Of Heads and Hearts in the Metro

by Thessa Lim

“Now, can I please do the first song?” Zara beamed. They all groaned and said no.

  “No, I already entered my number,” Anne interjected.

  Anne’s first song was the Spice Girls’ “2 Become 1,” which made the rest laugh because it was obviously about her and Daniel. Zara’s song was Beyonce’s “Single Ladies,” which earned some snorts because she missed some notes as it was a fast one. Jazmine sang Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.” The girls clapped for her when she reached all the notes smoothly.

  Jazmine was a good singer, but Laine was the best among them. She sang with the church choir while she was still living in Bohol, then sang with the university choir in Manila.

  “When I was a young boy, my father took me into the city . . . ,” Laine sang.

  Suddenly Zara’s mobile beeped. Zara opened the message; it was from Daniel.

  Anne raised her eyebrows, just recognizing Laine’s song. “I didn’t know she likes My Chemical Romance,” she whispered to Zara.

  It was a song darker than Laine’s usual repertoire. As she sang, emotions played through her face at peaks of the song, and her voice rose and broke at the right moments.

  Zara shrugged, bothered more by Daniel’s messages than by Laine’s song choice.

  When they had finished the food and had a few more drinks, Zara stood up.

  “Before we all get even crazier with the song choices, I’d like to toast to our bride-to-be, Anne. You are unpredictable, a wild child. But you are more than that. You’re a loyal friend. You’d fight for any of us. You always move me with your passion. I love you.” Zara raised her bottle and took a sip. “May this wedding bring you happiness with Daniel.” Before she could stop herself, she added, “And your marriage, the days after, shouldn’t be forgotten . . .”

  Anne raised her eyebrows at Zara. Zara grunted and then took out a box from the paper bag she brought and handed it to Anne, whose expression quickly changed. Anne clapped her hands and stomped her feet excitedly.

  “Open our gifts together,” Jazmine requested and stood up, looking warily at the celebrant. “Anne, I’m sorry I ran away while we were gown shopping . . . I’m such a bitch sometimes. It was difficult for me—” Anne stood up and squeezed her shoulders. Jazmine started again, “I’m sorry,” but her eyes watered, and her lips trembled. This time, Anne hugged her tightly, told her that it was fine, and the girls chuckled. “I have to say this! Okay . . .” Jazmine took a deep breath. “I’m okay, I’m okay. Anne, I want to say . . . you continue to surprise me even now.” She swallowed and looked her friend in the eyes. “You are strong and bold on the outside, but I know that inside you’re softhearted. I see it every time you hold Liam. Know that even when you head dauntlessly into a new kind of life, we are here to protect your heart always.”

  Anne’s lips quivered at this. “Thanks, Jaz,” she murmured, choked up with emotion, as Jazmine handed her a sealed paper bag.

  “Okay, my turn. Anne, the first time I met you, I was scared of you.” Anne giggled at this in between sniffles, but Laine continued. “You’re confrontational and liberated, everything I’m not. Yet here we are today. I love you like a sister. I still think you should tell your parents that you’re getting married.” She made a face at Anne. “But maybe . . . sometimes we decide what’s best for a certain point in our lives. And we deal with the aftermath later . . .” She cleared her throat. “Maybe you don’t know it, but you’ve made me live out my dreams. When I wanted to learn how to dive, you pushed me, egged me, even taunted me until I did. When I wanted to move from HR to working at the foundation, you were the one who told me to flip off the consequences.” She chuckled and raised her glass. “May this marriage bless you and shower you with love as you have us.”

  At this, Anne bawled. Laine handed her a box and held her by the shoulders. The three other girls laughed, though they also sniffed and blinked back tears.

  “Thanks, you gals! You make me such a softie!” Anne wailed in between sobs.

  “Open your gifts,” Jazmine prodded at her.

  When Anne saw the black lacy lingerie that Zara gave her, the bride-to-be cheered.

  “I’m so glad you’re looking after me in this department.” She giggled.

