The next day felt eerily calm.
Early ako na pumasok sa trabaho para makapaghanda sa pagkikita namin ni Loki mamaya. Sabi naman ni Leo kahapon, hindi siya sigurado kung anong oras pupunta sa flower shop si Loki pero panigurado na pupunta 'yon.
I was behind the counter, nervously biting my nails as I thought of any worst possible outcome. Hindi ako makatulog kagabi kaya naman malalim ang eyebags ko. I tried concealing it with concealer but the redness around my pupils was still evident. Mukha tuloy akong may sore eyes.
Ali offered that he'll take care of Jeime because it's his day off but I refused. I just dropped him off at the house of the flower shop's owner for the day. Siguro after a month, aalis na rin kami ni Jeime sa bahay na 'yon.
Florence, the flower shop's owner, was more than happy to take care of Jeime, pakiramdam ko nga gusto pa niya humirit na doon lang muna si Jeime matulog sa kanila mamayang gabi.
Kada bukas ng pinto sa flower shop, parang niyayanig ang mundo ko. Pakiramdam ko na dadating na si Loki pero nadidismaya lang ako tuwing customer lang pala ang pumapasok. Hindi ko naman maitatanggi na kabado ako lalo na't hindi ko alam kung anong gagawin ko kapag magkita na kami.
Should I say hi? But that would make everything awkward. Inisip ko rin na tumango na lang bilang pagkilala sa kaniya pero hindi naman kami mag-barkada. He's practically my ex, for fuck's sake. Ano bang magandang greeting sa ex?
The bell chimed again and I perked my head to see the person entering. Nagpakawala ako ng buntong hininga nang makita na isang lalaki lang pala 'yon. Mukhang namamangha pa siya sa iba't-ibang bulaklak dito sa flower shop.
"Hi, how can I help you?" I greeted.
The guy looks around the shop again. He looked at one flower after another as if he's about to buy one kind of flower but is immediately sidetracked by another beautiful one.
"What's the best here, in your opinion?" tanong niya sa'kin.
"That depends on who you'll give it to. Is it a lover? A family member? A friend?"
Napakamot siya sa batok bago nahihiyang ngumiti. "Uhm... a crush? I don't know."
I let out a small smile. "Are you going to confess with the flowers?"
Namula siya bago iniwasan ako ng tingin. I found it cute.
"Yes, but... I don't know if he'll accept it. It's just... I don't know his sexuality... I mean, he's very vague," pagpapaliwanag niya, resulta ng paglawak ng ngiti ko.
So it's a guy. It's even more wholesome and courageous now that I realized.
My heart warmed. "That's fine, no matter what his answer will be, it's worth the rejection or acceptance as long as you're genuine with your feelings."
Unlike someone out there, I thought.
"Thanks a lot."
"Sure... now, I'd like to suggest a bouquet of tulips but it's really up to you. That particular flower, especially the red ones, symbolizes a person's strong belief in true love no matter how hard it is to find something as grand as that in this world that we live in."
"Yeah... I don't specifically like to call this true love because, well... we've been friends for a while and I'm scared that I'm just confusing my affection as a platonic emotion. And he's actually the first guy that I ever liked."
"That's brave of you."
"Really?"
Tumango ako bago kumuha ng newspaper para paglagyan ng mga bulaklak. "Yeah, it's amazing to see someone defy the opinions of society for the sake of love," sabi ko bago siya tiningnan. "So... tulips?"
YOU ARE READING
Jack Of All Trades | COMPLETED
General Fiction[DECK OF CARDS # 2] In the battle of luck and love, she tries to prevail against all odds. Due to a national case that originally stemmed from a globally known company, Astrid Fuentabella was assigned on a mission to monitor the son of the most powe...
