"Rose, she's lying," bungad ni Vince kay Rose maya-maya. Tatawagan sana niya ito pagkauwi ng bahay pero hindi siya makatiis. Moira's lies are eating him up.

"Lying about what?"

"Hindi ba nakwento ko sa 'yo na nakita ko si Joem na may ibang kasamang babae last Friday? Joem and Moira were supposed to celebrate their anniversary that night. Kaya nga hindi ko naimbita si Moira na lumabas. Nagpaalam kasi syang aagahan nya ang uwi for their anniversary. But I asked her a while ago how their date went and she told me that they just dined in. I don't know why she's lying to me, Rose."

"Did you call her out?"

"Of course not. Tinawagan muna kita. Hindi ko alam kung ano'ng magandang gawin e."

"You did the right thing. Ako na lang ang kakausap sa kanya. Baka sa 'kin sya mag-open up."

He sighed. "Okay."

--

Moira looked at the time in her computer. It's only a couple of hours before dinner time. At dahil sa mga nangyari sa maghapon, sigurado siyang aayain na naman siya ni Vince na mag-dinner. Judging from his inquiries earlier, alam niyang hindi malabong magtanong ulit ito tungkol sa anniversary date nila ni Joem.

She's tired of making up stories. Mahirap kasing tandaan ang bawat detalye. Magkamali ka lang ng isa, it's like a domino effect. Tumba lahat kapag nagkataon. And she's pretty sure that if this gets to Neri and Joem, mag-asawang batok at kabilaang sermon na naman ang aabutin niya.

"Ma'am Carlene?"

Napatunghay siya sa tumawag. Isa sa mga cleaning crew ang nasa tapat ng cubicle niya. May hawak itong milk tea. Ngumiti ito at ibinigay sa kanya iyon.

"Pinabibigay po ni Sir Vince."

She forced a smile and accepted it.

"Thank you."

Tumango lamang ito at saka tinungo ang office ni Vince. May dala pa itong isang milk tea. Siguro ay nagpabili si Vince at idinamay na sya. How thoughtful of him. Lalo tuloy siyang nakukunsensya. Ano nga kaya kung sabihin nya na lang kay Vince ang totoo?

She shook her head. It's not that simple. It's never going to be that simple.

First, she needs to understand Vince. Why did he do those things? Why was he acting concerned? Is it only because of guilt for the countless rejections or is it because of something else?

Gusto sana niyang tanungin sina Red or Vico. They have known him for a long time. Alam niyang alam ng mga ito ang ugali ni Vince. Pero ano naman ang idadahilan niya?

So, she called Rose instead. Rose also knows Vince, so she's hoping that she could shed some light on Vince's odd behavior.

Noong una ay kinausap muna niya ito tungkol sa trabaho, but she sensed something else in Rose's voice. It was laced with concern.

"So, kumusta ka naman?" tanong nito sa kanya.

"Okay lang. Hindi naman masyadong mabigat 'yong trabaho."

"I'm not talking about work, Moira."

Bumuntong-hininga siya. She had the feeling that the two of them had already talked about her.

"Well, I was meaning to ask you about Vince. Nawi-wirduhan na kasi ako sa kanya. He's giving me all sorts of things. He invited me to lunch—"

"It's not unusual," putol ni Rose. "Noong ako nga, halos maya't mayang magpabili ng pagkain si Vince. Lahat ng cravings ko, ibinibigay nya. Aakalain mong siya ang asawa sa sobrang pag-aalaga nya sa 'kin."

"But you've known each other for years," depensa niya.

"You've known him before I did."

"He wasn't like that before."

Natahimik ito saglit.

"Well, if you're going to ask me what he's like, then I'll tell you what he's like based on the years that I've known him. Vince is a generous guy. He's a great guy. Kahit sino'ng tanungin mo tungkol sa kanya, puro maganda lang ang masasabi. And if he's doing these things for you, then it must mean that he cares about you."

"But it's making me uncomfortable," halos pabulong niyang sabi. "Hindi kasi ako sanay na gano'n sya."

"So gusto mo lang ng rason para ma-justify ang actions nya?"

Nagkibit-balikat siya. "Maybe."

There was a long pause, then came Rose's exasperated sigh.

"I wasn't supposed to tell you this, but I think I have to." Rose paused again. "Vince knows that Joem's cheating on you. And he knows that you lied about your anniversary date."

She froze.

"A-Alam nya?"

Pa'no naman kaya ni Vince nalaman? Maybe he saw her with Kelvin? But if that's the case, then he would have asked her about him instead. Pero wala namang binanggit si Vince tungkol kay Kelvin.

"Vince was with Red and Vico when he saw them. Iimbetahin ka sana nya, pero sabi mo hindi ka makapupunta kasi anniversary nyo nga ng boyfriend mo. Coincidentally, sa isang resto bar lang sila kumain. He saw Joem with another woman, Moira. And he couldn't tell you, so he's doing these things to make up for it."

She's already silently panicking. What now? Ano na ang mabuting gawin? Sasabihin na ba niya ang totoo o magsisinungaling siya ulit? It's dangerous to cover a lie with another lie. Baka isang araw, hindi niya mamalayang kasingtaas na pala ng tore ang patong-patong na kasinungalingan niya. It's hard to go back after that.

"Moira, are you really okay?" tanong nito.

