now their friends lined up to give them their messages

"french fries and nuggets, congratulations!" pat started

bawal umiyak kantiyaw ni nico

"hindi ako iiyak noh! ambisyosang bride na to!" everybody laughed  "nung nagtanong si father jeff kung may tutol sa kasalan, nagtataas po talaga ako ng kamay eh kaya lang binantaan po ako nung guard" muling nagtawanan ang lahat "o eto na, required daw na maayos ang message sabi ng organizer nyo kaya nagprepare ako, ganoin!"

everyone were not able to hold their laughter with pat's antics

"your lives will never be the same after today, there maybe times that you'll get tired. when that time comes, rj, promise me you'll look back to that day when you allowed her to eat inside your car and maine, promise me you'll go back to that night when jerome brought rj to your house totally drunk. then you'll understand that it's ok to get tired because you'll also be each other's reason to regain your strengths... i love you both"

huy love akala ko ba bawal umiyak?

"naku rj, pabebe lang yan, gusto lang makatsansing" biro ni pat

mabilis na tumayo si nico at niyakap ang kaibigan

thank you, patty... i love you... bulong nito sa kaibigan

"you're welcome mare, love you too. o tama na, masama na tingin ng jusawa mo baka mamaya imbes na naka-crutches na ako bumalik ako sa wheelchair" pang-aasar ni pat

sumunod naman si jay at kumamay sa kaibigan

salamat pat. alam mo na yun

"wala bang i love you?" biro pa nito "ay alam nyo bagay nga kayo! makairap naman tong bride na to! alex ikaw na nga!" then pat passed the mic to alex

"FINALLY!!!!"

everybody laughed at alex's reaction

"alam nyo po kasi ang hirap pilitin nitong si maine na umamin eh ang obvious naman na inlove na inlove kay rj!"

talaga love? pang-aasar ni jay sa asawa patingin nga nung inlove na inlove.

tumigil ka na nga diyan. grabe nako-conscious na ko then she pouted

"ito po kasing si maine magaling sa taguan eh, taguan ng feelings! hahaha joke lang! pero knowing that after everything, nandito na kayo sa finish line, i'm overjoyed. keep loving and trusting each other and make more babies! bibilisan ko na para makapag-simula na kayo! i love you both and congratulations!" pagtatapos ni alex

"pre! it's my turn!!! babawi lang ako ng konti ha"

i-ayos mo je! ipapahanda ko sa hr ang termination mo!   biro ni jay

"asus! hindi na ako takot sa banta mo! tandaan mo, si boss maine ang kasangga ko!"

sige je, ako bahala sayo  gatong naman ni nico

llooovvveee! kunsintihin ba?!   protesta ni jay

"hoy faulkerson, moment ko to oh! ibubuking pa kita! ahm, maine, naalala mo ba nung nalasing si boss rj? yung inihatid ko siya sa bahay mo?"

oo naman.   sabay tingin nito ng makahulugan sa asawa

"hindi mo na itatanong, pero itanong mo na rin!" at nagtawanan ang lahat  "hindi ka ba nagtaka kung bakit dun ko siya inuwi sa bahay mo?"

uhhmmm... sabi mo hindi mo alam kung saan siya dadalhin at wala ka yatang susi sa bahay nya? tama ba ko?

je smirked at her, "WRONG! ito ang totoong dahilan...." and he narrated the story

    [ let's go back to that night ]

"boss halika na madami ka ng nainom"

take me home  jay slurred

je drove him to his house in nuvali

je ano ba! sabi ko take me home!

