Why I Have To

Chapter 24

May 27, 2011

Our summer vacations were usually spent back home with our families— except this one. It's a given that Jade has no home to return to, but I do.

She told me that I could go home and that she could take care of herself in the condo, but of course, I can't allow that.

Wherever she goes, I go.

She's always welcome to stay in our home, but even if she wants to, she really can't because she has a job waiting for her. Her office is nearer to our condo than from our house, so it's more practical for her to just stay there.

We were supposed to be in New York by this time of year, but due to financial problems— Jade couldn't go. She was heartbroken at first but I told her that maybe we could still go next semester, I'm sure that the school will still stand their offer. She didn't let this misfortune stop her from reaching her dreams, so she sent another form and applied for scholarship while I sent out applications on universities near hers.

I'm sure she'll get it. No doubt about that.

She never stopped working the whole summer. Sometimes she would even work overtime just so she could get extra pay, and after a long tiring day at work, she would still find time to study. She's gotten so thin and stressed the past few months that it's really making me worry.

I didn't go home all summer. Not even once. I made sure that Jade's well taken care of. My daily routine consists of dropping her off to work, bringing her lunch, cleaning the house, waiting, cooking her dinner, and picking her up.

Sundays are my favorite because that's the only time we can spend the whole day with each other.

I felt like a bored housewife, but I didn't mind, I love taking care of her.

We have visitors sometimes. My father and Miggy would come by when he misses me, or just to bring us some groceries. Our friends would sometimes visit for a drink, but most days, Jade is already too tired so our drinking sessions are often cut short. The only surprising visitor we had is her mom who broke the news that Paul has been found, but she didn't stay too long— she just wanted to see her daughter.

Since school is about to start, and I won't be able to do all the things that I used to do for her because I'll also be busy, I planned a surprise for her.

It was nothing really grand. I spent the whole day decorating the unit with twinkling lights on the ceiling. I arranged the living room like a picnic area, made pizza from scratch, bought Coronas from the convenience store, and set up my guitar. It almost looks like the rooftop.

We haven't been there in a while and I know how much she misses it, so I took the rooftop here in our home.

I can't wait for her to see it.

At exactly 6 o'clock, I arrived at Jade's office to pick her up. After a few minutes, she came out of the building with a stack of papers in hand and a very tired looking face. But still, she's beautiful.

"Hi, lablab. How's your day?" she asked upon kissing my cheeks.

"Spent all day missing you," I tell her. This is our everyday line when I pick her up. She always asks how my day went and I'll always tell her that I spent it missing her.

A few minutes on the road, Jade already fell asleep on the passenger side. I woke her up when we arrived at our building and blindfolded her eyes on our way up to the unit.

"Love, what's going on?" she asked while clutching my arms tightly.

"Relax, we're almost there."