Sa Kama ni Bayaw

29

Claire’s

I have never given much thought about marriage and the kind of man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Surely, I have my own standards when it comes to choosing men but falling to someone that’s out of my league was something that never occurred to me, it was sudden and unexpected.

My parents chose the man for me, I let them control my life because I was weak. Noon pa man ay wala na akong sariling boses sa loob ng pamilya namin, I was always the puppy of my parents, the daughter who always seek approval from them, especially my father. It was Clarence who’s always disobeying them, yet she gets the approval every time. Pero hindi ko iyon dinibdib, mahal ko ang kapatid ko, hindi niya pinaramdam sa akin na mas lamang siya, she was actually my best fan and supporter. She encouraged me to follow my dreams and to never let others control me.

Now that she’s not here, I need to be strong, be the woman I wanted to be. I wanted to be carefree, I wanted to have a voice, I wanted to laugh without reserve, I want others to see the weakness in me, that I’m not perfect and living a perfect life like what the public knew, the untouchable princess of the dela Fuertes.

Now that I get to assess myself and thought about Sebastian, a part of me wanted to defy my parents for the first time in my life. It was not until I knew him that I wanted to stand for myself and not listen to the dictates of my parents, suddenly it gave me the courage to choose what I thought would make me happy.

“You ready?” I was snapped out of my deep reverie when I heard Niu appeared on the door, smiling from ear to ear. He looked handsomely rugged in his black jeans and red v-neck shirt. Hindi siya naka- office attire since it’s Saturday.

It was almost a month since the issue and everything is running smoothly now, I guess. The media finally gave us a break and accepted that it was over. Natabunan na rin ang issue na iyon ng bagong hot topic, the new favorite of the media right now. Nakahinga na rin kami sa wakas.

Ngumiti ako sa kaniya at tumango, “Yes, ililigpit ko lang ‘to.”

Niu has reservations on a restaurant for the two of us, he said it was somewhat like a celebration since everything seems to be getting back to the way it used to be. Their investors didn’t backed out, thanks to Sebastian. And speaking of Sebastian, hindi pa rin nagpaparamdam ang buwesit na iyon. I’ll deal with him later.

As to the real culprit, they are still in search of who that man is. Every angle was investigated. Hindi magtatagal ay malalaman din namin kung sino talaga ang totoong may pakana no’n. And he’ll never get away with it. Ayaw na namin na maulit pa ‘to.

“Busy day, huh?” tanong niya, nakasandal siya sa pinto ng office ko at naka-halukipkip. He looked like a model freshly cut out of a magazine. His hair is messy, not the usual hair he used to wear when he was in the office.

“Yeah, I’ve been gone for more than two weeks, and I tell you, ang dami kong trabaho na na-pending, Mabuti na lang at nand’yan si Kate,” pahayag ko. These media men can be annoying sometimes.

Para ngang gusto kong umuwi no’ng nakita ko kung gaano karami ang naiwan kong trabaho dito. Thanks to Kate for being there always. Siya lang talaga kasi ang palagi kong naaasahan dito sa shop.

Niu chuckled, “I think you should give her a raise, then,” komento nito.

“Oh, no. Don’t tell that to her, lalaki ang ulo no’n,” natatawa kong saad. I set aside the folders that need my review for tomorrow and stack them in one pile.

Kinuha ko ang shoulder bag sa mesa at inayos ang sarili bago tinungo ang pinto kung saan nakasandal si Niu.

“Let’s go?” nakangiti kong anyaya sa kanya.

“Of course, princess.” He politely held my elbow. He guided me on our way out of my office. Napangiti ako sa kilos niya, Niu will always be the gentleman between the two.

Instead of letting his hand stay on my elbow, I inserted and hooked an arm around his arm. Napatigil ito sa paglalakad at tumungo sa akin. He looked taken aback by my sweet gesture. Smiling sweetly at him, I tiptoed and peck a kiss on his left cheeks.

This time, his face turned red, and he looked so cute, I never thought Niu is this shy. Para pa siyang na-estatuwa at hindi kumilos ng ilang segundo. Nakatitig lang ito sa akin at hindi nagsalita. For a moment I saw an emotion flashed in his eyes, was it worry? Hindi naman siguro siya nagimbal sa ginawa ko.

I heard multiple clicks and flashes from the camera and my smile widen. Sa narinig ko ay parang gusto ko nang magdiwang, ang lakas ng halakhak ko sa isip. Let the show begin.

“Grabe kayo ha, nagkaroon ng nga scandal itong si Niu ay nagiging sweet na kayo. Bumabawi ka, Niu?” nang-aasar na komento ni Kate sabay tawa pa.

Pinandilatan ko siya, ang bibig talaga nitong babaeng ‘to kahit kailan ang taklesa. Binalewala niya lang ako at tinaasan ng kilay.

“Ang sweet naman po ni sir Niu, bagay na bagay sila ni ma’am Claire,” kinikilig na saad ni Jen, isa sa mga tauhan ko.

“Oo nga, going stronger pa talaga sila kahit na mga ingitterang nag-tangkang sirain sila,” si Mira. Kahit na mahina ang boses nila ay rinig na rinig ko pa rin.

