Their Days of Nights

51 : Home

October 2011

Kimberly

I tighten my ponytail one last time and spread my bangs on my forehead and the sides of my face. I inch away from the mirror on the dresser attached to the closets and run my hands over the front of my dress.

I bought this last week just for tonight. It's short-sleeved, runs down to the ends of my knees, and red. I rarely wear bright colors, but I figured it's fit to wear to a wedding.

I turn to my side and find Benjie standing outside the bathroom door, staring at me. His eyes are shining under the tiny white lightbulb on the doorway ceiling.

He has on a formal wrinkle-free grey long-sleeved polo shirt, formal black pants, and leather shoes. The tips of his hair are touching the curves of his ears already, but he brushed them this time.

I'm wearing a pair of high wedges, so he's only slightly taller than me.

He's about to say something, and then Dominic opens the sliding door from the balcony. Benjie looks away instead.

We left the Metro at four in the afternoon and arrived here just before sundown. We opted to skip the afternoon ceremony and join the party at night because Benjie didn't want to drive straight to this place from work. And he didn't want to go back to the city in the middle of the night with less hours of sleep.

He found us a place to rest for later. Today's Saturday, so we can stay here until Monday morning. The venue of Belinda's wedding was already full. He booked a room in another hotel, minutes away from there.

This room is a bit huge, in my opinion. The bed is queen-size, I think. And the area of the bathroom can fit a small bedroom in it. If this were in the big cities, the room would cost within the above-average range. But this is in a town just outside the easternmost part of the Metro. Provincial rates apply, so it's cheaper.

The interior walls are off-white, almost light yellow. The furniture matches the darkness of the hardwood floor. And Benjie hits the jackpot with a balcony that's overlooking the rest of this suburbia and a generous view of the Metro.

Dominic rode with us on the way here. Diego was with Lee. They got there as soon as they left work in the morning. Dominic said they jumped into the pool immediately. Kristina is a bridesmaid, and she's already there since yesterday.

Benjie walks away from my side, locks the sliding doors, and draws the curtains. Then he collects his wallet and keys from the top of the dresser and asks me if I'm ready to go.

I nod.

Dominic is standing next to the foot of the bed. "The view here is...wow," he says without looking away from his phone. "How did you find this place?"

Benjie smiles at me. "From our common friend," he says. "The internet."

Dominic lifts his backpack from the floor and starts walking out of the room.

I grab my black cardigan from the bed and the knitted pouch from Marissa next to the comb that I left on the dresser.

Benjie checks our things inside the closets that I hid there earlier before he locks the door.

We're coming back here after the wedding festivities and sans Dominic.

Belinda and Martin's wedding celebration is in the middle of the sprawling garden area of a hotel and resort just outside of an upper-middle-class village.

There's a big gazebo in the heart of the grounds, where the center of the party is set with tables for the newlyweds, their families, their sponsors, and entourage. It's only covered from the top, so it extends to the surrounding area. The guests' tables are around the open grounds. And there are different set-ups in corners, those tables covered with tarpaulin-made roofs in steel rods for refreshments, a photo booth, gifts, a sound system with a live wedding singer and her accompanying acoustic guitarist, and buffet stations in two sides of the garden.