LOVE-NAT, isang makulit na lovestory!

The dining table was made out of wood na tulad dun sa pintuan sa entrance. It was long, pang twelve seaters ang haba. Yung setting ng mga kubyertos kala mo nasa hotel ka. Dala-dalawa ang spoon and fork, although magkakaiba ng sizes. Three to four maids entered the room, isa-isang naglalatag ng iba’t ibang putahe.

Miguel Josef Uy Monteverde never thought that he could be this terrified sa pagkain lang ng lunch. Sef made sure he’ll be sitting next to Ellie, who was grinning excitedly sa mga hinahaing pagkaen sa lamesa. Sef was uncomfortable with the way Ellie’s eyes glittered with excitement. He knew that look of hers, yung tipong wala siyang patatawaring pagkaen na nasa harap niya ngayon.

Oo, Ellie has a great love for food.... pero... this time... iba ang sitwasyon... si Aunt Yolly ang nagluto and that fact alone is deadly.

Yolanda Monteverde is a widow for a decade or so... kaya naman itinuon na lang niya ang lahat ng atensyon sa pag-luluto. She’s a self-proclaimed CHEF. But her infatuation with cooking is actually one-sided. Oo, mahal niya ang pagluluto but it doesn’t seem to love her back. Yolanda is a perfectionist as well. Kaya nga siguro walang pumapasa sa kanya na mga girls na pinapakilala ni Sef. Kahit si Lianne hindi pumasa sa standards ni Tita Yolly...

“She hates me.” Nasabi nun ni Lianne kay Sef when they were in his car, naka-park sa mismong hotel na pinag-stayan ni Lianne.

“Well, she hates everyone.” He said, comforting her. Sa mga oras na yun, they were in France, and birthday party nun ni Tita Yolly, and that was when Sef introduced Lianne to his aunt for the first time. But what Sef said wasn’t soothing enough for her, “C’mon, at least her nephew feels otherwise.”

Lianne gave a warm laugh. “By otherwise... you mean?” Ganun talaga kasi si Lianne, she always wanted Sef to tell her how much he loves her. Expressive kasi na tao si Lianne, she would say she misses you, she loves you without thinking twice... hindi kagaya ni Sef.

Sef was smiling at her but he has to look away. “You already know what it means.” He diverted. “I need to go. Aunt Yolly’s still waiting for me.”

“I won’t go down here unless you say it.” She said stubbornly as ever. And when Sef said the magic words, he gained himself a passionate kiss from her which actually continued all the way up to her hotel room, hanggang sa dun na siya nakatulog... and Aunt Yolly was totally forgotten.

Maybe that was why Yolanda doesn’t approve much of Lianne either. That incident made her loathed the young lady even more. She was the first of the many girls and women na natuwa when she heard that her nephew broke up with Lianne. Ayaw na ayaw kasi ng matanda kay Lianne, wala kasing ginawa ang dalaga kung hindi pagsabihan o turuan siya sa pagluluto niya, which by the way what she hated the most. Ayaw kasi niya talaga yung pinakikialaman siya sa style ng pagluluto niya.

Ee pano ba naman siyang hindi pagsasabihan ng dalaga... ee kahit nga si Sef minsan iniisip na merong prublema sa taste buds itong Auntie niya... baka WALA itong panlasa. Dahil lahat ng luto nito... iisa lang ang lasa... oo, kahit mapa-prito, mapa-sarsyado, mapa-spaghetti, mapa-adobo’t sinigang... wala ng ibang lasa kung hindi MAPAIT!! Parang wala sa bokabularyo ng Auntie ni Sef ang matamis, maalat, at maasim... parang... iisang lasa lang ang alam nito... MAPAIT!! Oo, pramis... lahat ng luto niya, walang exception to the rule...

Sef loves his aunt pero parang parusa lagi kapag magbobonding sila... because this is how they spend time together... isang buong araw na ipagluluto siya ni Aunt Yolly. Breakfast, lunch, dinner – may kasama pa syempreng merienda at midnight snack. It was one whole day of BITTERNESS.

