Taking Chances

Friends and Lovers

The Geronimo household was fast asleep except for Sarah who busied herself in the kitchen like it wasn't 3AM in the morning and carried on with chopping and frying and boiling as if she knew exactly what she was doing.

She studied the meaty lasagna recipe the night before and she was confident that she could do it. But now that her sausage was burned and her vegetables looked like they barely survived a war, she wasn't so sure that she could pull it off anymore.

She bit her lip as she surveyed the mess. She wanted to surprise Matt so bad... Today was their monthsary and incidentally his last taping day also. She wanted to surprise him by driving there (Yes, she got her driver's license that week) and delighting him with the best pasta ever.

"Anak susunugin mo ba ang bahay natin?"

She almost jumped in surprise at the sound of his dad's voice.

"Pa! Ano kasi... Naisip ko lang magluto... Nagising ko ba kayo?" she said flustered, as her dad rushed in to rescue her lasagna.

"Anak naman minassacre mo naman yung pagkain... Tsaka balak mo ba gumawa ng uling?"

"Papa OK lang yan! Kaya ko na to. Tulog ka na ulit," Sarah tried to pull him away from taking over her cooking but he wouldn't be stopped.

Sarah swallowed her shame. She tip toed her way into the kitchen and tried her best to be as quiet as a mouse because she didn't want her parents to know that she was cooking for her boyfriend. She was especially embarassed that her dad had to see what a sorry job she was doing with the pasta

"Gusto mo bang lasunin si Matt?" Her father looked at her defiantly. Sarah couldn't argue anymore now that he gave her that look.

So Sarah had to re-do everything under the patient instruction of her dad. Nothing was said apart from what had to be done with the tomatoes, when to take out the noodles, and how hot the oven should be set. Both were shy to talk about who the dish was for, not wanting to acknowledge that Sarah wasn't exactly the little girl that he knew anymore.

"Tandaan mo, pag naghihiwa ng kamatis dapat may halong awa dahil ang gulay ay nilalang din ng Dyos!" Her dad said as he pulled out the finished product from the oven.

"Papa naman e..." Sarah laughed. He never failed to crack her up. "Hayaan mo tatandaan ko lahat ng turo mo kin tungkol sa pagiging maka-gulay."

"Practice na ba to anak?" Her dad asked casually after a while as they cleaned up and waited for the pasta to cool.

Sarah felt a blush creep up. "Di pa naman Pa. Naisip ko lang pagluto si Matt kasi last shooting day nya." She was too shy to say that it was their monthsary as well.

"Inaalagaan ka naman ba ng mabuti?" Her dad asked while he washed the pots and pans, he was too embarrassed to look at her.

"Oo naman po... Kagaya ng pangako nya sa inyo ni Mama," she said earnestly, probably less embarrassed than her dad, as she wiped the counter.

"Aba e dapat lang. Kundi makakatikim sya ng Fernardo Poe sa kin at Cynthia Luster sa mama mo..." Her dad joked, mimicking FPJ's moves.

"Wag kang magalala Pa. Hinding hindi ako sasaktan ni Matt," she laughingly and reassuringly said.

Sarah smiled as she smelled the delicious lasagna perched at the backseat. Traffic was very gentle on the first time driver and she sped along with no problem, having had plenty of practice with Rachelle before she went back to the UK. She was so excited to give Matt the shock of his life.

Then her phone rang. It was Kim calling.

"Good morning!" She greeted her brightly, wanting to pass on the positivity that she felt for that day.