Napangisi ako sa mga naisip ko. Idinikit ko pa lalo ang sarili sa kaniya at kumapit ng mahigpit sa braso ni Niu. Patuloy pa rin sa pag-click ang camera sa kung saan. Nang makuntento ay niyaya ko na siyang lumabas.

“Una na kami, kate. Ikaw na ang bahala dito,” paalam ko sa kaniya.

“Oo na, sige na alis na nang makarami kayo,”

Hindi ko na pinansin ang sinabi niya at hinila na palabas si Niu, ang bastos talaga ng babaeng iyon.

This dinner date was dad’s plan to end the cheating issues of Niu. If we are to be spotted having dinner together then it would create a new image of a happily married couple, thus putting an end to the malicious contents on the internet. Agad ko naming sinang-ayonan dahil mayroong nabuong plano sa isip ko, I can use this to piss someone, and I wanted to confirm something too.

Niu drove to a fancy Italian restaurant, the Classico Italliano Ristorante. This is one the best in this area, the food is great and the ambiance is so perfect for those who wants to have a fancy dinner with their loved ones, its quiet with only a classic instrumental song on the backdrop.

The cameriere guided us to our table, Niu, the gentleman as he always is, pulled the chair for me to sit, I said my thanks before he occupied the chair in front of me.

I opted for a light dinner, salad and wine will do since I noticed that I increasingly gained weight this past few weeks, maybe because of stress. A lot of things have been spinning around my head.

After the cameriere took our orders, he excused himself. Niu and I were left with uncomfortable silence as we wait for our food. Inilibot ko ang tingin sa buong restaurant, kaunti lang ang taong sa loob, lahat ay mukhang may kaya rin sa buhay.

A minute passed, none of us talked, the comfortable feeling earlier in the office was now gone. Ngayon ko lang din naisip na ito iyong unang pagkakataon na kumain kami ni Niu sa labas, at halos dalawang taon na kaming kasal, kaya pala awkward. Did he realize it too?

Tumukhim ako at siya rin, nagkatinginan kaming dalawa at sabay na natawa.

“Now that we’re here, I just realized this is actually our first dinner date since the wedding,” naiiling niyang saad. It was like he was disappointed. Nahihiya niya akong tiningnan. And I find him cute.

“Yeah, ngayon ko lang rin naisip ‘yan. But I understand that you’re busy since you lead the company, so no worries about that,” I assured him. He doesn’t have to do his husband's duties to me, I totally understand him. We are not a normal couple; the marriage exists only because our parents said so.

“But, still, I feel like I totally disregard you, damn!”

“Hey, it’s really okay with me, you don’t have to feel bad about it. We are both stuck in this marriage, Niu and we already talked about this before, right? Ako nga mas malaki pagkukulang ko sa’yo e, and I wanna thank you for considering me always.” I sincerely said, he already knew what I meant, the intimacy thing that couples do.

“Thank you, Claire. You really are one of a kind, no wonder he fell deeply,” he said with a hint. Parang wala sa sarili niyang saad pero nagitla rin kalaunan nang na-realize niya kung ano ang sinabi.

Kumunot ang noo ko dahil doon.

“Huh? Anong ibig mong sabihin?” nalilito kong tanong. Umiling lang siya at ngumiti sa akin. He held my hand that rested on the top of the table. He squeezed it lightly. Mas lalo akong natuwa dahil sa kinikilos niya. If someone could see right now, they would probably think we a real thing and that we are deeply in love with each other.

“Nothing, Claire. don’t mind that,” huminga siya ng malalim,

Pinalamlam ko ang mga mata. My hand reached across the table to touch his face. He was shocked by my bold move but I continued what I have in mind. Dumukwang ako at ginawaran siya ng halik sa magkabilang pisngi.

Nang maupo ako ay gusto kong matawa sa reaksyon niya, he was like stung with a bee. Nakatulala siya sa akin pero bakas sa mukha niya ang pagkabahala at takot, I don’t know why, but I was really enjoying this little act of mine. Dapat pala tinanggap ko iyong offer ni direk Jules Llanego na mag-artista.

Agad rin naman siyang nakabawi nang dumating na ang pagkain namin. Namumula pa rin ang mukha niya, mas niluwagan ko pa ang ngiti sa kaniya.

“Our food’s here,” he declared.

The food smells and looks good. Marami ang in-order ni Niu, including a bottle of champagne.

“Let’s eat.” We heartily ate our dinner while talking about random stuff. Niu is actually much nicer than his brother. Sebastian has always this domineering aura that says never to mess with him, plus he’s not so gentlemanly. But something so strong that pulled me to him, I guess his dominant and strong personality that made me feel secured and safe.

For someone like that’s always overshadowed by my parents, his presence feels home. I feel like he’s going to be there for me no matter what. That feeling that someone will always be on your back to be a support system.

We ended the night with a toss of champagne. Swirling the liquid on my flute, I smiled deep inside when something crossed my mind. This will for sure be on the headlines first thing in the morning tomorrow. Gusto kong humalakhak.

Let’s see, Sebastian Altamirano.

I’m pretty sure this will reach him, walang nakakatakas sa radar ng lalaking iyon.

With his absence for almost a month, he’ll think I am having a good time with my husband. And this will not be the last, hindi ako titigil hanggang hindi bumalik iyon dito.

I will have the confirmation I needed once he’s back here in the country. A little drama won’t hurt, will it?