One minute with you
Is better than two without

--Somebody's Heartbreak by Hunter Hayes

--

Lena was excited for her first Valentine's day with Cyrus. She wanted to do something special for him as her way of saying thanks to all that he's done to her. That Alexa thing was unfortunate, but they're past that already. Cyrus assured her that they will never have any encounters with Alexa again.

According to Cadence, he talked to the woman and told her that he's not interested. She regretted not being there to see how Alexa took it. Bihira siyang mainis sa isang tao, pero inis na inis talaga siya rito. Ganon siguro kapag may karelasyon. Every woman who shows Cyrus interest is a threat to her.

Now she finally understood why he was like that with Martin.

She also understood why some women, like Alexa, would want to take him away. He's just perfect, and maybe perfect guys like him were very hard to find these days. There was this one time in January where she was asked by Kenna to give a talk at her school. It was her first time to talk to an audience since high school, so she was really nervous, but Kenna begged her because it was for a project.

Hindi naman nito pwedeng pakiusapan si Lacey dahil bukod sa busy na ito ay baka walang makinig dito at puro pagpi-picture na lang ang atupagin.

Cyrus helped her make a slideshow for the talk. He also helped in making sure that she doesn't stutter or blabber in front of the class. He was her first audience. Ito ang nagturo sa kanya ng mga hand gesture na pwede niyang gamitin to appear assertive and confident.

But the best thing that he did for her was when he appeared at the auditorium where she was about to do the talk in front of three classes. He sat where she could easily see him and gave her thumbs up as support.

Every time that she would get nervous, she would just look at him for reassurance.

So in return, she gave him the plaque they gave her as remembrance that she could not have done well without him.

Nag-iisip pa rin siya kung ano ang magandang gawin sa Valentine's. She knew that it's usually the guys who make plans for the said occasion, but given that Cyrus does that every day, she figured that she'll just surprise him on that day.

But she can't cook dinner, so that's out. She also can't treat him for dinner because she's broke. She's always broke. One thing that she can do for him is to make an art piece. So she started making them for him.

Kaso ay hindi rin naman niya natatapos. Para kasing palaging may mali. Parang palaging may kulang. Kapag nakakagawa siya ng isa, naiisip niya palaging hindi iyon sapat. That Cyrus deserves more. But every time she will wrack her brain for a better idea, she always comes up with nothing.

Being a newbie in relationships, she decided to ask an expert, Martin.

"Well, Lacey gives me her time. She cancels everything on Valentine's Day so she could spend it with me," he told her.

"I have plenty of time. I want to give him something else."

"Maa-appreciate naman no'n kahit ano'ng gawin mo. Mahal na mahal ka no'n, e."

Everyone keeps on saying that. Mahal na mahal ka ni Cyrus. Patay na patay 'yan sa 'yo. Hulog na hulog sa 'yo 'yan. All of which makes her guiltier. Gusto naman niyang tumbasan ang pagmamahal na iyon pero parang palaging kulang. She can't even say 'I love you' to him.

"Ang vague naman. Don't you have anything specific in mind? Ano ba ang gusto niya?"

"Ikaw."

Sinimangutan niya ito. "Seryoso kasi."

"Seryoso nga."

"You're not helping."

Martin smiled. "Lena, Cyrus is not a materialistic person. Kahit ano ang ibigay mo sa kanya, ayos lang basta galing sa puso. Saka mas gusto niyang siya ang nagbibigay."

"But I want to give him something."

"Just give him a kiss. He'll love that."

She blushed at the remark. A kiss would be fine, but he can just ask for that. Wala namang effort 'yon kung tutuusin. And Martin's not helping. Maybe she'll just give Cyrus another popup book.

"By the way, did he tell about Dubai?"

She frowned. "Dubai?"

"I guess not. Well, never mind."

"What about Dubai?"

"We're branching out in Dubai. We recently signed an agreement with a furniture company and we needed to bring someone there as forerunner. Matagal na syang plano and Cyrus had been very vocal about wanting to go. So ngayon na okay na lahat, I asked him to transfer to Dubai. Akala ko naman sinabi nya na sa 'yo."

"Wala syang sinasabi sa 'kin." Nagpangalumbaba siya. "Kelan ba 'yan?"

"This May," Martin answered.

May na pala. Kahit hint man lang na may ganoong mangyayari, wala siyang narinig mula kay Cyrus.

"Hanggang?"

"Well, until they terminate the contract."

"What?!" That means that he could be gone for a long time. Hindi niya alam kung kaya niya.

Martin sighed. "Siguro mas tamang kayo na lang ang mag-usap tungkol dyan. Baka may rason naman siya kung bakit hindi niya sinabi sa 'yo ang tungkol dyan."

"Did he already agree to this?"

"I gave him a new contract last week. He'll be under a new management there. Hindi pa lang nya ibinabalik sa 'kin so hindi ko alam kung tutuloy ba sya."

--

With Cyrus's impending transfer, mas lalo siyang hindi nakagawa ng iriregalo rito. So when Valentine's Day came, she had nothing to give him.

