Chapter Three

"Oh, crap, Ellie! You scared the shit out of me."

"Huy, don't say bad words uy baka marinig iyan ni Baby Jeremy. Ano ba."

Muntik na akong masamid sa sinasabi ni Ellie as I held back my laughter, "Excuse me, nabigla lang ako at ikaw itong hindi makontrol ang bunganga pag kaharap yung bata no. Malapit na namin i-donate sa charity laman ng swear jar, thanks to dear aunt Ellie's contribution."

Ellie pretended not to hear anything and continued to write some work-related stuff in her notebook. "Hmmm... Kailangan baguhin ang schedule sa Tuesday, magco-coincide sa meeting niya." she got a bit busy for a while, then began talking to me again. "Kamusta na ang cutie little baby boy na si Jeremy?"

Bahagya akong napailing sa sinabi niya. Naalala ko kasi ang reaction ng anak ko tuwing sinasabi niya iyan. "You know he hates it when you call him that."

"But I love it! Kahit sixteen na siya o kahit ako ay maging lola na, Jeremy will always be my first inaanak and therefore, baby forever." she defended, and I couldn't disagree at all because I feel the same way too.

Ellie was there almost every step of the way. I had a very challenging time when I was pregnant pero may mga tao namang hindi ako iniwan and Ellie is one of them. I can be hateful toward Jake or constantly wished he was a better person and stayed with me but I chose not to, at imbes ay nagpasalamat na lang sa mga taong sinamahan ako.

"Kamusta na nga kasi si Baby Jeremy? Ano iyong chat mo kagabi na maaga kang umuwi to check on him?"

"Nagkasugat kasi... May nang-away."

"What? Sino? Sino! Bakit nang-aaway ng hindi nang-aaway! Gusto ng mga magulang suntukan na lang kami o ano?"

"My goodness, Ellie. Chill. Naka-usap ko naman na iyong parents. Medyo hindi ata nila ako gusto but I did talk to them... and warned them that they better not make it happen again."

Ellie threw punches in the air with her imaginary opponent. Ibang-klase talaga ang energy ng babaeng ito, "Siguraduhin lang nila. Hindi ba nila alam na abogado tatay ni Jeremy."

I glared at her. "I told you.  Let's avoid making jokes like that."

Agad naman niya iyong binawi at nag-behave nang umupo. "Sorry," and then threw a single punch in the air again. "Bwisit na bwisit lang kasi araw-araw ko nakikita pagmumukha niya kasama nung bago niyang jowa!"

I looked at her, and she covered her mouth as if she said something she wasn't supposed to. "Okay lang ako, Ellie. I'm not as fragile as I used to... and he can absolutely date whoever he wants to."

"Ang daldal ko kasi, no? Wala naman talaga tayong pakialam sa personal na buhay nila. Work na lang tayo. Work, work, work!"

I proceeded to continue my work too habang nagsusulat si Ellie. I like it when we spend time like this together. Yung pareho kaming focus sa trabaho kahit magkaiba naman ginagawa namin. We continue our quiet busy time.

Her phone rang. She looked at me for a long time before answering the call. Sa tingin ko ay alam ko na sino iyon before she could even say it. Ellie stood and walked out of the room while she answered the call. "Yes, Attorney Tan," I heard her say before leaving.

The mention of his name was enough for me to lose my focus. I wanted to avoid him or even hearing his name pero magsisinungaling ako kung sasabihin kong nakalimutan ko na siya. I tried to. God knows how hard I did, but I can't. The more I try, the more I think of him.

Hindi ko lang kasi talaga maintindihan. It was so unfair. How can he easily leave me just like that? Bakit ako, ang tagal kong nakalimot? Memories of him still haunt me. Ngayon, hindi lang multo niya ang nagpaparamdam sa akin. He's just around the corner and my scars are begging not to see him, not now, not ever.

"Ugh!" Ellie grunted when she returned. "Pwede ba mag-resign na lang? Baka naman pwedeng dito na lang ako magtrabaho, Cassy? Kaya ko, alam mo iyon!"

"We both know you can, Ellie." I often keep my mouth shut for the sake of Ellie's privacy dahil alam kong ayaw na din niyang balikan ang nakaraan but I sometimes give her that gentle push, just enough to make her realize, "and we both know you wouldn't too."

Ellie sighed and grunted and sighed again. I even hear the sound of a coming swear, "Putangina talaga!" Ah, there it is. "Ayaw ko talaga sa kaniya. Ayaw ko talaga sa kanilang lahat!"

"Talaga?" I challenged, "despite what happened in Italy?" I teased her even more. Sakto lang ang timpla ng inis niya ngayon, perfect for light teasing.

"Ikaw talaga ha," she pointed her finger at me aggressively which made me laugh even more, " Sabi ko sa iyo 'wag mo mabanggit-banggit pangalan ng lugar na iyan. Akala ko ba Let's avoid making jokes like that," she quoted while mocking what I said earlier at may kasabay pang ikot ng mata. "Hindi siya nage-exist sa mundo ko! Tse!"

"Mag-aminan na lang kasi kayo. Why is no one making the next move" It's been a while since my friend last dated. Minsan, nagbibiro ako sa kaniya na isang tao lang ang kayang i-tulak ni Jeremy sa wheelchair. "Ellie... you can't just pretend it didn't happen you know."

Ellie started to fix her things. "But he did it first, Cassy."

Mapait na lang akong napatawa, "He did it second, Ellie. Remember? Magkaiban nga talaga sila."