Chapter 34

Bakit ako kinakabahan ngayon nandito si Connagh sa Pilipinas? I don't know what I was thinking as well. I have no idea why he was here. Maybe business related lamang? But if he's visiting me alone and it's the purpose of why he was here, para saan? Iyon ang laki na ikipinagtataka ko.

But he could still be here for something else. Ayoko lang din maging assuming. May pinakaaabangan pa akong big event na darating next week and it's quite a journey for me kaya naman puno ako ng excitement at kaba.

"Delivery for Kiersten Gillespie!"

"Kiki! May delivery ka na naman!" sigaw ni mama sa akin. If she would call me in that nickname again, magtatago na talaga ako. Silang dalawa lamang ni papa ang tumatawag sa aking Kiki at dito lamang 'yon sa bahay namin. I would totally be embarrassed if people would hear it. Ang baho pa namang pakinggan, but I already got used to it. Kinalakihan ko na lang din.

I put my laptop down on the bed and headed out of my room. I went downstairs leading to the main door kung nasaan nakaabang si mama na pinipicture-an ng delivery driver. She thought magbabayad pa for it, but I'm also surprised that we don't need to pay for it.

Inabot sa akin ni mama ang parcel na may kasamang salubong ng kilay.

"Sa tingin ko may manliligaw talaga sa 'yo, Kiki," aniya. Umiling naman ako para ipagbalewalang bahala kaagad iyong iniisip niya. "Jowa mo na 'yong kano, 'no? Na-meet mo ba 'yon sa London? Nakausap ko si Gina. 'Wag mo ng i-secret pa sa amin 'yan."

"Ma naman!" I grunted. "Wala naman kasi akong manliligaw."

"Sus, okay lang 'yan, anak. Approve naman namin 'yong pumunta rito no'ng nakaraang linggo. Guwapo na, mukhang yayamanin pa."

"Ma," saway ko sa kanya.

Natawa na lamang si mama. "'Di bale, susuportahan ka namin. Kung ano man ang maging desisyon mo, bahala ka na ro'n. Basta nandito lang kaming dalawa ng papa mo para sa 'yo." Tumango na lamang ako sa binigay niyang payo sa akin. "At... ano na naman ba 'yang binigay sa 'yo?"

"Hindi ko pa alam..." aniko. "Sinabi rin ba kung kanino galing?"

Umiling si mama. "Hindi binanggit ng delivery driver. Baka hindi rin alam."

"Hm... suspicious."

Tumungo naman kami sa sala para bukas 'yon box na dineliver para sa akin. Dahan-dahan ko pa itong binuksan dahil hindi ako sigurado kung anong nilalaman nito. I believe I haven't checked out some items online kaya nagtataka ako kung bakit may magpade-deliver sa akin. This looks so suspicious at kung bomba man ang laman nito, I'm absolutely dead right now.

Pero pagkabukas ko naman ng takip ng box ay may ilang piraso ng parang libro ang laman nito. There was no print on the cover, but a matte, embossed word of memories. Punong-puno rin naman ng pagtataka ang mukha ni mama kaya nang buklatin ko ang isang libro ay halos manlaki ang mata ko at agad kong ibinalik iyon sa loob ng box.

"Ano ba 'yan, Kiki! Ba't mo tinago?" takang tanong ni mama.

"This is personal. Dadalhin ko na 'to sa kwarto."

Dali-dali akong kumaripas papunta sa kwarto ko at agad akong sumampa sa kama at inilabas ko ang tatlong photobook na nilalaman ng box na 'yon. Ang lakas naman ng kabog ng dibdib ko dahil hindi ko inaasahan na makakatanggap ako ng ganito ngayon. Hindi na rin naman ako napigilan ni mama kanina dahil sa sobrang pagmamadali ko. I was so shocked—surprised and all. I didn't expect this kind of stuff.