She pretended to sniff. "N-No," kunwa'y naiiyak niyang sagot.

"Hey, it's okay. You'll get through it," pag-aalo ni Rose.

"Thanks, Rose."

"Sorry, napaiyak pa yata kita. Tawagan mo na lang ako kapag kailangan mo ng kausap, ha?"

Tumango-tango siya. "Okay. And Rose, please don't tell Vince about this."

"Hindi talaga. Magagalit 'yon sa 'kin kapag nalaman nyang pinaiyak kita. But Moira, please talk to him. It's driving him crazy knowing that you're going through this and he can't do anything about it."

"I will. Thanks, again."

Napasabunot siya sa sarili. Kailangang may gawin siya bago pa malaman ni Vince ang mga pinaggagagawa niya sa buhay.

She searched her bag for eye drops. Nang wala siyang makita ay nagpatak na lamang siya ng tubig sa mata. Then she walked gingerly to Vince's office. She thought of painful things, things that can make her cry, or at least feel emotional, to sell the act. Nang makahugot ay saka niya binuksan ang pinto.

Pinagsisihan niya iyon kaagad. Mukhang may importanteng kausap si Vince sa telepono. She almost backed out. Ang kaso ay nakita agad siya nito.

"I'll call you back," sabi nito sa kausap.

Agad itong tumayo para lapitan siya. Siya naman ay nagtakip ng mukha.

--

Vince wasn't expecting Moira to come in and just... cry. Pero mukhang hindi na nito kayang magkunwari na ayos lang ito. He pulled her in his arms and let her cry. Nanatili siyang tahimik habang umiiyak ito. Hindi naman niya alam kung ano ang sasabihin. Maybe he'll let her cry her eyes out first, at kapag handa na itong magsabi ay saka siya makikinig.

Hinagod niya ang likod nito. Moira's shoulders are shaking. Mukhang matagal na rin itong nagpipigil na umiyak. Now he's regretting that he didn't punch Joem in the face when he had the chance.

Maya-maya'y humiwalay sa kanya si Moira. Nagpahid ito ng luha. Siya naman ay kumuha ng upuan at pinaupo ito.

"I-I'm sorry," she told him.

"Hey, it's okay."

"Ayaw ko lang kasing dalhin ang problema ko sa trabaho," paliwanag nito. "Hindi ko kasi alam na alam mo."

She looked at him intently, as if asking for his confirmation on her statement.

"I'm sorry too, for not telling you."

Pilit itong ngumiti. "That's okay."

Naupo siya sa tapat nito. "So, ano'ng plano mo?"

Moira shook her head. "I don't know."

"If you're not happy with him—" He stopped himself. No, hindi siya pwedeng manghimasok. Hindi niya pwedeng pangunahan si Moira. Hindi niya pwedeng sabihin na sya na lang, because it would seem so absurd. Why would he, the man who rejected her countless of times before, want her all of a sudden?

"I'll be going to New Jersey this coming Thursday," he said instead. "If you want, you can come with me."

--

"We'll be away for three days. You can use that time to think," Vince told Moira. Hanggang sa pag-uwi niya ay hindi iyon mawala-wala sa isip niya. Sinabi niya kina Joem at Neri ang nangyari. As expected, nasermonan na naman siya.

"E malay ko ba naman kasing makikita nya kayo," depensa niya.

"Ikaw kasi. Sana sinabi mo na 'yong totoo para hindi ka namomroblema! Pati kami nadadamay."

"Sorry na." Sinimangutan niya ang pinsan. "Last week ko naman na sa trabaho. After this, hindi na ulit ako magpapakita kay Vince. We can all go back to the way we were before."

She was supposed to go back next week, just to make sure na maibi-brief nya si Rose tungkol sa mga nagawa niyang trabaho. Kaya naman siguro iyon ng isang araw lang. Ayaw na niyang magtagal sa kumpanya. Baka mas lalo pang gumulo ang buhay niya.

"But can you really go back?" asked Joem. "Moira, we all know that Vince is the reason why wala ka pang asawa o boyfriend."

Umiling siya. "Ayaw kasi ni Kelvin—"

"Idinadahilan mo lang si Kelvin."

Neri sighed. "He's right, you know. Ayaw mo mang aminin, pero alam naming after all these years, umaasa ka pa rin."

"You know that's not true."

"You know it is. And if Vince is making all these efforts for you, then he might like you as well. Hindi mo ba naisip 'yon?"

Umiling siya. Syempre, madalas niyang maisip iyon. Hindi nga lamanag siya umaasa.

"Gano'n lang talaga sya," she told her cousin. "He's nice to everyone."

"E bakit ka nya inayang sumama sa kanya sa New Jersey? Does he also invite people to go to a business trip with him?"

"Assistant nya kasi ako."

Neri shook her head. "No, it's not because of that. He invited you because he felt like you need some time to think. Kung hihiwalayan mo ba si Jo o hindi. He's trying to help you."

"Baka nga umaasa rin syang hihiwalayan mo na 'ko," natatawang singit ni Jo.

"Why don't you use that time to think if you're still in love with him or not? At kung kaya mo, pag-isipan mo na rin kung sasabihin mo na rin sa kanya 'yong tungkol kay Kelvin. He's the father. He deserves to know. And if he's really the man you say he is, then he will understand."