Goodbye Philippines **

Ninoy Aquino International. Airport --

Papunta na sa Boarding lane sila Maureen, Alexa , Tita Emma at ang Daddy nya .
Niyakap ng mahigpit ang kanyang Tita Emma , " I ' ll miss you Tita , mag ingat po kayo palagi ,  kayo muna ang bahala sa bahay "  in a soft tone and a little smile on her lips...you can trace the loneliness
on her face.
" Yes , Of course my dear... Mag ingat din kayo byahe " and she kiss her on her chicks.
Pagkuwa'y. nagbitaw sila sa pagkakayakap
at hinawakan ang kamay ni Maureen ,
" Take care of your Dad ,
alam mo naman matigas ang ulo nyan , madalas ayaw uminom.ng gamot nya " naka ngiting sabi nito . Maureen chuckles
". Don't worry Tita Emma , ako na ang bahala " sabay  halik kay Emma .
Pagkuwa'y. humalik kay Alexa . " I  will miss
you Sweetheart , Be a good  girl huh ? habang hinahaplos  ang mahabang  buhok nito , Alexa  just.smiled and hug her.

Inakbayan naman ni Emma  ang Daddy ni Maureen "  Have a safe flight , Don't  forget to call  me I 'll miss you... And your medicines and Vitamins don't forget hmm..". waring naglalambing
" Okay Tita Emma , we'll go now.... We love you , bye " and one more tight hugs
Malungkot na tinatanaw sila ni Emma habang.papalayo sa kanyang paningin.

Maraming pasahero sa loob ng Airport... maingay .. pero wala sa loob  ni Maureen ang anyo ng  paligid ..she 's checking  her cellphone from  time to time , hoping for any messages
from   Jun ... Or maybe a "call  from  him ...
Then an Announcement.
" Last  call for boarding Flight  4B7 for New York , ..".
She  glared at her phone again ... But  nothing in there  .Maureen sighs .
Alam naman ni Jun na araw  ng pag alis namin ni  Alexa ..How come , di man  lang sya tumatawag .  .,she murmur . Pwede naman na  si Maureen ang tumawag  pero  ayaw nyang  gawin .. In the first place , What for ? " She thought .
Its  boarding time , saglit pa at pasakay na sila ng eroplano ,  muling tumingin si Maureen sa kanyang cellphone ,
" One last look before departure ," still no message from Jun .
They are now inside the plane... Ready for " Take -off  in  any minutes
...but wait , her cellphone  suddenly vibrates , and she got a short  message from Jun ..She' s  smiling but nearly to cry , while reading  the message.
" Take care Honey . Don't forget that I love You and Alexa..with a big red heart emoji..❤️
That"s all .. a very short
message  but it means a lot to her ...

Oh my ..

natutop  ni Maureen ang bibig  para di sya mapa sigaw sa tuwa...napansin syang Daddy  nya ..at marahang kinuha ang kanyang kamay at pinisil - pisil , reassuring her  that  everything will be fine .
She" s getting over excited and her Dad winked at her and smiled.

Then they heard the Flight attendant announcement ..
* Ladies and Gentlemen , Welcome on board  Flight 4B7  with service  from  Manila to New York  . We  are currently  third  in line for  take - off  and expected  to be in the air in approximately seven minutes time .  We ask that  you  please fasten your  seatbelts at this time  and  secure all baggage , Thank you for choosing  Philippine Airline.  Enjoy your flight.**

Sixteen hours of flight , Alexa watch movie on the monitor , while Maureen is sleeping and her Dad snooze off as well.

Finally .... Touchdown
Maureen  heard  the voice. over . "Ladies and Gentlemen , We are approaching  John F. Kennedy International Airport  where the local time  is 09:00 .... **  As the  flight  attendant continue  to her Announcement ... Maureen  felt a slight of sadness ,  she misses Jun now ...

Hello New York City **

A  beautiful yet gloomy
morning  , Maureen still curled  up in bed in her Manhattan  Apartment .
. When suddenly her phoner rings , "Hello Maureen , Good morning, can  I throw you a  welcome drink ..how's your flight ? " Masaya ang tinig na waring nagbibiro.. It's   Cheska on the other line , her bestfriend  and at the same time as business partner... " Oh ..Hi , I miss you dear,  I ' ll catch up with you at lunch time medyo meron pa akong jetlag...Naku , and dami kong kwento ..see you later .."  naka ngiting mukha ni Maureen , naisip nya , sobrang bait talaga sa kanya ni Cheska , her friend for almost seven years at business partner na rin nya . Oldmaid na ito at hindi na rin naka pag asawa , she just like a sister  to her . She just smiled thinking how lucky she is for having Cheska as a friend  kaya panatag ang loob nya habang nasa Pilipinas sya dahil alam ni Maureen na mapagkakatiwalaan nya ito .Pagkuwa'y bumalik na muli sya sa pagtulog at nag set ng eleven o'clock sa relo para sa alarm .

One week na pala sila dito sa New York , pero walang tawag o message si Jun ... Maybe he " s busy .. maybe he is not interested to me anymore , she sighs.

