Stonehearts 9: Sapphire

Two

"Maybe, you should do porn." Aubrey suggested. Making me throw a pillow straight to her grinning face. When she says things like these, it makes me question my ability in choosing the right company.

She laughed, taking the pillow and placing it on her lap. "What? It's time to get those stripper tits of yours to good use. And besides, you can earn a hefty amount of money in the porn industry. Baka tatlong videos mo lang may pera ka na pang-salba sa clinic mo."

I rolled my eyes at her and turned to face her girlfriend, who's silently laughing, tucked at the other side of their loveseat.

Our friendship hit off right away after I literally forced my pathetic and sob love story to them three months ago. Hindi naman mahirap pakisamahan 'tong dalawang 'to. They live together in a nice and homey one bedroom apartment in the heart of the city. At simula ng gabing 'yon, madalas akong magpunta rito lalong-lalo na kapag may problema ako.

"Lucy, can I kill you girlfriend? Or muffle her mouth with my shoe so she would stop with her ridiculous ideas?"

Lucy just shrugged and took a sip of her wine, "I don't know, kid. You seem to be very impressed with her pieces of advice three months ago."

I groaned and let my head fall back, "I was drunk! And look where it got me. I freaking sent nude photos to a stranger!"

Isa pa sa mga prinoproblema ko! Apparently, you shouldn't trust yourself to type out a number from memory when you're drunk because chances are, it's definitely, fucking, wrong.

Hindi ko nga alam kung matutuwa ba ako dahil hindi naman nag-reply ang taong napag-send-an ko three months ago. It didn't give me much peace because I bugged Aubrey a lot about it for a month. Paranoia at its best.

Paano kapag kinalat online?

Paano kapag pinagpasa-pasahan na 'yong picture ko?

Hindi mas kasama 'yong mukha ko pero kapag pamilya ko o kaibigan ko ang nakakita, malamang malalaman nila na ako 'yon dahil sa tattoo ko sa tagiliran at sa nunal ko malapit sa labi.

"Honey, stop fretting. Wala namang nangyari sa nudes mo. Pasalamat na lang tayo dahil hindi type ng taong na-send-an mo ang katawan mo." Aubrey said, reassuring me again.

I closed my eyes and slowly nodded, "'Yong Cobi talaga na 'yon ang puno't dulo ng lahat ng 'to, eh. Dagdag mo pa 'yong Erica na 'yon. Kala mo naman maganda!"

Lucy and Aubrey both shook their head, a sly smile on their lips. If I said this three months ago, they would immediately hop on the bashing train against Erica. But since, they know I'm over those two (thank God), pinapabayaan na lang nila ako.

"Anyway. May naisip ka na bang gagawin? Kasuhan mo kayo 'yong gagong 'yon." Lucy suggested, filling both our glasses with wine.

I watched the red fluid fill my glass before I answered, my voice deflated, "As much as I want to, I can't risk of spending money on a lawyer. I'm on a tight budget and almost all my money now are allotted to the expansion."

"Eh 'di Banco de Papa ka muna, bayaran mo na lang kapag um-okay-okay na 'yon lagay ng business mo." Aubrey said.

Napasimangot ako iniisip ko pa lang ang sinabi niya. Mukhang lang mabilis gawin, but I'm sure if I ever did, I'm not hearing the end of it.

"Hindi pwede." Matigas na ani ko. "Hindi ako pwedeng manghiram kay Dad ng pera, masasabon lang ako panigurado."

Aubrey stopped midway with her glass and moved to ask a follow up question, "Why? Nag-away kayo?"

Napa-iling ako. "It's not that. Okay naman kami ni Dad. I mean, we're okay with almost everything except me being a veterinarian and choosing to build my own path."

Lucy snickered, shaking her head. "Let me guess, gusto niyo maging accountant ka rin?"