  Jazmine gave her silver bedsheets with couple pillowcases. The pillowcases had a cartoon print of a man and a woman in an airplane, dressed in wedding garb, and a “Just Married” banner floating behind the plane. Laine gave her an English-style salad bowl made of china and an inspirational book on marriage. Anne gave them all a big hug.

  Then Laine played the next song. “Now this song is for all of us.”

  Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life” began to play. As Laine neared the chorus, Anne stepped up on the couch and began to jump up and down, pumping her fist in the air. The rest of the girls laughed and joined her on the couch, jumping up and down and turning around.

  “It’s my life. It’s now or never. I ain’t gonna live forever. I just wanna live while I’m alive!”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Last Chance

  That Saturday evening, Anne sighed as she settled down in the tub. It had been an eventful week.

  She and Daniel had their first misunderstanding. Why he had been so rattled by Zack puzzled her. After his talk with Zara, however, Daniel had sworn to Anne that he will not be a jealous boyfriend and had even offered to drive her to the gym a few times that week. When he picked her up after each visit, he asked her how the workout was. A couple of times, he had inquired about Zack. On all occasions, she had responded nonchalantly.

  Anne lifted her hands from the bath and massaged her neck. The bubbles were thick, the water warm, and the scents of the jasmine wax candles filled the air. She lifted a waxed leg up and grinned, running a palm over it. She reached for her mobile and turned on the music.

  Zara had booked the perfect room at the resort, with a big bed, where Anne would make all of Daniel’s dreams seem like mere pickings. She picked up a book from the stool beside the tub. The Kamasutra.

  Let me see if I can learn anything more that needs to be mastered. My husband must be and will be pleased. I will be the insatiable wife in bed, the mistress he’s never had. What does it matter if I don’t know how to cook, sew, or clean the house? I can hire someone to do all those for us. I’ll be the sunshine in his life, the one who makes him smile first thing in the morning and last at night. I’ll make him want me, obsess about me. Oh yes, he’ll never look at another woman again.

  “Anne, are you here?” Priscilla called out from outside the bathroom.

  Shit. Why is she in my room?

  “I’m in the bathroom, Mom!” Anne shouted. “I’ll come out later.”

  Priscilla knocked on the bathroom door, but before Anne could tell her to go away, Priscilla stepped in.

  “Mom! I’m in the tub,” Anne scolded.

  “And so? There’s nothing there that I haven’t seen.”

  Anne rolled her eyes.

  Do you want to see my Brazilian wax?

  “Helen is cleaning your luggage. Are you going away sometime?” Priscilla asked.

  Anne avoided her eyes. “I’m going out of town with the girls this weekend.”

  “Oh, okay.” Priscilla paused and then took a step back. “Well . . . enjoy your bath then.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Save some of that candle for me? I love the scent.” Her mother grinned at her, and Anne could not help but smile back.

  “Okay.”

  She wanted to tell her mother where she got the candles but decided against it. When she would leave home in a week to live with Daniel, what niceties would come out of this would be for nothing.

  But . . . damn you, Laine Geronimo!

  “M-Mom?” Anne called out just when her mother turned around.

  Priscilla faced her daughter. “Yes, dear?”

  “I wanted to say that even though I don’t like what you did to Daniel—it was unfair and disrespectful toward him—I understand that parents sometime
s do drastic things for their children . . .”

  Priscilla stared at her youngest daughter and nodded.

  “B-but I’m grown up now. And . . . I make the decisions in my life. If I have to make choices—even difficult ones—I have to, because, well, because . . .” Anne sighed. “I gotta own my life.”

  Priscilla nodded yet again. “Dear, I . . . yes, I understand what you mean.” She heaved a sigh and looked at the ceiling.

  “If you feel that I’m not mature enough to make my own decisions because I still live under your roof . . .” Anne took a deep breath and jutted her chin out. “I can be more responsible and find my own place.”

  There, I’ve said it. I’ve said something, so it should be fine that I leave sometime. I can leave and be with Daniel.

  Priscilla’s head snapped down, and her eyes widened. “Anne, your living here has never been an issue. It never will be.” She shook her head. “This is your home just as much as it is mine, just as much as it is your father’s.”

