Fake It Till We Make It

03

Phoebe's wedding was one week away when Ian and I finally sat down for dinner to talk about the details of our "relationship." I had delayed this as much as I can because work got terribly busy and I was hoping that Tita Ellen had somehow forgotten along the way. My hopes were in vain as she reminded me of it again for the fifth time when I picked up my dress at their house the other night.

Our friends didn't forget, too. In an effort to be realistic, Mitchie, who also worked in the same office, and Cara, our other friend, made sure that we had the history and evidence for us to fake it well. They took photos of me and Ian together at every chance possible – some candid, some stolen, and some "couple" pictures, especially when we were in Cebu for one of our events. Mitchie would drop by my station with a small gift or a note, and told me to take a photo and post it online so it would seem like Ian was giving me a gift. During one core group meeting, Gabriel brought a bouquet of flowers that he got from his florist friend and made Ian give it to me so I could say I got it from him, and Pia made sure I posted a photo so she could leave a comment.

It was sometimes silly, but I admit it was kind of fun to have all the attention. And it helped so much that Ian was so game, and he made sure everything we did was something I was comfortable with, so it was very easy to pretend that there was something going on between us.

That was all online, anyway. My relatives lapped it up, based on the number of likes the random posts got, and Mitchie advised me not to say anything when asked so the big reveal at the wedding. 

Offline was an entirely different matter because here's the truth: I have no idea how it is to be a girlfriend.

"So what's on your list?" Ian asked, tapping the piece of scratch paper I had pulled out from my bag with his fork. It was my list of things we needed to figure out as a "couple." We were at Urban & Luke's, Gabriel's bar in the north of the city where I was pretty sure I won't see any of my relatives seeing they were mostly south/central/east-dwelling folks.

"Okay, first. Tita will definitely want to know how we met. Can I say that we met at work?" I clicked my pen several times.

"And then?" Ian said with a grin. "We had a sudden spark?"

I wrinkled my nose. I didn't believe in that, spark. I believed it when I was younger, but now it doesn't seem possible, and I'm too old to look for that. "Can't be a gradual thing? Like we were friends first?"

"Well, we are friends, and we do work together," he replied, stirring his coffee thoughtfully. "And then? Tell me what you want to happen."

"I don't know," I said, sighing. "What if we got stuck somewhere together at one event, and then we started talking?"

To my surprise, Ian actually yawned. "You know, you should read more romance novels. Or join Mitchie and Cara when they watch rom-com movies. No offense, but what you said is not only boring but also totally unbelievable. Your relatives would spot the fake even before we told the story."

I frowned. "Then give me something!"

Ian grinned. He took a sip from his mug, put it down, and then leaned his elbows on the table. "How about this? I've known you since college, but we never really talked until we saw each other at work. I was too shy to approach you because you were always so busy – don't deny that! -" he wagged a finger at me. "- but I finally mustered up the courage and asked you out. You said no several times because we also serve together in the community, but I was persistent. You finally said yes if only to get rid of me, but you enjoyed your time so much and went out with me on a second date. And a third. And now we are here."