These three photo books have different sets of colors. One is fuchsia, pearl blue, and mint green and every photo book have different words embossed in it. One was the memories and I opened it first because it was the first one I grabbed earlier and saw what kind of contents are inside of it.

Habang tinitingnan ko ang bawat pictures na nasa loob ng photo book ay hidni ko rin mapigilan ang kabog ng dibdib ko. Para akong hinahabol ng mga leon sa sitwasyon ko ngayon. From the first pictures in it, it was me in London—and to some places, I've been with Connagh. The other pictures included him and he even has solo pictures which I vividly remembered because I was the one who took those photos—it's either I'll be using his phone or mine.

There are photos in his apartment, in Manchester, and in other places and I don't know how he manages to take these photos, but he's quite good at doing it. I really love it though. It was lovely photos when I finally checked all of it.

I then picked the pearl blue matter cover and the word written on it was the only US.

Nanginginig pa ang kamay ko nang buksan ko ang photo book and I found that it was our photos when we were in Las Vegas. From Cely and Devin's baby shower to our little tour around the city was included in it. Nag-flashback naman lahat ng memories ko no'ng nasa Las Vegas kaming dalawa. It made me feel nostalgic looking at each one of them. Kahit isang buwan pa lamang ang nakalilipas, I feel like it's been a decade already.

I was so happy with all the photos. I was so happy with him at that moment. I thought the US means us being together, but it could also mean the United States as well. I'm not sure, I just love how he did that.

I gently put down the photo book and grabbed the last one with a mint green cover. The last photobook has love embossed on it. I'm unsure of why it was the title of the photobook until I opened it and it only contains a few photos and it was our last moment in London. Karamihan sa mga pictures ay stolen shot. He probably took those photos when I wasn't looking or paying attention to him and I must commend him for doing a great job of having a great timing of when to take some stolen shots.

It only has a few photos pero ito ang nagpalalim ng bawat paghinga ko. I don't really know what to feel. Sobra-sobra kong na-appreciate itong ginawa ni Connagh para sa akin. I have no idea why would he do this and what he really was doing here in the Philippines? But I really love what he gave to me.

But I've been sending emails to him—even to his international number, but he's not responding to me. Ever. If he's not responding to me and he's here in the Philippines then sending me gifts, what's his intention now? I'm trying to think further of what he could do by just giving me stuff, but there's nothing I could think of. It was hard.

Connagh's making me think so hard for this one.

Later that night, I received an anonymous number telling me we should meet. I replied we could meet—and I'm so dumb to do that, but because there's only one person I had in mind and that could be Connagh, I'd go for it.

Just when I woke up the next day, I prepared to leave without even telling to my parents na makikipagkita ako sa isang anonymous person na nagtext sa akin. I just reasoned na pupunta ako ng school. But I've come prepared in case this was a scam or even a bogus of those people na walang magawa sa buhay.

I went to Glorietta sa Makati para makipagkita sa kanya. It could be Connagh I'd be meeting today. He might be staying to nearby hotels. There was no specific time and place so I made up one where I would be meeting him—or somebody else.

I stayed at a coffee shop for an hour, but he didn't come. I thought he was when I seemingly thought he was the one who walked just the entrance of the shop, but then I figured out it was someone else. I don't know what he looks like now. But it's just been two weeks since I came back and he's probably in the country for a week now. What could he be doing other than me?

I raised my white flag and gave up my hope when he didn't show up. I was hoping too much kaya nasasaktan, e. But I was about to leave the coffee shop nang sinalubong ako ng dalawang pamilyar na tao sa akin.

"Kiersten?!" Andrew exclaimed surprisingly.

"The London girl!" dagdag pa ni Caro.

Napangiwi naman ako sa sinabi niya. "Uh... yeah... that's me."

"Girl!" Tapik pa ni Andrew sa balikat ko. "Anong ginagawa mo rito?"

"Akala ko taga QC ka? Or may condo ka around Makati?"

