When they arrived at the farm, Bert left Vangie in the living room for a moment. He sat her down before going out to get their things.
Vangie tried to see if she could stand, but she still winced whenever she put pressure on her foot.
“Vangie!” Bert called out in surprise when he saw her trying to get up. He dropped their bags by the door and rushed to her. “What are you doing? Why are you standing?”
“I-I just wanted to help.”
Bert sighed and helped her sit back down. “Just stay put. I’ll take care of everything. I’ll put our things away first, then we’ll take a bath.”
Vangie’s eyes widened. Her cheeks turned red at what he said, and she suddenly felt ner
Vangie thought Bert had a happy family. Based on what Bert had told her, his parents respected his choices. But even though his parents were kind and cheerful while talking to her, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy.This wasn’t the first time she had met the family of someone she was dating. But it still felt the same—awkward and nerve-wracking. What made this different was that she wasn’t a single woman anymore.Boyong cleared his throat. “So, Vangie, how did you and Bert fall in love?” he asked.Vangie froze mid-bite and smiled nervously at Boyong. She glanced at Bert, who was calmly eating like nothing was happening. Meanwhile, her heart was racing.“Um…”“Oh, co
Vangie’s body felt heavy when she woke up. It was already late at night when they finished, so she and Bert decided to stay at the farm. He still needed to sell the lukba fruits they harvested tomorrow. They had left the sacks of fruit in front of the house for now.Bert wasn’t beside her anymore, so she got up from the bed. She couldn’t help but smile as memories of last night came back to her. She never imagined she’d experience something like that. After the beach, they ended up in the muddy field. Bert really was full of surprises.She adjusted the oversized T-shirt of his that she was wearing. It was so long that it nearly covered her short shorts. She ran her fingers through her hair to tidy it and then headed downstairs.“Be—”
"When someone sees us, I will really punch you, Bert. You see," said Vangie.She slowly descended into the lake. Vangie immediately felt a chill when her skin touched the water. The sun was still shining brightly, but the water was cold.The sun is still up but the water is cold. "That's not it," Bert assured."That's not it," Bert assured.He took his girlfriend's hand and guided her down the stairs.He took his girlfriend's hand and helped her up. He stepped on some stones while going down.He was stepping on some rocks while going down.Until he completely submerged and floated in the water. Vangie immediately grabbed onto her boyfriend when she couldn't feel her legs.
Exactly at noon, Bert and the others took a break. Bert took off his shirt since it was soaked with sweat. Luckily, the breeze in the fields was strong, so even under the blazing sun, it still felt cool.“Let’s eat,” said Vangie as she handed out plates to each of them. Then she passed the spoons, but they refused, saying they’d just eat with their hands since they had washed them. Vangie didn’t insist.“Sit here, love. Let’s eat together,” Bert said, patting the seat next to him.“Wait,” Vangie said. She took Bert’s plate and filled it with rice and food, then fixed her own plate before sitting beside him.“You’re lucky to have a wife like her, Bert,” said the oldest man among them, Mang Jose. He was almost seventy but still good at climbing trees.Vangie smiled at the compliment. “Just enough,” she replied.Bert shook his head. “You’re right, sir. I’m really lucky. She’s beautiful and kind.”Vangie blushed and lightly hit Bert’s arm, laughing. “Stop that. It’s embarrassing.”“When a
After everything that happened, Vangie couldn’t help but feel uneasy. She always had the feeling that Bert wouldn’t come back to her. So she made him start using a cellphone so she could easily contact him. Bert didn’t want to at first, especially since Vangie gave him an Android phone. Instead, he chose to use a small phone with buttons.Vangie texted him often while he was at work, asking where he was and what he was doing. That setup helped calm her worries. She also noticed that Bert wasn’t going out much anymore. One time while they were shopping, someone approached them claiming to be Bert’s friend from his hometown. He invited Bert to drink for a birthday celebration, but Bert refused. Vangie even encouraged him to go, but Bert firmly said no, saying he didn’t want to make her feel suspicious.Vangie felt a little guilty. It seemed like Bert was always thinking about how she might react—enough to turn down his usual habits. She never meant for him to stop doing what he used to
Bert kissed Vangie deeply, holding her face in his hands. Vangie swallowed hard, feeling torn. She was still upset because he didn’t come home last night, but she didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. They had never fought before, and she didn’t want their first fight to happen just because she was being paranoid.Vangie responded to his kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck. Bert’s hands started to wander, holding her waist and giving it a gentle squeeze.“I miss you, Vangie,” Bert whispered, trailing kisses down her neck.Vangie couldn’t help but let out a soft sound. She missed him too — that was part of why she was so upset. She wasn’t used to not seeing him, and it was the first time something like this had happened.
"Love, I’m going out later. Is that okay?" Bert called out from the bathroom while taking a shower.Vangie paused from folding their clothes. “Where are you going?” she asked, then continued folding.“The guys invited me to the fiesta,” he answered. “But it’s okay if you don’t want me to go. I haven’t said yes yet.”Vangie sighed. She didn’t want to stop him from doing what he wanted. “It’s fine. Go ahead.”The bathroom door opened, and the smell of their cheap soap filled the room. Vangie swallowed hard when Bert stepped out, completely naked, drying himself off. She quickly looked away.“Are you sure?” Bert asked
Vangie’s heart almost broke when she saw her husband with another woman in the field. He had just come home from Manila and said he wanted to work on their land because he missed it. She followed him there to bring him lunch — but never expected to see him with someone else, doing something unforgivable.On her way to confront him, she ran into Fredo’s mother.“Vangie? What happened to you? Why are you crying?” his mother asked, full of concern. She held Vangie’s shoulders and tried to lift her face.Vangie’s face was soaked with tears, and she could barely see. She didn’t care that they were standing in the middle of the road. She hugged her mother-in-law and cried her heart out.“M-Ma… F-Fredo…”
“Vangie!”Vangie stopped scrubbing Bert’s clothes when she heard someone calling her from outside the house. She was in the middle of doing laundry. She frowned because she wasn’t expecting any visitors today. Besides Sheila, the only people who usually came by were delivery drivers — and she hadn’t ordered anything today.“Just a second!”She set the brush down and slowly stood up, holding her waist. Her back had been aching a lot these past few days. She stretched a little and wiped her hands before heading toward the gate. She froze when she saw who was waiting outside.“Aren’t you going to let me in?” the woman asked directly.Vangie swallowed hard and quickly walked to the gate