A piece of the past...

"You have to think hard about this, Danica," Troy said.

"I already did and this is my final decision. Stop looking at me like that. It's not like you. You should be happy the fun-spoiler is going away."

He shook his head, his expression incredulous yet patient at the same time. "I can't let you go like this. Just stay a few more months and try to think more about it."

"Troy, just accept my decision like Jackie and George did."

"Danica, I have more reasons why I can't let you go."

She frowned and her heart started to race. She did not dare ask why. He leaned over to peer at her with a serious look on his face. She tried to look away but his eyes locked hers in a strong and intense gaze.

"I love you. Not just as a friend. I've loved you for a long time and I've been meaning to tell you and it has been making me crazy. And if there is any part in you that considers the same level of affection, don't go. We have to give it a shot. I am ready to give it a shot, Danica."

Dannie's heart leaped at his confession. Was she glad to know that he loved her? Yes, she was. But it wasn't supposed to be this way. Her feelings for him had blossomed over the years and she had been trying to put a leash on it because there were things in her life that she didn't want him to be a part of. He was too good for her and he deserved more. She barely had enough left for herself.

"Troy, let's not make things complicated, please," she begged.

He looked frustrated as he paced around the living room. They were left alone by their friends to talk. "Danica, I just told you I love you. And all you have to say is 'let's not make things complicated'?"

A tear fell from her eyes as she shook her head. "I can't accept you or your feelings for me."

"Why? Because we're friends and it will make things complicated?"

"No. Because we don't deserve each other."

PRESENT DAY

I felt like I was in a freaking movie that afternoon.

Dannie zoomed me into BREDCO port as if she was Georgie and screeched to a stop when she spotted Troy and some of his men huddled in a group. She climbed off me in a hurry. The air from the sea was strong and it blew her long hair to the side. The sun was blasting as well before it would soon disappear behind the horizon. Dannie baby squinted against the light.

And she started walking away to where Troy was.

Wait. Wait. Wait. I am going to miss it? What the freaking Volks! I am going to miss it?! Dannie baby, don't go away! Let him come to you! You don't have to go that far!

But she was. And she was doing it like a brave soldier marching to battle.

Troy must have seen her then because he turned away from the rest and started walking toward my Dannie baby to meet her halfway.

It's a freaking movie material, man...and I am not going to witness a word of it!

As Dannie baby and Troy my boy got closer to each other, I couldn't help but squirm. I got a very good feeling about this and I was so freaking dying to hear what she had to say.

*****

He was smiling at her as he approached, his eyes narrowed against the sun. "You're okay, right?" he asked.

She knew what he was talking about and she nodded her head as she tucked some strands of her hair behind one ear. "I did it. I said what I wanted to say and I did it alone."

His chest expanded outward as he looked at her with wonder. There was no denying he was proud of her. "You did, didn't you?"

"Yes. And do you know what the first thing that came to my mind after I got the sense of victory?"

"What?" He pushed his hands deep inside the front pockets of his jeans. His hair was being blown by the wind in the same direction as hers as they stood two feet away from each other.

"I wanted to share it."

"Who wouldn't feel proud?"

"So I called you."

The smile on his face froze as he realized what she said.

"You were the first person to pop in my head, Troy," Dannie uttered, her eyes welling up with tears again.

His lack of words told her that he was too overwhelmed. She was too, but she was not willing to let the time pass and leave words unspoken because she didn't know when her courage would start to wane.

Calculating her words, she let a moment of silence pass between them. He might be trying to say something, but that did not matter to her. He had said enough in the last few weeks they had been together. He had said his piece a year ago. For her, he had done enough.

And it was her turn now.

She looked into his eyes and her heart began to harmer stronger than before.

"I want to clarify something before you say anything," she began. He waited. "Before we arrived in Dumaguete from Cadiz, you said something to me."

"I said a lot of things," was all he said. He was smiling but she was not sure what he was thinking or if he was even taking this seriously. His companions kept on looking at their direction, probably curious as to why Troy was suddenly not working.

"You said that you don't want to be the only reason why I don't want to go back to the convent."

His brows rose but his mouth kept silent.

"And you also said that you want me to not go back because I am not afraid anymore."

His brows rose higher, his hands diving deeper into his pockets. He was getting impatient, she knew it.

"Well, I just want to tell you three things."

