The Man Who Cried

Chapter 10 | Part 1

[ALI]

“SAAN TAYO pupunta?” tanong ni Simon sa ‘kin. Kakatapos niya lang maligo at nagbibihis na ngayon sa kwarto niya. Iniwan niyang bukas ang pinto habang namimili ng damit pang-itaas niya kaya kita ko ang katawan niya. Wala naman daw malisya kahit iwan niya nang bukas ang pinto dahil pareho naman kaming lalaki, but as someone who romantically likes him, it tempts me to see him that way. I just avoided my gaze and looked straight ahead while talking to him. I do not want to make him feel like I am invading his privacy and that, I do not want to lose my patience, looking at him the way he is today. “May kinalaman ba ‘to sa trabaho ko?”

“Wala naman,” sagot ko sa kaniya. I can never talk long if I am talking with him in this way. It was awkward to talk with him while not looking at him, but I guess, this is much better than peeking on him, though. “I mean, wala na medyo mayro’n?” Pati pagsalita ko naapektuhan na rin ng kung ano mang nangyayari sa sistema ko ngayon. “Basta, malalaman mo na lang kapag nakapunta na tayo do’n. You should dress yourself faster or else, we’ll not get it into that place as soon as possible. Rush our pa naman sa EDSA.”

Namili naman kaagad siya ng damit at kaagad iyong sinuot sa kaniyang sarili. Nasa highway na kami at sa awa ng Diyos, swabe pa naman ang biyahe. Kumpara sa mga rush hour na palagi kong nadadatnan kapag uuwi sa ganitong oras, mas maayos ang daloy ng trapiko ngayon. Tinignan ko lang si Simon habang naiipit ang kotse ko sa maliit na traffic. He was amazed at what he is seeing outside of the car. It must be his first time to use the lane and was astonished by how things are made here in Manila. I would never blame him; the first time I saw it was also memorable but I already am used to seeing these pictures whenever I go from work to home.

“Are you feeling good?” I asked him. Wala na akong maisip na topic para pag-usapan namin, e. The atmosphere inside is very dull and so, I thought I needed to talk to him to lighten up the mood. “I think you feel happier today than you are yesterday. And if it is right, I am happy to see you happy as well.”

“Happy naman ako palagi. Ang sabi sa ‘kin ng nanay ko, dapat daw masaya tayo palagi kasi maikli lang ang buhay, dapat natin ‘tong ngitian dahil ang pagngiti daw nakakahaba ng oras sa feeling mo. Kapag daw palagi kang ngumingiti, feeling mo mas mahaba ‘yong araw mo, na sa tingin ko ay maganda,” sagot niya habang nakatingin pa rin sa labas. “Kaya palagi akong nakangiti, lalo na sa mga taong komportable ako.”

I nodded. “I haven’t seen you smile that often to me that much. Is it because I am making you uncomfortable?”

“Hindi naman sa gano’n. Siguro dahil bago lang tayong magkaibigan kaya hindi pa ako masiyadong komportable pero sigurado akong mas magiging close pa tayo lalo na kapag nagsimula na ang trabaho ko,” sagot niya. I am willing to wait until the time that he sees me comfortable comes. That is what I wanted the most, as of the moment; to make him feel that I can be that someone who he can fool around comfortably. “At saka, maganda talaga ‘yong mga nagtataasang building, kaya napangiti ako. Minsan lang ako makakita nito, e. Wala rin naman nito sa amin. Matanong ko lang, saan ba tayo pupunta?”

“Wait,” ani ko at lumiko sa isang iskinita. Pumarada ako sa parking lot ng shop na kung saan kami talaga papunta. “You can step down the car already, Simon. We are already here.” Sinunod naman kaagad ni Simon ang sinabi ko at bumaba sa kotse. Tinignan ko siya at inaya pumasok sa shop. I can see in his eyes that he’s astonished of what he is seeing. Ikaw ba naman palibutan ng samot-saring suits. “This is the shop I use to shop my suits, pants and neckties, minsan rin para sa sapatos. We are here to shop for your uniform. Hindi naman p’wedeng pumasok ka nang wala ka sa uniform, ‘di ba?”

Lumapit siya sa isang suit at tinignan ang tag nito. “Ang mahal naman nito,” sagot niya. Suits are usually that high-pricing, though. “Sigurado ka na ba dito? Kung p’wede naman, sa handmade shop na lang o kaya sa second-hand shops na lang bumili. Wala pa akong pera sa ngayon, e.”

I smiled. “Don’t worry about the expenses. I can pay.”

