instantly greeted by Ethan’s cheerful voice.

“Good morning, sir. Everyone’s assembled in conference room A. They’re ready for you now, Mr. Montoya.”

Gabriel glanced at his watch, 8:30, right on the button. “Thank you, Ethan. I will be out in a moment. Can you do me a favor?”

“Sure, sir. Anything,” Gabriel could almost ‘hear’ Ethan smiling.

“Could you please call Rajo Laurel’s office? Ask if Louisa and I can drop by later today, around 6 PM.”

“Will do, sir. Anything else?”

“No, that will be all for now. Thanks, Ethan.”

“You are most welcome, sir.”

With that, Gabriel clicked off and proceeded to conference room A to begin his series of meetings. The first one was with the Publishing house that they had just acquired. Nothing major was discussed, introductions of officers mostly. The meeting was adjourned in less than an hour. Seeing that he still had 10 minutes to spare, Gabriel decided to make a quick call to Louisa. She answered on the first ring, her voice sweet and sunny.

“Good Morning, Gabriel. Are we meeting for lunch later?”

“Of course. Are you going to West Grove this morning?”

“No, I’ll be in my studio finishing up some designs. I might drop by after lunch.”

“Where would you like to have lunch?”

“Hmm, how about some Japanese? Nothing fancy. Yaki-Mix would be fine with me.”

“Great, should I pick you up or will you meet me there?”

“Let’s just meet there, Bonifacio High Street okay with you?”

“Alright. Will see you later, then. Drive carefully, dearest.”

I love you, he wanted to say, but hesitation halted the words. Even though their actions were unmistakable proof of their strong feelings for each other, they had not said those three words. And Gabriel, having never said them to anyone before, did not know how to make such a declaration without making a fool of himself.

“You, too. Take care!” Louisa made a loud, kissing sound before hanging up and it brought a wicked smile to Gabriel’s lips.

“I’ll make sure it won’t just be kissing sounds I’ll be getting from you later,” he said while pocketing his phone.

He was still chuckling when he turned his swivel chair to face the long conference table behind him. His cheeks turned bright red upon seeing the grinning faces of his next appointment, men and women from Omnibus, their electronics company. Their meaningful expressions told him that they heard his last statement. Clearing his throat noisily, he jumped right into their agenda without preamble.

By 11:00 am, Gabriel had already crossed off all his morning engagements, but three more were scheduled for that afternoon. Fortunately for those late appointments, he would be having lunch with Louisa today. That would surely replenish his ‘feel-good’ meter by the truckload, otherwise, he would indeed be very cranky by the end of his second, afternoon meeting. Which would be disastrous for his 4 PM.

As soon as he was finished leaving instructions to Ethan, Gabriel rushed out of the office, loath to be detained by last-minute callers. Gabriel liked driving himself, but since Louisa was also bringing her own car he decided to have one of the company drivers drop him off at their meeting place. His phone alerted him to an incoming message just as he was entering the restaurant. It was Louisa, telling him that she was already inside. Gabriel grimaced. He glanced at his watch – 11:50.

Damn! Five minutes late! Why can’t I ever beat her? Aren’t women the ones who’re always late?

Ever since Gabriel showed up late for their date three times in a row, Louisa challenged him into making a standing bet on who arrives first. The punctual one gets to ‘punish’ the tardy one and so far, Gabriel had not won even once. Louisa’s ‘punishments’ were not hard to comply with, usually just treats that Gabriel was more than happy to indulge – movie dates, ice-cream, cakes – nothing fancy. Still, the competitive side of Gabriel was fast losing face and he really wanted to exact his own form of punishment, at least one time, for crying out loud!

Then, out of the blue, he understood Louisa’s motivation for winning their bet every time – she feared Gabriel’s punishment!

The rabbit usually runs faster when scared, he mused, laughing to himself.

His theory was confirmed when he saw Louisa sitting in one of the booths, a smug smile adorning her lovely lips.

Hah! For all I know, you’re sighing in relief, scaredy-cat! Gabriel thought in amusement.

But what a lovely cat she made, with her eyes sparkling bright, putting the brilliance of her topaz and diamond engagement ring to shame. Gabriel strode up to her and kissed her lips.

“Beat you again!” Louisa said, smirking haughtily.

“Haven’t you figured it out yet? I purposely arrived late every time so you could ‘punish’ me,” Gabriel replied, his lips twisting into a mischievous smile.

“Hah! When did you ever let yourself lose on purpose? Knowing you, I bet you’re already thinking of ways to get even with me.”

“You wound me! And to think that I am being chivalrous here.”

“Chivalrous my a…” Louisa paused, blushing profusely, “Aunt Betty.”

Gabriel reached for Louisa’s hand, “You can say ‘ass’, dearest. I’m not a prude,” he said, trying hard to control the laughter that was bubbling inside him, “Besides, your ass is nothing to be ashamed of.”

Louisa snorted, playfully slapping Gabriel’s hand away. “Let’s just eat, okay? I’m starving.”

“Whatever you say, dear,” Gabriel replied and he pushed off his seat. The two of them traipsed towards the buffet tables to fill their plates with helpings of both Japanese and Continental foods.

They were already enjoying their dessert of blueberry cheesecake and strawberry ice-cream when Gabriel’s phone buzzed again. It was Ethan confirming their 6 PM appointment with Rajo Laurel. Scrolling down the message, Gabriel saw that his 2 o’clock meeting was rescheduled for Monday morning. Good news for him since it meant that he need not return to the office right after lunch - more time to spend with Louisa. This day was really turning out perfectly for him.

