I’ve known Joaquin through a friend of a friend. Nireto sya sakin ng friend ko — bestfriend daw ng boyfriend nya and Joaquin is still single. Tall, dark, and handsome. We met at a time that cellphone era is just starting to boom, and texting is expensive, piso isang text, and rare pa ata ang promo nun, forgive me for the poor memory.
Like Ian, Joaquin is also getting ready to enter the military force. They’re both fresh graduates then, so a few years older lang samin ni Jane. We text some, we call some through landline. We decided to meet finally, and tama nga ang pinagyayabang sakin ng mga tropa nya. The pictures did not do him justice. He is everything a marupok like myself would go gaga for. Matangkad, kulay kayumanggi, matangos ilong, malamlam ang mga mata, and maganda ang ngipin na nakikita ko kapag nagsmile sya. Problema lang sa kanya, sobrang mahiyain. Palabiro pero mahiyain pa rin, kumbaga, hindi garapal.
We decided to go on a lunch date with our friends Jane and Ian. So double date ito after our class (I was still in college then). Jane is a bit taller than me, and Ian, her boyfriend is about 5’8″. Joaquin is significantly taller than Ian though, 5’10” which means, I’ll be the dwarf in the group. Our ligawan period technically ran for a few weeks only. Sa tagal namin mag-usap sa phone, buong buhay namin ata ay nashare na namin sa isa’t isa.
We had pasta that day. Joaquin sat across my chair, and Ian and Jane are facing each other, too. Perfect time to marvel at Joaquin’s beauty.
Ian: Manunuod ba ng sine?
Jane: Ewan ko, wala na akong class. Ikaw Jazz?
Me: Wala na rin akong class. Mag 3PM pa lang naman, pwede pa siguro. If may tickets pa. And if walang ibang date si Joaquin. (I teased a little)
Ian: Joaquin, pre, meet mo pa ba yung Ligaya ba yun? (kilala akong pikon kaya lalo akong iniinis ni Ian, which is his nature talaga)
Joaquin: Wag ganun pre, selosa girlfriend ko.
Jane: Whoa! Sinong girlfriend mo? Jazz ba pangalan nyan?
For some reasons, hindi naman ako nakakibo. I looked down at my plate, I can already tell that my face is red. I felt a kick below the table and when I looked up, I saw Ian’s face. “Sinagot mo na ba to si Joaquin?” I did not answer. “Dapat pala mag-celebrate tayo, kayo na pala e, di nyo man lang sinasabi samin. Mag-inom na lang tayo.”
Honestly, hindi ko alam kung kami na nga o hindi pa. Wala naman akong sinasagot, dahil wala namang nagtatanong. All I know, is that we call and text each other daily, and this is the first time na nagkita kami. After being so confident of my brains, how I look, how I intelligently and sensibly converse over the phone, I suddenly got insecure after seeing Joaquin. Ang gwapo nya talaga.
We decided that we will just go to the apartment my parents is renting out for me para mag-inom. An apartment that looks complete, since everything’s been provided for by the generous seniors. Dito kami madalas tambay ng college friends and hs barkadas kapag may celebration or inuman. This is pretty much like home to my friends.
My apartment is a two-storey apartment with two rooms. Two toilet and bath, one inside my room, and one downstairs. Nagtimpla kami ng vodka and C2 lemon because that’s what a pasweet kolehiyala should be drinking. Hindi tayo magpapahalata na manginginom tayo diba? Although, I’ve tried beers and some hard liquors already, pero yun ang nakaimbak sa apartment. Apat na vodka bottles. One vodka bottle plus C2 sa pitcher. And naglabas ako ng boy bawang for pulutan.
We talked about a lot of things, slowly, Joaquin and myse…