I cannot even remember the first time I met Victor at work. He was one of the Team Leaders on the sales department while I was a brand officer at the marketing team. If I need information from somebody on field, I’d usually call him since I found him reliable and easy to contact. He’d sometimes approach me whenever his team encounters a problem with the brand I’m handling. I also call/grill him whenever there’s an issue with his area. Sometimes during coffee breaks-slash-yosi breaks I see him in the cafeteria and we’d talk about work. The usual. And though I’ve already noticed his attractiveness (Pogi pala si Kuya Victor pero ok.. wala lang..), it never occured to me thru the years of working with him that we’d ever have a “thing” in the future.
Officemates
After 2 1/2 years, I was offered a new job in another company so I resigned and rendered my 30 days notice. And while I was already on my last few weeks, I got invited to the birthday celebration of one of the Team Leaders at the Sales Department. I’ve already been invited multiple times by the sales team for different celebrations-slash-inumans but this was the first time that I would accept and attend one. Besides, I would be leaving the company soon so I told myself that I’d like to try and socialize with them knowing that even if I do something crazy or embarrassing while drunk, ok lang since I won’t be seeing them at work soon. So ayan, ready for walwal na ako. Game face on.
When I got to the party, Victor was the most attentive. He’d make sure that I was not out of place and would always engage me in conversations. He was a really nice guy and everybody seemed to respect him so much. The night went on and the piles of beer kept adding up. The celebration lasted until 3am and there were only a few people left drinking. I am a bit of a heavy drinker so that included me along with Victor and two other guys. For whatever crazy reason, probably because we’re already drunk, we decided to change venue and go to Victor’s place to drink some more beer. Ang lakas ng loob ko even if that’s only the first time na nakainuman ko sila. I guess, Victor is just one of those genuinely trustworthy guys that titas and lolas adore so much because of their charm and pleasantness.
Drunk conversations at 4am became more personal and we got to talk about our opinions on relationship. I told them that I don’t have much to say because at 25 years old, I still haven’t had any boyfriend. I lamented that I’ve dated a few guys but nothing really came out of it. There were late night conversations, movies and coffee dates but I didn’t know if everything was just in the context of friendship. I told them that it was one of my frustrations at that time, guys being vague and girls like me who are left wondering kung umaasa lang ba or may mga paasa lang talaga.
At this point in our topic, I noticed that the two other guys were already knocked out drunk so Victor and I were the only ones left in our discussion. He told me that he doesn’t believe I am an NBSB (No Boyfriend Since Birth) since I’m a very social person and I go out often. I was already prepared to launch into a full blown discussion mode on why I am still single and why I hate guys who are always unclear, vague and paasa when he suddenly asked me something that turned my world upside down.
And I guess it might probably be the alcohol talking but he suddenly asked me if I wanted to try getting into a relationship with him. What. Wait what? I was absolutely surprised. I never imagined myself being asked that question. Di ako prepared teh. So I took it as a joke. I kept repeating “Weh? Weh?” I clearly remember him repeating it a few times until he stated it clearly. He told me that he wants us to “try” having a relationship and see how everything goes from there.
Now hold up there fam, looking back, I know four major reasons that made me say yes to his crazy proposal. First, I was drunk. Second, I’m a 25 yr old NBSB. Pakiramdam ko nun napaglilipasan nako ng panahon. Yung mga grade 6 na bata nga samin may jowa na eh. Third, try lang naman. I told myself that it’s easy to get out of this relationship just as it was so simple to be in it. And fourth, it suddenly dawned on me that this handsome nice guy explicitly stated that he wants me to be his girlfriend. As in tinanong nya ako. Hindi sya nagpaligoy ligoy pa. He was clear about it. What is a girl to do but melt in puddles of kilig and say yes.
We then talked for a couple more hours to get to know each other. Now that we’re “boyfriends and girlfriends”, we opened up about more personal things like family and past relationships – or lack thereof. I found Victor to be very devoted to his family – to his mom, his brother and sisters and even his nephews and nieces. He told me about his ex-girlfriends, his childhood and his past jobs. When the sun came up, I reluctantly went home so that my parents wouldn’t catch me staying out so late. We bid farewell to each other and I slept in the bus ride all the way home not thinking about the conversation of the past few hours.
For the whole Sunday, I slept like a log and when I woke up in the evening, I remembered everything that happened that morning. I messaged one of my bestfriends telling her “Parang may boyfriend na ako pero hindi ko sure kasi lasing ako nun so balitaan kita bukas”. It all happened so fast so I told her that I’ll give her an update by Monday to see if Victor is serious and that he wasn’t just doing it for a prank or something.
Monday morning came and I braced myself for disappointment. Baka naman napagtripan lang. Who would want me. All my insecurities are already swirling in my head at that time. Siguro it was due to my unattractiveness and crass personality kaya I drive away guys. I will never be the girl that guys would fall for. Hindi ako yung tipo ng babae na dinedate, pang friend lang siguro. Baka naawa lang sakin si Victor that time.
But while I’m eating my breakfast, I received a text from Victor greeting me a good morning. OMG. Wow. Totoo na nga gurl! Whooo breathe in breathe out. And as I commute to work, that must’ve been the longest 10 minute tricycle ride I’ve ever had. And though we only saw each other briefly at work (pasimpleng tingin here and there, pasimpleng smile and nod) Victor and I texted each other the whole day. He even called me on the phone during coffee break, lunch break and merienda break. At that moment I was convinced that he is the real deal. And later that day, I texted one of my bestfriends to give her my committed status update “Confirmed. Kami na nga.”
We kept our relationship a secret until my last few days at the office in order to avoid any gossip. I felt like a highschooler at the time, stealing glances at each other and meeting at the cafeteria for coffee breaks. And at those times, I started seeing Victor in a new light. I never knew that he’s also corny, funny, makulit and talkative since I had the previous impression that he’s the serious type. May pagka-isip bata pala sya. Para kasi syang laging serious sa work. Hindi naman pala. Cute! He calls me in the morning before going to work (as in everyday), when he’s on field he calls me on all my break time, he even calls me on my way home and after I have my dinner until midnight. He calls me while he’s in the middle of an inuman with friends, even putting me on speakerphone so that I get to talk to his friends. He even sang to me whenever we have our hour long telebabad at night. Just like the whirlwind start of our relationship, I fell for him fast.
Watching the PBA game
On my last day at work, Victor posted a photo of us on Facebook, showing our relationship to everyone. I was floored. Haba ng hair ko! I found it endearing that he beat me in posting our first ‘official’ photo. It feels so good to know that he is proud to have me in his life. He was everything that I never knew I wanted and needed. We grew closer and we learned a lot about each other thru our weekly dates. He became my confidante, my drinking buddy, my phone pal and my loving boyfriend. I learned of his quirks and he saw my flaws. I told him my insecurities and he shared his. I never would have thought that after years of spending so much time and effort proactively looking for “the one” he was just right there! At our office! Akalain mo yun!
Baby Shower!
Today, our relationship is blessed with a precocious little 1 year old girl that never seems to run out of energy. And although we may have started our relationship on a whim, I know that it will still be the best decision I have ever made.
Mama, Dada and Baby Zyrille
Its The Hard-Knock Life 