Ah, I was living a blissful life after that fateful Saturday night of confession two months ago, you know.

Sure, Georgie and Jordan were still the same—bantering about the littlest details one moment and kissing the next—but I was living a good life.

Theirs was a love that was not normal. It was like on an actual ship, really. There were times of calmness, there were highs and lows and there were raging storms which I sometimes feared the most but was getting used to. But I was sure that as long as the two of them could keep the sails open, as long as they could just let the wind of trust and love remain their driving force, they would surely go a long way. Well, at least that was what I hoped for those two crazy individuals.

I had to adjust to going back to my normal routine though. There were no more week-long stay at Ayala (because Jordan and Georgie decided not to marry for now), but I would still go there if Georgie decided to bother Jordan whenever she was bored and it would often end up with her dragging him to go wall climbing or trekking and camping. I was sure Jordan my boy was getting used to a lot of exercise.

He had to learn the Morse Code as well. Ha! It was a joy to spend an entire week with him and Georgie tapping in a language I didn’t understand, but it was one good week. It meant less bantering.

But I was starting to feel a bit lonely, too.

You see, now that Jackie and Georgie were no longer single, they would usually spend some time with their men other than me. There were even times when Jackie would let Georgie or Dannie to drive me even though it was her day to be with me because she and Dean had to go somewhere after office hours—visit her parents or whoever. And the same would happen with Georgie. Jordan would suddenly drop by and tell her they had to go to Manila that very same day after her shift because he had a meeting with suppliers and he wanted her to be there or they would go out of town to visit her family, especially Vivienne who grew fond of him.

Most often, nowadays, it was just me and Dannie. Jackie and Georgie still made sure that they spend a lot of time together, just the three of them.

Jordan was still with the Red Cross as a volunteer, but he had no specific schedule. He could go on duty anytime whenever he had time, which was at least one day a week if they would not go out of town for some getaway, that is.

I could not deny the fact though that the apartment had more life now than before. Almost a year ago, it was just Brian, that sick bastard, singing outside the apartment to serenade Jackie or Troy who would do nothing but bring trouble and frustrations. Now, there were laughter, outdoor barbecues and drinking. Sometimes, Jam would join them if he was home and Jordan finally accepted his presence (it must have been hard).

Troy was still a constant visitor, of course. After that morning talk he had with Dean and Jordan two months ago, he never made a move toward Dannie.

Well, at least that was what I thought of.

He eventually came around AGAIN. Maybe he thought Dannie was no longer facing a problem because everything seemed to be going great for the boys. I thought the same, actually. The boys never talked about Dannie’s mother or anything about her past and her fears. As a matter of fact, it seemed as if it was just a short episode that passed too quickly we could barely remember it. Well, I didn’t even know what the issue was way back because I was preoccupied with my Team Jo ship to really investigate and the boys were very secretive about it. But whatever it was, it was long forgotten by everyone.

Things started to pick up for me and the boys one Sunday afternoon because of Troy.

They were inside the apartment, just the three of them, probably cooking or preparing something for Jordan and Dean when they arrived. Actually, the three of them seemed preoccupied after the mass. They walked out of the church feeling excited as well. I did not mind it, of course, since it was Sunday and it was usually the day Dean and Jordan would drop by for dinner.

Sure, the two men arrived. With Troy freaking Brady.

Hey, Tata, I said suspiciously as I watched Beatle and Vicky also park behind her.

One by one, the three men climbed out of their vics and I was watching closely.

Troy was drenched with sweat. Hey, Tata, is your air conditioner broken or what? Why does it look like your owner has just ran a mile?

Tata said I should just watch and listen. And she said it in a tone of excitement. Vicky was almost squealing as well.

I had a feeling about what was about to happen and I was scared—both for Troy and Dannie.

It would take any idiot to figure out that it would be very hard for Troy my boy, and much more so for Dannie baby.

Dean and Jordan were looking at Troy with amusement.

“Should we call her now?” asked Jordan.

Troy did not answer. He was wiping his forehead with his hands and combing his hair with his fingers after.

“Where are the flowers?” asked Dean.

