Virgin Bride

Virgin Bride Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

Against the din of the howling winds and rain outside their shelter, the silence inside was unbearable. Her heart was practically bursting out of her chest and she could barely breathe. 

"Do you want to play games?" She suddenly asked, against his chest. 

"What?" He asked, surprised. "You want to play games now, here?" 

"Yes," she replied with forced gaiety in her voice. "My mother always said it's helpful to play games when you are afraid." 

"Are you afraid now? Of what?" He asked. 

"Of the storm," she said quietly. "Of you." 

He laughed out loud, almost hitting his head against the wall. Somehow, the sound of his laugh made her feel more relaxed. 

"Okay, what games do you want us to play?" 

"We can play "Twenty Questions," she said. "I will ask you twenty questions, then you can ask me twenty questions." 

"Okay," he said, humouring her, "but I will ask the questions first. What's your name? 

"Jocelyn," she said," Jocelyn Rivera." 

"And your nickname?" 

"Joy. My mother called me Joy. How about you? What's your name?" 

"Gregory, Gregory Reynante." He said simply. 

"How old are you?" He asked. 

"I'm twenty-one." She replied. 

"Really? I thought you were still a teenager. Are you studying? What do you do?" 

She hesitated a bit, and then replied,"No, I've graduated from college." Then, in a slightly more confident tone, she declared: "In fact, I've already passed the CPA board exams." 

"Really?" He said, with a slightly incredulous note in his voice. 

"Yes," she repeated. "I passed it two years ago, when I was nineteen. I placed fourth. But I wasn't given my licence yet because I was underage. 

"Wow!" He said, more sincerely this time. "How did that happen? Were you accelerated or something? You went through your studies quite fast! That is, if you're telling me the truth." 

"Yes, I am," she said. Then she explained. 

"My father died when I was four. My mother was a school teacher and she decided to teach me at home because she wasn't happy with the schools that she could afford to send me to. Then, she said, she realized she could not teach me everything so she looked for a good school where I could go. Somebody told her about the Assumption Academy in Bulacan, ran by a congregation of nuns. I took the entrance exams for high school when I was ten, passed them and was given a full scholarship. I finished high school and college there." 

"Wow," he said again." Aren't you a smart girl!" 

"Please don't make fun of me," she said softly. 

"I am not making fun of you," he said seriously. "So what are you doing now? Are you working? Have you used anything that you learned in school?" 

"Yes, I did," she said, "even while I was still studying. For our livelihood, my mother sold flowers, plants and seedlings in a small store in Farmers' Market in Cubao. I kept the books and took care of the backroom end of our little business. Sometimes, I helped out in the store and even assisted her with some landscaping projects." 

"That's good," he said. "So where is your mother now? Is she still running your store?" 

She was silent for several minutes. Then she said quietly, "My mother died two years ago, a few months after I passed the board exams. I closed the shop."  

"What happened to her?" He asked.  

There was a strain in her voice when she finally responded. "My mother was hit by a delivery truck while she was on her way home. They said she died instantly." 

"I'm very sorry to hear that," he said. "That must have been very difficult for you. How did you find out?"  

He felt sorry as soon as he asked the question because he felt her whole body tense up immediately. 

She spoke haltingly. "I found out about it two days after it happened. The police finally found out where we lived. Before that, I went around the city by myself looking for her." 

"I'm very sorry to hear that," he said again, gently. "Did you have other relatives who helped you?" 

"No," she said, her shoulders beginning to shudder. "My mother and I lived by ourselves. We have no close relatives that I know of. I was the only one who could take care of it."  

"That must have been really tough," he said, with respect and a touch of pity in his voice. "How were you able to do it?" 

"An elderly policewoman was the one who found out where we lived. She came to our house to tell me. She was very kind and helpful to me and advised me on what to do." 

After a few seconds, she continued talking, almost to herself. "The policewoman was very kind. She even accompanied me to the morgue."  

She stopped talking for several seconds, trying to keep a grip on her emotions. "She told me not to look at my mother anymore, because she was not recognizable anyway. She just showed me the clothes she had been wearing and gave me her wedding ring. They were able to identify her through some papers she had in her bag." 

"What about the driver who hit her?" Gregory asked. 

"The policewoman advised me not to file charges against him and his company anymore because it would be a very complicated thing and I had no one to help me. She said it was better for me that way. She also advised me to have my mother cremated after I had reached a settlement with the company." 

"Did you get anything from the company?" Gregory asked.  

"Yes," she said, "they gave me three hundred thousand pesos." 

They were both silent for several minutes, just listening to the howling winds outside. She had pressed her face against his chest and he thought he felt some wetness through his shirt. 

"Are you crying?" He asked.  

She did not say anything and just buried her face deeper into his chest. He could feel her shoulders heaving.  

He held her a little closer, put his lips to the top of her head and rocked her gently as she cried her heart out. Their little game had ended.