The Boyfriend Checklist

8

To Gemma Spencer, a Sunday morning was like any other Mondays. She disliked Mondays as much as going to churches every morning.

This sweet lady wasn't a part of any cult. She just wasn't a fan of fake smiles whilst inside the church, hated how she had to pretend to be nice to everyone, and disliked the treatment some people would give her.

To her, everyone's kindness was only there because they represent their church--their religion.

And since she was the city mayor's daughter--she had to digest this every Sunday.

It was a routine for her already. She'd receive warm greetings from other people--before and after the mass, would stand beside her parents when necessary, interact if needed, and then she'd wait for them to finish their socialization with these people.

The only part she liked was when she'd finally be able to chat with her friend Elisa. They'd wait for their parents under a tree, casually sitting on the bench, with their eyes trained on the people scattered around them.

"And then he hugged you?" Elisa raised an eyebrow, confirming the emphasized word to her friend. She glanced at Gemma beside her.

"Yes. He was like hulk that time," Gemma blinked a few times, her eyes were trained in front of her. "Excluding the muscles and green body color. . . He almost squished me and I thought his fingerprints were on my skin."

"And then he said sorry?"

"Yeah."

"Why was he sorry?"

Gemma shrugged. "He said it was nothing. Then he cried--well, not the fountain-like-kind-of-cry. He was sniffing and was wiping some tears away when I saw his face."

"Try and ask him again next time?"

"I'll try. . . But I doubt he'll answer that."

The two had gone silent for a while. Both seemed oblivious to the fact that Aaron hugged her like there was no tomorrow, he said sorry--not just once in a couple of seconds, and that he cried. The latter definitely surprised them.

For Elisa and Gemma, Aaron was a strong man, though obviously, not physically. He always had that smile, may it be a half or a small one, for about every single day.

Back in middle school, their classmates used to make fun of him. They would push him along the hallway or would make fun of him during recitation. He hardly had friends for he was usually ignored by the majority.

There was this time when he sat beside Gemma during their PE class. Some of the boys noticed it that they threw a ball at him. Gemma was kind enough to return the ball to the kid by throwing it back at his face.

It was the first time Frank and Karen were called to the principal's office. Aaron's parents were there too. And it was like fate for Karen and Aaron's mom were actually high school friends. It was like a reunion for the two.

"You know him," Elisa shrugged. "He always has secrets."

"Yeah." Gemma's shoulder fell when she remembered the time she found out about Katie's existence.

There was this photo that Aaron didn't notice was visible on his Facebook profile. He was tagged in that photo that consisted of two couples, plus him--and that woman beside him. She had that huge pout Gemma always thought was annoying.