The Longest Weekend [Part 2]

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This is Part 2 of a Short Story about a chance encounter between two wounded souls over an enchanting weekend.

Read again Part 1 (Click Below)

“I’m really sorry. That must’ve been such a difficult period for you,” she said, trying to imagine how a perfectly looking gentleman, just 32 years young, could be a divorcee. Remembering the first time she caught his gray eyes, she somehow felt that he may have been through so much. While stealing glances over random topics, she could still see the sadness somewhere within him. She, for sure, did not know much yet, but from his story, he had loved a lot, but the girl wanted more. She was enjoying the lasagna that he suggested and thought that the hot chocolate she had been dreaming of all night since she arrived, was perfect. She was stunned when he reached for her left chin, just a little below her lips, wiping something off. “You must love chocolate so much.”

“Oh no, not another embarrassing moment. I’m sorry. I know I can be very messy with my food sometimes,” she said, grinning widely while wiping her chin off, making sure nothing was left on her face.

“Hey, it’s my pleasure! It makes you way cuter than we both think,” he laughed. “You know you’ve been teasing me the whole hour that we were here,” she felt herself warming up to him. She never thought she could be this comfortable with a stranger; worse, with a foreigner, and much worse, with a guy.

“I know, but I don’t mean to be so upfront and make you uncomfortable. Maybe you’re just not used to talking to random guys.”

“Well, you’re right. The only guy that I talk to, other than my dad and brothers, is my best friend, who actually owns this place. I mean, his parents do,” she said, trying to finish her lasagna.

“Oh, really? You’re just best friends,” he tried not to buy her confessions.

“I know what you’re thinking, and yes, stuff like that exists. He’s just been like a big brother to me. And… he’s happily married now to a gorgeous girl who happens to have become a close friend as well!” she said as she stared back at him.

“Oh, okay, as you say, then. Does your foot still hurt, E… Ericka?” he sounded concerned. “Rickie is fine. Ericka just sounds like a mouthful,” she assured him.

He looked concerned and thought maybe she needed more care.

“Um…Kuy…Sir… Der…”

“Derek… that’s how simple it can go,” he smiled.

“I know… just that I am not sure how to address you the right way… since you’re older than me.”

“Ah, the famous Asian courtesy. Do you want to call me Kuya? That would be fine, but 3 years isn’t much of a gap, right?”

“As I was saying… I feel okay as if it never happened at all. I’m not sure about later or tomorrow, though. It may be sore a bit, but I’m still thankful you were able to take the pain away. It would have been a nightmare for me if you weren’t around,” she said sincerely. She knew she meant it. She could imagine the horror she would have been in if she was just alone and might have ended up in a hospital instead of enjoying the rest of the night.

“Well, my timing was right, for the first time, I guess. Do you live nearby? Or did you take a plane to get here?”

“I live in a separate island city, just an hour’s jetliner ride from here. Did you take a plane? But I thought they didn’t have an airport here,” she said, trying to recall if there was one.

“I heard that they do. I hitched a ride on a chartered plane that was on its way to, uh… Cebu? The plane was from a friend of my client back home, who told me about this country and this place.”

“I see… Well, it’s a good thing you chose the Philippines because there’s so much more to see than just the beaches. Cebu is actually where I come from. How far have you gone?”

“Hmm… Cebu. It sounds like a terrific place. Well, I already had a brief look around Manila, courtesy of the travel agency that I booked myself with. My trip here is a separate thing. I only have like two more days here so I could still look around more of your country before I head back to the States. Have you ever been to the States or anywhere else in the world?”

“Uh-uh,” she shook her head as she looked down. He sensed something behind her gestures as if something tugged her inside from his question.

“I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?”

“Oh… no, you didn’t. I do have a sister who has worked abroad for 4 years already. She’s a nurse there… and she’ll probably be staying there for good.”

“Great! You will surely visit her one day, and then I could meet up with you. We’re friends now, right?” he suggested with a wink.

“Um… I guess. Since I’ll forever be grateful to you for being a Good Samaritan, yes, we can be friends if you want to. I’m just not sure about visiting the States.”

“Ah… let me guess, you can’t imagine yourself being away from your family, right?”

“Yes, partly… Other than the great expense I would need to save up for trips like that, I just don’t plan things that way. This one was still something I was just pushed into doing. Although I’d love to see the world and all the beautiful places that I see on Nat Geo, it’s just hard to make the first step, to be away from my comfort zone.”

