Dylan did not notice anything different from Ballsie during dinner, so he concluded that she did not hear what he said to Manang Susan earlier. In fact, everyone was in good spirits while they ate and drank. Manang Susan cooked this time around; she prepared steak, mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables. When Dylan saw that they were having steaks for dinner, he went to the wine cellar and got two of his favorite red wines. He got four wine glasses and poured a generous amount in each one. Dylan felt festive and he definitely wanted to celebrate; it was a mini celebration for Manang Susan's upcoming and hopefully successful surgery, Tori's coming out, Ballsie's arrival, and his potential new client.
They ate and drank until their bellies were full and until they were a little tipsy from the wine. Dylan made a mental note on his head on how many glasses each of them consumed.
"Nanay Sue - one glass, Tori - six glasses, Ballsie - two glasses, and me - four glasses."
He looked at Ballsie and she seemed relaxed and was in a good mood. Her appetite was back too. She finished her plate and even had many servings of dessert. The buko pie and the tarts from lunch made another appearance at the dinner table and this time around, Ballsie served herself a huge piece of pie and even tried the tarts. She seemed to enjoy them, and this made Dylan feel pretty good.
He noticed that Ballsie was also less inhibited and more carefree. He was not sure if this was because of the wine or because she was now slowly opening up to all of them. When she heard something funny from the conversations at the dinner table, she laughed loudly and wholeheartedly. Although one might find Ballsie's laugh a little obnoxious, Dylan found her laugh soothing for some reason, even if there were times she would snort in between her chuckles.
Dylan felt his cheeks turn bright red as Ballsie's laughter echoed through the whole kitchen. Dylan couldn't help but smile because he sincerely liked seeing Ballsie in such a state of contentment.
"She seems to enjoy my - I mean our company." Dylan thought as he stared at Ballsie. His cheeks now feel completely hot, and he was now getting sweaty by the minute.
Tori, who was sitting to his right, seemed to notice his involuntary reaction and without any warning, Tori pinched his cheek with one hand.
"Shir Dylan, you are flushed! Why?! Why are you blushing, huh? Ayiieeee, someone ish, hik, happy, hik!" Tori pointed at him as he battled to finish his sentence with hiccups.
"Tori shut up, you are now past tipsy! You are so drunk, my friend!" Dylan gave him the evil eye.
"Friend?! Why are you friend-shoning me Shir Dylan? I laaab you! Ish there anymore wine? Hik!"
"Tori! Get a grip of yourself. You are so out of it already!" Manang Susan interjected. "No, you can't have any more wine. You've already had too much to drink. You're done here. Go to your room!"
"You're not my mother!" Tori yelled back, stomped his feet, and crossed his arms as he stood up to go to his room.
"He might be drunk, but he is for sure obedient!" Ballsie suddenly joined in their conversation with fits of laughter. She had tears in her eyes as Tori stomped his feet and staggered back to his room. "Oh my, even when drunk, Ate Tori is hilarious!"
"Yeah! Hahaha!" Dylan said and laughed in agreement.
It was at this point where he and Ballsie held eye contact. Dylan's hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he felt an inexplicable tingle from his spine, down to his tippy toes. It was a new feeling for him, but he welcomed this new sensation, nonetheless. He smiled at her, and he thought she would smile back at him, but instead she jerked her head away instinctually. He suddenly felt the hostility and awkwardness in the air.
"Hmm, maybe I'm just reading it wrong. She was in a good mood earlier. Well, Dylan... you didn't apologize to her for what happened this morning. Don't expect her to fall at your feet! Apologize first." He all thought in his head.
He cleared his throat as he wiped his mouth with the table napkin and was about to apologize when Manang Susan stood up from the table and placed her hands on her hips.
"Ok, ok! Time to clean up this mess so we can all call it a day! Ballsie, let's go. Get all these dirty dishes so we can wash them and so we can rest! Dylan, off you go! It's been a long day for you too. Hmm, and look at you, you are also red! I think you are tipsy already. Go, go! We don't need you here." Manang Susan shooed him away as if she was shooing cattle.
"Um, ok. I'll see you both later then." Dylan felt the opportunity to apologize had gone, so he resigned and just told himself that once he and Ballsie would be alone together, he would say sorry then.
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Dylan felt restless as he sat on his bed. He opened his laptop and tried to do more work while he waited, but his mind couldn't focus on what he was doing. He kept looking at his clock to check the time and he kept looking at his door if it was going to open. He finally gave up working so he closed his laptop and stashed it away.
When the door finally creaked open, he sat straighter on his bed and nervously combed through his hair with hands. He fixed his shirt and readied himself to apologize to Ballsie. The door completely swung open and his heart kind of sank when Manang Susan walked in the room.
"Hey, you're not asleep yet? Don't you have to work on-site tomorrow?
"Yes, Nay. I have to be in the office tomorrow."
"Hm, ok. I'll wake you up same time then."
Dylan just nodded in reply. He now thought that it wouldn't be the best time to apologize, but he felt in his bones that if he did not at least try to say sorry before the day ended, it would weigh heavily on him.
"Hmm, how should I do this? I really need to do this." Dylan pondered in silence. He looked at Manang Susan and got an idea. He took a piece of paper and a pen and wrote quickly. After he scribbled away, he looked at Manang Susan, who was already getting ready for bed.
"Yes, Dylan? Do you need anything else?"
"Yes, Nanay Sue. I need your help. Or should I say, I need Girlie Abundat's help." Dylan said with a wink.