“Who was it?” Louisa asked in between bites of blueberry cheesecake.

“It’s Ethan. We have a 6 PM appointment with Rajo. He wants to finalize the designs for your entourage’s gowns.”

“Uhmm, okay. I’ll go straight to his shop after I drop by West Grove. I’ll just meet you there.”

“Alright. I still have a 4 o’clock appointment, though, so you’ll probably be there before me…again,” Gabriel said, a small frown crinkling his forehead.

Louisa reached for his hand, “Don’t worry, I won’t punish you for being late for that,” grinning at him, “You don’t even have to go. Your fitting won’t be until next week.”

“I know, but I still want to be there with you,” Gabriel said, smiling back at Louisa.

“Well, if you insist. But if you get tied up, just text me okay? I’ll be fine on my own, so you need not worry. I’m a big girl now.”

“Big?” Gabriel’s eyebrows arched up expressively.

Louisa rolled her eyes and grunted, “Figuratively speaking, of course!”

Gabriel laughed and signaled the waiter for their bill. “So. I still have about an hour to burn, anywhere you’d like to go?”

“Hmm, let’s go to the mall. I need to buy some clothes for the kids. Mang Tino will be visiting them this weekend. Since we can’t go ourselves, I want to send the stuff with him.”

Gabriel nodded as he signed the credit card receipt the waiter handed to him. They left right after with Gabriel driving Louisa’s car to the mall. When they got there, they went straight to the Children’s section. While she was choosing the necessary items, Gabriel unwittingly wandered off to the Infant section. Odd, how seeing the tiny ensembles brought a strong longing inside him. All through his adult life, he’d been terrified of bringing another human being into the world. It wasn’t only because of the pre-arranged marriage, it was more because he did not think that he would be a good father at all. That’s the reason why he’d always taken strict precautions to prevent that from happening.

But now, as he ran his fingers against a soft flannel shirt, his eyes automatically getting drawn to his fiancée, all his fears dissolved into thin air. He need not be cautious anymore and he need not fear becoming a father either. In spite of their previous aversion to their engagement, his fiancée still brought out the best in him. She would bring out the father in him, too, of that he was sure. He glanced again at Louisa, his lips slowly pulling up into a sensuous smile. Yes, having children with Louisa would not only be more than welcome, it would be pleasurable as well. He turned away from the baby things and started back to his fiancée.

Watching Louisa put shirts, pants, and whatnots into her shopping basket brought him a strange measure of peace. He really could get used to this ‘domesticated’ activity. When before he used to hate accompanying his girlfriends' shopping (he found it boring and exhausting) now, he enjoyed doing even such mundane stuff like buying toiletries. Actually, it probably was not the shopping itself, but the time spent with Louisa. He loved being with her, no matter what, no matter where no matter when.

Funny how things became so easy once he stopped fighting his destiny. How could he even have dreaded being married to her? Of course, he didn’t really know her then, but still, had he not been so stubborn and had agreed to spend time with her before, he would’ve seen what a wonderful person his fiancée actually was. He wouldn’t have wasted all those years running away from something that was inevitable anyway. Well, better late than never, so they say. He’ll just have to make up for time lost.

A quick wave from Louisa told him that she was already done shopping. He rushed to her and took the two baskets she was lugging. She protested, but he insisted. He also insisted on paying for all her purchases. More violent protestation from her, of course, but he won out in the end. Louisa grudgingly gave in on the condition that it would be his ‘punishment’ for being late. He agreed immediately.

Within minutes they were aboard Louisa’s CRV, driving back to his office. Instead of going up to the front of the building, he swerved down to the basement parking for a little bit of privacy. He didn’t want the lobby guards ogling them while he kissed his fiancée goodbye.

His goodbye kiss lasted for almost fifteen minutes and it was only when Gabriel’s phone buzzed inside his pocket that they were able to pull themselves apart. He stole another quick nibble on her plump lips before finally getting out of the car, returning the keys to Louisa. A self-satisfied grin was plastered on his lips when he waved goodbye to his fiancée. It was only when Louisa had finally disappeared up the ramp did he turn on his heels to get into the elevator.

With his ‘feel-good’ meter filled to the brim, Gabriel breezed through his 3 o’clock meeting. The taste of Louisa’s lips still lingered on his and he could not wait to wade through his last appointment, eager to finally call it a day and rejoin her at the Rajo’s. He clicked on his calendar again to check who had been marked down as his 4 pm. A slight frown crinkled his brows when he saw that it was tagged as ‘IC - personal’. He had not set any personal appointments, of that he was sure. The buzzing on his desk phone saved him the trouble of calling his EA to ask about his 4 pm.

“Yes, Ethan. I was just about to buzz you. It’s about my 4 pm. I don’t remember setting it up.”

“It was set-up by your brother’s EA two days ago.”

“Which brother?”

“Angelo, sir.”

“I’m meeting with my brother?”

“No, sir. His office set up the appointment on behalf of your brother’s friend. She’s actually here now. Should I send her….Wait! Ma’am, please you can’t come in yet! Ma’am!”

Gabriel’s door flew open as his 4 pm boldly strode into his office, a flustered Ethan scrambling behind her.

“Sir, I’m sorry. I did try to stop her!”

“Hello, Darling. Did you miss me?”

The room turned claustrophobic.

“Isabella! What are you doing here?”

“Taking back what is rightfully mine,” Isabella replied, her voice cold and dripping with venom.

Gabriel’s ‘feel-good’ meter dropped to zero, dragging his perfect day down to the lowest recesses of hell.