N A M I
"What's so bad about crushing on him?" I asked, chewing on a chocolate-coated almond nut. "Harmless crush lang naman! Sabi niya, it's going to be a complication daw. Ang OA naman!"
Kasalukuyan akong nasa kwarto ni Kara at nakatambay habang naglalampungan sila ni Pam, girlfriend niya.
"Haha. Parang hindi mo kilala si Denver," sagot niya. "You know how disciplined he is when it comes to the band. Maybe he thinks that flings will just cause a distraction especially since you're both our front."
Napairap na lang ako. Crush lang naman, ah? Marami rin naman akong ibang crush pero alam ko naman ang limitasyon ko dahil aminado akong out of reach ko sila. Kasama na si Denver do'n.
"And also, I've been meaning to tell you, but you look a great deal like his—"
"Omg! Nanalo ako sa online sabungan!" Naputol ko ang sinasabi ni Kara dahil sa sobrang galak. Ilang beses na akong sumasali sa online sabungan pero ito ang unang beses na nanalo ako.
"Anong prize?" tanong niya.
"One-year supply ng dog food."
"Dog food?"
"Oo! Grabe, ang swerte ko!"
"Nami," mahinang tawag niya sa pangalan ko.
"Oh?" Lumingon ako sa kaniya at nakitang nakataas lang ang isang kilay niya sa akin.
"Wala kang aso."
Oo nga pala.
Hanggang sa makauwi ako sa apartment ay wala akong ibang ginawa kung hindi mamroblema kung anong gagawin ko sa isang taong supply ng dog food.
"Don't accept it. Give it away. Or get a dog. Those are the only options," ani Denver nang ipaliwanag ko sa kaniya sa telepono ang kasalukuyan kong dilemma.
"Ibebenta ko na lang!" sabik kong sagot. Magkano rin ang dog food, 'no!
"That's not nice."
"H-Ha?"
"You won it as a prize, Nami. Please don't sell it," he said disappointedly. "Just get a dog. Let's go to the shelter tomorrow."
"Shelter?"
"There are lots of abandoned dogs who are looking for forever homes."
"But I want a puppy!"
"We can adopt two dogs. A boy and a girl who haven't been spayed or neutered. Then they can have plenty of puppies."
"What if they don't like each other? What if one of them is unfuckable and they don't want to mate?"
He paused for a second, and when he spoke again, it's almost like he's trying hard not to laugh. "We'll give the unfuckable dog a make-over and then we'll set them up on dates so they can get to know each other better."
"Dates?"
"Yes, we'll serve them spaghetti."
"Oh!" I exclaimed. "Just like in Lady and the Tramp!"
I can hear his smile from kilometers away. "Just like in Lady and the Tramp," he confirmed.
The next day, we did go to a shelter and I couldn't help but cry because we can only take two dogs home.
There are literally about a hundred dogs who are all locked in cages, waiting for someone to save them from their misery.
In the end, we adopted a handsome two-year old boy we named Stitch, and a cute five-year old girl we named Lilo. Both of them are Aspins.
