Goodbyes and Broken Hearts

Jenneth wondered where Ryan could be. Alam niyang hindi na naman maganda ang mood nito dahil sa nangyari kay Darlene. Alam niyang lalo na naman itong nainis kay Allan. She's getting tired of this irritated drama of his. She feels like scolding him if need be.

Nakita niya ang lalaki sa may pool area. Maliwanag na noon dahil bumalik na ulit ang electric current. Nakatayo ito sa may gilid ng pool, nakatingin sa bahagi kung saan muntikan nang malunod kanina si Darlene.

She went to him. Sobrang nakatuon yata ang atensiyon nito sa may tubig na hindi siya nito napansin. O, hindi lang talaga siya pinansin nito dahil alam nitong siya ang parating? How could he sense that it was her who's coming? Is he from the land of the Dragon Ball anime?

"Do you like to hit that water because it almost drowned Darlene?" Jenneth asked sarcastically.

Ryan did not answer. Hindi man nga lang ito humarap sa kanya.

"Hey, Ryan!" Jenneth said.

"Kristine really did it this time."

"Huh?" Nagulat si Jenneth sa sinabi nito.

Ryan turned to face him. "Can't you see? None of these could have happened if she didn't write that letter and asked us to fulfill her stupid wish."

"Ryan…"

"Gustong-gusto talaga niyang pinapahamak ang buhay ng anak niya. Anong klase siyang ina?"

Now, this is serious. Mukhang iba na naman ang tumatakbo sa isipan ng kanyang ex-boyfriend. Ramdam ni Jenneth ang galit sa aura nito.

"Ry, Kristine is dead. And I'm very sure she didn't want this to happen to her daughter. And besides, hindi naman siguro si Kristine ang may pakana ng lahat ng nangyayari kay Darlene? She might actually be the one protecting her."

Mukha namang tinanggap ni Ryan ang paliwanag ni Jenneth. Pero may panibago na naman itong himutok.

"Then maybe, maybe it was my fault."

Jenneth frowned.

"Kung hindi ko naisip ang scheme na ito, hindi sana ito mangyayari."

"Then, it was my fault," Jenneth said.

"Ha?" Lumingon si Ryan dito.

"Because if only I have listened to your plan and agreed, hindi na sana natin kailangan pang magpunta dito at nakagawa na sana tayo ng ibang plano to make Kenneth and Samantha fall in love with each other."

She's starting to get frustrated because of this blaming game Ryan is playing. Gusto na nga niya itong sigawan, kung hindi lang ito makakatawag ng pansin sa ibang kasama nila doon.

Bahagyang nagulat si Ryan sa sinabi ni Jenneth. Then after, he turned his head and looked down.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"What for?" Jenneth asked.

Napaharap si Ryan kay Jenneth.

"For being frustrated with what's going on? For being so irritated with Allan? For being so disappointed with the outcome of your so-called plan?"

"For making you feel guilty," Ryan said.

Natigilan si Jenneth.

"And for all of those you mentioned."

Jenneth can sense that Ryan is remorseful. Napabuntong-hininga na lamang siya.

"It's okay," she said. "But… now, what? What are you planning to do next?"

"I don't know," Ryan said while shaking his head. "Everything just shifted from what I hoped it would turn out. And as stupid as it is, I didn't make a Plan B."

"Because you're very sure everything will work the way you wanted it to."

"Because I just don't know what to do if that didn't happen."

Isa lamang ang naiisip ni Jenneth na maaari nilang gawin ngayon. It's for them to surrender and stop whatever they plan to do. Maybe they could regroup and think of another way to fulfill Kristine's wish?

Or maybe, they could just find someone else for Kenneth because Samantha is not available anymore. Jenneth felt bad with that thought.

"We should stop this," Ryan said. "Ano pa ba ang magagawa natin ngayon? Allan is here, and it seems he loves Samantha very much. I guess I can be okay with that. As long as my friend is happy."

Tumango si Jenneth. Sumasang-ayon siya sa lahat ng sinabi nito.

"But if we asked everyone to just go home, hindi kaya masyadong nakakapagtaka iyon?"

"Medyo," ani Jenneth. "Maybe it's better if we should just go on."

"Huh?" Ryan looked at her. "You mean, we'll pretend that… that…"

"Yes, Ryan," Jenneth said. "Let's pretend na tuloy ang plano na magkalapit tayo. Then hindi nila iisipin na affected tayo sa mga nangyayari because we don't really care about that."

"Well, now that you put it that way, it kind of works, I think."

"Yeah. Let's do it like that."

And so, it was decided. Jenneth and Ryan went back inside the house, trying to pick up where they left off with their 'plan.' But however resolved they may be, they still can feel that something's changed. Something is not like the way it was when they first arrived there. Something has happened, and however they try, everything will not be the same anymore.

**************************

Maagang nagising si Jenneth nang umagang iyon. Hindi nga yata siya nakatulog ng maayos dahil sa napag-usapan nila kagabi ni Ryan. Obviously, things are not the same anymore, but what can they do? The only solution they can think of is just go with the flow and wait for their vacation to end. Isang araw na lang naman.

Nang magising na sina Samantha at Darlene ay nagpasya silang tatlo na bumaba na upang maghanda ng almusal. To their surprise, meron na pala silang breakfast para sa araw na iyon. Kasalukuyang tinatanggap ni Allan ang mga inorder niya mula sa Jollibee nang makababa silang tatlo sa may sala.

"Oh! You're all up. Come! Let's take this food to the kitchen," Allan said after paying for the food.

