Rose's wedding is in a week.

She called to remind me that I'd better be there.

"Don't worry." I told her.

"Is Arizona coming?"

"I don't think so."

"Is she going back to California?"

"That's the plan."

There was a pause on the other line.

"Rose, are you there?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, Jules."

"It's fine. Going in, I know this would happen."

In the background, I could hear Richard talking.

"I'd better go. The wedding planner is here."

She said goodbye then hung up.

I turned around in my desk and looked at the view outside.

The parking lot was filled with cars but there was nobody in sight.

I was back in my office at Santos Gen.

My meeting with Dr. Andrade was a quick one.

She asked me if I was willing to work here again.

"Do you want me here?" I shot back.

"I didn't want you to leave in the first place." She replied.

The staff had a welcome party for my return.

The other department came to join in the celebration, including Shay.

"I'm glad you're back." She told me.

I noticed the bulge on her midline.

"You're pregnant?"

She nodded.

"Congratulations!" I gave her a hug.

Unlike the first time I saw her where there was a lot of awkwardness between us, there was no animosity this time.

Dr. Andrade was looking at the exchange, holding a plate with a slice of chocolate cake.

"I know that the rules were revised but I hope you won't have an affair with another coworker."

I chuckled.

"You don't have to worry about that."

"Really?" She cut a small portion of the cake and ate it.

I told her about Arizona.

"The girl who almost made you gave up med school?"

I nodded.

"Wow! I didn't expect this to happen."

"Me neither." I ate a big slice of the cake.

Dr. Andrade placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm happy you're back together. I just wish that this time, nothing happens to make you give up on being a doctor." I almost choke on the cake I was eating.

#

     Jax knew of my plan to migrate so he set me up with an immigration lawyer.

The woman was a family friend of theirs and when we met, she told me that given my credentials and my finances, I have a good chance of being approved.

I was glad to hear what she said.

But at the same time, I was scared.

This was a big decision.

Something I haven't told my family about.

I know I should but I am afraid of how they would take the news.

Nanay wasn't very happy when Arizona refused to talk to me.

She told me to move on with my life and forget about her.

"You're young, smart and you have a bright future ahead of you. Don't waste your time on someone who clearly doesn't care for your feelings."

She was angry then.

Nanay liked Arizona but I am her daughter.

I should tell them what I'm planning to do but it's not that easy.

I am leaving them and the life that I built to move to a place where I don't know what my future is going to be.

But if I want this relationship to work, it will only happen if Arizona and I are together.

Long distance didn't work for us the last time.

Who's to say that it will work this time?

If I go there and things didn't go as planned, only then will I know the answer.

But before that, we have to work on the now.

It's clear that we both want the same thing.

I could see that she feels the pain of leaving me.

I am the same way too.

Being at Santos Gen and doing surgery distracts me from thinking about her departure.

It hurts like it did years ago.

Being older didn't lessen the longing I have for her.

There is a dull ache in my heart when I think that in a few days, she will be gone.

I was just getting out of a fourteen-hour shift when I got a call from Arizona.

She told me she's waiting in the parking lot.

I looked at my watch.

It was almost six in the morning.

She was leaving the next day and I was supposed to take her to the airport.

"Is everything okay?" I thought of her grandparents.

"Yeah. I couldn't sleep so I thought of picking you up."

I said goodbye and went to my locker to change.

Arizona was sitting at the waiting area when I reached the ground floor.

Out of habit, she leaned to kiss me on the lips, unmindful of the other people around us.

"Are you sure everything's okay?" I asked on our way to the parking lot.

"Yes." She unlocked the car and got inside.

"Let's go."

"You still have that briefcase." She pointed to the bag when I reached to put it on the passenger seat.

"I do." I smiled.

It was her gift to me when I finished top of my class during my first year in med school.

When we broke up, I couldn't bear to part with it.

It was useful and it does its job despite the memory it carries.

When I think of it now, it does more than hold my stuff.

It was a tangible reminder of Arizona.

She started the engine and made a left turn to exit out of the parking lot.

The way to the condo was to make a right but when she remained on the left lane, I got confused.

"Where exactly are you taking me?"

She glanced in my direction.

"You'll find out."

I watched as she drove away from the city.

The road became narrower and the buildings were replaced with palm trees and thatched-roof houses.

Up ahead, I saw the mountain and Arizona veered towards the right to an entrance that would take us to a hill overlooking the city.

"What are we doing here?" I straightened in my seat, adjusting my eyes to the darkness.

She parked under a mango tree and cut off the engine.

I heard of the place because the hospital staff talks about the restaurant that serves tapsilog in the morning and the bar that has a live band at night.

I don't know how Arizona managed to get us in this early because the restaurant was still closed.

I could smell fried garlic and heard the distant chatter of people working inside.

Arizona got out of the car and I followed her.

We climbed a steep trail and using her phone to light our path, we ascended the steps.

When we reached the top, the sun was about to rise.

There were benches facing the concrete railing.

She sat down and I took the spot beside her.

The early morning air was cool and I shivered.

She put her arm around me.

The sky was dark except for the rays of the sun that was shining behind the clouds.

The world is waking up and fighting my need to sleep, I did my best to keep my eyes open.

From far away, I heard a rooster crowed.

Arizona stared at the rising sun in silence.

"Look, love." She pointed to the sun as it rose slowly.

I don't really remember seeing the sunrise.

It was mostly sunset I have seen when I go to Tagaytay.

The setting sun makes me calm.

It reminds me of transitions, of how the day has to stop to make way for the night.

But the rising sun is a different matter.

It's a beginning, an awakening, a promise of a new day.

Arizona laid her head on my shoulder as we watched the sun slowly go up in the sky.

"I'm staying, Jules." She whispered.

"What?" I thought I heard her wrong.

She raised her head and in the glow of the orange sun, her face was radiant.

"I want to be here. With you."

I thought I was dreaming.

I touched her cheek and felt her soft skin.

"This is real."

She held my hand and gently kissed my palm.

"It is." She answered.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes. I don't want to be apart from you again. I want to build a life with us together. The two of us making decisions and mistakes."

"What if...?" I remembered something and Arizona knew what I was talking about.

"I'm not leaving you again. I made that mistake before and I paid for it dearly."

I took her in my arms.

When I let her go, she was crying.

"There is one more thing I have to do."

"What is it?"

"I have to see your family."