Worn and tired to the bones, I arrived in Manila from an out of town trip a little late that evening and was set to miss one of those Friday drinking nights with friends. I was ensconced at my place while watching a late night program on the television when a call broke my sleepiness. It was Gerry.
“Hi Jay. Are you back in Manila? I’m somewhere in Makati. Let’s go to Government and unwind.” He said, with a little urgency in his voice.
“I just got back a few hours ago from Cagayan de Oro. You know what, I found this club there much like Government.” I said.
“Really? Too bad we never discovered it during our stay there last year. So, are you coming?” He asked.
“Sure. I’m a little tired but I think I need to unwind.”
“Hurry up so you can catch the free entrance before 1am. See you in a bit.”
While in the taxi, I tried to recall the last time we met. It was about a few weeks ago where we had a few bottle of beers and talked about everything under the sun except the “us” talk, which is usually the case. I guess that is the usual thing with ex-lovers, you never get past beyond the awkward stage of talking about your past. Gerry and I broke up around the summer of last year, but still managed to see each other once in a while for a drink or two, a kind of relationship which was generally a blurred area for me.
I made it a little past one, so I paid a few hundred bucks for the entrance. Gerry was already inside, and the entire floor was crowded with guys like us. The music was a little loud and despite the dimness, I easily spotted him. We found ourselves laughing and talking like we never had something going on before. A guy standing on his right side was trying to catch his attention, so I made a joke about giving that guy a chance. I went to the wash room, and this other guy who was staring at me ever since I arrived followed me. He was nice looking and seemed decent. After a while, it got awkward talking like that inside the wash room so I said I’d see him around. Gerry was looking for me and wanted to get rid of this persistent guy. I wanted to tease him more and told him I’d just say hi to my friend on the other side of the dance floor. He immediately followed me, and was a little angry at me for doing that. More beers, and we found ourselves standing with side by side all throughout. He was kidding me if I was getting jealous of that guy, and I replied yes with much exaggeration to which we both laughed.
Kenneth, Gerry’s friend and an acquaintance of mine, approached us. For some reason which I did not bother to ask, he knew our story. He was kidding us if we’re back together to which we both reacted surprised, and even showed some expressions of aghast.
“I think you’d be happier with each other. Why did you break up, in the first place? Why don’t you two stop wandering and get serious.” Kenneth said with a meaningful smile.
I didn’t know if he was kidding or not. We were caught unaware by that statement, but started kidding each other once again, after a while.
“Isn’t it obvious?”, I said to him. “We’re giving ourselves second chance.”
Gerry seconded and we further teased Kenneth, and even held hands in front of him. More jokes and teasing, and suddenly, I noticed that such exchanges were getting a little bit meaningful. I pretended not to mind it at all.
Gerry wakes up and breaks my reminiscing of the memories of the few hours before. “It is getting colder.” , he says, and complains about me sleeping like a log while he, on the other side, has to wake up every now and then. “It must be the alcohol. I gulped down around five bottles.” , I say. I turn my back towards him. I doze off listening to our shallow breaths, the only reminder that inside this room at this very moment, we are breathing each other’s breath, only invisible, only a little less insignificant fact.
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