Marco
I prepared spaghetti ala puttanesca, greek salad and bought her favorite cheesecake for dessert. Then, I set the table at the patio so that we could dine al fresco since the moon was expected to be beautiful tonight.
She was supposed to arrive shortly after, but due to traffic, it took her another hour to get to the house. So, I was asleep at the sofa when she got home. Not exactly the welcome I prepared.
"Hey, I'm sorry I'm late. Matulog ka na sa taas. I'll fix up here," she said.
"Ha? Hindi ka na ba gutom? I can heat our food naman?"
"Really? You're still up for it? It's past 9 na?" she asked, knowing I tried to be in bed by 10.
"Yes, let's have dinner. Go ahead sa patio, I'll bring our food." A few minutes later, I headed out and presented it to her. "Tadah! I hope you like it! Specialty ko yan."
"It looks fantastic, Partner, and it smells really nice." I noticed that she was a little more pensive than usual, and her smile didn't quite reach her eyes.
"Are you still mad at me? I'm really sorry, Anna."
"Okay na. Just... you don't have to shout next time, ha?"
I promised to try. "Siguro you should help me. You moved back, how did you manage it?"
She smiled, but said nothing and just played with her food.
"Anna?"
Nothing.
"Anna?"
"Hmm?"
I searched her face. "Is something wrong?" She suddenly teared up and I noticed her hand trembling. I pulled my chair close to hers. "Hey, what's wrong?"
She quickly wiped the tear that fell. "There's this guy, a former colleague... he used to bug me and I'm... I'm just a bit scared. You won't understand. I just... I got an email from him that he'll be part of the team we're meeting at the bank in a few days. I just really don't want to see him."
"Did he hurt you?" I held my breath and prayed that this person didn't, because I wasn't sure what I would do if he did.
"I... no, it never got to that, thankfully. But he used to go to my office desk and lean uncomfortably close or would try to tickle or pinch me, which I didn't like. Then, at some point, became very persistent to get me alone and I resigned just to get away from him. I just thought I would never see him again."
I hugged her. "Akong bahala, okay?"
"I'm sorry. I'm being overly dramatic about this. Sometimes I wonder if I'm being overly sensitive because nothing he said was ever suggestive and I know some women have been through worse - "
"Stop." I cut her off. "YOU have no reason to apologize. I'll take care of it."
I hated seeing women hurt - sure, I was a jerk who couldn't commit - but I made sure that whoever I was with chose to be with me and I never overstepped my boundaries. I hated seeing women hurt. I hated seeing THIS one hurt even more.
"Marco, can we still turn the mood around? I don't want to talk about him tonight anymore," she begged.
I nodded, moving back to look her in the eyes. "Sige. Do you want me to wear my crop top to make you smile?"
That did the trick. "No naman, but... pwedeng pa-hug pa ulit?"
"Uy, sige pwedeng-pwede naman yan," I said, moving to her chair, taking her back in and cradling her again. Thank goodness for these huge patio chairs.
