What I planned to be a dinner did not turn out to be one; di raw nya naintindihan na kakain kami sa labas, akala nya "going out" lang daw ang sinabi ko so when i picked him up from his house, naka-pambahay lang sya: black tees in black shorts, flipflops, his long hair neatly pony tailed though. Kagagaling lang daw nya ng gym an hour ago pero di ko naman naamoy ang samyo ng Arabik baktol. Walang pag-iiba, amoy lalake lang. Kasi kung meron mang kakaibang amoy na nasagap ang ilong ko, agad ko syang wiwisikan ng dala kong pabango, hahahaha! Nagtaka lang ako bat ganun ang mukha nya: obviously na di naghilamos or what, pero walang oil at ang linis tignan? Say, kung tayong mga baklang walang ligo or hilamos yon, sure nang pinakamabangong (read: marumi at mabaho) tignan ang face natin, hahahahaha! Sa loob-loob ko, iba na talaga kapag maganda ang mukha, effortless kumbaga. There i was sitting next to a guy na naka-pambahay lang pero ako pa yung parang nahihiyang makipagtitigan considering ayos na ayos naman ng clay ang hair ko at ang isnging tadtad ng pimple marks ay natatakpan naman ng concealer.
Slightly disappointed ako in that naka-dress you up in my love kasi ako: pambansang skinny jeans at leather shoes. When he told me his excuse for dressing up that way (pambahay), OK lang --- ba’t naman ako magpi-feeling mamae na ipakikitang di ako naaliw sa getup nyang iyon?
Di namin alam kung saan kami pupunta kasi dyahe nga raw kung magdi-dinner kami nang ganun ang ayos nya. Souq Waqif won't be a good idea too dahil mainit daw kung outdoor ang labanan. He wouldn't mind going daw anywhere if he's properly dressed up. He asked me if i knew how to play billiards at kung gusto ko raw na sa bilyaran na lang kami magpunta. Di rin naman daw sya ganun ka-husay pero komo yun ang dama kong feel nyang puntahan dahil sa suot nya, don sya nagyaya. Sabi ko: “If none of us plays that sport really well, we'll just bore ourselves at sayang naman ang oras.” Di rin naman daw sya gutom so ayaw nya sa kahit anong resto. Komo ako ang driver, ako ang nasunod. We decided na lang to cruise around while enjoying the music from my car stereo. Off we went to Dairy Queen drive-thru and ordered 2 blizzards: Oreo for me, Kitkat for him.
After that, we parked the car on the Corniche, sa bandang opposite ng palasyo ng Emir, then smoked while singing along with house/techno/trance car stereo songs at the background. That was the start of the getting-to-know-each-other portion ala Q&A dahil tinanong ko sya about his family and his friends (national swimmers na Palestinians in particular na pinagnanasaan ko). I learned that his father is an engineer, his mom a housewife. He's good friends with those Palestinian swimmers; in fact, it was just the other night when he last saw them, including Ahmed Salamoon (Andy Roddick deadringer na dating fit pero mataba na ngayon). Nung tinanong ko kanino sya pinaka-close, he answered: "with Osamma (big haired swimmer na lab na lab ni Jackie ang “guhit”) and Mysara (Osamma's bro)." Napa-awwwjjj na lang ako sa loob-loob ko at kung anu-ano na namang balakin ang pumasok sa isip ko --- niteout with him, Osamma and Mysara, anyone? Hahahaha! Gosh, I feel so bitchy! As if to convince me that’s he’s indeed close to these swimmers and that he, too, became part of the national swimming squad, he took an old, torn Arabic news clipping from his wallet that showed a bunch of thin young boys in their trunks posing with their coaches by the pool. That pic was sooooooo cute! Kahit malabo ito, sa porma pa lang ng mga katawan at buhok, I was able to easily identify Mysara and Osamma in that group. The date of that picture: 2001! I did the math: he was only 14 then, I 26 --- argggghhhhh!!! Shit, I feel damn old!
Nung ako nman ang nag-share ng kwento-kwento sa buhay ko, i just told him na 2001 nang mapunta ako sa Qatar by virtue of visit visa ng tatay ko na nagta-trabaho na ng lagpas beinteng taon sa Qatar, at naging bahagi ako at ang friends ko ng Doha Asian Games Beach Volleyball nung 2006. Even if there was a part of me na gustong magpa-ghel and ask questions about relationship, kung nagka-dyowa na sya ng bakling, or for me to admit na gusto sya, di ko na ginawa. I'm afraid that would be too corny na baka di nya magustuhan o di sya sanay sa ganung eksena kaya nagpaka-kaswal na lang ako the whole night, with miminsang kurot at lapat ng kamay sa hita on da side. Guess it would be inappropriate na maglubi-lubi ako o mag-feeling hebi mamae sa unang labas ko with him.
