POSSESSIVE 25: Reigo Vasquez

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3

ZEHANNAH WAS thankful that her Papi was doing good in the hospital. Kailangan pa rin nito ng alalay lalo na sa paglalakad, pero maliban doon, maayos na ang kalagay nito. She had nothing to worry about since her Papa was with her Papi, so her days continued without being stressed.

No. She took that back. Stressed pala siya. Stressed siya sa kaibigan niyang may hangin ang utak at malisyosa. Kahit sinabi na niya kay Cassia na hindi bakla ang asawa nito, walang pinatunguhan 'yon tulad ng inaasahan niya. Palaging may sariling interpretasyon si Cassia sa mga bagay-bagay, lalo na pagdating sa asawa nito kaya naman hindi na siya nagtaka, pero hindi ibig sabihin n'on ay hindi siya kinain ng frustration.

But instead of being frustrated as hell and forcing Cassia to believe her, she let her airhead friend be. Pasasaan ba't mari-realize rin nito ang totoo.

To relieve her stress caused by Cassia and her married life, she went back to that café with good ambiance after work. The Bitter Sweet Café. Hindi siya kumain do'n nung huli at nag-take out lang ng cake kasi gabi na, pero ngayon, gusto niyang kumain do'n at i-enjoy ang magandang ambiance ng café at siyempre pa para tikman kung masarap ang caramel macchiato ng mga ito.

Zehannah thought that meeting Reigo in Bitter Sweet café for the first time was just a coincidence kaya naman malakas ang loob niya na bumalik doon. Ang hindi niya alam, kaharap lang ng café ang village kung saan nakatira si Reigo.

At that moment, Zehannah didn't know, so she went to Bitter Sweet Café and ordered a caramel macchiato paired with two slices of chocolate cake.

She thoroughly enjoyed her order and ate in peace. It was always nice eating with someone, but there's also something therapeutic about eating alone, in silence. She got that everybody was scared to be alone somehow, but when one gets a taste of it, it was not so scary, and would sometimes seek it, if not most of the time.

A good coffee and a delicious cake. What a magnificent pair. Zehannah was satisfied as she stepped out of the café. But her satisfaction completely disappeared when she saw her drunken, stupid mistake leaning on a luxury car parked beside hers as if waiting for someone.

Sa halip na makaramdam ng pagkailang, lihim na natawa si Zehannah dahil kung gaano kakinis at kakintab ang sasakyan ni Reigo, ganoon naman kaluma at kakupas ang sasakyan niya na katabi niyon.

'Araw-araw talaga akong sinusubok ni Lord.' aniya sa sarili habang naglalakad patungo sa sasakyan niyang nakaparada.

Wala siyang balak pansinin si Reigo pero nagsalita ang gago. "Can we talk?"

She could be rude and just ignore Reigo, but her drunken, stupid mistake had been nothing but a stain in her past, and she wanted to clean that stain once and for all.

Umikot paharap si Zehannah kay Reigo at walang paligoy-ligoy na sinagot ito. "Saan?"

Tinuro nito ang café kung saan pa lang galing si Zehannah. "If you don't mind."

Zehannah was still full, but she will not say no to another cup of coffee in the form of caramel macchiato. "Sure."

Sabay na pumasok sina Zehannah at Reigo sa café at sabay ring um-order. She ordered caramel macchiato, and he ordered black coffee with an extra shot of espresso. And as they settled on their table, the talk began.

Nope. Not really.

Zehannah was the one who started it since the handsome man who asked if they could talk did not speak a word until she did. Gago talaga.

"I hate driving at night. Masakit sa mata ang mga ilaw ng mga sasakyan. So you better talk or else I'm leaving with my macchiato."

Thankfully, that made the bastard talk.