Medicinal Kisses

99

m e d e c i n a l   k i s s e s
99

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"Can I be your boyfriend... again?"

Umawang ang labi ko nang itanong 'yon sa 'kin ni Alab. It has been a month since he started courting me again. Nag-alinlangan pa nga ako noong una dahil napagtanto kong wala naman siya talagang kasalanan. Maybe a bit. But mostly, it was Tilly's actions that broke us up.

I was so tempted to let him off the hook and accept him in my life without effort but I remembered all the times he made me feel like shit and I thought no, he needs to prove himself to me first. Ayoko ring basta-basta na lang siyang patawarin dahil baka isipin niyang ayos lang ang lahat ng ginawa niya sa 'kin. It wasn't okay to make me feel inadequate. Not in this lifetime and not in any other.

Lumapit siya sa 'kin upang ibigay ang isang bouquet ng bulaklak na tinanggap ko rin agad. Nasa ospital kami ngayon dahil sabi niya'y emergency raw. 'Di ko naman alam na ito pala ang emergency na tinutukoy niya. Namilog ang mga mata ko nang pag-angat ko ng tingin sa second floor ay nakahilera malapit sa railings ang mga katrabaho namin. Nakasuot silang lahat ng puting T-shirt na may tig-iisang letra. The queue of shirts read "PLEASE BE MY GIRL".

I couldn't believe any of it. Sobra-sobra naman ata 'tong surpresa niya! And wait, is that Tilly I'm looking at? Kumaway pa siya sa 'kin kaya para akong nakalunok ng tinik sa gulat. Wow! This is... unexpected! She seems fine now though, so that's good at least.

Ibinalik ko ang tingin ko kay Alab. I stifled a smile because he looked constipated. "Alab... I have something important to tell you first."

"Okay, go on," he said and nodded kahit mukha na siyang atat na marinig ang sagot ko.

"Actually, I'm..."

Biglang bumilis ang tibok ng puso ko. After a month of hiding my pregnancy, it all ends now, at this moment. Habang tinititigan ko si Alab ay bumabalik sa 'kin ang mga rason kung bakit ko siya minahal. I wish I could say it was just the way he looked. I wish I was that petty pero hindi, e.

I love Alab because he always had his way around my heart. Every time he looks at me, a part of me heals. It's inexplicable but it's the truth. I love him because his kisses are my salvation and his words are my mercy and his love... God, his love is my medicine, my hope, and my battle cry. He deserves to be my boyfriend and the father of my unborn child.

"Alab, I'm pregnant," I finally said. "You're going to be a Dad."