The Best Version of You

Manila International Airport, 2:00 am. It's been two years since she
had last seen the Manila International Airport. Not much has changed.
Her last memory of this airport was when Miguel dropped her off. She
was on her way to New York to pursue a career in Wall Street.

"Promise me something will you? Please don't get married until I come
back?" She jokingly told him as she lifted up her backpack.

"LOL. Very funny. Ikaw ang mag-promise. Promise me you won't run off
with some nerdy economist in the next two years."

"Let's see, shall we. Bye, Miguel. I'll call you as soon I get to New 
York."

That was her last memory in this place. The warm Manila air made her
feel a bit restless and yet she feels excited. This is the first time
in two years she'll be seeing Miguel again. She was thoughtfully going
through the immigration counters, thinking of how much she missed
seeing Miguel. How different would he be now? Sure he sends her
regular weekly e-mails and pictures but being the busy person that she
had always been, she didn't get the time to chat with him and buy a
webcam.

She's finally out. "Where is Miguel?" She wondered. "Ah there!" she
exclaimed when she saw the silver gray Nissan Patrol parked near the
exit. TGW926. Yup, that's Miguel alright. Her heart was leaping ahead
of her as the driver got off.

"Hey! I missed you!" He said, as he hugged her.

"I missed you too. So much." She said, as she hugged him back. It was
warm. It felt good to be back. It felt great to feel his hug.

"Let me get those." He said pointing at her luggage. "Then we'll have
more time for hugging and chika."

"Okay."

Edsa, 4:30 am. Miguel's cellphone rings. Mama, the name flashes on the 
screen.

"You should really get that."

"No, you should get that. She's been waiting for you. She insist that
we go straight to her after I pick you up form the airport. She also
insist that you spend tomorrow with her." Miguel was talking about her
mother. Miguel was an only child and his mother wanted a daughter. She
would often tell Bea that since she doesn't have a mom anymore, she
should let Tita Doris be her second mom. She loved Bea as if she were
her own daughter.

"Hello? Yes, Tita. How are you nap po?... ah opo. Miguel already told
me. Sige po. Okay po. I'll see you later." She turns off the phone and
looks out the window. The phone rings again, this time the name
"Sugar" flashes on the screen. Hmmm, "Sugar." He was quick. He got a
hold of the phone and answered it. "Hello. Yeah. Pauwi na. I'm with
her na. Yeah. Tomorrow, I will. Promise. We'll see you tomorrow."

We? Is that supposed to mean me and him? See Sugar? Who is Sugar,
anyway? "Who was that?" she couldn't keep herself from asking. "Sugar
ha?"

"I'll introduce her tomorrow. Uwi muna tayo sa bahay. By the way,
kamusta na si Edward?" "Edward?"

"Oo, si Edward, naalala mo yung boyfriend na iniwan mo sa New York?
Anong klase ka ba naming girlfriend? Kaya hindi kita niligawan eh.
Baka makalimutan mo rin ako."

"Ah si Edward. Hayun. Nasa New York." Miguel has met Edward when he
came to New York to give Bea a surprise visit. He seems a nice guy.
Not the geeky economist Miguel pictured Bea would end up with. He is
actually a cool guy and loves Bea a lot.

"He called me up, a week ago, asking a lot of things about you. Parang
may balak ata..."

"Balak na?"

"Tell me, did he propose to you? He sounded like he was going to
propose to you kasi."

"Ah look, here we are at Tita Doris."

At Tita Doris', 4:45 am. A pleasantly plump woman enters the living
room. She was in her mid-fifties, a familiar warm smile and two open
arms. She welcomed Bea, gave her a big hug and kissed her on the
cheek. "Hay anak, kamusta ka na? Na-miss na kita. Pinakain ka ba nito
si Miguel?"

"Opo, Tita." She looked around. Not much has changed in this house.
She remembers spending her college days in this house. She remembers
sinking into Tita Doris' arms when her mom died. She remembers only
good things about this woman. She can't remember a time when she had
been unkind to her and yes, she loves her like her own mother.

"Iha, sabihan mo nga yang si Miguel. Sabihin mo 'wag padalos-dalos 
magdesisyon."

"Po?"

"Mama naman. Let Bea rest. I'll tell her everything tomorrow." Miguel
interrupted his mother before she can spill the beans.

"Ha? What was that all about?" Bea was curious.

"Bukas na lang."

"Okay. Tita, if it's okay I'll go rest now." She hugged her, and
proceeded to climb the stairs. Miguel followed her carrying her
luggage.

"Alam mo I missed this house. Uy sino ba si Sugar? Tsaka bakit parang
worried nanay mo sa iyo?"

"Bukas na. Sugar is having lunch here."

"Hmmm, intriguing, pero sige. Bukas na." They were both standing as
the door to the guest room. "Alam mo, it's really good to be back in
this house. I'll see you tomorrow."

Tita Doris' 10:00 am. She woke up, sunlight flooding her bedroom. She
was able to rest. She got up, arranged the bed sheets and took a nice,
cold shower. Minutes later, she was down at the garden having brunch
with Tita Doris.

"Hi! Tita. Where is Miguel?"

"Sinundo si Sugar."

"Sino ba yang Sugar na yan? Nai-intriga na ako."
"Iha, I'll let Miguel tell you who Sugar is. Promise me something,
though. Whatever happens you'll always be my daughter, Bea?"

She felt scared. Why was Tita Doris suddenly serious? "Opo naman."

"Anyway, iha. I heard from Miguel your boyfriend sounded like he was
going to propose a week ago. Did he propose?"

