A Tale In Session (City Series #1)

Chapter 25

I put the last one of Alice's luggages by the door. She forced a smile and sat down on the couch.

"Sama ako!" sabi ni Carmilla. "Ugh, I really want to go to Ilocos."

Si Monty at Bane, hindi makausap dahil naglalaro pa rin sila ng play station habang si Lion naman ay busy'ng busy sa laptop niya.

"So I was thinking..." Alice bit her lip and intertwined her fingers with mine. "Sa 5th anniversary natin."

"Mhmm." I kissed her cheek.

"Ang landi nila, babe, oh," Sumbong ni Carmilla kay Lion.

Lion kissed Carmilla's hand, but his eyes will still on the screen of his laptop. Mukhang seryosong seryoso yung ginagawa niya.

"What were you thinking?" I asked Alice.

Ngumuso siya at tinignan ako nang maigi. "I was thinking for our 5th anniversary... we could buy a condo sa BGC na."

Tumaas ang kilay ko sa kanya. "You sure?"

She bit her lip again and nodded. "Yeah. Pagbalik natin ng Manila we could start looking for places."

We've only talked about moving in together a few times these past 4 years. We never really took those talks seriously, because we're always together.

"Huh? Akala ko nga dito na naka-tira si Alice." Halakhak ni Carmilla.

Inirapan lamang siya ni Alice at tinignan ulit ako.

"Watcha think?" tanong sa akin ni Alice.

I still don't understand why she's suddenly pushing this, but I gave her a smile. Ayoko nang mag-away ulit. Prior to this week, we fought for how many days straight because of Franco's wedding. Nakita niya kasi si Raffy na maid of honor.

It's been years, but whenever Raffy is brought up, Alice gets all... I don't know.

Hindi naman ako pwedeng humindi sa imbitasyon ni Franco. He's been one of my best friends since elementary.

"Whatever you want," I answered her.

Tipid niya akong nginitian at tumayo para ayusin yung mga gamit niya. After a while, umalis na rin sina Lion at binaba na namin ni Alice yung gamit namin.

"Are you okay?" tanong ko sa kanya.

She nodded, but didn't say anything else.

"Sleep ka muna, babe," I told her.

Mahaba ang tulog ni Alice. Hanggang sa La Union, tulog pa rin siya. She only woke up when I asked her what she wanted in McDonald's for dinner.

Hindi ko alam kung sino sa amin ang mas kabado nang dumating kami sa Ilocos. Madaling araw kami naka-rating kaya wala kami masyadong nakitang mga tao. I didn't even reach the rehearsal dinner because the travel time was longer than I expected.

"Bro!" Ngiti ni Franco pagkarating namin sa Fort Ilocandia.

Mukhang nagising lang siya sa tawag ko. Tinapik ko agad ang likod ni Franco at ngumiti.

"Congrats!" I greeted.

Tumikhim si Alice sa likod kaya naman napalingon kaagad ako sa kanya.

"Si Alice pala," I introduced her Franco. "My girlfriend."

"Advance congratulations," she told him.

Alice quickly unpacked our things and took a bath. Pagkatapos niya sa banyo ay naligo na rin ako. Once I got out of the shower, Alice was already wrapped up in a comforter, tapping her iPad.