Nasa may likuran pala nila sina Ryan at Kenneth. Nagulat din sila nang makita ang pagkain sa may sala, na kasalukuyang binibitbit ni Allan upang dalhin sa may kusina. Pero dahil marami iyon ay hindi niya nadala lahat. Tumulong si Samantha sa nobyo, at sa huli ay nakisali na rin si Jenneth. Si Darlene naman ay napasunod na lamang sa kusina kasama na rin sina Ryan at Kenneth.

"Tito Allan, ang dami naman po ng inorder ninyo," ani Darlene.

Allan smiled. "Because we have to celebrate."

"Celebrate?" tanong ni Darlene.

"Yes. First, we have to celebrate the fact that you are okay, you were saved and nothing bad happened to you."

"Thank you po," Darlene said.

"Second, I want to thank everyone for letting me stay here. And because of that, I want to share a wonderful news."

Natigilan si Jenneth sa sinabi ni Allan. Nung tumingin ang lalaki kay Samantha ay bigla siyang kinabahan. Mukhang may binabalak si Allan at alam ni Jenneth na hindi magiging maganda ang resulta nito. Well, at least for Kenneth.

"Samantha and I are engaged. We're getting married!"

Iyon na nga ba ang sinasabi ni Jenneth! Napatingin na lamang siya kina Kenneth at Ryan. Gulantang ang dalawang lalaki. Hindi sila nakapag-react sa sinabing iyon ni Allan. Kaya naman nagpatuloy na lamang si Allan sa pagsisiwalat ng kanyang expose.

"And you are all invited. We want the wedding to be here in the Philippines because our families and relatives are here. Our friends in the States can fly here, they want a destination wedding anyway. And also, there's no divorce here in the Philippines, so Samantha and I will be married forever."

Jenneth can feel the fierceness of Allan's demeanor as he said that. He's looking at Kenneth and it's obvious that that statement was intended for him. Ramdam din naman iyon ni Ryan na natulala sa narinig. Jenneth knows that she has to do something, or at least to say something to somehow soothe the situation.

"Congratulations, Allan, Samantha."

Allan looked at her. "Thanks, Jen." Then he looked at Samantha and smiled.

Jenneth also looked at Samantha, and obviously she is shocked. Hindi ito nagre-react man lang sa sinabi ni Allan. Tulala ito, actually.

"Let's eat!" yaya ni Allan sa kanila.

Inumpisahan na rin nitong kumain, na sinundan ni Darlene na enjoy sa mga inorder nitong pagkain. Actually, kung hindi lang dahil sa bata ay magiging sobrang tahimik at stiff ng breakfast na iyon. Si Allan lang naman kasi ang parang masaya sa mga nangyayari. Well, discounted na si Darlene kasi bata pa ito at hindi nito naiintindihan ang mga nangyayari. Si Jenneth naman ay nakikisali rin sa usapan minsan, but the remaining three did not even say a single word while eating.

Pagkatapos ng breakfast ay niligpit nila ang mga pinagkaininan nila. Niyaya naman ni Samantha si Allan sa may beach area, na tinanggap naman ng lalaki. Gusto sanang sumama ni Darlene, pero pinigilan siya ni Jenneth.

"Meron akong nakitang scrabble doon. Laro tayo?" ang sabi niya.

Mabuti at pumayag ang bata sa imbitasyon niya. Maging sina Ryan at Kenneth ay sumali na rin, though halatang wala sila sa mood maglaro at out of focus sila, lalo na si Kenneth. Bumalik din naman kaagad sina Samantha at Allan sa loob, at hindi na sila nakalaro dahil nagulat sila sa biglaang pamamaalam ng dalawa.

"Kailangan n'yo na ba talagang bumalik?" tanong ni Jenneth sa dalawa. Uuwi na daw kasi ang dalawa sa Tarlac.

"I have to go home to Nueva Ecija," ani Allan. "My sister came home also. She does not know a lot here. She was 3 when we migrated. She's not very comfortable being alone with our relatives."

"Pero kailangan bang pati ikaw, Sam?" biglang tanong ni Ryan. "Pwede ka namang maiwan dito."

"Ryan is right," sang-ayon ni Allan.

Na ikinagulat ni Ryan. Ramdam ni Jenneth na hindi nito inaasahan ang sinabi ni Allan. Maging siya naman ay ganoon din.

"You can stay here with them. Gail is going to pick me up," dagdag pa ni Allan.

Pero mas ikinagulat ni Ryan ang sinabi ni Samantha. "No… I'll go with you."

Wala na nga silang nagawa pa. Pagkatapos noon ay nagsimula nang mag-ayos ng gamit sina Samantha at Allan. Tinawagan na rin ni Allan ang kapatid niya upang sunduin sila nito.

Sinamahan ni Jenneth si Samantha na magligpit ng mga gamit nito sa kanilang silid. Wala noon si Darlene at kasama ni Kenneth. Siguro ay kailangan ng lalaki ang anak para naman gumaan ang damdamin nito kahit papaano.

"Ikaw na lang ang bahala dito sa bahay, ha?" ani Samantha sa kanya. "Here's the key. Okay lang naman kung mag-stay pa kayo until tomorrow. Pasuyo na lang ako at paligpit before you leave."

"Sam…"

Samantha looked at her.

"Are you sure?"

Natigilan si Samantha. Napaiwas ito ng tingin.

"You know, you need to be honest with your feelings."

"Jhing… This is what I should do."

"Are you sure?"

Tinitigan siya ni Samantha. Ramdam ni Jenneth ang bigat sa kalooban nito lalo na nang magsimula nang mamuo ang luha sa mga mata nito. Samantha blinked them away.

"I'm very sure," Samantha said as she looked at her with certainty.

Hindi na nagsalita pa si Jenneth. Hinayaan na lamang niya si Samantha na magpatuloy sa kung ano mang gusto nitong gawin.