“Shoot! I almost forgot,” Troy said in panic, jumping to his feet. He went back to Tata and moments later, he was carrying a bunch of daisies—Dannie baby’s favourite flowers.

Oh, man…I wish it is going to be easy for you, but sadly it wouldn’t.

“Calm down, Troy. What the hell is wrong with you? Just treat this like any other normal visit. It’s just that this time, you’re carrying flowers,” Dean said with laughter.

At that same time, the apartment door of the boys opened and Georgie came out carrying a bag of trash.

Troy had already jumped behind Jordan by then in panic.

“What are the three of you doing out here?” Georgie asked them as she approached, frowning against the heat of the sun. “Jordan, did you buy the barbecue sticks I asked for? We have to get a cake later as well. Everything is just so sudden and we don’t have much time to prepare.”

Her boyfriend nodded with a, “Yes, of course. Cake? For what? Prepare for what?”

Yeah, Georgie? What’s the occasion?

Georgie ignored his question (and mine) because she must have noticed Troy standing behind him so she tilted her head to the side. “Why are you hiding behind him?”

“Who?” Jordan asked.

“Troy. Hey, Troy, if you are hiding something to scare the shit out of Dannie and Jackie again, I’ll make sure you end up on a stretcher this time. It better not be a frog you have there because I will make sure you’ll start croaking in pain,” Georgie warned.

“Uh, he actually has something more than frogs or lizards,” Dean said with amusement, obviously enjoying Troy’s situation.

“What is it? Troy, what the hell are you doing behind Jordan?” Georgie asked impatiently.

Finally, Jordan had enough so he stepped aside by jumping beside Georgie before Troy could grab his shirt.

“Flowers? What are you planning now? Don’t tell me there are bees in there—”

“They’re for Dannie,” Jordan whispered beside her.

Shock registered on her face. “Dannie? Don’t tell me you know.”

“Of course, I know,” Jordan said dryly.

“Who told you?”

He and Dean pointed at Troy.

Georgie’s head went back to Troy. “And who told you?”

And that was the start of the confusion. Troy frowned. “Me, of course.”

Georgie shook her head. “What the hell are you talking about? Are we even talking about the same thing here?”

The three men frowned at her. “Why? What are you talking about?” Troy asked innocently.

Georgie appeared to be thinking as she studied Troy and the flowers he was holding. It took her a moment to finally realize what he was up to and she immediately slapped his hip with the bag of trash she was carrying. “You idiot! You can’t be thinking of—What the hell, Troy! And you,” she angrily faced Jordan. “You knew about his stupid plan and you didn’t tell me?”

Jordan stepped back with his hand up in surrender. “He didn’t want us to say anything.”

Georgie whirled around to face Troy once more, her eyes a mixture of worry, pity, disappointment, anger and fascination. “When did you decide to do this?” she demanded.

“A long time ago?” Troy said with a grimace.

“It took him a while to finally get the courage,” Dean added behind Georgie.

But she was already shaking her head. “Troy, you know it’s not possible.”

“George, I know! I know she’s had a difficult past and she’s very fragile, but I have to try. It took me years to get to this point. And you know me. You know I play around with girls, but I never ever tried to do that with Dannie. I knew long ago that she would be someone I would go for when I am ready for the long haul.” He squared his shoulders and looked at Georgie with confidence. “And I am finally ready.”

Georgie was still shaking her head. “Troy,” she slowly said, shaking her head as if she hated to be the one facing him now to spill the beans. “Troy,” she continued, “Dannie has finally decided to be a nun.” I think my new bumpers fell off. Georgie was saying something else but I could no longer listen. I was only until the NUN part.

DANNIE BABY, NO!!!!!!!!!!

“That’s why we called all of you here. She just told us this morning at church and Jackie said we should at least celebrate the announcement. Dannie is supposed to tell you all about her decision tonight. But since you are about to make a fool of yourself in front of her, I figured I should just tell you now.”

I didn’t have words to describe the looks on the faces of the men, especially Troy’s. Heck, I could barely wrap my metallic brain around the thought of Dannie baby being a nun.

“Troy, did you hear me?” Georgie was saying and it seemed as if her words were just the humming sound of my dead engines. “Dannie is entering the convent next year.”