“Hindi mo naman p’wedeng gawin ‘yan.” Why can’t I? “Kung gusto mo talaga dito bumili, sige, okay lang rin naman sa ‘kin. Pero, hindi ko matatanggap ‘to ng libre. P’wede mo naman ibawas sa unang sweldo ko o sa mga sweldo ko kung sakaling mahal talaga. Hindi kasi talaga ako tumatanggap ng libre.”

I nodded. “If that’s what you want, then I will. Ibabawas ko ang expenses ko para sa suits mo sa mga darating na sweldo mo, like you insist.” Nginitian niya ako nang marinig ‘yon. He really is not that kind of person who grabs and abuse the opportunity. What a man? “Pero for now, let’s choose some designs first and have you test each of them. Ako na ang titingin kung bagay ba o hindi.” I looked at the staff beside me and smiled at her. “I believe you can guide this guy here. Dress him the best suits for office works, miss. I’ll look at it and judge it based on my preference.”

Iniwan ako ni Simon at sumama do’n sa babae. Naupo lang ako sa sofa at kumuha ng magazine at tumingin-tingin ng mga bagay do’n. Sa totoo lang, hindi naman ako naka-focus sa magazine. I was using it to cover myself from being seen peeking at whatever Simon is doing not that far away. He was cute as he was looking confused while the staff are doing their works on him.

A little later on, he went out of the dressing room and awkwardly smiled at me. “Hmm,” I muttered. He was wearing a black suit with some touch of golden laces on it. Not bad. “I don’t like it but I don’t hate it as well. Just so-so. Try some more of the suits, Simon.”

I saw him scratch the back of his head. “Aye, sir,” the staff answered. Tinignan ko lang ang mga staff na busy sa paghanap ng suit na babagay sa katawan ni Simon. Maya-maya pa, nang humihikab na ako sa tagal, nagsalita ulit ‘yong staff. “This, sir?”

He was now wearing a black suit with blue laces on its wrist and neck part. “The blue part annoys me pero ayos lang, since dinadala naman na ng mukha niya,” sagot ko na nagpangiti sa staff. “But I need something else. ‘Yong mas may apil sana tignan. Ta’s walang ibang abubot, formal tignan and no other unnecessary colors.”

The staff, then again, grabbed Simon back to the pile of suits surrounding him. The staffs are doing their best to dress Simon the best suit, as to what I asked for and I think they are doing well on that dress-up. At saka, Simon isn’t that hard to dress, though. He has the moderate body and a tall height that would make any suit go well on him. He’s also handsome, in the thought that his face would do a big difference in bringing the suit he’s in. To conclude, the suits are not that bad. I just want to see him wear several suits in advance. At least, I was the one who saw him in suit.

“This one,” I muttered as I looked at him. He was wearing a total black suit, which corresponds to his tan skin and complex. He was absolutely stunning and gorgeous at that suit. Now, I know why this damn heart of mine beats his name. It may be cringeworthy but he handsome in and out. “This one’s the best, so far. I love this one.”

The two staffs smiled while Simon was looking confused. “Thank you, sir.”

I stood up. “Alright,” I muttered and smiled at Simon, telling him that it’s done. “Give me that last suit in three different designs, medium as to what is his size. Isama ninyo na rin ‘yong dalawang suit na nauna, kukunin na rin namin. Also, give us five pieces of necktie as well, no unnecessary designs. I’ll get two black leather shoes on his size as well.”

“Hindi ba sobra na ‘yang kinuha mo?” tanong niya sa ‘kin. He was surprised to see the two staffs removing his shoes to measure his feet but kept on talking. “Parang sobra na ata ‘yong kinuha mo. Kahit isa o dalawa lang, p’wede na rin ‘yon, Ali.”

“If you’re talking about expenses, do not worry. I may be deducting it, but I’ll be considerate. Just keep it,” I told him. “And you should be fashionable on your first day as my assistant manager. Papatalo ka ba sa assistant manager ng ibang team? Also, mahirap maglaba ng suit or even bring it to laundry shop. That five suits would do your whole week already. Para sa weekend na lang magpapalaba.”

Tumango siya. In the end, we still bought all the things that I have told the staffs without Simon liking. It’s not that, I think, he dislikes the idea but he want to conserve the money he would be getting from working. Anyway, I would be deducting the price of this suits from his salary but I will be considerate enough, knowing that he might really need the money. Or he might not? He really needs the money; I guess? Just that he asked it for me desperately, I think he is in deep need. And he already told it to me that his mom has a disease that might be his reason to be in need of a high-paying job.