Actually, minsan nga, nung ika-8th birthday ni Sef nun... pinag-bake siya ni Aunt Yolly ng cake... oo, cake na ubod ng pait. Akala nga ng mga tao, Ampalaya Cake yun. Walang nagawa ang guests, walang nakapag reklamo, walang nakaimik... dios mio, sino ba naman ang papalag sa isang Yolanda Monteverde?? No one has the guts to tell her how badly she can cook except nga lang kay Lianne, who has a natural talent for cooking. Hindi natiis ng dalaga na mag-comment.

Eleonor Malicsi Dimaculangan was completely clueless as to what awaits her. Ni hindi nga pinuprublema ng dalaga ang Tita Yolly ni Sef... mas problema niya ang nagwawala niyang tiyan. Baka hindi alam ni Sef, masama na nagugutom ang isang Dimaculangan lalo na at wala pa siyang kinakain sa kakahintay kanina sa Starbucks.

Kung si Ellie, titig na titig sa mga pagkain, si Yolanda naman ee sakanya lang naka tingin as though bawat galaw, bawat expression ni Ellie merong grade. Minus 10 sa bawat pikit ng mata ng dalaga. Minus 20 sa bawat pag-hinga. Lahat talaga minus!!

Ngayon lang ata ninerbyos ng ganito si Sef and he wanted to grab Ellie by the arm to stop her, to warn her as she served herself a mouthful of salmon... masarap lang tignan ang mga luto ni Tita Yolly, but do not be fooled, dahil parang lason ang lasa nito.

Parang slow motion na pinanunuod ng mag-tita ang pag-subo ni Ellie nung salmon... dahan-dahan... heart-stopping... Lumalaki ang mata ni Sef habang papalapit na papalapit ang kutsara sa labi ni Ellie...

TUG –TUG – TUG –TUG.

Oops. Walang kukurap!!

Even Yolanda was anticipating as to how the young lady would react. Dalawang bagay lang naman ang pwedeng gawin ni Ellie ee. It was either she would fake a smile, and pretend na nasasarapan siya tulad ng iba or she would do exactly what Lianne did, ang sabihing mapait ito and would blab on how to cook well.

But to Sef and Yolanda’s surprise... Eleonor Malicsi Dimaculangan did neither of what they’ve been expecting.

Walang imik si Ellie, ni wala nga itong sinabi the moment na natikman niya yung salmon... she just simply chewed in silence... tapos bigla na itong kumuha ng mas marami, tinikman din nito yung ibang sinerved na food na siyang niluto lahat ni Tita Yolly... malumanay lang siya, kala mo siya si Maria Clarang ubod ng hinhin... pero ang totoo... gusto na niyang lantakan yung pagkain... dios ko, sa GUTOM na taglay niya ngayon?? Kahit nga ata itik, palaka o buhay na manok hindi niya aatrasan.

Unbelievable. Gustong matawa ni Sef but he was too surprised to see his Aunt’s face. Nawala ang seryoso’t nakakatakot na facial expression nito, and it was replaced by a look of utter disbelief. Nanlalaki ang mga mata nito na kala mo isang multo si Ellie na kumakain sa harap niya. Parang gustong sabihin ni Sef,[color="#0000FF"] Wait lang Tita. Ganyan ka lang... kukuha lang ako ng camera.

Halos naubos na nga ni Ellie yung lutong salmon ni Yolanda. Mejo nakaramdam na ng pagka-busog ang dalaga kaya nagkaroon na ulit ito ng pakialam sa mundo. She realized na parang siya lang pala itong kumakain. “Ano ka ba Sef?” She hissed at him, nudging him in the arm. “Kumain ka din kaya jan.”

“Huh?” Sef came out from his reverie at nakita na lang niya si Ellie na nilalagyan siya ng pagkain sa plato niya. Sef was suddenly alarmed. “Sandali Ellie!!”

“Mahiya ka nga sa Tita mo!” She exclaimed at him in a low voice. “Kaw tlaga, di ka nakaka-appreciate ng masasarap na pagkain!” Ellie added sa isip niya, “Nasanay ka naman ng ipinagluluto kita. Hahahaha.”