Umaga ng araw na iyon, sinundo siya sa bahay ng daddy niya, kasama sina Kenna at Lacey. They'll be going out on a date while Logan and Nikola will go on a picnic with their mom. They do this every year as a family tradition. In the morning, the girls will spend quality time with their dad and the boys, with their mom. This started when she was young. The goal was to let them, the girls, know at an early age how they should be treated by guys and for the boys to know how they should treat girls. Also, this strengthens their bond with their parents, so they always make it to a point na available sila palagi kapag Valentine's.

Even when Lacey started going out with Martin, sinisikap pa rin nitong libre ito ng umaga ng Valentine's. The rest of the day would be spent by their parents together for their anniversary. Usually, kapag tapos na ang date nila ng daddy niya, wala na siyang gagawin pagdating ng hapon. But because she's with Cyrus now, her Valentine's Day was packed.

It's just that, after Martin told her about Dubai, she found it hard to pretend to be happy with Cyrus around. Like that afternoon, when they're on their way to Sandy's dog cafe in QC, she was just staring out the window, with Kier on her lap. Sa backseat siya naupo noon dahil gusto ni Bailey sa passenger's seat. It was kind of humid inside because the windows were open. The two dogs kept on sticking out their heads.

"What's wrong?" she heard Cyrus ask. Nakatingin ito sa kanya through the rearview mirror. "Sobrang tahimik mo naman yata. Gutom ka na?"

She's not hungry. She doesn't even feel like going. It's a dog cafe, for crying out loud. She should be ecstatic! Sandy owns the cafe because he has so many dogs at home. Pwedeng magdala ng aso sa lugar, pero may mga aso na stay-in na doon. Some dogs are up for adoption. May ilan na inabandona na ng may-ari o ipinagbibili kay Sandy dahil ayaw nang alagaan.

Cyrus told her that Sandy opened the place because his wife didn't want any more dogs. Nanganganak kasi ang mga aso nito, which results to more dogs. Mamumulubi raw ang mga ito sa pagkain pa lang. Sandy's friend gave him the idea.

The cafe opened two years ago. 'Yong kita ang ginagamit na panggastos sa maintenance at pagkain ng mga aso.

Cyrus knew that she would love it there so he was bringing her there. But all she could think about was him leaving. The thought alone hurts. Paano kaya kapag nangyari na?

"Lena, are you okay?"

"Yeah," mahina niyang sagot. Kier looked up to her and whimpered, as if sensing that she's not telling the truth. Pinisil-pisil niya ang pisngi nito para malibang.

--

The dogs lightened her mood a bit. Napakaraming aso sa lugar. Most of the customers don't eat. Nagpi-picture na lamang at nagpi-pet ng mga aso.

She removed the leash from Kier and let him mingle with the other dogs.

May special collar ang mga aso ng cafe para kita kaagad kung alin ang tagaroon at alin ang hindi. She let Cyrus order while she sat on the floor and let the dogs come to her. Tuwang-tuwa siya nang malapitan ng isang corgi. It was so cute!

She was playing with it when she noticed that Cyrus was taking pictures. So she picked the corgi up and turned her back on him. Maya-maya ay lumapit ito sa kanya.

"Look here," he told her.

Sa kabila siya tumingin.

She heard him sigh. "Lena, kanina pa kita napapansin, ha. May problema ka ba sa 'kin?"

The corgi wiggled out of her hands when she hugged it tightly. Another dog, a golden retriever like Bailey, ran to her and licked her hands affectionately.

Cyrus sat in front of her. "Hey."

"Can you leave me alone for a while? I'm having a happy moment here," she told him coldly.

--

Lena could feel his eyes burning through her back. Maya't maya ang lapit nito sa kanya, binibigyan siya ng pagkain, which she then gives to the dogs. She knew that she needs to talk to him about Dubai. Sort things out, like he did with the issue with Alexa, but not at the cafe.

She was actually having fun in there. Parang ayaw na nga niyang umuwi. Especially when the golden retriever named Maggie began playing with Bailey. The two hit it off right away. And she was even delighted to know that Maggie was up for adoption. Kung hindi lamang siya nagtatampo kay Cyrus ay pinakiusapan na niya itong kausapin si Sandy.

Unfortunately, the cafe had to close and they had to go home.

Back in the car, with Bailey and Kier sleeping at the backseat, she was left alone with Cyrus to deal with the issue.

"So, what's wrong?" he asked. "I was looking forward to this day tapos ganito lang ang nangyari. Parang kayo no'ng mga aso 'yong magkaka-date and I was just third-wheeling."

His voice sounded edgy, may magkahalong inis at tampo sa boses nito.

"We talked about this, didn't we?" pagpapatuloy nito. "Ang usapan natin, kapag may problema, pag-uusapan natin kaagad, para hindi lumala. But you're doing the opposite."

"Martin told me about Dubai," she said without looking at him.

"About that..."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Cyrus heaved out a sigh. "I was still thinking about it, Lena. Hindi pa buo ang desisyon ko kaya hindi ko sinabi agad sa 'yo.."

"He told me that you wanted the job," she added.

"I did, but that was before." He glanced towards her. "Ngayon, hindi ko na alam kung gusto ko pang umalis."