Chapter 88 - secret personal paradise
2234 Words
Chapter 88 - secret personal paradise
Nathan woke up on Wednesday.
All the sleepless nights without the professor by my side was finally, and hopefully, all over. We were able to sleep in our bed without worry and even got the week off to get some well deserved rest.
I turn in our bed to snuggled against my professor, only to find him gone. He is probably in the laboratory again. I stretched and sat up, put on my robe and shuffled out of the room. As soon as I opened the door, I smelled something good coming from the kitchen.
I made my way downstairs and saw Eric by the stove, his back to me, with a platter of pancakes on the kitchen counter.
“So, you really can cook.”
Eric turned around to face me. He looked surprised.
“Ay, nako, Habibi, bakit bumangon ka agad!” he complained, “Balik ka sa taas! Balik! Balik!”
“Huh?” I frowned at him.
“Ginawan kita ng breakfast in bed!” he said, showing me a tray full of food. “Kailangan nasa bed ka pa para mag-work ito!”
“I can just eat h – “
“Ah, hindi, dapat sa kama ka kakain!” he insisted, ”Minsan na nga lang akon mag-effort, mabubulilyaso pa! Dali na, bumalik ka na sa kuwarto!”
I sighed and made my way back to our bedroom with Eric following behind me, carying the tray of food.
“Higa ka sa kama!”
I did as he told me. He then placed a small foldable desk over my lap and placed the tray on top of it.
“Tah-dah!” he grinned at me, “Breakfast in bed para sa Habibi ko!”
“There you go again, calling me Habibi!” I frown at him, “Stop calling me your Habibi, call me mahal instead!”
“Ito talagang Habibi ko, alam mo naman nakasanayan ko nang tawagin kang Habibi, saka, dyahe kung tatawagin kitang mahal lagi, lalo na kung may ibang tao...”
“There are no other people here,” I insisted.
“Sige na nga, Mahal, kain na!” he leaned over to kiss me. “Ayan, ha, pinagluto pa kita ng umagahan!”
”How come you never told me you could cook?” I asked him.
“`Di ka naman nagtatanong, eh! At saka, pinagluto na kita dati! Kapag nagkakasakit ka, pinagluluto kita ng lugaw!”
”You always said you bought it from a store?”
“Minsan umo-order ako, minsan nagluluto. Depende kung marami ako’ng ginagawa,” he replied, ”Obvious ba, may lutuan ako nang una ka’ng dumating dito, `di ba?”
”Then, how come I never see you cook?”
“Eh, ang sarap kasi ng luto mo, eh, nawili tuloy ako. Kita mo nga, ang laki na nang itinaba ko!”
He sat beside me on the bed and shared the breakfast with me. He made pancakes so fluffy they were actually wobbling, sweet bacon fried to a crisp, and sunny side up eggs shaped like hearts. A perfect looking breakfast from a man who never does anything half-baked.
“Thank you professor, this is the best breakfast I have ever had,” I told him as the pancake melted in my mouth.
“Para sa Habibi ko, only the best!”
“Again with the Habibi! You only use that to tease me, I’m not your Habibi!” I glared at him.
“Sige na, Mahal, kumain ka na, saan mo ba gustong pumunta ngayon? Bakasyon tayo, marami tayong free time! Maa-approve na ang SGT kits natin, tapos na ang isyu kina Nathan, at hindi na `ko kinukulit ni Louie tungkol sa partner n’ya, wala na tayong problema ngayon!”
I gulped down my food and thought for a while.
“Let’s go home to my country.”
“Ha – Mahal naman, `wag naman ganoon kalayo! Makakauwi rin tayo sa inyo pag natapos na ang SGT kits,” he placed an arm around my shoulder. “Gusto mo road trip tayo papuntang Baguio? Or lipad tayo pa-Palawan? Kung gusto mo ng out of country, p’wede tayo’ng mag-Japan, tamang-tama, sakura season ngayon! Basta `yung malalapit lang, ha?”
“An overnight trip to Japan? Really?”
“Ah, tama...” he gasped, “May pool party nga pala tayo sa Sabado!” I shouldn’t have reminded him, “Kung ganon, gusto mo uling magpuntang Luneta?” he grinned at me. “Kain uli tayo ng balot!”
“No, this time, let me treat you, how about a day to the spa? Or a beach resort, perhaps? Somewhere we could relax?”
“Good idea!”
I gave a sigh of relief. I wasn’t very keen about eating duck embryos again.
“But this time, mamamasahe tayo, para `di ka mapagod sa pagmamaneho!” he added.
“But wouldn’t we be even more stressed with all the noisy people in the bus?” I asked him, “Isn’t that the reason why you don’t ride public mass transportation?”
“`Wag ka’ng mag-alala, mag te-tren tayo pa-Batangas, kuha tayo ng private coach para walang istorbo!” he took out his phone and started searching in the internet. “Mag b-book ako sa isang resort sa Laia, hanap tayo ng may spa! Gusto mo ba may snorkling at island hopping? May mga promo sila ngayon! May night tours pa para sa low tide stroll in a deserted island!”
“Eric,” he looked up at me expectantly, “I just want a place where we could quietly spend some time together.”
He smiled at me, caressed my face, and gently kised my lips.
“Ako rin...” he replied, “Sige, hanap tayo ng tahimik na resort, yung tipong p’wede tayo’ng maglakad sa dalampasigan nang hubo’t-hubad at mamulot ng mga kabibe habang palubog ang araw...”
In the end, Eric booked a private resort for the two of us. The company who owned it even had a shuttle service so we didn’t need to ride the train. We went to the drop off at exactly 1 pm, and was at the resort at 4 pm.
