I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend
the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as
soon as possible. – Nora Ephron (When Harry Met Sally)
I’m guessing this is how I
feel.
He took a giddy me to Star
City. I knew. Oh, I knew. We were in the shower, and he said, “We’ll have a date
on Sunday. Just come with me, ok?” Like most of the days with him, I didn’t have
to surprise myself so much. He always said we have the same “wavelength, so
when I guessed “Star City”, I was right. It was such a
spoiler.
When I was a child, not more
than seven, I looked at it from CCP Complex. As an adult, I have passed by it on
commuter rides along Roxas Boulevard, but I had never been inside even at 25
years old. I was a child again. It felt like a part of my growing up years was
robbed, and now, I finally have it
back.
Gab gave in to my whims of
riding mini rollercoasters, and even “Surf Dance”. I can’t describe what sort of
ride it was nor how bad he felt before and after the ride nor how I felt for
forcing him to ride it. Heights scared him terribly like the way rodents scare
me. He was silent for a pretty long time and I felt bad wanting to ride
everything that consisted of me being suspended into
air.
To make him a wee bit
better, I told him we’ll just ride the ferris wheel and nothing else after
that.
On the way up, he asked
about me greeting my ex-boyfriend “Merry Christmas”. I have not the slightest
idea of what he was talking about, and I have slowly crossed my arms with an
upset look on my face. If it wasn’t such a hassle to leave the line, I would
have walked out. I didn’t want to be in an amusement park frowning, especially
that it was my first time.
We sat on opposite sides. He
started talking and I vaguely heard him say something about a “last question”
while rummaging through his bag. Next thing I knew, he was kneeling in front of
me in the middle of the car, choking in his own words, crying, and then I saw
it. A box. A gold ring. A purple
stone.
Then I
cried.
I was distrusting of marriages, but here
was a man who never cried, except for
me.
Gab was my client for a mall
in Quezon City and my colleague’s client in the other malls. He was that sort of
guy who spoke so little and was always very well-dressed. Nonetheless, after a
couple of meetings, he invited me in Facebook. This was where I have proven how
small this planet was because, apparently, he was my sister’s classmate back in
college.
Fast Fact: He never invited
anyone else from my team, and he had more meetings with my colleagues than with
me.
Eventually, meetings led to
visits at home and dinner dates. He would come over and cook for me. One time,
I was sick with bronchitis, he came with his guitar and sang for me. I do have
to mention how he would shift from left to right whenever we’re walking and
crossing streets. I thought gentlemen don’t exist
anymore.
I have rejected Gabby once.
Not every love story starts off well, I guess, but he stayed with me. One Sunday
he took me out for church, temple, lunch, dinner, and a basketball game. He said
he realized he had fallen in love with me as he watched me patiently watching
even when the gymnasium wasn’t well ventilated and despite getting bitten by
mosquitoes. Apparently, no one ever did that, and so I promised I will watch
every game he will play.
Needless to say, I fell in
love with him. It didn’t take so long. People used to ask me how I knew he was
the one. I always tell our story, and I ask, “How can I not fall in love?” And
it’s true, you will just know. Love couldn’t be measured by days, and Gabby
swore he would win my heart every single day. He still
does.
From then on, we did
everything together; from household chores to travelling. We were, and still
are, inseparable.
We started out planning for
a civil wedding. There really wasn’t any savings from both ends, so this was the
most economically friendly way we can get our union
sealed.
Our families insisted on
having a church wedding, which we really couldn’t afford. One day, we decided to
check out the possibilities and went to Malate Catholic Church. There was a
wedding that day, and apparently, economy weddings cost as little as five
thousand pesos only. We went to check Max’s Restaurant, too, and was quoted for
something a little less than forty-five thousand pesos. As we were walking, a
bridal fair announcement greeted us, and further on Taft Avenue, a man came out
in a barong from a hole in the wall
restaurant, and surprise! There was a wedding reception inside. When we reached
his house, there was a bridal car following the jeepney we
rode.
If God was the one talking
to us, he must have been shouting. We booked the church three days
after.
We had been blessed, so far,
that there were a lot of people who are making helping make this union official.
We even won raffles. I mean, I never win the bingo, and suddenly, when I’m
getting married, I win cash prizes in raffles. We were so surprised by the
outpouring that we even bought lotto tickets in the hope that we would also
win.
And so, my dear Gabby,
here’s my message for you:
I love how you brought a guitar on the first time you visited me.