  Anne nodded and stared at the bubbles in the tub.

  “Don’t leave just because of this. Whether you’re old and grey, or you have kids . . . have gotten married, this is always your home,” Priscilla assured her. “You understand?”

  “O-okay. Thanks, Mom.”

  Priscilla stared at her daughter, while Anne continued to study the foam on the bath. After a while, Anne heard Priscilla sniffle and leave.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  The Day before the Wedding

  Zara walked out the lift of the Crystalline. She was on her way to meet the girls at a fruit shake bar by the beach.

  Crystalline, the resort that she was covering in Boracay for the weekend, was a boutique hotel resort in the middle of Station 1 and opened only three months ago. She had flown in the night before because the resort manager wanted her to stay for three days. The resort manager arranged for her to tour all the types of rooms they had available and to dine buffet style at the restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

  She stopped in her tracks when she saw Matt sitting at the resort lobby, fidgeting with his mobile. He donned a tank and board shorts.

  Am I imagining him?

  Her mouth fell open, and she walked up to him.

  “Matthew Villanueva, don’t tell me Don asked you to back me up again.” She put her hands on her hips.

  He looked at her from head to toe and smiled. She was dressed in a short green crochet-knit beach dress, with her bikini underneath. “Wow.” He licked his lips. “You look stunning.”

  Suddenly realizing that he might be on a personal trip, she shook her head and softened her tone. “Are you here with somebody? I mean, are you here on vacation?”

  “Yeah, I came with a couple of friends.” He nodded.

  “Oh, okay.” She looked around. “Are you waiting for them?”

  “Uh, yeah.” He scratched the back of his head. “They might be at the beach already.” He cleared his throat. “I was just passing by this area and thought . . . that’s a nice-looking hotel . . . You want to hang out?”

  “Ha-hang out?” she stammered.

  “Well, usually it means walking by the beach, swimming . . . maybe singing at a videoke bar?” he teased her and was rewarded with a smile. “Until . . . I find Euly and Axel again, that is. Those two just keep getting lost . . .”

  “If they’re together and you’re by yourself, don’t you think maybe you’re lost?”

  “Yeah . . . maybe.” He chuckled.

  “Were you waiting . . .” She looked around the lobby and shook her head.

  No. Don’t be delusional.

  But when she looked up at him again, he cleared his throat. “I did kind of . . . drag them down here.” He grinned impishly. “Thought it’d be harder for you to turn me away?”

  She could not stop the smile and the blush on her cheeks, and she had to look away from him. Throughout their coffee breaks and a few lunches together during the weekdays, she managed to act as if she were only socializing with a colleague.

  But in Boracay?

  He touched her chin for a moment. “Is it okay if I join you for a while?”

  She nodded. “That’d be okay.”

  He grinned. “Where are you off to this afternoon?”

  “Are you two . . . working together again?” Laine asked when Matt and Zara walked to their table in the fruit shake bar.

  The fruit shake bar started as a small joint along the beach but had grown over the years as it became popular among the tourists. The space had been extended since the last time the girls were there, and even though it was not summer season yet, the place was packed. The wall behind the counter had pictures of the owner posing with celebrities holding up their fruit shakes.

  “No,” Zara answered.

  Before she could explain any further, Anne quipped, “Are you two . . . together?”

  Zara threw warning glances her way. “He was in the area. He just wanted to hang out.”

  “What does that mean?” Anne frowned.

  Zara pulled Matt toward the bar, throwing Anne a death glare over her shoulder. “Come, let’s get a fruit shake.”

  Matt stopped her. “Let me get the shakes. Which one do you want?”

  “Can you get me a ripe mango shake please?”

  She reached for her wallet, but Matt walked off before she could take out a bill. She blew out a breath and shook her head.

  I’m going to have a panic attack soon!

  When she sat down, the other girls stared at her with wide eyes.

  “Is there something you want to share with us?” Jazmine finally asked.

