Not a Coincidence | Juan GDL

Chapter 20: Be a Good Thing

"Good morning," a mellow voice piped out from my phone's speaker, and it was coupled with the usual grinning face of the guy on my screen, who has always been adamant about greeting me for the first time in the morning.

Three days after he left for their company's urgent convention, Juan has inarguably perfected what it is like to manage a long-distance relationship. He has always managed to video-call me before my day starts and in between his hectic rows of meetings.

"Good morning, Juan Gerardo," I greeted back. Shifting in my bed, barely adjusting my previous position, I stifled a slight yawn, which came out unintentionally. "Sorry," I quickly apologized, looking at the time on my screen: 9:33 A.M. I was laying sideways, in a fetal position, with a pillow on my chest.

I heard him chuckle; that was the only time I brought myself to look at him thoroughly. Even if his phone's camera mainly revealed his face, based on his background and clothing, I was sure he was at their office.

He was in his black suit and tie, and his background was a minimalist wall of grey and white, with a huge frame occupying the wall. It was an ancient black and white photo, with a man who resembled Spanish features and was aging in his late 30s, hand-shaking another man of the same age range and Spanish blood - the whole scene seemed like a business deal opted for a photograph.

"I'm done with my 8 A.M. meeting," he said. "I'm off to my training with the Ginebra team now."

I nodded at the information. "Take care, Juan. I'll wait for you later. Call or text me when you're free." It has been our routine for three days now. We only get to talk during the first minutes of our morning, at 6:30 of the afternoon, and an hour before we sleep.

I saw him frown from my screen, nearly sulking in his seat. "Baby..."

"What's wrong?" I asked with concern.

"Are you tired of this kind of setup?"

"What?!" His question startled me, slightly elevating my head towards my phone. My opinion about his priorities bothered him - and it alerted me somehow. I didn't want him to feel that his career paths were a burden to me or our relationship.

"I'm just worried that I might be disappointing you..." He sighed, "I'm sorry, baby. If I could only manage my schedule a bit better..." His eyes were sad, and there was a ghost look of loss.

"I'm not tired, nor disappointed, baby," I bit my lip as I try to show how serious I was with my words. "Hindi ako pagod, at hinding-hindi ako mapapagod kasi naiintindihan ko."

"You called me baby, Belle," he pointed out, wide-eyed. I rolled my eyes at the fact that it was the only thing he paid attention to after everything I said. "Call me again that way, Belle, please? This is very, very rare..." He sounded so amused and surprised.

"Juan!"

"Baby...please?"

I buried my face on my pillow, completely covering myself from my phone's camera.

"I hate you...Baby," I grunted lightly, with a muffled voice. "You always notice the smallest of things!"

I heard him chuckle, and that's the time I completely laid my back on my bed, set aside the pillow I was holding, and held out my phone a ruler away from my face. He can now see my flushed face down to my neck and shoulders - not to mention my messy bed hair.

I saw him bite his lip and take a sharp breath. "Can you please...go back...to your previous position?" He asked, looking like he was having a hard time.

"Ha?" I wrinkled my eyebrows. "What's wrong?" I explored my eyes to my position and disposition. I was wearing my usual white spaghetti-strapped night dress.