Long after her conversation with Belle, Nic tossed and turned in bed thinking of ways to inform J of her grandparents' "surprise" visit. Even if she had long wanted to meet her housemate personally, she had no idea how to go about it. J, too, was thinking of the perfect time to ask M when it would be good for them to meet.
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Because of their common exchange of notes, Nic had forgotten the more recent one – the one which J had written his phone number on when she got sick. Nic read the note several times before putting it in the box with J's other letters and notes but she didn't memorize the number.
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Nic nervously fumbled with her keys as she unlocked the door very early that Sunday morning. She slowly opened the door to the mudroom and foyer of the house where they kept their 'outdoor' shoes. Nic changed into house slippers. She was relieved when she didn't see J's usual sneakers in its spot in the shoe cabinet. Picking up her bag, she walked into the house which was eerily quiet. She sensed that it had been unoccupied for the last few hours because the air was stuffy and things looked like they weren't moved or touched since she left. In fact, the last note she wrote about being away for a few days was still on the dining table where she left it.
"Baka umuwi ng lasing." Nic thought as she put down the note on the table and glanced at the hallway to the bedrooms.
"Baka naman tulog. Sana tulog." Nic thought as she walked to J's door while glancing at her watch. It was just 7:00am. "Kung tulog, sana naka-pantulog...eh paano kung hindi?" Nic was in a dilemma!
Sighing heavily with eyes closed to calm and compose herself, Nic knocked on the door. When there was no reply, she knocked again but this time saying "J" as she knocked. She repeated knocking twice but still didn't get a response. "Grabe naman matulog to..." Nic thought as she cautiously tried turning the door knob. She was surprised to find it unlocked! Nic slowly opened the door and was greeted by a strong smell of men's cologne. She wanted to put her head through the gap but decided not to when she saw that the corner of the bed was fixed. She closed the door and went to her room to start tidying up.
Later on, Nic needed to use the toilet so she walked to the bathroom at the end of the hall. Their laundry basket had a used shirt in it but 2 other pieces of clothing were on the floor just next to the hamper. Nic used the shirt to pick up the clothes on the floor and she brought these to the washing machine in the laundry area next to the kitchen. "Mamaya nalang ako mag-l-laundry at sayang ang sabon at tubig sa tatatlong piraso..."
