Fit Her Shoe [Gottfred & Lorin]

Kabanata 14

Gottfred was already sound asleep on the bed when I got out of the bathroom—him topless and barely covered below.

A small sigh escaped my lips as I looked at him hugging my pillow, his little snores breaking the silence of the night.

I went to him on the bed. I pulled the blanket until his naked chest with a seemed fresh bandage.

Anong nangyari sa dibdib niya?

I laid on the bed next to him. Tumagilid ako, inunan ang mga palad at saka siya pinagmasdan. Not contented with staring, I slowly lifted my hand and gently moved aside the hair that was covering his eyes.

Magdamag ko siyang pinagmasdan hanggang sa bumigat ang talukap ng mga mata ko at hilahin ako ng antok. Madilim pa ang langit at mahimbing pa siyang natutulog nang magising ako kinabukasan.

“Good morning,” I whispered as I gave him a chaste kiss on the cheeks.

Papatalikod na sana ako sa kaniya nang bigla siyang gumawa ng maliit na ungol. I looked back at him and saw that he already shifted from his sleeping position. Naalarma ako nang lumihis ‘yong kumot niya at sumulyap iyong suot niyang boxer shorts. With my cheeks flushing with heat and hands shaking, I covered him again. Dali-dali akong lumabas ng kuwarto at saka bumaba ng hagdan.

“Oh, ang aga mo namang nagising,” pagpansin ni Nanay Tonya sa akin na mukhang kagigising lang din. “Hindi na kita nahintay pa na umuwi kagabi. Ako’y nakatulog na pala sa sobrang pagod.”

Ngumiti ako sa kaniya habang itinatali ang buhok ko. It was when I noticed that my hair was already too long.

But anyway, I liked it this way.

“Anong gusto mong kainin, hmm?” tanong niya. “Nga pala, hija. Umuwi rito ang asawa mo. Nagulat nga ako at biglang naririto.”

Nanay Tonya grabbed her apron but I quickly snatched it from her hand. Nagtatakang tinapunan naman niya ako ng tingin.

“Gusto ko po sanang ipagluto ng almusal si Gottfred, Nanay,” sabi ko habang itinatali sa likuran ko ‘yong apron.

“Ikaw ang bahala,” kibit-balikat niya. “Gusto mo bang tulungan kita?”

“Kaya ko na po,” magiliw na sabi ko.

I was humming and nodding my head as I looked inside the fridge and at the pantry, while she excused herself to be in the garden.

I recalled that Gottfred had a penchant for garlic-infused fried rice, along with fried egg and garlic longganisa for breakfast. Kaya iyon ang lulutuin ko. It was not that complicated, anyway. It was just frying.

Sumisilay na ang araw nang sa wakas ay matapos ako sa pagluluto. After preparing the table, I returned to our room where I was hearing the shower running and it seemed like he was taking a bath.