The caretaker simpy gave us the keys to the place and left, leaving an ATV with us, in case we needed to go to town. It was a beautiful beach with pristine waters and a shore full of seashells like the professor envisioned. The rest house in the property was a large 2-storey Mediterranean style, fully furnished with all the modern amenities. There was also a small pool, a recreation area, and a vegetable garden where we were free to harvest anything we needed.
“Nagustuhan mo ba, mahal?” he asked as we walked on the beach, “By the way, this property is for sale, gusto mo bang maging secret paradise natin `to?”
“But don’t you think buying the property would be going too far? We hardly ever go on vacations...”
“W-well... ngayong m-mates na tayo... p’wede na tayong magbakasyon nang madalas,” he said, hesitantly. I looked at his blushing face. “P-pero... kung ayaw mo...”
“I like it.” I quickly said. “But the cost and the maintenance of a place as big as this...”
“`Wag mo’ng isipin ang pera, madaling gumawa noon. Ang importante, masaya tayo.”
I sighed. The professor have always been very generous to others. He only holds back on himself, partly because he is too attached to his old things. Particularly his clothes.
“Okay, but only if you promise to set aside a day or two every month so we can rest here.”
“Deal!” he grinned and kissed my cheek. “Ayos, matutuwa sina Mercy `pag nakita nila `to, at siguradong matatameme ang mayabang ko’ng bayaw!”
“I thought you said you wanted this to be our secret paradise?” I frowned at him, “Is that the real reason why you wanted to buy the place?”
Eric simply grinned and pulled my hand as he led me to the clear water. It felt cool and refreshing as it lapped at our bare feet. He pulled me further in until it reached our waist and faced me with a playfull smile on his face. We kissed then, as the sun started to sink beyond the horizon.
As night approached, we made a bon fire by the beach and sat huddled next to each other. We had an oversized towel over our wet bodies as we sat on a matress we took from one of the bedrooms.
“Ngayong mates na tayo, p’wede na tayo’ng magplano for the future,” he said as we warmed ourselves by the fire. “Since balak mo `ko ilibot sa buong mundo, tamang-tama `tong rest house na `to `pag umuuwi tayo sa `Pinas at gusto nating lumayo sa ingay. Sa Manila naman, doon tayo sa bahay natin sa San Juan. Sa Egpyt, saan tayo tutuloy?”
“I have an apartment in Cairo, a trusted friend and his son are currently staying there since I came here in the Philippines.”
“Apartment? Iniisip ko, sa family mo tayo tutuloy?”
“I prefer to be alone with you,” I said while snuggling on his chest. “I also have properties in San Francisco and New York, in England, Paris, Korea and Japan.”
“Woah, natutulugan mo lahat `yun?” he asked in jest.
”I lease them out when I leave the country.”
“Ako masaya na rito,” he sighed “tahimik, walang ibang iistorbo sa atin. P’wede tayo’ng mangisda at magtanim ng pagkain natin.” He looked at the vegetable salad we made, and the paperbag filled with the remains of the clams and crabs we bought earlier in town.
“Right...” I crawled on top of him and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Just the two of us...” I kissed him.
“Walang mga asungot na interns at sutil na pamangkin na mangungulit sa atin.” He kissed me back and rolled on top of me.
We held each other’s body tenderly, moving as one, becoming one, exploding underneath the stars and the light of the half moon. We fell asleep where we made love, and woke up the next morning to the rising sun.
Eric took me to the market the next morning where we bought more seafood. He cooked paella for me, as well as kilawin and other native dishes. We were both so full that we just gazed at the waves after eating, our hands held together, looking at each other from time to time to give the other a kiss.
It felt as if time had stopped for us. As if the two of us were the only people left in the planet, and as the evening approached, he asked me if I wanted to stay another day.
“Hindi naman natin kailangan pumunta sa pool party ni Blondie, marami pa namang ibang get-togethers na darating, eh, mas gusto ko’ng manatili dito hanggang Lunes, kasama ka.”
“I feel the same, professor,” I told him with a smile. “Let’s buy the place so we can stay here every weekends.”
“Good idea!” he relpied with a big grin on his face. “Sandali, matawagan ang caretaker para ipa-cancel ang pagsundo sa `tin mamayang 6 pm.” He looked around the area. “Saan ko ba iniwan ang cell ko?”
“We left them in the bedroom,” I told him. “You said you didn’t want to be disturbed by anybody.”
“Ah, oo nga pala...”
For someone who has a memory palace, the professor can still be very forgetful at times. He stood up from the porch where we sat and went inside the rest house.
I sighed as I faced the ocean once again and took a sip from the cocktail Eric made for me. I was resting my eyes when he came back with a sigh.
“Habibi, mukhang kailangan pa rin natin umuwi,” he mumbled.
”Why? Did something happen?” I asked him.
“Nag-message si Godzilla, may emergency meeting daw bukas tungkol sa SGT kits na balak nang simulan ang production sa Monday,” he said, irritatedly, “ang dami na nga’ng miss calls, eh...”
“On a Saturday? Couldn’t it wait `till next week?”
“Nope. Apparently, may dumating daw na taga US branch at Sabado lang s’ya free para sa meeting.”
“I guess we have no choice, then.” I sat up straight on the lounge chair and saw Eric sulking. “It’s okay, we can always come back here, we’re even buying the place, remember?” I tried to cheer him up.
“Haaay... sa susunod isang buong linggo tayo mags-stay dito!” he shouted at the sea.
“Yes, just the two of us,” I smiled, “for now, we need to get ready, it’s already past 5, the caretaker might already be on his way.”
“Haay...” Eric embraced me. “Next time... next time, wala na talagang iistorbo sa atin. Hindi ko na bubuksan ang cellphone ko buong linggo!”
- Writer