  “If there was, I’m still figuring it out. I don’t like getting involved with somebody from work. He’s starting to be all hot in my mind though,” Zara confessed and rubbed her temples.

  The other three girls giggled.

  After a while, Daniel, with Helen and Liam in tow, joined them. Daniel had fetched them from the hotel after Liam woke up. Jazmine stood up to take Liam.

  “Hon, this is Matt, Zara’s boyfriend,” Anne introduced Matt.

  Zara choked on her fruit shake, while Laine chuckled. Matt just smiled and shook hands with Daniel.

  “Work friend,” Zara corrected.

  “I just learned about tomorrow,” Matt said. “All the best, man.”

  “Thanks.” Daniel smiled back.

  Zara frowned when she noticed that Daniel’s white pińa collared shirt was dampened at the back and chest.

  Daniel placed his arm around Anne and said, “I have to go meet Ronnie at the hotel, or make sure that he finds it.”

  Anne giggled and laid a palm on Daniel’s chest. “But I thought he was coming later?”

  Daniel nodded, his eyes roaming the bar. “I asked him to take an earlier flight.”

  “Okay. The girls and I will be getting massages by the beach. You know the place with the manangs,[28] right?”

  She motioned in the direction of where they would be heading soon.

  “Yep.” He gave her a clumsy kiss on the forehead, waved goodbye to the rest, and left.

  “He’ll be all mine soon,” Anne muttered purposefully. “Just one more night.”

  They all shook their heads at her.

  “And that’s why we don’t want to stay anywhere near your hotel,” Jazmine quipped. When Anne turned to bat her on the head, she shielded herself.

  “He’s been so busy here in Boracay. Always running around, doing errands and what-not.” Anne rolled her eyes. “I keep telling him that Zara has it all planned out.”

  Zara leaned forward. “What is he taking care of?”

  Anne merely shrugged and took a sip from her fruit shake.

  “I can’t believe you’re getting married.” Laine hugged Anne close. “The spitfire among us will be chained to her man forever. Dun-dun-dun-dun!”

  “I hope it’ll be more like chained to the bed,” Anne joked back.

  All the girls made a face. Matt tried to laugh as sil
ently as he could to himself.

  “Okay, time check. Anne, we have thirty minutes before our group spa,” Zara announced as she browsed through the schedule in her mobile. “Then, after that, you’re scheduled for a manicure and pedicure back at your hotel. You should be able to make it in time if you get just a ninety-minute massage.”

  Matt gawked at her. “Are you seriously like this even on vacation?”

  The three other girls laughed.

  “Thanks, Zara. We really couldn’t have pulled this off with a couple of weeks’ notice without you. You know I’m just teasing you.” Anne turned to Matt. “Matt, please join us tomorrow.”

  “I’m afraid that I’d be intruding on something really private.” Matt glanced around the beach. “Plus, my bandmates might say I bailed on them . . .”

  “Oh no, no. A friend of Zara’s is a friend of ours.” Anne shook her head and smiled at Zara like a Cheshire cat.

  “If you’re sure . . .” Matt smiled. “Thanks.”

  Then Matt slid his arm around Zara’s shoulders and pulled her to him. She heated up when their bodies touched. Bringing his lips close to her ear, he whispered, “The OCD is ridiculous but still very endearing.”

  Zara glowered at him. “You mention OCD again, and I’m uninviting you from the wedding!”

  He drew her closer. Looking at her in the face, he smiled and brushed his hand over her hair. She looked into his eyes and softened.

  “We’ll be leaving in a while for the massage. Want to get one too?” she asked.

  “Nah, I think I really have to go find the guys now.” He chuckled, continuing to touch her hair. “They just texted me about going to Puka Beach.”

  Zara nodded. “If you find some time later . . . maybe you can join us for dinner?”

  “Was hoping you’d say something.” He chuckled. “If your group won’t mind, that is. Just let me know what time to meet you and where.”

  “Laine, where are we going for dinner again?” Zara turned to Laine and was surprised to find the girls gaping at her and Matt. Even Helen was grinning at her from ear to ear. “What?”