"Wanted to meet me? Why?" I tried to compose myself. My voice was low and whole, but my legs were already trembling.
I know I am strong. I can face every obstacle you will give me, but meeting my boyfriend's parents brought me nothing but fear.
According to what Auton told me, his father is a policeman. I haven't heard anything about his mother, making me want to hide and never meet Auton again.
"Why do you look constipated?" He chuckled. His eyes were smiling, and his lips stretched up to his ears. Gone is his serious face from earlier. I gulped and averted my gaze.
"Nothing, I think...it was so sudden. We just started dating, and I think–"
"You aren't ready?" He cut me off. He lifted my chin to make me meet his stare, but I only removed it and pinched my fingers behind my back.
"You know..." I licked my lips. "I haven't experienced any of these from the past. It was my first time, and I never knew that meeting your boyfriend's parents is a requirement."
"So, you don't want to meet them?" His deep voice made me glance at him. I waved my hands.
"It's not like that! I was just..." I closed my eyes and breathed. "You think they will like me?" I asked.
"Your family is well-off. You have a complete, successful family when I don't have any of it. I can't make you proud, and you can't boast anything about me–"
"I can boast about everything you do." He furrowed his brows. His jaw clenched as he glared at me. "Do I look like I am blind? Or you are?"
"God knows how much I am proud of you every time I will see you working so hard to achieve your dreams! I can't even wash a lot of dishes nor clean a big, dirty kitchen just like what you are doing!" He uttered in a louder yet calm voice. His hand was pointing behind me like he was pointing at those things.
"You look so lowly of yourself." The tone in his voice as he spits out those words told me that he was disappointed. "If you aren't ready to meet them, then we can just adjust and meet them some other time," he said.
"No, I was just...shy. You have a great family and–"
"How come you know if my family is great? It's not as what you are expecting." He cut me off in a low voice. I sighed and licked my lips.
"Fine, then. When will we meet them?" I surrendered. It's not like I don't want to meet them. I don't feel like being introduced as a girlfriend by the son of a wealthy family.
"It would be on my birthday. It's still three weeks from now, so you still can ready yourself," he answered. "But it's not like you are meeting God. Don't be bothered by it too much." He wearily smiled.
I raised my hand and tried to stretch his lips using my thumb. "Don't sulk; I didn't mean to say those things."
His forehead creased. "Don't ever look down at yourself again. You know how hard your work is, and you need to appreciate your hardships." He touched my hand on his cheek and put it down, kissing it as he glanced at me. "Lock the door and sleep tight. I..." he halted for a moment and smiled at me.
"I love you," he said. Making me lose the smile on my face. He kissed my forehead before turning his back, leaving me with my lips parted in a daze.
--
"You kept on checking your face from time to time," Ella commented. I removed my hair tie and changed it with a new beige satin scrunchy, combing my hair through my fingers as I glance at her. She walked towards me and touched my pockets, pulling my pocket mirror out. "And you even have this thing already?"
I turned around and snatched the mirror away from her hand, averting my gaze as I felt my cheeks burning. She then took a step forward and lifted my chin up, a mocking smirk plastered on her round face.
"You keep on making sure that you are beautiful, huh?" I slapped her fingers away. "You don't even bother to comb your hair two months ago." She laughed.
"Tayla Del Mariano, damn whipped." She teases more, earning a slight hit from me.
"I think I have been treating myself poorly. I should at least make myself beautiful if I want to feel like it." I defended.
"You realized that because someone is always looking at you. Of course, it would feel awkward if you have a boyfriend, and you don't look beautiful." She chuckled. Making me furrow my brows and clench my jaw.
"Does beauty matter when you are in a relationship?" I asked. Because Auton saw me even in my palest color, he didn't complain. Sure, I want to look beautiful in front of him, but I want to do it for myself above all.
I shoved the thought away and just smiled at her. "Let's just focus on working," I said and picked up where I left. I want to confront her, but it will just prolong the conversation because she would probably have many arguments to add. We have different opinions, and we no longer need to discuss it further.
I was busy wiping the dirty tables when I felt my phone vibrating in my back pocket. I stopped what I was doing and decided to take a glimpse of it, expecting Auton.
Auton:
Hey, dinner at your place? What time should I fetch you?
A smile rose from my lips as I typed my reply.
Tayla:
Don't fetch me, just focus on making delicious foods.
I laughed before sending my response and put my phone inside my pocket, planning to make cleaning the bar faster so that I can go home early.
It was the last table when I felt my phone vibrating again—making my brows crease. Auton knows I am at work, but why is he suddenly texting me? I wonder. I shook my head and let go of the rag before opening my phone.
Terren:
Ate, can you come here? Please bring me a new blanket.
My eyes widened when I saw my brother's name. He wasn't always contacting me for things like this, but now that he did it, I feel like I have been lacking in asking him what he needs.
The same painful feeling whenever I will see Terren's name on my screen resurrected. The misery and the reminder of why I need to work hard make me feel sad and troubled. I mentally noted to buy him a new blanket and pillow in my mind and tried to work.
Hours after spending time inside that bar, I rushed towards the terminal to ride a tricycle and went to our house, with a new blanket that I bought from tiangge.