He did not ask this time. His eyes were on hers and he was trying really hard to be patient. It showed on how he kept his hands in his pockets and how his feet swayed him backward and forward without leaving his spot.

"One, that I am not afraid anymore. I no longer find the need to escape or run away."

"Uh-huh," he said, urging her to continue.

Dannie smiled at his impatience. "Two, you are the first person to pop in my head when I thought I achieved something great today. That must mean something, right?" With that, she saw him start to move toward her. His hands were out of his pockets, reaching out for her. But she stepped back and held her arm out to keep him at a distance. "You have to wait, Brady, I have one last thing to say."

His frustration and impatience was now clearly painted on his face and he was not making any effort to hide it. He wanted to embrace her right there and then, Dannie was sure of that.

"I have one more thing to say so keep your hands to yourself first," she reiterated, taking another step back, blocking her hair away from her face. He reached out to help but she blocked his hand. "You're too impatient."

"Because you're taking your damn time, Danica. You and I both know what you are about to say."

"No, you don't so stay right there."

He dropped his hand and pursed his lips, waiting for her to finish what she wanted to say.

"Third," she began, cleared her throat and began again, "Third, I have come to realize a lot of reasons to not go back—" his face lit up and she thought he would have jumped at her if she did not hold up her hand and continued, "to the convent. But," she added and his face fell for a moment. "But, even though I have and even though you said you don't want to be the only reason why I would want to stay, you are still enough reason for me to not go back." A tear finally made its way down her cheek and when Troy made a move to come closer she did not stop him. She met his strong embrace and more tears streamed down her face. He leaned back to hold both sides of her face in his hands. His eyes were nearly in tears. He was speechless for a moment as he wiped her tears and composed himself. Troy swallowed and looked into her eyes, relishing the moment.

"You don't know how I freaking feel right now. You have no freaking idea."

Dannie looked into his eyes and smiled, her tears making his features blurry. "Trust me, I have a freaking idea."

His eyes bored into hers for a very long time and it seemed to her that everything stopped at that moment. She could feel the strong wind and her hair flying around. She could feel her heart doing different kinds of leaps. She could feel and that was all that mattered.

"I'll kiss you right now if everybody's not looking," he whispered over her and smiled.

Dannie smiled back and held his hands closer to her face. "We can wait."

And then she stepped back. "I have somewhere else to go. I just came by to ease your misery," she told him with a laugh.

He held her hand fast to stop her. "Wait."

"What?"

"You forgot to say one more thing."

She knew what he meant. "What?"

"Come on, you know what I mean. You said you came by to ease my misery. Now, erase it completely."

She rolled her eyes at him. "I hate it when you're being this cheesy," she uttered, stepping closer. She stood on tiptoes, placed her hands on his shoulders and brought her lips close to his ear. "I love you, Troy Brady."

She was already briskly walking away with her head down in embarrassment when he started howling in victory.

*****

It had been almost a month since that day in the port happened. I still held a grudge toward Dannie baby for not giving me the honor of witnessing that obviously romantic moment between her and Troy.

But then, I was just a car and a car was just supposed to drive people to freaking places to confess their love, right? I was just that kind of car! I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER!

Despite my sentiments though, things went pretty smooth from then on. Dannie baby, obviously, decided to stay. Yeah, yeah, not such a big surprise. You had to give Troy Brady some sort of trophy for that one. Just forget about the freaking car that shipped them with all the screws and tinkling parts of its yellow body.

So, anyway, ever since that eventful day when I just, you know, left parked in the middle of the port, Dannie baby and Troy had been taking it slow. Troy was the man when it came to taking it slow. Who would have thought he could be capable of that? Even Jordan, Dean, Lee and Miguel commented on how he seemed different when it came to Dannie. Well, they didn't know her story so they were just left to wonder. Poor them, right?

Dates were mostly spent at the apartment, the church, the old airport, and coffee shops. They went out on movies and even had weekends with his parents. But no more out of town trips as of now, I guess. They were really taking it slow and I assumed that Dannie still had some loose ends to deal with.

She did that one Saturday, just before we went to Georgie's parents' home out of town for a dinner party. Troy drove me, of course, since I had to be the one to take them anywhere. Poor Tata.

They drove me to the monastery and Troy waited with me outside while Dannie talked with the sisters to say goodbye. Finally, there was closure and I knew one person who was happy about it and he was sitting behind my wheels, tapping my steering wheel with happy fingers as he sang with the song playing over my radio.

