Bullet thought he knew women, but Fresia is proving to be difficult to read. Hindi na nga siya nakitulog dito noong gabing bumalik sila ng Maynila dahil galit ito, tapos ay ganoon pa ang madadatnan niya nang mag-Lunes.

The house was fine, all right. Mukhang hindi ito nagwala dahil walang kahit isang piraso ng bubog siyang nadatnan nang pumunta siya roon ng gabi. Nag-grocery pa siya bago pumunta roon para maipagluto ito ng masarap na pagkain. He was hoping that she will forgive him after dinner. Sasarapan niya ang luto para gumanda ang mood nito.

Pero lumamig na't lahat ang pagkain ay wala pa rin ito. Halos maya't maya siyang lumalabas ng apartment para tingnan kung parating na ba ito. He's like a hen impatiently waiting for its eggs to hatch, which was very annoying.

Nang sa wakas ay narinig na niyang may tao sa labas ay lumapit siya sa pintuan para buksan ito. But just as he was about to, he heard a man's voice.

"I had a great time," he heard the guy say.

"Me too," narinig naman niyang sabi ni Fresia. She didn't sound like she meant it.

"Are you free tomorrow? If you want, we can—"

"Sorry. I think I'll be busy tomorrow."

He heard her keys jingle. She was about to open the door when the guy spoke again.

"That's all right. How about the next day?"

That's his cue to open the door. "She said she's busy, Pal. Beat it."

He pulled her inside, leaving the man outside gawking and confused. Salubong na salubong naman ang mga kilay ni Fresia nang magkatinginan sila. Ramdam na ramdam pa rin niya ang inis nito.

"Kumain ka na ba? I cooked dinner," sabi niya rito.

"I already ate," malamig nitong sagot. Nilampasan siya nito. He followed her to her bedroom, where she slammed the door on his face.

Okay... maybe she'll feel better after a good night's sleep. Matutulog na rin siya dahil hindi na rin naman siya makakain. Nalipasan na siya ng gutom sa kahihintay rito.

--

The next day, he woke up early and prepared Fresia's favorite breakfast. He timed it perfectly para pagkagising ni Fresia ay sabay silang makakapag-a-almusal. After preparing the coffee, fried rice and tapa, he poured himself a cup of coffee and waited by the counter.

As expected, Fresia already looks decent when she went out of the room. Suklay na ang buhok nito. Maayos din ang suot nitong puting shirt at maiksing shorts. Although she still looks sexy, he prefers her a little bit more... free.

"Morning," bati niya.

Fresia just gave him a nod. Dumiretso ito ng banyo. Siguro ay para maghilamos. He poured her a cup of coffee. Iniabot niya iyon dito nang lumabas ito.

Walang imik nitong tinanggap ang kape. Saka dumako ang tingin nito sa lamesa. He heard her sigh.

"Ayaw mo?" tanong niya.

Umiling ito, kumuha ng pinggan at saka sumandok ng fried rice. Hindi niya napigilan ang mapangiti. Mabuti na lang talaga at gutom ito. Hindi man siya nito kausapin, at least, kakain ito ng luto niya. It's a start.

Kumuha rin siya ng pinggan at naupo sa tapat nito. Pasandok pa lamang siya ng kanin nang bigla itong tumayo. Dala ang kape at pagkain, lumipat ito sa sala para doon mag-almusal.

Napabuntong-hininga na lamang siya. Ang hirap namang amuin ng mga babae!

--

That night, Bullet upped his game. He thought that if dinner won't work, then maybe a trip to the cinema will. Mahilig pa namang manuod ng movie si Fresia. And there's a really cheesy film that he doesn't like but she might want to see.

He was there early, like yesterday. Nagwalis-walis siya ng kaunti habang hinihintay itong dumating. She arrived early that night.

"Hey!" he greeted when she came in.

Tinanguan lang siya nito saka nilampasan.

"Do you want to watch a movie?"

"Yeah," she answered.

Napangiti siya. "Great! Labas tayo. Libre ko. Sagot ko na rin ang dinner."