I love how you pushed me into buying medicines worth more than PhP 500 for my
own sake even when I wasn’t able to follow the doctor’s orders. I love that you
cook. I love that you shift from left to right whenever we’re walking or
crossing streets. I love the way you literally tuck me in at night when you
have to work late. I love how you travel so much just to pick me up from work.
I love how you buy my feminine pads when it’s an emergency, and the way you
meme me before I sleep. I love you for the way you walk ahead of me just
because I said your butt is gorgeous. I love the way you hug me inside the
train. I love how you rub your hands together and place them on my neck
whenever I’m freezing or how you wrap your body around mine when we sleep. I
love the way you look at me in the morning and tell me you love me. I love how
you wink at me whenever you’re playing and how you kiss me before going back to
the game. I love the way you make my dreams come true and the way you calm down
when I hold your hand. I love the way your eyebrows meet before you hug me
after a fight. I love the way you panic when I hit my head, mostly on Justin’s
bed. I love the way you talk in your sleep and the way you’re so innocent in
the morning when I ask you about it. I love how you forget to brush your teeth
sometimes. I love that you can’t make proper surprises because you get too
excited, so you tell me almost immediately. I love that you can’t keep secrets.
I love how you panic when I ask “Promise to God?” because promises to God can
never be broken.
Before taking a bath, I take the ring off and put it on the table
till I finish. I love the way you go down on one knee to ask me if I’ll marry
you every single time before putting the ring back on my
finger.
And lastly, I love you. I just
do.
There is nothing else that I
want more in this world than to love you and to be loved by
you.
You are my best friend, my
lover, and my partner-in-crime (even if it’s unlikely that I’ll make a crime). I
will be the best person who could kiss you, hug you, miss you and love you the
way you most deserve. I will be your guiding light when you’re lost. I will
listen for you and to you when our ears fail us with old age. I will hold the
spoon and fork for you when your hand starts to tremble. I will read to you when
your sight slowly blurs.
I promise to God that my
arms, my heart, and my soul will be open for the rest of our lives for you to
run to when life starts to scare you.
I promise you I am that
woman who will love you like no one else can, and you will always be the man
that pushes me to live the longest for.
This “rest of my life”will never be enough
for a love so great like ours.
the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as
soon as possible. – Nora Ephron (When Harry Met Sally)
I’m guessing this is how I
feel.
He took a giddy me to Star
City. I knew. Oh, I knew. We were in the shower, and he said, “We’ll have a date
on Sunday. Just come with me, ok?” Like most of the days with him, I didn’t have
to surprise myself so much. He always said we have the same “wavelength, so
when I guessed “Star City”, I was right. It was such a
spoiler.
When I was a child, not more
than seven, I looked at it from CCP Complex. As an adult, I have passed by it on
commuter rides along Roxas Boulevard, but I had never been inside even at 25
years old. I was a child again. It felt like a part of my growing up years was
robbed, and now, I finally have it
back.
Gab gave in to my whims of
riding mini rollercoasters, and even “Surf Dance”. I can’t describe what sort of
ride it was nor how bad he felt before and after the ride nor how I felt for
forcing him to ride it. Heights scared him terribly like the way rodents scare
me. He was silent for a pretty long time and I felt bad wanting to ride
everything that consisted of me being suspended into
air.
To make him a wee bit
better, I told him we’ll just ride the ferris wheel and nothing else after
that.
On the way up, he asked
about me greeting my ex-boyfriend “Merry Christmas”. I have not the slightest
idea of what he was talking about, and I have slowly crossed my arms with an
upset look on my face. If it wasn’t such a hassle to leave the line, I would
have walked out. I didn’t want to be in an amusement park frowning, especially
that it was my first time.
We sat on opposite sides. He
started talking and I vaguely heard him say something about a “last question”
while rummaging through his bag. Next thing I knew, he was kneeling in front of
me in the middle of the car, choking in his own words, crying, and then I saw
it. A box. A gold ring. A purple
stone.
Then I
cried.
I was distrusting of marriages, but here
was a man who never cried, except for
me.
Gab was my client for a mall
in Quezon City and my colleague’s client in the other malls. He was that sort of
guy who spoke so little and was always very well-dressed. Nonetheless, after a
couple of meetings, he invited me in Facebook. This was where I have proven how
small this planet was because, apparently, he was my sister’s classmate back in
college.
Fast Fact: He never invited
anyone else from my team, and he had more meetings with my colleagues than with
me.
