Unromantic Romance

PROLOGUE

"Manong, sa susunod na linggo na po tayo magha-harvest ng mga bulaklak ah," sabi ko kay Manong Selso. Matagal na siyang nagtratrabaho dito sa farm simula pa noong mga palay pa lamang ang negosyong pinagkakaabalahan ng pamilya.

"Opo, Ma'am! Nasabihan ko na rin ang iba tsaka handa na po ang mga tao na kakailanganin kung magkulang man." Tumango ako at sumilong muna sa ilalim ng puno ng narra sa tabi. Kakaupo ko pa nga lang ay naririnig ko na ang matinis na boses ni Ayii.

"Oh my gee! Le'!" Sigaw niya habang tumatakbo papunta sa kinaroroonan ko. "How could you! Bakit nakaganyan ka pa!?" Hinampas niya ko sa dala niyang sling bag na nagpakunot ng noo ko.

"Ha? Kasi... may trabaho ako sa farm ngayon?" Tanong ko na medyo naguguluhan pa sa kinikilos niya. Napatakip siya sa bibig niya na akala mo'y hindi makapaniwala sa sinabi ko.

"Hello!? Wedding ngayon ni Vince at Jay!" Sigaw niya na nagpagulat sa akin. Nangangapa ako sa salitang sasabihin kaso wala akong mahanap na saktong mga salitang gagamitin. I want to spare myself an excuse but I could not find any. How could I forget?

"Kaya tumayo ka na diyan at magbihis ka na! Quick!" Hinila niya ako patayo at tinutulak-tulak papunta sa bahay ko.

"Okay, okay. Stop it na, I might trip," sabi ko at pumasok na sa bahay at nagmamadaling binuksan ang kwarto. I smelled the neckline of my shirt, hindi naman nangangamoy pero namamawis pa rin ako kaya napagdesisyunan kong maligo na lang ulit.

I spent 15 minutes on the bathroom and another 10 minutes for blow-drying my hair. Mahaba ang buhok ko ngayon, siguro malapit na umabot sa bewang ko kung hindi lang ito kulot-kulot sa baba. I am thinking to cut it again after 2 years since my last haircut. Ang tagal magpatuyo ng buhok kapag mahaba!

I was in the dilemma of choosing a dress to wear between the two formal attire I laid on my bed. I walked back and forth, biting my nails thinking about what to wear. If only I didn't forget about the wedding, I should not have been in this situation. 

I stop to stare at the dresses on my bed and stomped my foot for how many times.

"Whatever, This will do." I picked the white chiffon dress ending above my knees.

I looked at the full-length mirror and stared at myself. It's a V neckline dress, exposing my chest a little but it is still formal. Now, I have to do my hair but if I take it to what I want, I will consume an hour! I just did a messy bun and let a few strands of my hair fall sideways. For the shoe? Well, I just matched it with white, flat sandals with crystals surrounding the front strap. I sprayed on my favorite usual perfume and got my white purse and stormed out of my room.

Nagmamadali ako sa paglalakad pababa na sa tingin ko kung malilingat ako ay mahuhulog ako. Ayii was walking inside and out while texting on her phone. As soon as she saw me approaching her, she instantly rolled her eyes at me, annoyance is evident on her face.

"I was thinking to leave you already and head first! Dalawang oras talaga Le'!?" She said when we are walking to my car.

"Car mo na lang gamitin natin, total may kasalanan ka pa sa'kin."

I chuckled.

"Sorry, nakalimutan ko ang kasal."

She raised her brow before going inside my car. Habang nasa daan kami papunta sa San Labrador Church, she nudged me.

"Stop it, Ayii. I'm driving." I warned her. She leaned her back on her seat before looking at me.

"Seryoso? How could you forget?" She asked with squinted eyes.

"Yeah. Maybe because I am so busy these past few days. I totally forgot!" I answered while my attention is still on the road.

"Jay is our best friend, Le'. How can you forget her big day?" Ayii counterclaimed.

"Okay, I am sorry. Don't tell her, please. She might pull my hair or who knows what she'll do." I answered, laughing while imagining my hair being pulled by Jay. Ayii laughed maybe visualizing what I just said.

Her phone beeped for a message.

"Oh, my gee! Karyl asks where are we na!" She said, panicking.

"Chill. We're almost there," she nodded as she typed her reply.

We arrived at San Labrador Church but the whole road is packed. Cars are everywhere!

"Ugh! The perks of marrying someone damn rich," Ayii murmured while looking for space.

"It's okay. You can head first, Ayii. I'll just park my car in the back. Susunod rin ako."

I encouraged her and she got out of the car first. She was about to go when she knocked on the car window. My forehead creased before rolling my window down.

 Maybe she forgot to say something?

"Le' Pauline." 

What's her problem? She calls me by my full name when she is serious, really serious at that! Kinabahan ako roon, slight lang naman.

She sighed. "You have a story to tell," she said and left, almost running.

I looked at her running towards the church door, she immediately hugged Jay in the back. I can see Jay's bright face the moment she turned around to see Ayii. 

What she said left me dumbfounded. What did she mean by that? I will just ask her later. Whatever, Ayii.

I surveyed the road in front of me and checked once again if there is really no space for me to park my car. I rolled my eyes out of annoyance and drove to the backyard. Good thing, there is a lot of space here. I parked my car and headed to the entrance where Ayii is.

"Where's Le'?" I heard Jay asking. Ayii was about to answer her when they saw me approaching. "Ah, there you are!" Jay exclaimed. She is wearing her white, elegant bridal gown. She's so sophisticated! Yayamanin, hmm.

"Ang hype mo ngayon ah?" I asked, slightly teasing after kissing her cheek.