Marahil ay sumuko na rin sya , sabagay gusto
na rin ni Maureen na makalimutan ang lahat sa kanila ni Jun ..
Move on ...that 's the right word to say...*

She just kept herself busy .
Maraming dapat ayusin na trabaho sa kanyang

** Home Care for the Elderly...**
Ito ang isang Investment
ni Maureen .

** Home Care for the Elderly ** Its .a kind of
Home care agency provides. assistance for the Elderly loved ones .
Inilaan din ni Maureen ang sarili para kay Alexa. She usually drop off her at school nearby before she goes to her work .
Ang sa Daddy naman nya ay pinag bukas ng ng isang ** Pinoy Delicasies and. Food Shop .. especially for Filipino community in New York . Uma - attend din sila ng mga Church activities na karaniwan ay filipino ang mga members ... Para magkaroon naman ng nga bagong ka kilala ang Daddy nya. , At para hindi ito maiinip at makasanayan na ang buhay Amerika
Palagi din nya itong pinapasyal , so that He will familiarized to the place.

Its weekend , there are so much fun places to explore here like the very well known ... Central Park , the biggest in New York .
It has main attraction like " the Rumble and Lake , the nature sanctuary , the Central Park Mall and the Central Park Zoo ,
Masayang pinagma masdan ni Maureen si Alexa at ang Daddy nya ,
habang nakikipag habulan sa mga ibon ... boating and chasing the ducks... what a sight to behold ... Sayang at wala na ang Mommy nya .. at si Jun ... How she wished na sana ay kumpleto sila as Family .
There are also wooded areas in Central Park ... doon sya madalas mamasyal... whenever she feels desperately lonely and feeling alone ..those were the days when Alexa was still a Baby ....

She smiled as they roamed around the * Hallett Nature Sanctuary *. It offers quiet moments .. the birds chirping is the only sound that you can hear .
They went to the Central Park Mall before going home ...eat some pizza and burgers ... do some shopping and lastly to the nearest Supermarket for usual groceries supply... their Pantry is almost empty.!

Their Manhattan Apartment is always gorgeous and clean ... always have a pampering vacuum , because Maureen wants to feel exhausted ... This is the only way to forget all about Jun....

********

That night was so cold.,.
The smell of Holiday
Season ...

The night is silently fall ,. the coldness is shivering her spine ..As she walked the street of Manhattan , The bold neon lights at the Time Square , The brodway .... So many
reasons to be happy .
As Maureen walk with her cup of coffee ... her heart remains cold and feeling desperately alone ... Her phone suddenly rang...

Its Jun at the end of the line ... " Kumusta ka na ?

Matagal na hindi naka kibo si Maureen ...
Nanaginip ba sya o nag iilusyon lang , sobrang Missed na nya si Jun .
" Hello Maureen .... Its me. Are you okay ?
" Ah , err " she clear her throat , she couldn't find a word to say ... kung pwede lang sana yakapin nalang nya si Jun at huwag na syang mag salita ... " H..Hi .. I 'm okay .. I' m okay ..I just ..you know ..ahh, mm , being surprise .. " Maureen gasp her breath .
" Sorry kung natagalan bago ako nakatawag ,
Nagkaroon lang ng konting emergency sa bahay... " Jun in apologetic voice .
" Its okay... How are you now ? in shivering voice .. Mauteen found a bench to sit and relax ...
" Well .. everything is quite better now.. And I wanna say Sorry about that night when Alyssa confronted you at Peninsula Hotel .."
" How did you know .."
Maureen in almost whispering voice .
" I saw the conversation in my phone ... And I confronted her about that ... Honestly , that night that I happen to see those
text message to you ... We fought over it .. and now I decided to leave the house for good . We are no longer live together ..' Jun 's soft tone made Maureen felt guilty about it..
" Oh , why .. you should never do that ... I mean , for me it is nothing ..,I swear ... " Maureen in desperate voice .
" Well ..no worries , matagal na akong nagdesisyon na mag hiwalay na kami ... For so many reasons... Even before that you came along ... Para lang sa anak ko kaya nag stay pa rin ako sa kanya.. and now that you 're here .. I definitely , no doubt to Annul our marriage ..." Matagal na hindi kumibo si Jun ...
" That's why you call .?
She paused for a while.. then continue saying ....
" Do you think I would not feel guilty about it ?
Sa simula palang na nagkita kami ni Allyssa
alam nyang banta ako sa maayos na pagsasama nyo .. kaya hindi ko sya masisi kung kaya ganoon ang trato nya sa akin .. Iam also a woman , I know how she feels .."

Muling nagsalita si Jun sa kabilang linya ,
" All that happened between Alyssa and me is just ' Arrange Marriage .. why feeling guilty .. its not your fault .. It so happened that .I still love you .. and we VOWED to our promises right ...? Tayo talaga bang dapat noon pa ikinasal "
Waring naumid magsalita su Maureen , wala syang masabi kundi " I'm sorry ...I' m not yet ready about it ...its too complicated..'
" But you still love me , right ... ? " Jun atuned his voice in a soft manner ..

Hindi makapag salita di Maureen ... Totoo , mahal nya si Jun ..No doubt about it .. but...

" Let's talk about something else ... " Waring umiiwas si Maureen .

" Tell me , that you want to marry me ... That you love me ! Please Maureen , answer me.. Please .."
Jun in almost desperate voice .
" Alright ... If I say *Yes
What would happen..Think about it.?

Happiness lies between us , Be true to yourself "
Jun in whispering tone.

"I want to end this evening a good night sleep.. I hope you don't mind If I say goodnight , Its getting cold here ..I think I should go home now... I 'll think about it ..
Bye..."
💙💛🧡 💙❤️💚🧡💛💚💙💜

( Teaser ) coloful Hearts awaits our lovers here..
In the next Chapter , Jun will join Maureen and Alexa in. City of the Big Apple++++ ,NYC
C'mon let's all come up in a big Surprise for Maureen ...
See you guys in the next chapter..enjoy reading 😊⭐