Bea looked at her hands, bare of any engagement ring. She looked at
Tita Doris and smiled. Before she could answer, Miguel showed up. With
him is a woman she had not seen before. She was of medium frame,
shoulder length hair and looked very feminine.

"Sugar, the sister I never had, Bea. Bea, Sugar, my fiancée`." It felt
as if somebody had thrown cold water on her. His what? Blood rushed to
her head. She blushed. Her cheeks felt very warm. She couldn't
swallow. Her heart beating a hundred beats per minute.

"Your what?" She looked at Miguel, blushing then suddenly white as
with shock. "I'm sorry, Sugar but this is quite a surprise. Miguel has
never mentioned you in any of his e-mails," she said as she looked at
Sugar with a confused look. She looked at Tita Doris, she looked back
as if she was consoling her.

"Yeah, I got engaged. I'm keeping my promise. I'm getting married on
Saturday. O di ba you're here so in essence I've kept my promise."

She managed to smile faintly. She hugged Miguel and congratulated him.
She even managed to tell Sugar "You got a catch here, girl. Take good
care of him or else I will snatch him under your nose." It sounded as
if she was just joking, turning over a very important possession to
it's next owner. In the deepest recesses of her person, she knew she
meant it.

"He told me a lot of nice things about you." Sugar said, smiling at
her as if they had been friends for the longest time.

"I'm sure he has."

Lunch was served. All of Bea's favorite Filipino dishes. She and Sugar
spent time chatting the afternoon away, looking at Bea's and Miguel's
college photos and yearbooks. She found out that Sugar likes most of
the things she does. They both came from the same high school. As she
tried to get to know Sugar better during their afternoon chat, she
realized that not only was she perfect for Miguel, she also seemed
like the best gal pal Bea could find. They talked about the wedding
details, the dress, the ring, the shoes, the tiara. They like almost
the same places, the same styles, the same shops. She told Sugar they
should do shopping marathon together. Had it been another day, she
would be telling herself that this is really a great opportunity to
find someone who understands her shopping needs. Except that this is
not one of those days... Except that this woman, this perfect,
feminine girlfriend was Miguel's fiancée`.

Bea's phone rings. The name Boyfriend flashes.

"You should really get that" Sugar told Bea.

"Yeah, I guess I should. Hello? Yes? I'm good. I'm here at Miguel's.
Oh I have in front of me Sugar, Miguel's fiancée`." The words almost
got stuck in her throat, but she still managed to give Sugar a smile.
"Listen, I'll call you later. I have very good news for you."

Miguel sat down beside Bea. Sugar was looking at them and asked "So
tell me? Was there never a time the two of you were more than
Platonic?" Bea and Miguel looked at each other then looked at their
own hands. Miguel's gaze turned to Sugar. He answered "Of course not.
Bea and I were never like that."

"As in?" Sugar inquired.

"LOL, oo naman. She was a handful. Too much to handle for me. I can't
keep up with her. She's never stands still." Miguel looked at Bea and
smiled, his eyes turning into slits as his dimples gloriously show.

"I guess that's the way for you. But not for Edward." Bea replied,
with a little hint of disappointment.

"Okay lang yun. Edward is tough enough." Miguel was still smiling.

"Wait, speaking of Edward. I need to call him."

Bea left the garden and went up to her room to call Edward. "Hello?
Edward. Here goes. Yes. The answer is Yes."

*********

The wedding went well. It was one of the most elegant weddings she had
seen. Sugar had everything covered and she was a very beautiful,
blushing bride.

"I, Miguel, take you, Sugar, as my friend and love, beside me and
apart from me, in laughter and in tears, in conflict and tranquility,
asking that you be no other than yourself, love what I know of you,
trusting what I do not know yet, in all the ways that life may find
us."

Bea felt a stab of pain hitting her heart. She slowly got up, walked
away from the spectators. Tears streaming down her flushed cheeks.

**********

Bea is once again on her way to the airport. Miguel is driving for
her, this time with a wedding ring on his left finger.

"Hay, here we go again. I'm driving you to the airport. Kailan na
naman kaya tao magkikita?"

"Ewan ko. Tell me something," her tone all too serious. "What was it
that you love about Sugar? How did you know she was the one?" Miguel
just smiled. "Dali na ano? Malay mo I need to decide in a couple of
days dib a?"

"You know what I love about her? The same things I loved about you
before. The only difference is that she's not as ambitious as you are.
When you left for New York two years ago, I knew I don't have a place
in the life you've chosen. I don't blame you for that. You're good in
your field and I thought to myself that it's your right to move on
without me. Moving away was a decision you made for yourself. I know
this sounds silly and you might nag me about it but I found the better
version of you in Sugar. She's so much like you in so many ways but
the only difference is she loves me more than you do."

She wanted to cry the tears she had kept as he witnessed him say his
vows, but kept her composure. She just chuckled a laugh. How could he
move on without her? Why was it easy for him and not for her? As she
got off the car, she gave Miguel one last hug. This time she felt her
heart heavy.

"I guess this is goodbye?" she told Miguel.

"Wait, I'm not letting you out until you answer question. Did Edward 
propose?"

Bea showed Miguel her left hand. In it was a one carat diamond
solitaire ring set in platinum. "Yes."

Miguel let out a sigh and congratulated her. As Miguel turned his gaze
from the steering wheel to Bea's face, he saw a single tear fall from
her right eye and then she said, "If it gives any consolation. Edward
was the best version of you that I can find in New York."

----------------
DoN't LEt gO tOo sOon bUt dON't HaNg On tOo lOnG 

when loving someone never regret what u did ...
only regret what u never did ..
its not a matter of finding the right person ...
but its a matter of being the right perosn 4 the one u choose to 
LOVE....