"Yep." I said, remorsefully. Popping the 'p' exaggeratedly. "Dad is a great father. He never hit us, 'yong pag-di-disiplina niya sa'min ni Kuya, nadadaan niya sa masinsinan na usapan. Mas madalas pa nga na si Mama ang naninigaw." Kwento ko, natawa ng kaonti dahil naalala ko si Mama tuwing galit sa kalokohan naming ni Kuya ng mga bata pa kami. "But, when it comes to school, Dad is a different person. He's controlling and authoritative. Dapat ganito, dapat ganiyan. 'Di pwede ang bagsak, walang line of 7, dapat laging above average."

I was mindlessly swirling my red wine, my mind floating on several occasions when I get a 90 instead of a higher grade. My punishment was no phone and TV for a month.

Napapito si Aubrey kaya ako napataas ng tingin sa kanya. She looks like she pitied the school girl me. I laughed blandly and continued my story.

"Nang nag-college si Kuya, matik na Accountancy agad ang course. Kasi sino ba naman ang magmamana ng firm kundi siya 'diba? Kaya kailangan CPA rin siya tulad ni Dad at Mama. That's why, I thought I was safe from the predestined track. Pero mali pala ako, nang nag-enroll ako ng Veterinary Medicine, galit na galit si Dad. Hindi niya ako kinausap ng dalawang linggo."

"Buti hindi ka niya pinag-shift?" tanong ni Lucy.

Malungkot akong napangiti, "Nope. Ayaw ni Dad ng shifter. Kaya wala rin siyang nagawa kundi hayaan akong tapusin ang anim na taon sa College."

"Plinano mo, ano?" paghihinala ni Aubrey kaya natawa ako saka tumango.

"Oo. It was both a blessing and a curse. Kapag hirap ako noon sa subjects ko, hindi ko masabi sa hapag-kainan kapag naghahapunan kami dahil alam kong sisisihin lang ako ni Dad. So mostly, all the bad stuffs I keep to myself or talk it out with Mama and Kuya when we're out of Dad's earshot. Pero swerte rin ako, dahil nasunod ang pangarap kong maging vet. Hindi ako natulad kay Kuya na pinilit ang sarili niyang maging CPA dahil 'yon ang utos ni Dad."

Sandali kaming natahimik, napatitig ako sa basong hawak ko. Nag-iisip ng mga bagay-bagay na pwede kong gawin para maisalba ko ang clinic at ang mga taong nagtratrabaho roon.

"So, what you're trying to say is, your dad won't lend you money because he still has bad blood against you because you choose a different course other than his liking?" Lucy asked, her eyebrows furrowed as if she's trying to grasp the rationale of my tale.

"No. He's not going to lend me money because after I graduated and earned my license, I turned down his offer of a position at the firm and instead erected my own business."

Aubrey laughed out loud and stood to give me a high five, "Damn! You've got some balls, hon! Mukhang hindi sapat sa'yo ang isang beses na pagiging suwail. You really have to do it again."

I shook my head with a smile on my lips. Glad someone is actually proud of me being a stubborn daughter. Because Mama and Kuya tried to stop me when I told them about my plans. And Dad, well, let's just say Dad hit a new shade of red on his face when he learned about it.

"Anong ginamit mong capital sa clinic mo? Nag-loan ka sa bank? If ever, you might as well do that again. I'm sure you can get approved." Lucy later said.

"It was my trust fund. I got the estate from my nana and the money from my lolo. That's why it means a lot to me."

Wordless background hovered over us until they both placed their flutes on the coffee table and sat on either side of me. They enveloped me in a hug, Aubrey resting her head on top of mine and Lucy stroking my hair.

"You'll get through this. Tutulungan ka namin ni Aubrey malaman kung aling bangko ang pinakamababa magbigay ng interes sa loan. And then, kung may kakilala kami sa bangko na 'yon, pwede nating ipadaan sa taong 'yon."

Tears started to cloud my vision. I hastily blinked, hoping they disappeard. "Thanks, Luc. Thanks, Aubrey." I sniffed.

"Oh, don't thank me yet." Aubrey muttered. "Magpasalamat ka na lang sa'kin kapag nabayagan ko na si Cobi dahil sa kagaguhan niya."

I chuckled, letting go of some of the tight nerves. Lucy is right. This is nothing but temporary. Bukas na bukas din, uumpisahan ko ng maghanap ng solusyon.