"Of course, it's my wedding day, Le'!"

"You better tell her 100 times that it's your wedding day today, Jay. Because she totally—"

"I am so happy for you, Jay!" Pinutol ko ang sasabihin ni Ayii and hugged Jay. I took that as an opportunity to pinch Ayii standing beside Jay. She winced in pain that made me laugh.

Nang kinalas ko ang yakap ko ni Jay, I found her teary-eyed.

"The hell!?" I am stunned. How can someone cry on her wedding day?

"What?! I cannot help it Le'! Don't tease me, okay?" She said and faced upwards, pinipigilan ang nagbabadya niyang luha.

"Miss Solaro, magsta-start na po after five minutes," sabi nung bakla, probably organizer.

"Uyy pero magiging Abella na iyan mamaya!" Ayii teased as I laughed with her, also teasing. Hinila ko na si Ayii sa loob para makahanap na kami ng upuan.

"Pasok na kami sa loob Mrs. Abella ha," panggagatong ko. Jay just rolled her eyes and waved her hand away indicating for us to go now.

The whole church is packed! Ang daming tao! Sabagay, pamilya ng politiko nga pala ang mapapangasawa ni Jay. I tiptoed a bit while surveying the whole church. Now, where should we sit?

"Doon po kayo sa panglimang upuan sa unahan, Madame! Friends po kayo ni Miss Solaro, right?" Tanong ng organizer kanina na di ko man lang namalayang lumapit pala. Tumango ako at nagpasalamat bago hinila si Ayii.

Good thing, the fifth bench is filled with people I know. Some are our Senior Highschool's friends or classmates. The same goes for the next five benches. It took me a while to greet them all, some are people whom I didn't see for years so I get a little excited. It's wonderful to see old faces once again, we shared memories after all.

Not a long while, the wedding started. Watching Jay walk in the aisle towards Vince made me so happy. I am so happy for her. Their story behind this day is not all about sweetness nor happiness. It is a mixture of grief and joy. I witnessed their love story. Naging sila simula noong Senior High School pa lamang kami. Vince is a playboy so I didn't really think that he will be serious to Jay. Vince is my ex when we were in high school before they happen. It was not serious though. Vince is a playboy and I am not that serious to my relationships then. Sure, their relationships are full of heartbreaks, they were on and off. I thought that they were not meant to be after several break-ups but looking at them now finally tying the knot in front of God struck me wrong. They did actually end up together.

After the wedding, we took pictures. Kakababa ko pa lang sa altar galing sa pagpapa-picture namin ni Ayii sa bagong kasal ay napako ang tingin ko sa entrada ng simbahan. I freeze and stared at the man standing right at the entrance. I stared at him unconsciously when Ayii nudged me.

"He said he'll come, male-late nga lang. Tingnan mo naman, tapos na ang kasal, tsaka pa umabot. Super late!" Ayii said and let out a sarcastic laugh but I couldn't process anything she just said. My eyes are glued to the man wearing a dark, blue long sleeve matched with his black slacks. His hair is neatly waxed. He got taller from what I am seeing right now and more masculine than before. Ang daming... nagbago sa kanya.

I was looking intently to the man walking towards the altar when Ayii blocked my vision of him.

"Le' Pauline! Don't you dare drool!" she said hissing. I immediately wiped my lips. I didn't drool! Ew.

"Come on, let's go" she said at nagpatiuna nang maglakad.

My eyes immediately flew to the man heading to... me?

 I snapped. 

No, of course not Le'! To the altar, nandoon ang bagong kasal!

"Le', don't make me drag you out of here." Ayii said in a warning tone that made me turn to her side. I inhaled a large breath bago lumapit sa kanya. Ayii held the small of my back before we headed out.

Bago ako makapasok sa sasakyan ko, I saw her raising her brow while her arms are crossed and in her usual 'maldita' demeanor.

"What? You want me to open the goddamn door for you, Ayii?" I asked her, a bit annoyed. I know she will tease me for my actions earlier.

"Now, you are annoyed? Me too!"

I sighed. "Don't think of anything stupid. Don't do anything that will make you stupid. Don't make yourself a laughing stock!" Sabi niya ng walang preno that I am afraid she forgot to breathe for a second. She panted and look at me with dagger eyes.

"Do you get it, Le' Pauline?" She asked me in a serious tone, damn serious! I don't know what to answer or maybe I do but I am just not so sure. I am too afraid to know which is. Iniwas ko ang tingin sa kanya at bumuntong-hininga.

"I will tag with you all day, Le'," she said that made me turn my gaze at her. I was about to complain when she waved her hand at me, dismissive. "I will even if you don't want to. There's no room for your complaints, Le'." She said before opening the car.

 I close my eyes out of frustration... or confusion? Am I confused? I don't want to admit that I am.

The moment I opened my eyes, I found Regis looking at me with his hands in his pocket. Para akong naubusan ng dugo sa titig niya sa akin. Feeling ko ang init-init ko kahit wala naman akong lagnat. What's with that stare?

Ayokong magmukhang talunan. I was never a loser. I hate losing. Just the thought of losing makes me want to do something more than winning. I looked at him too, giving back the same intensity he's giving. Siya ang naunang mag-iwas ng tingin. I took that as an opportunity to slid inside my car and immediately started the engine.

"What... was that, Le!?" Ayii asked, intriguing and suspicious.

"Don't worry, I am not the same Le' anymore."

Yes, because I grew. I grew stronger. I grew untamed. I am now the Le' Pauline who won't do something pathetic like what the old me did. What was that stare, Regis?... the old Regis is not there anymore, maybe the same old feelings change into something new now huh?

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