“I used to think like that too. I never imagined being away from the mountains, which I still do. I love it there. That is home for me. My family and friends are there. My work… and all that is familiar. Not to mention the beautiful autumn that falls around November, which you should see… but, home will always be home, and I can always go back there. It’s not going anywhere, and I thought, walking a little further from it and discovering other beautiful things wouldn’t hurt, except my pocket… hahaha!”

“You’re funny,” she smiled, meeting his eyes. For seconds, they just stared at each other. “You have a very beautiful smile, Rickie…” She didn’t know how else to react but just looked down and whispered out the softest “Thank you…”

“… but yeah, you’re right,” she continued. “…well, sometimes, it does cross my mind, and I can be impulsive too, you know. Who knows, I’ll be surprising you with a knock at your house one day!” grinning widely at him.

“That’ll be great! I’ll look forward to that. Just make sure to knock out loud. I can sometimes be so dead when I’m sleeping… hehe.”

“Silly! So, how long have you been single again? Are you seeing someone right now? Does she know that you’re here?”

“Do I honestly look taken to you? C’mon! But seriously, I’ve never even tried to think about marriage again after that. Although I did go out on dates… twice to be exact, just so I could make my mom happy. But I always never wanted to date without the intention to marry that girl one day. And, for as long as I can remember, I only wanted to be with one woman, so it never felt right after that, to go around trying to find love again. How about you? Have you ever been in love?”

She was initially lost in his story until he asked about it, and suddenly, everything became so familiar again. Had she ever been in love? She wanted to make sure she heard him right. And again, he saw the sadness in her eyes that he had been seeing since he first saw her.

All she did was just stare at her plate. Seeing her reaction, he changed the topic and invited her to go somewhere. He led her towards the direction of the beach. At 10:00 in the evening, it was getting colder, and he saw that she was feeling a little chilled up. He took his jacket off and wrapped it around her, to her amazement. It was big enough to cover her whole frame.

“Hope it keeps you warm.”

“Uhm…you don’t have to. You’ll be cold… and…” she tried to give it back.

“Sssshhhh, I come from the mountains and have one of the coldest winters, remember? And don’t worry, I don’t smell that bad.” She blushed at his remarks.

“Hmmm…it smells so good, actually,” she returned his compliments.

“See…I told yah.”

They walked side by side towards the shore. She felt funny walking beside a very tall man. No one else was at the beach at this time. He saw a spot and motioned to sit down.

“Don’t you feel tired or sleepy yet? I could lead you to your room if you want to.”

“I would have done the same and come here anyway, even if I’m alone right now. I love the beach so much. Ever since I was a kid, I knew that I would always go looking for the sea. Perhaps, just like how you love the mountains. For me, the sea is my home. Though, I don’t necessarily need to live by it every day of my life. Coming here every so often when I need to find myself again will just be enough. If you know what I mean,” he understood everything she said.

“Have you been in love, Ericka?”

Only a very few people prefer to call her that name. And somehow, it sounds good. He saw how her eyes were firmly looking into the distance. But just before he could utter another word, she turned to look at him, and he saw her tears, rushing down so freely, like they’d been held in there for so long, and finally got to let go. He never broke the gaze, and she didn’t blink, not even once, but just cried in front of him. The sight of the girl, a stranger in so many ways, was breaking every bit of him inside.

In an instant, he reached to touch her cheek, not to wipe her tears, but to gently bring her head to rest on his chest. Against him, he felt the heaviest of pains in between her gentle sobs. For minutes, they sat still against each other. He still knew so little about her, that’s one for sure. All he knew was that he wanted to be here, in this moment, with her. If only he could take away all the grief she had been drowning herself in.

“Just let them all out, Ericka. Don’t stop until you empty yourself,” he whispered against her hair. She was trembling against him. He reached for her right hand, which was clenched hard and cold. He gently stroked it to give her his warmth, and he felt it soften at his touch. And the sobs stopped. He felt her slowly move away from him, feeling a little bit disappointed, which surprised him. When she looked up to him, he thought of how beautiful she looked even with the saddest of eyes.

“I’m sorry…,” he heard her sigh.