Umiling naman ako. "No. I was about to meet someone else, but I guess he's proud of ditching me."

"Sino naman 'yon?"

Napakibit balikat naman ako. "I literally have no idea."

They both shared a look. Muli naman akong hinarap ni Andrew. "You mean ay nakikipag-eye ball ka ngayon?"

"If you think about that, parang gano'n na nga, but this is totally a different case," aniko. Muli naman akong tinitigan ng dalawa as if I did something wrong. "I was about to meet someone and that someone I thought would be Connagh, but he didn't show up. He's not here. He clearly ditched me."

"That's so interesting, Kiersten." Hagikgik pa ni Caro.

"Gusto namin malaman pa kung anong meron sa inyo ni London boy," ani Andrew. "Stay ka muna with us. Treat ka namin."

"Ah... sige... sure." Ngiwi ko pa.

"Ako na mag-order," ani Andrew. "The usual, Caro?"

"Yup, babe."

"And what about you Kiersten?"

"Oh, no. I just had mine. Uh... siguro refresher drink na lang? That would be fine."

"Okay, I'll be back. Hanap na kayo table natin. Let it be the most comfortable para makapag-chismis tayo nang bonggang-bongga, alright?"

Andrew went to the counter and order our drinks for us. Naghanap naman kaming dalawa ni Caro ng table and we settled there.

"So... how are you?" she asked.

"I'm fine even though this person ditched me today. What about you?"

"I'm actually feeling great!" She giggled.

"Nice! Wala kayong lipad today?" tanong ko.

She shook her head. "Oh, wala pa kaming schedule this week pero tatawagan naman kami in case we had a flight or an urgent need of crew members. Ngayon, we're having fun and all. Andrew and I actually needed it after our busy schedules."

"Wow, being busy means getting more money," aniko pa.

She chuckled and nodded her head. "Yup, I totally agreed with you."

A moment later, Andrew joined us together with our drinks.

"So, let's start the chika. What's happening between you and Connagh?" tanong ni Caro.

"Uh... I really don't know how to answer this, but when I left London, we were on good terms. We're friends and all. I just don't believe what was happening now."

"Teka, friends lang kayo? Akala namin magjowa na kayong dalawa?" tanong ni Andrew.

Umiling naman ako. "No. Sa'n mo naman narinig 'yon? Friends lang kami. And now he's here in the Philippines."

Nanlaki ang mata ng dalawa as if they don't also have an idea about it. "Omg! Nandito ang ating London boy?" usal ni Andrew.

"And he's here because nandito ang London girl niya!" Hagikgik naman ni Caro.

Binatukan naman siya ni Andrew. "Gaga ka! Hindi ka naman 'yong London girl na tinutukoy rito. You will never be Connagh's London girl dahil nandito na ang tunay na London girl."

"I'm not really sure that you're talking about me or not."

"Ikaw 'yon girl," pagpunto pa ni Andrew. "No'ng nasa Vegas pa lang tayo no'n, amoy na namin na bet na bet ka ni Connagh. Tapos nalaman namin na intern ka pala niya, I know he kept it professionally. Kilala namin 'yan si Connagh."

"Weh? Close kayo?" pang-aasar ni Caro. Sinamaan naman siya ng tingin ni Andrew. "Pero sa totoo lang din. Connagh would be the one telling how to get the girl. On what to do pero based on what you were saying, he's trying to reach out to you. Like he's really getting his girl na!"

Umiling ako. "No... I still don't believe it."

Napabuntong-hininga naman si Caro. "Girl, if you're here waiting for him, e 'di umaasa ka rin na magkikita kayong dalawa. And you're not even sure na si Connagh nga ba ang kikitain mo or kung sino man, 'di ba? Maybe you like him. Maybe the feeling is mutual, Kiersten."

I shrugged off. "I don't know... everything back in London was complicated and it seems like we build a wall there, but we figured it out together and fixed it."

