Chatter Day

CHAPTER 4 -  CHATTER DAY

Maan felt exhausted after the turn of events. She sat limply on the sofa.

“ Look, I know you're worried, but Uncle Art has a point. It is too risky to travel at this time. You do not know who among the passengers has the virus. If you get infected you may pass it on the members of your family.” Gil explained.       

“I understand that. I know that COVID - 19 virus is contagious. It’s fearsome to fight something invisible. We do not know if every person we meet has it because the symptoms are so common like common colds, cough and flu or they may not manifest any symptom at all. It’s just that I feel embarrassed because I have bothered you too much already. “ Maan said.

“ I don’t see any problem with that. You are a family of Tita Jean and Tito Art and they are my family too. So you’re like family?” Gil assured her.

     “ Okay, I’ll just share the expenses here and help in the household chores to compensate for my stay here. Maan offered.      

“Phew! You do not even have a job yet. No offense meant.  Forget about it. There are not a lot of bills to take care of. I don’t pay rent. Utility bills whether you’re here or not will not greatly affect it so don’t bother.   Okay, but for your peace of mind I’ll allow you to help with the household chores.” Gil said.

Maan noticed once more the unusual softness of Gil’s actuations. Even if he’s trying to persuade you to agree with him, it doesn’t feel like his forcing you like the usual males do.  Why did she feel sad with the possibility of  Gil being gay. 

“Okay, for starters, I will be the one to cook our lunch for today because you cooked last night’s dinner and this morning’s breakfast. So what do you want for lunch?”I asked.       

“ What can you cook? Uhm… Do you know how to cook pork stew? That’s my favorite dish.” Gil said.

“Pork stew? That’s easy. I can easily cook that. If you have all the ingredients then I’ll start cooking.” Maan replied.

“ Sure. The ingredients are in the kitchen. Gil replied.

     “ Why don’t you sit back and relax and I’ll be in charge of our lunch.” Maan  turned him away and excitedly went to the kitchen.

           After an hour, lunch  is served. Gil tasted the soup while Maan expectantly waited for his reaction.           

  “Hmmm….pass… “ Gil said.

Maan frowned. “ Pass? What do you mean?”

Gil looked at her and smiled. “ You can pass for a wife!”

                 Maan cannot help but feel giddy with Gil’s comment but still she should be careful because she still does not know him well. They ate quietly and it seems that Gil really love her cooking because he finished a large serving of rice.    Maan volunteered to wash the dishes. 

After lunch, Gil went to the living room and seemed to be busy in front of the computer. Maan went upstairs to her designated room to fix her things again. Her phone alarmed.

1 Message received from an unknown sender.

             " Hi! This is Ms. Jenny Ong from ASBC. We regret to inform you that due to the declaration of community quarantine in Luzon, your scheduled interview is postponed indefinitely. Please wait for further notice once the situation has improved. Keep safe."

   Maan felt sad after reading the message but she knows she cannot do anything about it. Safety is more important nowadays.

   Maan cooked rice and reheated the leftover pork stew they had during lunch for dinner.  After they have eaten, Gil invited her to join him in watching a show in Netflix. She agreed because she has not watched any show on Netflix yet though she knows about the application.

     While Gil is busy setting up the television, Maan decided to ask him somee questions.   

“Uhmm… how long have you been living alone in this house?” she asked.                

            “ Six years. My parents left when I was twenty two years old. They were petitioned by my older sister, Vanessa, who is working as a nurse in California.” he replied.

             “ Oh so  you’re already twenty eight years old.” Maan said.

             “ Yeah. I turned 28  last December 12 but it doesn’t show I look young for my age . Right? How about you?” Gil asked grinning.    

       “”I’ll be turning 26 years old on May 4.”  Maan answered.

             “ Oh it's a few weeks from now.” he replied.

    Maan nodded and asked again. “ Why did you stay here? Why didn’t you just go to the US  so you can be with your family? 

“ I like it here. I am used to life here. I have a stable job, my own house, car. My friends are here. If I go there I would have to start over again. New adjustment. New environment, new job, meet new people.” he explained.

          “Yeah, right. Don’t you miss being with your family especially during special occasions or when you’re sick?: I asked.

          “Not so much, because we often communicate through video calls and they regularly visit me here every two years. So far thank God I haven’t been seriously ill that would cause them to panic. How about you? Is this your first time to be away from your family?” he asked.       

“ Not really, but this is going to be the longest time I’d be away from them. One month. I usually go on a trip with friends for a week.” Maan recalled. 

 Their conversation ended because the show has started. They are watching Money Heist on Netflix which according to Gil he watches regularly.    They watched in silence the crime series which was a hit worldwide. 

After watching for a few hours, they finally decided to call it a night. Maan was on her way upstairs when Gil called her.

        "Maan, it’s Sunday tomorrow. Would you like to hear mass with me? “ Gil asked.

    Maan’s face lit up and smiled. “ Sure!”

“ We’ll also buy supplies in the grocery because we might run out of supplies. You can also make a list of the things you need to buy.” he said.

    “Okay! Thank you. Good night.”    she said and went upstairs.

   “ Good night.”  he said.

   Gil turned his back and unplugged all the electrical appliances and made sure that all windows were locked. 

THEN WHY DOES HE FEEL THAT SOMETHING IS ABOUT TO OPEN...