Eventually, meetings led to
visits at home and dinner dates. He would come over and cook for me. One time,
I was sick with bronchitis, he came with his guitar and sang for me. I do have
to mention how he would shift from left to right whenever we’re walking and
crossing streets. I thought gentlemen don’t exist
anymore.
I have rejected Gabby once.
Not every love story starts off well, I guess, but he stayed with me. One Sunday
he took me out for church, temple, lunch, dinner, and a basketball game. He said
he realized he had fallen in love with me as he watched me patiently watching
even when the gymnasium wasn’t well ventilated and despite getting bitten by
mosquitoes. Apparently, no one ever did that, and so I promised I will watch
every game he will play.
Needless to say, I fell in
love with him. It didn’t take so long. People used to ask me how I knew he was
the one. I always tell our story, and I ask, “How can I not fall in love?” And
it’s true, you will just know. Love couldn’t be measured by days, and Gabby
swore he would win my heart every single day. He still
does.
From then on, we did
everything together; from household chores to travelling. We were, and still
are, inseparable.
We started out planning for
a civil wedding. There really wasn’t any savings from both ends, so this was the
most economically friendly way we can get our union
sealed.
Our families insisted on
having a church wedding, which we really couldn’t afford. One day, we decided to
check out the possibilities and went to Malate Catholic Church. There was a
wedding that day, and apparently, economy weddings cost as little as five
thousand pesos only. We went to check Max’s Restaurant, too, and was quoted for
something a little less than forty-five thousand pesos. As we were walking, a
bridal fair announcement greeted us, and further on Taft Avenue, a man came out
in a barong from a hole in the wall
restaurant, and surprise! There was a wedding reception inside. When we reached
his house, there was a bridal car following the jeepney we
rode.
If God was the one talking
to us, he must have been shouting. We booked the church three days
after.
We had been blessed, so far,
that there were a lot of people who are making helping make this union official.
We even won raffles. I mean, I never win the bingo, and suddenly, when I’m
getting married, I win cash prizes in raffles. We were so surprised by the
outpouring that we even bought lotto tickets in the hope that we would also
win.
And so, my dear Gabby,
here’s my message for you:
I love how you brought a guitar on the first time you visited me.
I love how you pushed me into buying medicines worth more than PhP 500 for my
own sake even when I wasn’t able to follow the doctor’s orders. I love that you
cook. I love that you shift from left to right whenever we’re walking or
crossing streets. I love the way you literally tuck me in at night when you
have to work late. I love how you travel so much just to pick me up from work.
I love how you buy my feminine pads when it’s an emergency, and the way you
meme me before I sleep. I love you for the way you walk ahead of me just
because I said your butt is gorgeous. I love the way you hug me inside the
train. I love how you rub your hands together and place them on my neck
whenever I’m freezing or how you wrap your body around mine when we sleep. I
love the way you look at me in the morning and tell me you love me. I love how
you wink at me whenever you’re playing and how you kiss me before going back to
the game. I love the way you make my dreams come true and the way you calm down
when I hold your hand. I love the way your eyebrows meet before you hug me
after a fight. I love the way you panic when I hit my head, mostly on Justin’s
bed. I love the way you talk in your sleep and the way you’re so innocent in
the morning when I ask you about it. I love how you forget to brush your teeth
sometimes. I love that you can’t make proper surprises because you get too
excited, so you tell me almost immediately. I love that you can’t keep secrets.
I love how you panic when I ask “Promise to God?” because promises to God can
never be broken.
Before taking a bath, I take the ring off and put it on the table
till I finish. I love the way you go down on one knee to ask me if I’ll marry
you every single time before putting the ring back on my
finger.
And lastly, I love you. I just
do.
There is nothing else that I
want more in this world than to love you and to be loved by
you.
You are my best friend, my
lover, and my partner-in-crime (even if it’s unlikely that I’ll make a crime). I
will be the best person who could kiss you, hug you, miss you and love you the
way you most deserve. I will be your guiding light when you’re lost. I will
listen for you and to you when our ears fail us with old age. I will hold the
spoon and fork for you when your hand starts to tremble. I will read to you when
your sight slowly blurs.
I promise to God that my
arms, my heart, and my soul will be open for the rest of our lives for you to
run to when life starts to scare you.
I promise you I am that
woman who will love you like no one else can, and you will always be the man
that pushes me to live the longest for.
This “rest of my life”will never be enough
for a love so great like ours.