"aray! boss naman ang sakit mong manapak! kundi ka lang lasing... ito na nga o malapit na tayo sa nuvali. ano ba boss sa condo mo ka ba uuwi?"

he repeatedly shook his head

"bakit lumipat ka na ba ng bahay? san ang address?" je asked scratching his head

i need to go home, je

"oo na nga boss uuwi na nga oh! saan ba kasi?"

and then he pointed the sky

"tangna boss nag-aadik ka ba? alam ko marami kang pera pero hindi pa nagbubukas ng property auction sa mars—ARRAAAYY! rj nakakarami ka na ah!" je complained

gabi pa pala... hindi pa ako makakauwi...  then he slumped at his seat

"dude yun na nga! gabi na kaya nga kailangan mo ng umuwi! ang kulit!"

jay shook his head again furiously.

i can't... ako yan eh

"hah?! punyeta rj isusumbong kita kay tita rose pag nalaman kong nagdo-droga ka!"

gago mo! ako yan. ako yung buwan. yung buwan na gumagawa ng paraan para makauwi sa araw

and since he realized it's nonsense talking to a drunk person, he decided just go with the conversation

"pano mangyayari yun? magkasama lang ang araw at buwan kapag may eclipse. tsaka hindi ko ma-gets?! ano bang sinasabi mo?!" je continued to ask

exactly. the moon loved the sun so much he had to die everyday just so the sun could live. bakit ba kasi eto pa ang pinili nyang love story? pwede namang si cinderella na lang at least sapatos lang hahanapin ko, o kaya sleeping beauty matutulog lang siya tapos hahalikan ko para magising?

he finally figured it out. inlove nga ang boss nya sa babaeng nagpapanggap na girlfriend nya. si french fries.  he stopped the car and turned to his boss who looked so devasted.

"pre, una sa lahat ang corny nung mga fairytale na yun. ngayon eto gawin mo, pag dumating na yung eclipse itago mo na sa ulap"

and what will happen the next day?

"gagu eh di makulimlim. di ba ganun naman pag nagtatago ang araw? and since the sun is your heart's home, tangna ang corny, pero ihahatid kita sa araw mo!"

pano na ang mundo?

"care mo? ilang milyong taon na bang namamatay ang buwan para sumikat ang araw para sa buong galaxy?"

hindi ko alam

"oh siguro naman patas lang na ang galaxy naman ang magbigay... pre, try mo rin maging makasarili paminsan-minsan."

i want to...  i need to...

then jay passed out. jerome started driving.

"relax ka lang boss ako muna ang ulap ngayon at ihahatid kita sa araw mo...."

      [ end of je's narration ]

"kaya french fries NI BOSS RJ, isa lang ang message ko - salamat kasi hindi ka naging si rapunzel, mas mahirap iakyat si boss sa torre lalo na kung lasing"

everyone laughed but for nico, it warmed her heart

"joke lang, gusto ko lang iparating french fries NI RJ, kahit anong mangyari ikaw at ikaw ang hahanapin ng puso nyang tukmol na yan para uwian.  again congrats lovebirds!"

hearing this from his friend made her heart full. a few tears escaped her eyes. she hugged her husband and gently kissed his lips.

thank you je, lagi mo pa rin akong sasamahan mag-lunch pag may meeting si nuggets ha

their friend gave her a thumps up while handing over the mic to leo

thanks dude. pirmahan mo na promotion mo sa lunes  biro ni jay na ikinatawa ng lahat.

"ah boss, una sa lahat mainit pa rin ang ulo ng girlfriend ko" then he smiled naughtily at the couple

huuyy! holly, sorry na nga kasi jay notioned a peace sign

"sa ilang taon naming magakaibigan ni rj at pagiging executive committee nya, i learned a lot from him. una na doon how to be successful in business. yun ang buhay ni rj, before maine came into the picture. suddenly, hindi na yan masyadong nagtatagal sa office, he even learned to re-direct tasks to his associates and directors, kaya sa totoo lang ang laking pasalamat ko kay ms. maine, gumaan yung trabaho ko" then leo snickered

"bawasan mo na din sweldo nyan boss" sigaw ni je

"HOY! ikaw! what surprised me the most is when he started breaking his own rules." leo smirked "first rule he broke, elevator policy"

LEO! wag ka nga! saway sa kaibigan sabay yakap sa asawa

in the meantime, nico blushed profusely

"wala naman akong sinabi! ikaw! wag na nga, kwento ko na lang yung cebu conference. ms. maine naalala mo po ba yun? nung sinabi nya na required kang sumama sa boracay?"

uhhmm... oo sabi nya kasi it's gonna boost the trust of his business partners parang ganun yung naaalala ko

"ahhh so may hindi siya kiwento sayo..." he looked at his boss "i'll share you that story then...".

