Worth the Wait v2

We parked and headed to the function hall where the party is being held. While walking, I tried a little experiment.

"Nervous?" I asked her as we turned the corner to the lobby.

"A bit," she sighed smiling. "Di na nagreply si Richard pero sabi nya dumerecho na raw tayo".

"Ok. Tara?" I told her. I took a deep breath, exhaled, I then offered my left elbow in hopes that she would cling to it...

I felt her hand reach from behind my arm. She took my elbow, she held me close and she did so without hesitation. It felt good that to have her near me. It’s different compared to those times when we watched DVDs together at the sofa, or those times when we shared a meal together. Acting as her escort felt much better. It felt really special.

She has me by the arm. However, not everything was smooth sailing. If Rouge could steal powers with her touch, Emma's mutant powers would be to transfer her nervousness through her touch. I tried to keep myself calm even though I was beginning to feel the pressure of hundreds of strangers looking at us. "Am I too stiff? Am I too lousy?" I kept asking myself ass we walked towards the velvet doors of the function hall.

"Flowers na lang ang kulang, Flores de Mayo na," she giggled a little.

Somewhere in my head, it felt like a big mirror just cracked.

"ehehe, bakit feeling mo Reyna Elena ka?" I replied.

"Sira, Santacruzan yun," she rebutted.

Ok, that big mirror just broke into a million pieces. Technically, I just got owned by the maid, but it made me a lot calmer.

It’s a good thing we didn’t make much of a scene even though we arrived late. Richard called my name as we entered the hall. Beside him were his girlfriend Erika, and 2 vacant chairs. They saved us seats and when we got settled, Richard introduced us to the celebrant and his relatives. He was having a blast. Whenever a relative came, he would introduce me and Emma together and he would give hints that we are a couple, and give me winks and elbow nudges. I had to make things clear by saying that Emma is a good friend, and we grew up together (no, I didn’t mention that she serves our family). Emma spoke a little, using the term "kababata" when she described us. (Hmmm... "kababata"... not to incestuous. I like the term.) Most of the time, though, she just smiled and laughed through Richard's comments.

Did she laugh because she found Richard’s words funny?
Or was she laughing because she was hiding the fact that it’s offending her?
Maybe she just didn’t notice?
Or maybe she wasn't paying attention?
Am I over analyzing things again?

The only thing I'm sure of is Emma didn't let go of my arm until we got back to our table.

When the three of us got seated, Erika scolded Richard and told him to stop making us uncomfortable. Emma and I just laughed at Richard's reaction. They complement each other really- Richard is the loud, brash, happy go lucky type. He has the tendency of going overboard with jokes and stunts so it’s a good thing that Erika is keeping a tight rein. She is older than Richard, and undeniably more mature. She has this inert wisdom that I can only guess could come from being in the HR department of client companies and dealing with the thousands of people that come and go. The two are living together in Erika's condo in Mandaluyong.

Erika knows of my situation with Emma btw. Fact is, she is the one who suggested that I blog everything and see what happens. She told me that to be honest with Emma, I must be honest with myself first. (Uhm... yeah. I'll have to get back to you on that Erika. You are good at giving advice but I blank out every time you get into your Jedi Master mode XD)

It’s a good thing that Erika is a HR for a Call Centre, she can relate to Emma and they hit it off well in the party. Apparently, they share the same interest: they like cooking. The dinner was great, and the girls were trying to figure out how to remake the dishes we had. Emma likes the Lifestyle / Food Network channel, and it’s impressive how much detail she can go through with food. The girls call the food by its actual name, while Richard and I called addressed the dishes as "yung chicken", "yung soup" and "yung parang embutido". Class no? The girls laughed and whispered and engaged in girl talk together. Richard and I agreed that it’s a good sign that our “dates" were getting along fine when they went to the washroom together.

We were having such a great time at the party; we almost didn’t notice that the ceremonies were ending.

Soon, it was time to go home. We were still laughing as we said our goodbyes. Richard was dying for a smoke and Erika was telling him not to smoke. As we walked towards the car, Emma did something unexpected. She held me by the arm again, but the look on her face told me that she was concerned about something.

"Ok ka lang?" she asked me with the worried tone again. Her mood can switch that fast. "Nakainom ka eh. You want me to drive?"

I looked at her and her worried face and realized that even if I was wasted drunk, she would take care of me and we will be able to get home safe. 'Nah I'm ok," I assured her with a smile. It was just one bottle of San Mig Light that the celebrant's father offered us as a nightcap when we retreated to the bar. I was not drunk (note: Do NOT drink and drive).

We drove away and were making good time along EDSA when she asked if she could recline her seat and sleep for a bit.

"Sige,” I nodded. “Gisingin na lang kita pag malapit na tayo”.

I kept glancing at her and I can tell that she is really tired. She is used to waking up very early in the morning so I thought she may not be used to staying up very late. A few minutes later, her eyes were closed. She was sleeping beside me and with the lights of EDSA shining inside our car, I can’t help but feel that this situation a little too familiar.

"Amp. Passenger Seat," I whispered to myself and shook of the lyrics of the song off my head.

I said 12:47 on the dashboard of our car when we made the final turn towards the village. We're nearly there and she woke up just before we reached the house. I parked the car and she closed the gate behind me. We entered the house and I watched her as she went straight to the stairs and climbed slowly. At the last flight of stairs, she let out a groan that sounded like she is very tired yet very happy that we're home.

"Goodnight Emma," I told her from the bottom of the stairs.

"Goodnight," she replied. Her lips tightened to a smile. I wanted to talk to her more. I wanted to tell her that I enjoyed the time I spent with her, but her eyes told me that she's very sleepy. I nodded to acknowledge her so she can rest.

I sat down on the living room sofa. I loosened my shirt and took of my shoes. I laid back and opened the TV. I didn’t mind what channel was on.

"Wow," I told myself. I couldn't believe that the day has ended. I recalled the events that happened the entire day, from the reminders she gave me when I left for the office, to the time when we were at the party, up to a few minutes ago when we got back here. I closed my eyes and bits and pieces of images and sounds flooded my head.