"'Yon naman pala! Ibigsabihin 'yon na 'yon!" pagpunto ni Caro. "You know, I'm not really good at giving advice dahil hindi ko rin naman na-a-aapply sa sarili ko, but here's my two cents. He's here because of you and another one, he's just scared of what could happen. You might reject him."

"Connagh's a great man," dagdag ni Andrew. "I've met and been around him many times and he doesn't show any quite bad things to me. If you wanted to be with him, just like you had your internship in London, grab the opportunity or you might regret not choosing it."

Napahugot na lamang ako ng malalim na hininga. "I don't know... does he even like me?"

"I'm sure he does," Caro said. "Even though it hurts for me to say that, but when Connagh is in love, he's gonna pursue it."

"Cool... but have you heard about his ex-girlfriend before?" I asked and they both shook their head. "Oh, let's just talk about that the other time. It's a little bit complicated as well. Let's just talk about Connagh and here are the things I believe he's here for me. First, last week he visited the house where I lived and then yesterday, he delivered three photo books to me with our pictures in it. What could that mean right?"

"He likes you." Andrew said.

My face scrunched when he said that.

"No, I don't think he just likes her. It could be love, you know?"

"Agree. Agree," pagsang-ayon pa ni Andrew.

Napahugot na lamang ako ng malalim na hininga dahil hindi ko alam kung anong isasagot ko. My head is all around the place and I couldn't think about it clearly.

"Do you think he'll be here at my graduation?" I asked they both creased their foreheads. "'Di ba? Napaka-imposible."

"Maybe he's preparing for it, Kiersten. Tiwala lang." Ngiti pa ni Caro sa akin.

"Alam mo sama ka na lang sa amin sa Bangkok next year," pag-aayaya pa ni Andrew sa akin. "Hindi kasi kami pwedeng mag-book na lang this year dahil masasagaan ang work namin o kung bet namin, pwede naman, 'yon nga lang sayang ang kikitain so we thought about going their next year mga first quarter ng 2022. What do you think? Gora ka?"

I chuckled and shrugged off. "Hindi 'ko alam... si Cely ba? Ayaw niyong yayain?"

"Girl, busy 'yon saka juntit ang lola mo. Ayaw naman namin ma-stress 'yon kaya stay na lang muna siya sa Vegas kasama ni Devin. They'll probably have a vacation din naman on their own naman so kaya na nilang dalawa 'yon. But we've plan to go to Bangkok na kaming tatlo but because at that time ay may anakshi na siya, kaming dalawa na lang muna ni Caro and she's fine with it. Ano bet mo? Kung bet mo, sabihan mo lang kami."

Tumango naman ako. "Sure... but I think I needed to save up muna bago ako mag-world trip, 'di ba? I'm just starting pa lang din naman so I think that's the goal I'll be looking forward na lang muna."

"True, agree ako," ani Caro. "Bad influence kasi talaga si Andrew kaya 'wag ka magpaniniwala r'yan."

Binatukan naman siya muli ni Andrew at natawa na lamang ako sa kanilang dalawa.

"Kailan ba graduation mo, Kiersten?" tanong ni Caro.

"Oh, next week."

"For sure, Latin Honor awardee ka 'no?"

Napangiti naman ako. "well, hindi naman sa pagmamayabang—"

"Girl, ipagmayabang mo sa amin, ayos lang," sabi pa ni Andrew.

"As I came by to the office last week, Summa Cum Laude ako."

Nanlaki naman ang mata nilang dalawa at gulat na gulat pa sa sinabi ko. Andrew then ordered cheesecake for me at wala naman akong nagawa kung hindi ang tanggapin iyon.

They were nice and really appreciate me, and aside from all those chika we had, napag-isip-isip ko rin iyong mga sinabi nila sa akin. If I'm Connagh's London girl, could I be really the right girl for him?

Because falling in love is not easy and at this point, it is falling down.

***

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Let me know your thoughts! I would appreciate it so much!

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