"¿Seguirás ahí de pie?" He asked me in Spanish. (*Are you just going to stand there?)
"Puta bakit ka nandito?!"
"¿Qué?!?!?!!" (*What?!?!?!!) His voice cracked, halos lumabas ang mga mata niya.
"Oh sorry, what are you doing here?" I asked him, after finally composing myself. I also moved my luggage and opened the door of his car. Pero nung buksan ko, maliit lang ang space na nasa likod. Sosyalin din kasi ang kotse niya, parehas kay Charles na for 2-seater lang. Tiningnan ko ang mga dala ko, trying to guess if magkakasya sila sa space ng sasakyan ni Carlos.
"Let me," he moved my things one by one at pinasok iyon sa kotse niya. In fairness at nagkasya naman. "You can get it in now." He moved around the car para pumunta sa driver's side.
Before I stepped inside his car, I noticed something engraved on it.
Smooth Operator
At syempre, ang iconic driver number niya na 55.
Nakaupo na siya sa driver's seat habang ako ay nakatunganga pa din sa labas.
"Why?" He asked me, kaya naman ay napatingin din ako sa kaniya.
"Smooth Operator? Lodi ka pala Carlos eh!"
"Sorry, Lord what?" He looked so confused while doing his seatbelt.
"Lo-di" I repeated.
"Lord Di?" Bakit ba ayaw niyang bitawan ang 'Lord' na word?
"Lord Perceval will kill me if he hears this..." I heard him muttering on his breath. Sorry na lang siya, malakas ang pandinig ko.
"Who's Lord Perceval?"
"Someone who'll kick my ass. He gets extremely jealous, Dios Mío. Red, you need to stop calling me that. Anything but Lord."
"What Lord are you talking about? It's LOH-DI! It's a Filipino thing to reverse words and make slangs. Try saying 'idol' backwards."
Nakakunot lang ang noo niya, probably spelling the words on his mind. "Lo.... di"
"Yes! Lodi! You use that word to someone you look up to, or you idolize. But Filipinos tend to use it jokingky as an expression."
He slowly nodded trying to understand my lecture. Para sa inyo 'to mga kababayan, panahon na para ang mga mananakop naman ang mag adjust sa atin.
"Oh by the way, our dads are friends?"
"Yeah, we are neighbors with your dad."
"Does it mean you already know me when I went to Singapore?"
"You are silly. Of course not, Tío Eduardo only shared us stories about you. But he never mentioned your name. When I returned back home after the Singapore GP, Tío visited and asked me some questions about Charles. He knows I'm an F1 driver. And that's when I knew you are his daughter."
Gaano ba ka close si Carlos at ang tatay ko at bakit Tito Eduardo na ang tawag niya sa kaniya?
"I see..." I answered.
"Oh and Carlos, please don't tell Charles I'm here. I want to surprise him."
He smiled playfully, I know he wants to tease me pero hindi pa naman kami close kaya tumahimik na lang siya at nag nod.
"This is Tío's office. Tell him Papá invited you both to have dinner with us."
"Okay, thank you Carlos!" He only smiled and umalis na. Pumasok na lang ako sa loob ng office ni daddy at nag scroll lang sa Twitter.
Dahil nga na girlfriend na ako ni Charles, halos F1 related ang mga nakikita ko sa timeline ko. Grabeng algorithm naman 'to Twitter, masyadong advance!
cl16priv: u up for a vc?
Napa-ayos ako ng upo when I saw a notification from him. I hurriedly ran into the mirror at inayos ang buhok ko. I look so haggard! Halos 19 hours din kasi ang flight kaya syempre, halatang halata sa mukha ko!
I was about to reply na hindi ako pwede pero nagsimula ng tumawag si Charles! Para sa ano pa at tinanong niya ako kung tatawag pa din siya?
Move your phone away, I can only see your forehead.
I look ugly right now. Be contented with my forehead. It's better than nothing.
He chuckled, shet ang pogi! Ang pogi pogi!!!!!!!!!
You are always beautiful, Red. Please?
Hindi niya ako madadala sa malambing na boses!
Forehead or I'll end the call!
He sighed in disappointment before he sat properly to talk to me.
You're really not coming?
Parang na gi-guilty ako tuloy! Sinabi ko kasi na may wedding ako na pupuntahan sa araw ng race niya.
No, my name is already included in the list as a bridesmaid. I don't want to make my friend upset.
But it's okay if I'm upset?
Drama mo, Charles! Hindi pa kita jowa ha!
Tumawa lang siya sa mga sinabi ko.
I should really learn your language. I need to know what the hell you're saying. You always switch to Filipino when I'm trying to flirt you.
Beh wag ganiyan, kinikilig ako.
Red, please.
He looked so frustrated habang ako ay tumatawa lang. He shared funny stories about the grid, as usual. Kung gaano daw ka tarantado si Carlos as his teammate. When he mentioned his name, natandaan ko naman yung kanina.
You're really lucky to have him as your teammate, no? He's a good friend.
He stopped talking and looked at me weirdly on the screen.
J'ai de la chance d'avoir Carlos? Es-tu en train de dire que tu l'aimes plus que moi? (*I'm lucky to have Carlos? Are you saying that you like him more than me?)
Charles...
Que savez-vous de Carlos de toute façon? Es-tu proche de lui ? Le rencontrez-vous? (*What do you know about Carlos anyway? Are you close to him? Do you meet him?)
Charles...
If you can speak in your language, I can too.
Ako lang ba or parang nag-iba ang tono ng boses niya? Bakit naging cold? Anong kasalanan ko?
"Anak, sorry. Kakatapos lang ng operasyon." My dad suddenly entered the room.
My dad's here. I'll talk to you soon, bye!
I lowered my phone before my dad stood in front of me. Tumayo din ako para salubungin ang yakap niya. I missed him so much!
"Dad, Carlos invited us to have dinner with his family. Daddy naman eh, bakit hindi mo sinabi na kilala mo si Carlos?"
"Yung Charles ang boyfriend mo, di ba?"
"Uhhh.. oo pero... magkaibigan din sila ni Charles kasi they're under one team. That makes Carlos and I somewhat connected.
"That's good to hear then! Enough na, Rose. The Sainzes are waiting for us."
Hindi na ako sumagot pa at sumabay na lang kay Daddy palabas ng office niya.
أنت تقرأ
Amour Rouge (Red Love)
قصص الهواةLove and marriage are two things that Charles doesn't believe in. He's one of the best Formula 1 drivers known worldwide and among the women who are crazy about him, there is still one who doesn't know his existence. Not until she was somehow forced...