Tapos non, rumekta naman kami sa beach sa Diplomatic Club area lagpas hotel Intercon. Ako pa rin ang nag-drive papunta ron pero nung nasa beach na kami mismo, I asked him na sya na ang magmaneho so we switched places. While parked facing the sea, nagsusuba lang kami pareho while gazing at the skyline of Doha. The music playing: “Always Be My Baby” by David Cook. Then, nakakita sya ng mangilan-ngilang isdang patalun-talon sa dalampasigan at saka chumika ng: “Fish! You wanna see the fish?” Akala ko naman ay sasamahan nya akong tignan ang mga ito pero hinayaan nya lang akong mag-isang lapitan ang mga ito sa tubig. Walang ilaw sa lugar na yon at di sapat ang liwanag ng headlight ng sasakyan para makita ko ang mga isda kaya saglit lang ako at bumalik na agad sa kotse. Isa pa, I was worried na baka pasukin ng tubig at buhangin ang suot kong balat na sapatos.
Pagbalik sa kotse, di ko pa rin magawang magpaka-pisikal dahil baka masita kami ng ibang kotse at 4wd na dumaraan sa glydel. Pero base sa galaw nya na parang balisa, kamot ng kamot sa nota, palinga-linga left and right to check for any approaching cars, I know he wanted to win (read: magpahada). Sorry, di ko sya pinanalo.
The Vivian who was a friend earlier was now a mother, a preacher. Sa ngayon daw kasi, he cannot envision what he will become 2 or 4 yrs from now. Di pa raw nya alam ang gusto nya. He likes going to school but not studying per se. Parang nakakabagot daw isipin na 2 taon pa ang bubunuin nya sa CNA-Q (College of the North Atlantic – Qatar, a top Canadian university in Qatar) bago matapos. Kaya hayun at pinayuhan ko sya to take his studies seriously 'coz not everyone gets a chance like him na makapag-aral sa isang de-kalibreng eskwelahan gaya ng CNA-Q.
From a friend to a mother to a sweet girl:
It was already past 2 am and he, still at the back of d steering wheel, drove towards doon uli sa Corniche, pero this time sa Doha port naman. He's going to show me raw a secret place that I surely would love. Nakakapagtaka na sa ganung oras there were still few cars coming to and from that place. I would know the reason why raw bakit matao pa rin sa ganong lugar sa ganong oras once I saw the place. At yun, bumulaga sa akin ang seaside na elevated ang land na daanan ng kotse at mababa naman ang dagat. Ang ganda ng view --- looking at the skyline from that vantage point, parang kita ko ang buong doha! It’s as if skyscrapers, whose lights flicker from afar, were colorful ornaments that breathe life to the languid sea.
Sinamantala ko ang inviting na tanawin don para mag-umpisa akong magpa-tweetums (slight). Di na ako nakatiis. From time to time, I would be playing with the curls of his hair, stare at his face or touch his arms and back. I complimented his good looks and told him that what i really liked sa mukha nya ay yung eyes nya: kulay brown, maganda ang lashes, di ganun ka deepset at ka-mulagat bagkus ay slight singkit sa dulo. Ang gwapo nya, hehbi! Sa dilim, tingin ko ang kasama ko dat moment eh si Colin Farrel! Ladlad na kasi that time ang mahaba at alun-alon nyang buhok, walang oil na mukha, brown na mata na naniningkit pag tatawa, at red na lips. The music playing: “Somebody's Me” by Enrique Iglesias (na paboritong-paborito raw nya) na makailang beses nyang inulit habang sinasabayan.
It was almost 3 am. He bought me a tea before we left that area at musika naman ni Akon at Neyo ang pinatugtog nya. Katuwa yung bagets na yun kasi mahilig sa musikang Ingles. Kabisado halos lahat ng lyrics ng kanta ni Akon at Neyo. With matching inda-indayog pa yon habang nagda-drive at saka titingin sa akin at ngingiti...Sa loob-loob ko: “Juice kow ano bang mukha ito? Me ganito ka-gwapo bang lalaki ba Pinas na sasama on da ispat sa bakling? Me mukhang ganito ba sa Pinas na ngingiti nang ganito sa bakling?
Mula sa Doha port ay sya uli ang nagmaneho, this time ay pauwi na sa bahay nila. Aliw na aliw raw sya sa musikang asa car stereo ko kaya hintayin ko raw sya sa tapat ng bahay nya para kopyahin sa laptop nya yung songs sa USB ko. Komo hating-gabi na at di na ako makapaghintay, sabi ko dalhin nya na lang at isauli na lang sa akin kinabukasan.
Exchanged good nights and good byes. Pagtayo nya mula sa sasakyan, he leaned towards me and planted kisses on my left and right cheek. Before i closed the car window, he opened the door and asked: "You didn't tell me how's my drive?"
I answered: "Great!"
At saka ko pinatakbo ang sasakyan habang baun-baon ang walang mapagsidlang kilig at saya sa puso ko. Alam kong kukulangin ako sa tulog ng gabing yon pero di na ito mahalaga.
Bata pa si Wael so i don't expect much from him. Ang mas mahalaga: gusto ko sya, gustung-gusto.
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