Sun Date

CHAPTER 5 - SUN DATE

Sunday, March 15, 2020

Maan woke up early that morning. She started cooking fried egg, ham and garlic rice for breakfast. She was setting the table when she saw Gil coming down from the stairs.

“Good morning!” she cheerfully greeted him.

“Good morning.” Gil greeted her back but went to the bathroom to fix himself first.

   Hmm… last night there was “Good night” and now there’s “good morning”. Not bad. I can get used to it. Gil thought while fixing himself.

   They ate breakfast in silence and went to prepare themselves for the agenda of the day. Maan decided to wear the clothes she was supposed to wear for the interview since it’s not pushing through. It was a simple light blue blouse, knee high dark blue skirt, and her one inch heeled pair of shoes. She brushed her shoulder length, black hair and put on a light lipstick, face powder and a little perfume. When she went downstairs, she saw Gil waiting for her on the sofa wearing his cream colored polo shirts and khaki pants and leather shoes. Neat!!

    They went to the Shrine of Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life  near Mall of Asia. There were not a lot of people  now not like it usual does every Sunday where people tend to flock the church every Sunday. This is maybe because of the threat of Coronavirus spread. Maan has had two boyfriends but this is her first time to experience attending mass with a guy who's not even his boyfriend. She better focus on the mass instead of thinking nonsense. Maan fervently asked for her personal intentions  as well as for the safety of the people of the world against COVID -19 When they reached the part of the mass where you wish “Peace “ for the churchgoers, Maan and Gil faced each other and shyly smile and greeted each other “Peace be With You”. Weirdly, They both felt peace and serenity as if something warm touched their hearts. 

 The church was beautifully constructed, and since it’s Maan’s first time to visit, she decided to take pictures. She took pictures of the church’s facade and a selfie and then followed Gil to where his car was parked.

“Let’s take a stroll inside the mall, since this is your first time here.” he jokingly said.  Maybe he saw me taking pictures  in the church like a tourist earlier.  

   She was really amazed  on how big the mall is. She saw a lot of good places to take pictures at so she gently nudged Gil.

“ Can you please take a picture of me over there?” I shyly requested him.

He grinned and said. “ Now, you made me your photographer!”       

He took pictures of her in different places in the mall using her camera. Maan thought Gil is not inclined to take pictures of him because he is already used to seeing this place.  Maan was surprised when Gil suddenly stopped a woman who is passing by in front of them.

“ Miss, can you take a picture of the two of us here.” Gil asked the woman.

“ Sure!” The lady obliged and took several shots of Gil and Maan together using Maan’s phone,

When the lady returned Maan’s phone Gil gave his phone to the lady and asked her to take more shots of them together using his phone. When they are done. Gil checked the photos and graciously thanked the woman.  Gil suddenly remembered to ask Maan.

“ Do you have social media accounts like facebook, twitter, instagram? He asked.

“ Wow! You have all those accounts? So active! I only have a Facebook account. It’s Maan Perez.” she replied.

“ Oh, it’s already noon. Let’s have our lunch first before we do our grocery. My treat.”  Gil invited her.

 He brought her to a Korean restaurant Jin Joo Korean Grill.  He ordered different varieties of samgyeopsal pork, beef, chicken, vegetables  and more. They will really get along especially with food. They both love to eat. His girlfriend would be very lucky because he seemed to be very kind and generous. It’s still a puzzle to me why he does not have a girlfriend until now. Maybe it’s not girls that he likes. Hey, stop it! Her mind scolded her for thinking about it. 

“Do you feel tired?” he heard him asked.

“ No , I am okay. How about you? Are you not bored tagging me along? You seemed to be so familiar with the place.” I asked. “No. It feels good to be a tour guide sometimes. Strolling along with  someone is a new experience for me too.” he answered.

Maan felt good with his answer that’s why she really ate well to show him that he appreciated his gesture of asking her to accompany him and for his lunch treatt/

  “ Thank you for asking me out today.” Maan said.

“ You don’t have to mention it. It’s my pleasure besides it might take a while before we can go out like this again. We don’t know how long before this virus is curbed.”

“Yeah, right.” Maan sadly agreed. 

It was past one’ clock when they reached the supermarket. Gil got the iron push cart while Maan got a blue basket. Gil glanced at she did but did not say anything. Maan bought personal stuff like bath soap, shampoo, sanitary napkinamong other things. Gil bought supplies they needed like canned goods, condiments and other things. Gil also asked her if she has a particular food that she wants to eat or cook in the next few days.  When they thought they got everything they needed, they proceeded to the cashier. 

“Put all of that stuff here in the push cart.” Gil ordered her referring to the things she decided to buy.

     “ No, it’s okay. I can manage this. These are not too heavy to carry.” I said.

    “ Come on! Don’t argue anymore we are catching attention.” he replied.

Maan looked around and saw some customers looking at them. She decided to give in and put all those in the basket into the push cart.  But her pride couldn’t be stopped so he whispered to him.

“ I’ll be paying for the things I bought.” she whispered.

Gil just looked at her nonchalantly as if he heard nothing and moved forward to the cashier. She was not able to do anything when Gil paid for everything including the stuff she bought.. Gil looked at him when she frowned.

“ Let’s just talk about the damages later, okay? He said and walked towards his car. Maan couldn’t do anything but follow.

They spent more than two hours in the supermarket. People seem to be in panic buying mode because some shelves are almost empty, especially alcohol, bread and canned goods.  Gil put everything in the compartment and asked her to wait in the car and he  left. After a few minutes, he went back with some over the counter medicines and a bucket of chicken.

“ I just bought medicines for cough, colds, fever, some vitamins and took out food so we don’t have to cook our dinner.” he said.

It was dark when we arrived home. We arranged together all the supplies that we bought in the kitchen and took a rest in our respective rooms after. After a few hours, Maan went to the kitchen to prepare their dinner. She reheated the chicken in the microwave and thought of knocking at Gil’s bedroom to call him for dinner. She saw him come down. They ate in silence. Maybe they both feel tired after what they did today. After dinner and washing the dishes Maan decided to retire early for the night.

“ Is it okay if  I’ll up to my room now? Thanks for today. I had a great time. “ she said.

“You’re welcome. You go and take a rest. I’ll stay here for a while. “ he said.

Maan  inside the room thought of looking at the photos taken today from her phone and decided to upload on Facebook.