His HEART

Chapter 9

Troy Adrian

I researched about dating, I wanted to make it right, I had plans which involved dinner, a movie night, a picnic somewhere nice and many other things. Everything is set, then the pandemic happened. The supposed to be intimate experiences that I'm going to share with Claire abruptly replaced with social distancing, mask-wearing and the threat of catching a deadly disease. Life changed suddenly not just for me and Claire but also of the whole world.

The Tourism Industry have been deeply affected by the pandemic and the global lockdown. We are also affected, good thing RGC has a  contingency plan for unforseen event like this. We did not totally close our Hotels, some of our rooms are used as quarantine facilities for private companies and guests. We also help in housings our modern heroes, our frontliners like our Doctors and Nurses. In this way we manage to help our employees, the shuttle we provide, help them to travel from home to work. Only disrupted when restrictions are being strictly mandated by the government. The no movement and the total lockdown when the number of covid cases are growing.

A year passed and hopefully Covid 19 will totally go to history but for now that is far from the reality. We all need to learn to live alongside the virus and to insure that, all of us will need to get the vaccine.

All of us in the family are fully vaccinated except for the kids. I made sure all of our employees are also given the shot. We are slowly receiving number of bookings now that the travel restrictions are lifted.

Tourism in the post-COVID era will have major changes. The guest have higher expectations of hospitality service providers like us and much more demanding and in order to keep up, we will be prioritizing the offering of services, facilities and experiences that cater to wellness, health, and overall wellbeing. We need to focus on high hygiene standards for our International and Domestic tourists. Sa isang iglap naiba ang takbo ng mundo.

" Ang seryoso mo naman Sir Troy." that voice. I smiled when I finally noticed she's in front of me. Claire keep me sane all this time. I'm glad she came into my life bago paman nagkapandemya.

" Hi girlfriend.." yes I meant that. We didn't totally postpone the courtship that I promised. Niligawan ko siya sa kabila ng hamon ng Covid 19. Naging sandigan at lakas namin ang isat isa nitong nakaraang taon, we both realized that life is short. A love one can be taken in a snap, so we learn to value each other. The feisty woman gave in turns out gusto niya rin ako. Rosales yata to.

" Mukhang malalim na naman ang iniisip mo Sir Troy baka malunod tayo niyan." aniya. I like it when she calls me Troy. Siya lang kasi ang bukod tanging tumatawag sakin non.

I smiled " Yon na nga eh, hindi ka naman dagat pero lunod na lunod na ako sayo." she rolled her eyes marahil sablay na naman ang punch line ko. Lagi naman. Mana daw ako kay Dad sabi ni Mommy.

" Kahit ikaw ang pinakacorning mais na kilala ko, ayos lang. Gwapo ka naman kasi." counter niya. Sabay kindat.

I giggled like a boy.

How is it even possible na when I'm attempting to make her kilig ako tong mas pinapakilig niya, mind you kelan ko lang natutunan ang meaning ng kilig. Sabi ni Google " The Filipino word “kilig,” a tingly romantic feeling that is hard to define through a single English word. At totoo naman ang hirap e explain.

" Stop giggling Sir and back to work, All is set na nga po pala, pero ready na ba talaga tayo ulit para tumanggap ng mga guest galing ibang bansa at ibang lugar dito sa Pilipinas?"  seryoso padin siya sa trabaho gaya ng dati kahit girlfriend ko na siya. Did I already told you she's promoted as Housekeeping Manager? She deserves it naman, pinaghirapan niya kung ano man ang narating niya.

" We are more than ready but cautious. Kailangan parin nating mag doble ingat. We need to do this para lahat tayo makausad and maybe this time we could be better, stronger, but most importantly different than before." we should be thankful somehow for the chance to have a glimpse of our lives like before this pandemic happened.

" Kaya natin to basta magkakasama tayo. Nate is expecting you nga pala. Nangako ka daw na maglalaro kayo ng basketball. " isa pang ipinagpapasalamat namin ay ang tuluyang paggaling ni Nate. He's now a normal kid. Thanks to the great Doctors.

" Oo naman, bibiguin ko ba naman ang future brother ko. Takot ko lang mabawasan ang pogi points ko sa kanya. " tumayo ako saka lumapit kay Claire. Niyakap ko siya from behind.

" Masyado mong iniispoil ang batang yon. Baka pahirapan ako paglumaki na siya. " I kissed her hair.

" I'll be with you naman. Pareho nating gagabayan si  Nate saka isa pa mabait siyang bata. Mana sakin." hinampas niya ang braso ko.

" Sira.., ako ang kapatid, sakin yong nagmana syempre.. I have to go.. " aniya.

Sumimangot ako. Hindi na kasi kami magkasama sa trabaho. Nilipat siya ni Dad dito sa Trisha Alexis Villa. Para daw walang masabi ang mga ibang empleyado ko sa Adrian Suites.

" Kakausapin ko si Dad na ibalik kana ulit sa Hotel ko. You belong to me." I know i sound like a child pero LDR is hard.

" Paulit ulit nalang tayo dyan Troy. Okay na ako dito sa Villa. I like it here.   I really need to go Love, I'll see you later, okay? " she kissed me quickly saka lumabas ng board room.

Ilang beses ko na kasi siyang pinapabalik sa Adrian Suites pero ayaw niya. Ano kayang pinakain sa kanya ni Ate Chloe. She's her current Boss. Ayaw din siya e let go ni Ate. She's one of her gems daw. Just like me, the rest of my family got smitten by Claire. Even our youngest Xhan likes her, he's even threatening me to steal my girl. Our baby is now a grown up and that means I'm not getting younger. My twin sister is expecting her second child already, a lockdown baby as we say. Her first born Jacob is turning 3 next year and when it comes to Family gatherings I'm always the target for not having my own family but I love my family anyway, I wouldn't trade them for anything.

      I hoped that this pandemic would force us to collectively slow down, re-examine our values, our behaviors and specifically our priorities. Mine will always be my Family, my love ones. May the past year makes us more compassionate, kind and more human to those who are less fortunate and in needs.

I know we want to go back to normal, but because we can't, not yet, we should be able to live in this “new normal.

To be continued......

Hi guys. I know, it's been a year or more. I'm so sorry, been through a lot, my Father died, pandemic happened and stuff. I'm still trying to be back on track. I'm so sorry, I'll do my best, no promises just yet. Happy Holidays everyone. Happy new year to all of us. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Ate Cha