Dannie came out with a smile on her face and her eyes red and moist. She had been crying, of course.

"Everything went well?" Troy softly asked. He did not start my engine, giving Dannie baby some time to recover.

She took a deep breath and smiled at him. "I promised to visit from time to time so you will have to take me every time."

"Of course," was his fast reply.

We dropped by the old airport after that. "I think we should stop going here," Dannie baby uttered.

"Why?" asked Troy.

"I believe that wherever she is right now, she's in a good place. I believe she's happy and that she grew up to be the best person I had imagined her to be, even more. I don't want to hang on to a memory of a sickly girl anymore. I want to have a new image of her in my mind. So I guess I am saying to goodbye to my little sister, Tessa today. From now on, she will just be Tessa, my sister who had the best chance."

Troy took her hand in his and squeezed it. "Well, then, if that's what you want. Why don't we start saying goodbye now? Then let's get going and enjoy a good dinner party?"

*****

Vivienne, Georgie's sister with Down Syndrome, was my sweet companion that night. Out in the parking lot of the Lacson residence with my other friends, Beatle and Victor aka Vicky, we had our own share of entertainment in the form of the sweet child herself. Well, she was not really a child anymore, but she was the youngest so in headlights she was still an innocent spirit. She liked me the most and I was not exaggerating about it. It was as if she and I had that special connection, you know. We sort of understood each other. Yes, she sort of understood me and she would tell me stories of her days at school, with her parents and her siblings, particularly Georgie and Jordan.

As the night went on and as the party continued inside with laughter ringing out from inside the house, I thought of how far we had come from the day my boys found me in a second-hand car sale with Troy. I had been a witness to all their struggles—from that freak Brian, the stalker; to Jordan who at first was a stalker in his own right but turned out to be Georgie's loving husband who made her open her eyes to her very own family; to Dannie baby's past and the pain she held in her heart. There were so many more minute problems they had that I had to suffer as well. And there were their little quirks that I learned to love—from Jackie's singing and double parking while retouching her makeup; to Georgie's obsessiveness with tools and outdoor paraphernalia; to Dannie baby's big devotion to prayer and church. They were quirks I grew to love and be accustomed to that they had been programmed in my own system. And there were the happy days as well—their little pranks; their drunken craziness though they were not really happy moments during that time; their dates and kisses I was forced to witness; the giddy moments; the proposal; the wedding and many others.

I was ready for more of those things. I was so ready but I knew that my time was coming to an end. I just had that feeling, you know.

Before I could bury myself in self-pity all over again, I saw the men making their way toward me, all of them carrying a bottle of beer in one hand.

"Where do you plan to do it?" asked Jordan.

"It has to be private. I can't have people hearing Jackie cry out or see me crying when she says no," Dean said with a chuckle.

"Well, if you need anything, I'm here," Jordan said.

"You did not even do anything to propose, dude. How can you help? Give tips?" Troy guffawed.

"They're coming. Shut up," Dean hastily snapped and the three of them pretended like nothing happened.

"Yeah, we're actually thinking about that," Troy said, in an attempt to open a different conversation as my boys neared.

"Thinking about what?" Georgie asked, leaning against Victor aka Vicky beside her husband.

"Uh, about the trip, right Dannie?" Troy asked.

Dannie looked at him pointedly.

"What trip?" Jackie asked beside Dean.

Everyone was silent, waiting for her reply. When it seemed like no one was giving up, Dannie elbowed Troy and sighed. "I'm going on a trip," she said.

Her friends' faces widened. "You are? Where?" Jackie and Georgie asked in unison.

"India."

"India?!"

"I have applied as a volunteer teacher in one of the areas there. It's not sure yet since there were a lot of us who applied for the position. And the process can be quite long so I may not be going in a year or two."

"But who would I live with when that happens?" Jackie cried out. "No one can't leave me in that freaking apartment!"

Oh, shut up, Jackie girl. Dean's proposing so you practically have a new house.

"And you are okay with this?" Jackie demanded from Troy.

He just smiled and looked at everyone as if they were all stupid. "Who told you she's going to go alone?"

Oh my gas. I think I am feeling it now. Jackie would be getting married soon—she just didn't know it yet. And Dannie would be leaving for India.

Where the hell would that leave me?!