“Don’t say sorry. Not to me, not to you, or whoever. Whatever it is, it will be over. Perhaps not as soon as you prefer, but it will be gone one day.” But he wanted to know what it was. He had never felt so strongly for another person in a long time. He knows that he wants to help her in any way that he can. But he saw how fragile she was and didn’t want to break her more.

“Hey,” trying to lighten up the moment, “since you owe me a lot…” wiping her tears away, she seemed a little nervous about what he was about to say, “…would you mind being my guide as I spend the rest of my two days here? You know I could use some company and opinions from time to time,” he offered and reached for her face to brush off the last tear stain.

“But…I don’t know so much around here. I am pretty boring, too. I might just spoil your days,” she shyly admitted.

“Again, I don’t take no for answers. So, deal! From now on, we’re gonna be together. Where are you staying again?” he asked.

With her mouth slightly opened, she looked as if in between scared and confused. “Don’t worry; I was only talking about activities that we can share while I’m still here. And…so you don’t have to be alone all the time.” He explained.

“She looked towards the direction of the Villas and pointed to the rightmost one. “That one…the very last of the rows. I stay there.”

“Sweet Dreams…,” he said

“I’m sorry?” sounding a little bit confused.

“I mean, they call that cottage Sweet Dreams. Each cottage has a specific name instead of numbers. Didn’t you see it on your doorway?”

“Oh…I didn’t notice at all…” She smiled again, at last, which made him smile as well.

“I’m really glad to have met you, Ericka. This trip would’ve not been the same if our paths never crossed,”

“You mean if I hadn’t tripped myself, you would’ve enjoyed the night better and not seen the most boringly sad movie earlier…”

“You enjoy putting yourself down. It’s ok…we all go through that.”

“Uhm, I guess it’s getting really cold now. Maybe we should get going and warm up,”

“You’re right, especially since we have a long day tomorrow,” Already on his feet, he held her arms and helped her rise.

“Thank you…my foot feels a little numb and it’s getting better, I think”

“Don’t mention it. C’mon, I’ll walk you to your Sweet Dreams…” he offered with a warm smile. She smiled back at the pun.

He saw that she was still walking carefully. He was walking just behind her. She is so small and delicate. Seeing her cry earlier made him scared for her and wanted enough sadness in her. Still thinking afar, he almost forgot he was dropping her by her suite. She turned around to him and smiled. She unwrapped herself out of his sweater and shyly gave it back to him.

“Thank you so much for that. It surely is made of good material. I have never worn anything as warm as this,” he took the sweater from her hands and moved closer to her. He enveloped her back with the same sweater again, to her surprise.

“I want you to have this, then, so to keep you warmed up ’til you will be fully fine,” She could not find a way to say anything after his kind gesture.

“So…sweet dreams?” he teasingly said.

“That was a pleasant night, Derek. Sweet dreams…” and she turned around as if scared for more beautiful things to happen. She entered her Sweet Dreams.

Inside her cottage, she still couldn’t move. Everything is still hazy. She could still feel the slight tingle from the traces of his soft touch on her cheeks when he brushed her tears away. She touched that same spot trying to wake her up to reality when a familiar sound swished her senses. Her cell phone rang. She ran towards her room and got her cell from the nightstand. She shook her head slowly and smiled at the sight of the name calling her and pressed answer.

“Now, when did you just start leaving your phone ringing the whole night?” the voice sounded so concerned, trying not to raise his voice.

“I loved your hot chocolate…and the beach…and Sweet Dreams…” she smiled at the still vivid aftertaste of the moments earlier. She wanted to talk more to her best friend about everything, but some moments, she thought, maybe best left as they are…just memories…because they may not be there tomorrow.

That was Part 2 of this short story. Click below to read part 3.

Read again the Chapters below:

Part 1 https://readmedium.com/the-longest-weekend-part-1-7d785f0ac795 Part 2 https://readmedium.com/the-longest-weekend-part-2-83e6b159132c Part 3 https://readmedium.com/the-longest-weekend-part-3-60cadeec1234 Part 4 https://readmedium.com/the-longest-weekend-part-4-8714f1493c86 Part 5 https://readmedium.com/the-longest-weekend-part-5-da3bb449ce26 Part 6 https://readmedium.com/the-longest-weekend-part-6-46451d86c128 Part 7 https://readmedium.com/the-longest-weekend-part-7-79fc67a10613 Part 8 https://readmedium.com/the-longest-weekend-part-8-b4948aaed201