For her thirty-second birthday, Lena introduced me to her Tita and cousins not as a friend but as a girlfriend.

Iba talaga ang pakiramdam.

I felt as if our relationship was like a bird that was finally able to spread its wings and slowly begin to take flight.

Nakita ko sa mukha ni Lena ang tuwa.

She was standing a little taller that day.

Nakataas ang noo at hindi maalis ang ngiti sa mga labi when she welcomed me back to her aunt's house for the second time.

Magiliw ang pagtanggap ng Tita niya sa akin.

Ang sabi pa nga niya, ako daw pala ang pinagmamalaki ng pamangkin niya.

Hindi niya daw masisi si Lena dahil bukod sa maganda daw ako, mukha naman akong mabait.

My cheeks warmed a little not from false modesty.

It was different when the compliment was given by someone valued by my significant other.

The only thing I could do was to thank her for being kind.

Sila ng mga anak niya ang naghanda ng konting salo-salo.

Ang gusto nga sana ni Lena ay lumabas na lang kaming lahat para hindi na magluto ang Tita niya pero nag-insist daw ito na sa bahay gawin ang celebration.

"Namimiss niya na daw ang mag-entertain ng mga bisita." Sabi ni Lena.

Bukod sa kanilang mag-iina, dumating din ang fiancé ni Ate Mercy na si Carlo.

Kasama naman ni Ate Clara ang girlfriend niya na si Eileen.

Lena warned me about their secret.

By looking at them, I sensed na they were  so in love with each other.

Ilang beses kong nahuli si Ate Clara na pinupulupot ang pinkie finger nila tapos bigla ding babawiin.

The two of them would smile at each other as if they were the only people in the room.

Lena and I used to be like that.

Kapag nagtatama ang tingin namin, it was as if we could read what the other was thinking.

But that was before.

As thrilling as it sounds, I am finally happy that I don't have to hide behind the disguise of friendship.

Nakakapagod din ang laging on alert.

For once, it was a relief to be able to hold her hand without the fear of getting caught.

Ako lang ang nakapunta sa birthday ni Lena.

Walang mahanap na kapalit si Maddie kahit anong pambobola ang gawin niya sa mga kasama namin.

She even offered to do a full-week night shift pero wala talagang takers.

Disappointed na inabot niya sa akin ang regalo para kay Lena.

Bukod sa Filipino party staples tulad ng pancit bihon, lumpiang Shanghai, pork barbecue, fried chicken, leche flan at gelatin, nagluto din si Tita ng pan fried shrimp at lechon kawali.

I noticed during dinner na malakas palang uminom si Tita at ang mga anak niya.

The amount of booze equaled that of the food.

May sariling table ang mga alak kung saan nakahilera ang mga ito.

Malbec ang favorite ni Tita.

Carlo brought a bottle of the California red wine at tuwang-tuwa niyang hinalikan ang future manugang.

"Favorite namin ito ni Tito Juancho mo noong nabubuhay pa siya." I thought I saw tears in her eyes when she mentioned her husband.

Si Ate Clara naman, Heinekin ang gusto.

Before we even started dinner, I noticed three empty bottles sa kitchen.

Her cheeks had a rosy blush.

I don't think it was from her make up.

Si Eileen naman, white wine ang gusto.

She kept swirling the contents on her glass habang nag-uusap kami.

I'm not sure if I was the only one who noticed but it was a little distracting.

I imagined a whirlpool in her glass kapag napapatingin ako sa puwesto niya.

Ate Mercy and Carlo both liked Jack Daniels.

Straight sila kung uminom.

The more they drank, the more boisterous Carlo becomes.

Kabaliktaran naman ni Ate Mercy na lalong naging tahimik.

When I was in high school, malakas ako uminom.

Ang tinitira ko was my dad's tequila collection.

I favored Patron Tequila Silver.

When he learned na pinapalitan ko pala ng tubig ang laman, I was grounded for a week.

Fourteen pa lang kasi ako noon.

Ang bata ko pa daw, sinusunog ko na ang atay ko.

I started rebelling early kasi.

That time coincided with my discovery that I was into girls.

Awa naman ng Diyos, Ang aga din natapos ng pagrerebelde ko.

In solidarity with the group, uminom din kami ni Lena.

From the time dinner started, we only had a glass of red wine.

Ayokong malasing at ganoon din naman siya.

Nabawasan na daw ang pag-inom niya dito sa Canada.

Ang mahal daw kasi.

I saw the receipt in one of the plastic bags.

One bottle of wine was worth more than twenty-five dollars.

The dinner party was like my debut.

Dahil ako ang hindi nila kilala, ang dami nilang tanong.

When the questions veered towards my family, I was very careful with my answer.

Oo at mabait sila pero I felt like I owe it to myself to keep my family's dirt a secret.

I was never one to overshare.

Lena knew that.

Pinipisil niya ang kamay ko when the questions became too intrusive.

By the time dinner was done, almost everyone was inebriated.

The jokes were risqué and it was mostly Carlo who was sharing stories about the shenanigans of his co-workers.

Nagkakatinginan si Tita Nena at Ate Clara.

Si Ate Mercy naman, she looked transported in another world.

Matatag si Carlo dahil kahit halos maubos na ang bote ng whiskey, mukhang hindi pa siya tinatamaan.

Tita Nena was slurring while Ate Clara said she had to stop dahil nahihilo na daw siya.

Eileen said the same thing.

Ate Mercy barely said a word when Carlo gave her drinks.

When Tita stood up to get the cake, her body swayed.

Buti na lang at katabi siya ni Lena at nasalo siya nito.

"I'll get the cake, Tita." Mabilis na tumayo si Carlo.

"Mabuti pa nga, hijo." Bumalik siya sa upuan niya.

Pagbalik ni Carlo, he was holding a sheet of ube macapuno cake—Lena's favorite.

Napawow siya.

"Mom had it made." Nakangiting sabi ni Ate Clara.

Mahal na mahal talaga nila si Lena.

Carlo clicked on the red gas lighter na dala niya at sinindihan ang white candles na number 32.

We sang a drunken version of Happy birthday.

Kumekembot sa upuan si Tita Nena habang pumapalakpak.

When the song was finished, we cheered on Lena to make a wish.

"Kailangan pa ba eh nasa tabi ko na?" She smiled at me.

The tips of my ears burned from the overt show of affection.

She never did that before.

Tinukso tuloy nila kami.

"Malay mo, next level naman?" Pahapyaw ni Ate Clara.

Pareho tuloy namula ang mukha namin ni Lena.

Just the same, pumikit siya.

After a few seconds, she blew the candle.

Pumalakpak kami ulit.

I offered to slice the cake.

It turns out, they all liked ube.

Habang kumakain ng cake, biglang tumayo si Ate Clara.

Magbu-brew daw siya ng kape.

Habang naghihintay, nauwi ang kuwentuhan sa wedding ni Ate Mercy.

Si Carlo ang laging sumasagot.

He was telling us about the difficulty of choosing which location to pick for the ceremony dahil gusto niya sa Canmore pero gusto naman ni Ate Mercy na sa local church nila sa Calgary gawin.

"I changed my mind." Biglang nagsalita si Ate Mercy.

"What honey?" Gulat na tanong ni Carlo.

"I don't want to marry you anymore."