Plot Twist

12

Half an hour ng nagmamaneho si Ian pero wala ni isa sa amin ang nagsasalita, ang ingay lang ng radio ang maingay.

"Are you hungry?" he broke the silence

"Hindi pa naman." sagot ko

I thought he would believe it but he swiftly changed his lane to enter a fast food drive-thru.

"Two McCrispy Chicken Sandwich, and -" lumingon siya sa akin para magtanong "Ano gusto mong drink?"

"Coke na lang," I replied

"And two large coke." baling niyang muli sa intercom

After that he drives to the counter to pay and get his order. Inabot niya sa akin ang paper bag ng pagkain. Kinuha ko yung laman nito at binigay ang isang chicken sandwich sa kanya pero naisip ko kung paano nga naman niya makakain yung sandwich kung nagdadrive siya.

"Kain ka na. Malayo pa tayo." bilin niya sa akin habang ang mga mata ay nasa daan

"Paano ka?" I asked him

"If you want pwede mo naman akong subuan." he said in a flirty tone then laughed, "Joke lang."

I was taken aback when he said that. I don't know if it is a joke or something else pero kinuha niya ang isang sandwich habang ang isang kamay ay nasa manibela.

Hindi ko alam kung saan titingin, sa daan ba, sa kinakain ko o sa kanya. "Baka matunaw ako." he bluntly said

Napangiti ako sa sinabi niya, "Medyo makapal din mukha mo, noh?

"Well, with this handsome face like mine?" then shrugged his shoulders na parang nagyayabang pa.

Mas napangiti ako sa pagyayabang niya dahil may ipagyayabang naman talaga siya. Doon nagsimula ang usapan namin mula sa mga mababaw hanggang sa lumalim.

"Until now I don't have any idea where we are going." hinaing ko sa kanya

Ngumiti siya sa akin, "It's a surprise. Wala pa naman akong nilalabag na batas, I have your consent." sagot naman niya

"You use the law against me huh." tawa ko naman sa kanya

"You should smile more often, it damn suits you well." he sincerely said

Natahimik ako ng marinig yun. He is the first person who said that to me and the first person to make me laugh since my father died. I looked away to hide my face but he immediately held my chin and guided my face to look at him.

"Please don't hide away," he said then met my gaze

When I felt awkward, he removed his hand and put it back on the steering wheel. Then there's silence again.

After a few more minutes, he is pulling over into a vacant lot. Nauna siyang bumaba at pinagbuksan ako ng pinto, sumalubong sa akin ang malamig na hangin ng Tagaytay.

Inalalayan niya ako pababa at nang makasigurado siyang maayos akong nakababa ay sinarado niya ang pinto. Kinuha niya ang mga gamit sa likod na upuan.

It is an overlooking place, papadilim na kaya kita na ang city lights sa baba ng Tagaytay. Nilatag ni Ian ang picnic mat at ipinatong doon ang basket.

"Seat here," tapik niya sa tabi niya

"Planado ulit?" tanong ko sa kanya

"Yeah." ngiti niya sa akin

"Why?" ito yung tanong na kanina pa bumabagabag sa akin

"What do you mean why?" nagtatakang tanong niya pabalik sa akin

"Why are you doing this?" diretsong tanong ko

"Because I love doing this thing to you." nakatitig siya sa akin

I was shocked when he said it, I never thought he would say it.

"I know there's a lot of questions in your head right now, but can we at least enjoy the night?" maamo niyang tanong

I sat beside him, trying not to think about our previous conversation. Inilabas niya ang mga laman ng picnic basket, he has wrapped sandwiches, fruits, cheese, and a bottle of champagne.

"Oh, I almost forgot Mama wants to invite you to my brother's fiancee's Despidida de Soltera. I'll send you the invitation through email." dire diretso kong sinabi

He is just watching me talking, "She saw my post on Instagram, she had this wrong impression about us, and I couldn't say no when she said to invite you."

"No need to explain. I'll send you my email." kinuha niya ang phone niya at sinend sa akin ang email address niya

He opened the email and looked at the details. " Next week," he stated

"Kung hindi ka available, it's fine, I can tell Mama that you are busy." natawa naman siya sa sinabi ko

"Wala naman akong sinabing hindi ako pwede. I'll be there." he assures

Tumango ako at tumingin sa mga mata niya, then there's this feeling again, the feeling of comfort and assurance.

"What do you think about this vacant lot?" he asked while pouring champagne

"Nice spot." habang nililibot ang aking mga mata

Nakangiti siyang nililibot din ang lote niya. "I dream to build a vacation house here, where my future family spends summer." he happily visualizes

"Gaano kalaki ba yung ipapatayo mong bahay?" I curiously asked

" Ikaw?" he suddenly said "I mean, ikaw ilan sa tingin mo?"

"Bakit ako?" nagtataka kong tanong

"You own resorts, so maybe you have an idea," he explains

"How many kids do you want?" tingin ko sa kanya

"I thinking of 3 boys then a girl, para siya yung princess namin, pero depende naman yun sa wife ko." sabay tingin naman niya sa akin, "You? how many kids do you want to have?"

Napaisip ako bigla sa tanong niya, "I didn't think of that for now."

"Huh, bakit naman?" he asked again

"Because I don't have time to think about that stuff. All I've been doing is working." I replied, "Since college, nagta training na ako to handle the business. I spent my summer in the office and conference room."

Nang mapatingin ako sa kanya ay nakatitig lang siya sa akin na nakikinig ng mabuti. "Papa made sure that I will learned everything, from the bottom up to the highest I could learn."

"You don't have any dreams? Even the simple dream?" he asked

At muli akong napaisip. Hindi na niya hinintay na sumagot pa, "You have done an amazing job for being the CEO, and you've done great things providing for your family, but when are you going to do things for yourself?" nakakatitig sa mga mata kong wika niya

Mas lalo akong napaisip sa sinabi niya. Kailan nga ba yung unang pagkakataon na inuna ko ang sarili ko? Na nagawa ko ang mga bagay na gusto kong gawin? Ang alam ko lang naman ay mabuhay sa expectations ng magulang ko at nang nakapalibot sa akin.