[ leo and jay convo before the convention ]

"boss, uwi ka na?" he looked at his watch, 12:24pm

uhhmm yeah. pina-cancel ko na lahat ng meeting ko di ba? he said while fixing his things

"yung flight mo nai-book ko na. tomorrow 8am ang departure mo"

for what? i don't recall asking you to book me a flight

"talaga lang boss? international real estate business convention yung sa boracay? nakalimutan mo?"

hindi ba pwedeng wag na akong pumunta dun?

leo raised his brows "boss naman alam mong madaming investors dun, ikaw pa nga ang nagsabi sa akin 6 months ago na kailangan i-free ko ang mga sched mo para maka-attend ka di ba?"

sinabi ko ba tun? tsk! can you still cancel it? or maybe you can ask gregg or nuel to attend it

"teka mag-usap tayo. bilang magkaibigan muna". then leo crossed his arms. "bakit?"

ha? uhmm... wala naman... i—uh... i have more important things to do

"like...????" leo probed although he knew all along why, he just wanted his boss to say it. when jay hesitated, "so what's more important than business now?"

ok. FINE!!! jeezzz... may sakit kasi french fries. dalawang araw ng on off yung fever nya. kaya nga aalis na ako oh

"AYUN!!! BINGO!!! si french fries naman pala ang dahilan. pagdating talaga kay french fries lahat pwedeng i-cancel eh"

teka nga bakit ka nakiki-french fries? akin lang yun!

"oh relax! sabi ko nga french fries MO! paka-possessive! boss hindi ka pwedeng mag-cancel dun"
he explained

ayokong iwan si nico na walang kasama... i will not forgive myself pag may nangyaring masama kay nico

"boss, pa-confirm nga, girlfriend mo?"

natigilan si jay, hindi. magkaibigan kami

"ahhh magkaibigan...." then he looked at rj teasingly

ahm, leo ganito na lang, can you book her a flight also? isasama ko na lang siya.

"give me one good reason why" he persuaded

leo, hindi ko pwedeng pabayaan ang kaibigan ko

"so kung sabihin ko sayo ngayon na may lagnat kami ni je o kaya si nuel o si gregg, ibu-book mo rin ba kami ng flight at isasama sa convention?"

kingina mag-sick leave kayo!

"exactly! aamin na o magpapaligoy-ligoy pa tayo?"

OO NA!!! you win! MAHAL KO! mahal na mahal ko! there! happy?! now book her a flight! or else i'm not boarding that plane!

"here are your tickets. enjoy your convention" leo handed the two business class tickets then started walking away

WHAT?! so you mean naka-book na si french fries?

"boss i did not became your executive committee for nothing..."

eh bakit mo pa ko tinanong!

"as a friend, gusto ko ng confirmation"

siraulo! he said but smiled at his friend

[ end of leo's story ]

"so ladies and gentlemen, that's how i found out how love-strucked my boss is!"

ang gagu mo dun biro ni jay

"effective di ba?"

teka so sinadya mo din yung villa? nico asked

"pano ka nya kukunan ng temperature kung magka-hiwalay kayo ng kwarto?" then leo winked. "congrats newly weds! enjoy life together!"

it's time to leave everything as it is... and as every story goes... everything must come to an end...

tonight, before you sleep, look up the sky and give a glance to the moon who never gave up fighting.

tomorrow, when you wake up, look up the sky and give a glance to the sun whom the moon fought so hard for...

and as we go about our own journey in life... i hope you'll remember that at some point, you came across their love story... you were once part of their secret... you were once a witness to their silence...

i'm grateful for this journey... 😇🙏

• til next.... 😉 •