Loving My Ex Again

CHAPTER 2

When Alison returned to the VIP room, wala pa si Gerald sa upuan nito. Lahat ay masaya pa ding nagkukuwentuhan at nag-iinuman. Uminom na lang uli si Alison at hindi napansin na napapadami na pala ang nainom niya. Hindi na din niya namalayan na nakabalik na si Gerald sa upuan nito.

“Sir…” Kausap ni Alison si Mr. Reyes, sa tonong lasing na. “Sir…yung boss nating guwapo, tawagin mo sir, may hihingin ako.” Habang sinasabi ito ay tinuturo pa ni Alison si Mr. Reyes. Si Mariz naman ay sumesenyas na tumahimik si Alison at tinuturo si Gerald na nasa tabi niyang nakaupo. Pero hindi siya pinapansin ni Alison na tuloy pa din ang utos kay Mr. Reyes.

“Sir, tawagin mo si Boss…hihingin ko ang number nung ex-bf ko.” Lasing na lasing na si Alison nang sinasabi niya ito. Natatawa lang silang lahat na nasa mesa, maliban kay Gerald na alam niyang siya ang tinutukoy ni Alison.

“Okay, Alison, you’re drunk. I think you’d better stop now.” Inakbayan ni Mr. Reyes si Alison at pinigilan nang hawakan ang baso nitong may laman pang alak.

“Hindi, Sir, kaya ko pa. Akina yang baso ko.” Pilit na inabot ni Alison ang baso na inilayo ni Mr. Reyes. At dahil hindi nagpapapigil si Alison at nagkandatapon-tapon na ang laman ng braso, bigla na lang niya naramdaman na may humawak nang mahigpit sa braso niya. Napalingon siya at nakita niya na nakatayo sa likuran niya si Gerald at hawak ang braso niya. Sa higpit nang pagkakahawak ay bumitiw siya sa baso na pinag-aagawan nila ni Mr. Reyes sabay binalingan si Gerald.

“Boss!” Mapupungay na ang mga mata ni Alison at ang laki ng pagkaka-ngiti kay Gerald. “Andito ka lang pala, boss. Can I have the number of my ex-boyfriend?” At inilahad niya ang kamay niya na parang may hinihingi.

“Stop it, Alison.” Yun lang ang matipid na sagot ni Gerald at hinatak na siya papatayo sabay binalingan si Mariz. “Come, Mariz, mauna na kayo ni Alison umuwi.”

Agad namang tumayo si Mariz at kinuha ang mga gamit nila ni Alison. Isa pang lalaking officemate ang umalalay sa kanila sa paglabas ng bar para tulungan maisakay si Alison. Si Gerald ay bumalik na sa upuan nito at itinuloy na ang inuman.

NAGISING si Alison na parang may bumabayo sa ulo niya. Aargh…grabe ang sakit ng ulo ko. Sabay tumingin sa relo at nakitang 7:00 AM na. Kahit na masakit ang ulo ay agad na kumilos si Alison. Mabilis na naligo at nakapag-bihis at nag-taxi na papasok sa opisina. Pagsakay sa taxi ay saka pa lamang siya nag-ayos ng buhok. Naisip niya na sa opisina na lang mag-make up dahil hindi siya sanay na sa umaandar na sasakyan maglagay ng make-up.

Si Gerald naman ay muntik na ding mahuli sa pagpasok. Pagkasakay sa elevator ay narinig niya na may tumatakbo at humahabol na makasakay. Tinitignan niya si Alison habang kumakaway at tumatakbong papalapit. Parang slow motion ang dating ng pagtakbo ni Alison. Hmm…magandang babae talaga. Kahit hindi pa nakakapag-ayos, wala pang make-up, mas maganda siya.

“Good morning, Sir. Salamat po.” Hinihingal pa si Alison nang bumati kay Gerald. Tinignan lang siya ni Gerald at bahagyang yumukod. At parang nahiya bigla sa itsura niya si Alison at panay ang hagod sa sariling buhok dahil alam niya na hindi pa siya nakakapag-ayos.

Wala na sanang balak na magsalita ni Alison hanggang makarating sa 38th floor. Pero biglang sumagi sa isip niya ang nangyari kagabi.

“Ahh, Sir, kilala niyo po pala si Chris.” Medyo nahihiya pa si Alison nang banggitin si Chris. “Ex ko po yun, Sir. Ang guwapo po ano?” At natawa pa siya pagkasabi niyon. Si Gerald naman ay hindi natawa at tinignan lang siya.

“Sir, pwede po ba akong makahingi ng number ni Chris?” Nilakasan na ni Alison ang loob niya. Sakto naman at nasa 38th floor na sila. Pagkabukas ng elevator ay humakbang na agad si Gerald palabas at narinig pa ni Alison ang maikling sagot nito habang naglalakad.

“I don’t give personal info of my friends.” Hindi na lumingon si Gerald pagkasabi nito. Para namang nag-ngingitngit si Alison sa attitude ni Gerald and talked to herself. Okay, e di thank you na lang. Naku, akala mo ikaw lang ang source ko? You’re wrong, mahahanap ko din yun. Pagkasabi nito sa isip niya ay natigilan din si Alison. May mahihingan nga kaya ako?

