Fit Her Shoe [Gottfred & Lorin]

Kabanata 6

Every words he said landed like bullets in my tender flesh. But despite the breaking, I still chose to understand. There was a big truth in what he said, anyway. Everything would work out just fine and accordingly if Loris was here.

“Have you made your resignation already?” Gottfred asked the next day when he fetched me again from work, like he did not hurt me, like he hadn’t hurled painful words at me yesterday, him just acting in a way he seemed perfectly able to justify.

But what should I expect from him, anyway? That he would apologise? Gottfred Damien Figuerroa III had probably never apologised for anything in his life and I wouldn’t be the first.

Hindi ako sumagot at sa halip ay nanatili ang tingin sa labas ng bintana ng sasakyan niya. What he was asking me was not easy. School had been my sanctuary, the one place I felt a true sense of belonging, and my role as a teacher had become the very foundation of my existence. Ilang taon ko na rin itong ginagawa. Right after graduating College and passing the licensure board exam, I wasted no time and applied for this job. Pinangarap ko pa nga na magkaroon ng sarili kong school para sa mga bata.

He hissed at my lack of response and did not talk anymore. He only speak to me again when we already arrived at a glass-walled building called Satin’s Cut.

With a sparkle in my eyes, we gracefully entered the room, and an exhilarating wave of excitement washed over me at the sight of exquisitely embellished mannequins, each adorned in breathtaking gowns.

“Hey,” tawag sa kaniya noong babaeng sumalubong sa amin. “Such a short notice.”

They tenderly exchanged cheek kisses before Gottfred gracefully wrapped his arm around my waist, drawing me nearer to him as he introduced me to the woman.

“Satianna, this is Lorin, my fiancée. Lorin, this is Satianna, the owner of this boutique,” Gottfred introduced us.

After that short introduction, she gestured us to sit on the chairs behind her desk and handed me a catalogue.

“Those are my designs just last June. You can get inspirations from them. Anyway, tell me about your dream wedding gown, Lorin,” Satianna told me with a big smile in her face.

The thoughts of my dream wedding gown—pristine white in color, with long sleeves and train, exquisitely beautiful and threaded with hundreds of tiny pearls and other embellishments while each of which was laboriously sewn on by hand excited my whole being.

“I, ah, want it traditional—”

I was stopped early on my sentence when Gottfred interjected in our conversation.

“Just give her whatever is readily available. Wedding gown do not matter. We have no time left,” he said.

The smile on my lips quickly disappeared.

Bakit ko ba nalimutan na hindi nga pala mahalaga ang opinyon ko pagdating sa kasal na ito?

Satianna frowned, sighed, and shook her head at him, then regarded me with a sorry look in her face.