"Can't. I have a date."

Pagkasabi'y pumasok ito ng kwarto. Siya naman ay biglang nalito. Why would she say that she wants to watch a movie then drops the bomb that she has a date?

Kunot-noo siyang tumambay sa harap ng kwarto nito hanggang sa muli itong lumabas. She's dressed nicely, a dress under some kind of jacket and a pair of boots. Nakaayos din nang maganda ang buhok nito.

"With whom?"

She checked herself in the mirror. "The guy from yesterday."

"Really?" Lalong nagsalubong ang mga kilay niya. "I thought you didn't like him?"

"Kaya nga," she replied nonchalantly.

"Then why go out with him again?"

"Because I want to watch a movie."

"Then watch it with me," he said sternly. He closed the door shut when she was about to leave.

She looked him straight in the eyes. "Ano ba'ng problema mo? Stop acting like you're still my pretend boyfriend, okay? That was just for one night!"

Hindi niya maipaliwanag ang biglang pagtahip ng dibdib niya sa sinabi nito. It's like he wants to protest but she has a point. She only asked him a favor for one night.

"Then why did you kiss me?" diretsahan niyang tanong.

"It was just a thank you kiss... for thinking that I'm special," paliwanag nito. She pushed him aside and opened the door to leave. Hindi na niya ito napigilan.

So that's just it. Wala palang ibang dahilan. But why does it bother him so much?

--

Wednesday. For his last attempt to make things okay between them, nag-download siya ng mga movie about weddings and romance at inipon ang mga iyon sa isang flash drive. He also cooked a scrumptious dinner for her. Kung hindi pa naman ito kakain sa niluto niyang paella at beef teriyaki, curry o seafood na talaga ang ihahanda niyang pagkain para rito.

Fresia arrived a little before eight. This time, he didn't greet her at the door. He was watching TV at that time. He didn't bother to get up.

Like the previous days, tiningnan lang siya nito na para bang sinigurado lang na buhay pa siya tapos ay dumiretso ito sa kwarto nito para magbihis.

"There's dinner if you haven't had one yet," sabi niya rito pagkalabas nito ng kwarto.

Tinanggal ni Fresia ang malaking cover sa lamesa. If she was happy with what he made, she tried really hard to hide it. Walang ka-emo-emosyon ang mukha nito.

"I hope you like paella."

Kumuha si Fresia ng pagkain at saka naupo. Hinintay niyang ayain man lamang siya nitong kumain. He thought that she'd be polite, at least. The invitation didn't come. Kaya naman nagkusa na siyang imbitahin ang sarili.

Kumuha siya ng pagkain at bumalik sa sala. Isinaksak niya ang flash drive sa likuran ng TV nito at saka siya prenteng nanuod. When Fresia heard the intro of the movie, dinala rin nito ang pagkain sa sala.

Sa gitna siya ng couch nakaupo habang ito naman ay sa gilid sumiksik.

The movie was a romantic comedy. It was cheesy, definitely not his type of film, but it did make him laugh. Hindi na rin nakapagpigil ng tawa si Fresia. She momentarily forgot her anger and just laughed.

But when the film ended, so did the laughter. Hindi na naman ito namamansin.

"I'll do the dishes," anunsyo nito. Habang naghuhugas ito ng pinagkainan, siya naman ay naghanap ng bagong panunuorin. Some of the movies he copied are classics. But they don't have the humor of the first one. Nang makarating siya sa huling movie ay saka niya napagtanto kung bakit pamilyar sa kanya ang karamihan sa mga iyon.

Those were the movies that Leila used to like when she was still alive. Halos lahat din ng mga iyon ay napanuod na niya kasama ito.

She liked A Walk To Remember the most. Tanda pa niya nang magalit ito sa kanya dahil pakiramdam niya ay masyadong madali ang pacing ng kwento. Foreshadowing pala iyon ng mangyayari kay Leila sa hinaharap.

If he knew, he'd probably do the same thing. He probably married her before she died.