When Alison got home that day, she browsed her social media account and looked for Chris. She tried browsing pages of common friends hoping to see Chris on their news feeds or even photos. Pero wala siyang nakita kahit isang picture lang ni Chris. Then she remembered Sophia, ang nakababatang kapatid ni Chris. Alison had met Sophia a few times before when she had visited their house. Although she was never introduced as a girlfriend, it didn’t really matter with Alison because she was introduced instead as girl bestfriend. Chris’ family thought of Alison as Chris’ bestfriend dahil hindi naman nila nakikita na Chris was sweet to Alison. But to her close friends, they thought it was weird that they were 5 years in a relationship but his family never knew their real relationship status. Hmm..bakit nga kaya? Sa family ko naman, alam ng lahat na bf ko sya. Nagtataka din si Alison na biglang napaisip.

There…Sophia Villamayor. Nakita ni Alison ang social media account ni Sophia. Hmm…graduating na sa college, ang bilis talaga ng panahon. Alison browsed some more photos and found some family pictures. Chris was there, smiling as always, and looked very happy. Parang hindi na ako naaalala ni Chris ah. Mukhang masaya na siya. At kagabi sa bar, parang bagong mukha yung mga nakita ko. May bago na kaya siyang gf?

For Alison to find out the answer to her question, kinakailangan niyang magtanong kay Sophia. Or ask Chris herself, baka ibigay ni Sophia ang number niya. Alison decided to message Sophia.

Alison: Hi Sophie! Ali here, hope you still remember me. Just wondering if you could give me your kuya’s contact number? I don’t see him in any social media. (sent and seen)

Alison waited for almost 15 minutes and wondered why the message was seen but there was no response from Sophia. Alison tried to ignore it and settled on her bed, took out one book from a shelf in the headboard. Pagbabasa ng book ang pampaantok ni Alison. She got a romance novel book that incidentally, had a written message from Chris. It was his birthday gift to Alison when she turned 20, two years ago.

To my Ali…I hope to be your hero just like the protagonist in this book. I’ll forever be here for you. Love, Chris. The message was short but the meaning was so deep for Alison. She started asking herself questions like ‘so what happened?’, ‘what went wrong?’, ‘was it my fault?’.

Alison closed her eyes and vividly remembered the night they talked about breaking up.

“Ali, I know you’re trying so hard to keep this relationship, but I think we are no longer happy.” Si Chris ang naunang nag-open about break up. Nagulat naman si Alison at napatitig sa mukha ni Chris. She was trying to assess the sincerity in his words. Nakita ni Alison that Chris was not joking.

They were sitting side by side on a bench in one of the quiet parks near her office building. Sinundo siya ni Chris that day and they talked after having dinner.

“Babe, pagod lang tayo. Can we not talk about it today?” Sagot ni Alison kay Chris.

“But I’m getting tired of it all. At least, I wanted to be honest with you. Our relationship is no longer healthy for both of us.” Chris explained.

“Okay, I get it. Hindi mo na ako mahal. Yun lang ba ang gusto mong sabihin? May iba ka na ba?” Medyo tumataas na ang boses ni Alison.

“It’s not like that, Ali.” Hinawakan niya si Alison sa balikat at iniharap sa kanya. “You know that I love you. I even promised that I will never leave you. But you see, this is not me anymore. I’m also confused and I really need a break. Please forgive me.”

Napaiyak na si Alison. “Why? Have I done something wrong? Ako lang ba ang may mali dito?”

“Wala ka namang kasalanan. We’re just too busy with work and can’t even find decent time for us. Alam mo naman ‘yun di ba.It doesn’t mean I don’t love you. I just want to have a break and think things over.” Ang sagot ni Chris.

“Well, tingin ko, you have prepared for this. You really wanted this break up so badly. Nararamdaman ko na wala na akong magagawa dahil nagdesisyon ka na.” Tahimik na umiyak si Alison.

Niyakap siya ni Chris at hinagod ang buhok niya. “I’m sorry, I’m really sorry. I hope you’ll understand.” Pagkasabi nito ay iniangat pa niya ang mukha ni Alison at hinalikan ito sa labi. Marahan lang ang halik ni Chris. Ramdam na ramdam naman ni Alison na parang iyon na ang halik ng pamamaalam ni Chris.

He cupped her face with both hands and continued on kissing her lips. It was full of emotion. Chris chewed passionately on Alison’s lips like it really was the last time he’ll be doing it. Alison kissed him back, kahit hindi tumitigil sa pag-iyak, hinalikan na din niya sa labi si Chris. They both tasted her tears but it didn’t matter, that kiss was what mattered the most at that time. Alison thought it was the longest kiss they had in their 5 years of relationship. Nang magbitaw sila at iniangat ni Chris ang mukha ni Alison, he said his final goodbye looking at her eyes, then walked away, leaving Alison on the bench, staring at his back until it was finally out of her sight. She touched her lips and it felt numbed. Sana kaya ding mamanhid ng puso. Muli ay umiyak na lang nang tahimik si Alison at hindi na namalayan kung papaano siya nakauwi sa condo niya ng gabing iyon.

Alison fell asleep thinking about that sad moment in her life. She was clutching the book on her chest as if holding on to the sweet words that Chris had written on it.