Sef nervously glanced at his aunt, who was looking at him with one brow raised. Napalunok si Sef, hindi niya alam kung papano siya kakain.

Kahit kelan talaga itong si Ellie... pahamak!!

---

“May asin ba dila mo?” Sef asked, habang naglalakad sila ni Ellie sa napaka lawak na hacienda ng tita niya. Kakatapos lang nila halos kumain ng lunch. First time lang na tahimik si Aunt Yolly. Wala itong nasabing sarcastic na mga panlalait. In fact, they didn’t hear a word from her. Tahimik lang itong pumanik sa silid niya matapos kumain.

“Huh?” Ellie frowned at the handsome young man walking beside her. “Bakit? Kasi kahit mapait naubos ko pa din ang luto ng tita mo?”

“I almost thought you weren’t aware of the taste.”Sef chuckled.

“Ano ka ba? Pagkain pa din yun!! Atchaka, alam mo namang bawal ---“

“Yeah, I get it. I get it. Bawal ang nagtitira ng pagkain.” He laughed. “But I have to say, ibang klase talaga yang tiyan mo.”

Ellie turned to face him, gave him a childish smile and took a bow. “Thank you. I’ll take that as a compliment. Haha.”

Then a minute or so, bigla silang may natanaw na napaka gandang aso na tumatakbo papalapit sa kanila. Ellie grinned excitedly at the sight of it. “Wow.” She gasped and was amazed even more when she saw it up-close. It greeted Sef with a jump. “Ohoho, look whose here.”Sef said, returning the hug. “Miss me, boy? Did you miss me?”

It barked na kala mo taong nakakaintindi.

Nakatayo lang si Ellie dun, smiling fondly at it. Akita ang breeding nung aso. Ellie was familiar with it, kasi kamuka nito yung napanuod niyang dog movie na Hachiko. “Anong pangalan?”

“Chow.” Yeah, Chow... as in parang Chow sa Chow King. Gigil na hinahaplos ni Sef yung aso. “Go greet her, boy!”

Tumahol ulit ito, only this time it was barking at Ellie then it went around her, sniffing her scent. Maya-maya pa ee si Ellie na ang kalaro nito. Tawa ng tawa si Ellie habang kinikiliti si Chow. “Ah, gusto mong kinikiliti ka aa? Ano? Ano?” She was saying na parang baby lang si Chow. Actually, nagawan na agad ni Ellie ito ng mga palayaw, una Chow-Chow, mas cute daw pakinggan pag doble. Haha. Tapos hanggang sa naging Chowy.

Sef found himself standing under the shade of a tree habang nakikipaglaro si Ellie kay Chow-Chow. Kanina kasi sobrang kabado siya sa Tita Yolly niya that he failed to notice how different Ellie looked today.

Ngayong hindi na na-tetense si Sef, napansin nya for the first time yung buhok ni Ellie, which seemed twice messier than usual though it looked great on her. Mas malakas tuloy yung dating. She was wearing make-up. Mas na-emphasize kasi ang mata ng dalaga. Her dress fits perfectly at her, showing every contour of her body. Tapos, napansin din ni Sef yung... exposed na likuran ni Ellie... na mas matagal niyang tinitigan!! Haha. He found it very tempting to run his hand on her back... At higit sa lahat... Sef was actually staring at Ellie’s lips... yeah, as in STARING talaga... He smiled, despite of himself... Wag lang siyang bigyan ng chance... he wouldn’t hesitate on kissing her.

Sa totoo lang, about Tita Yolly... pang Guiness ang ginawa ni Ellie na yun kanina. Wala na sigurong makaka-beat ng record na yun. Biruin niyong, she managed to finish the bowl of salmon na ubod ng pait? This girl just never ceased to amaze me.

---

Darren Max Sanchez was doing some mechanic work with his car sa garahe nila. Puno na nga siya ng grasa sa kamay at pisngi. Antagal kasi niyang hindi nagamit itong kotse niya. Since nagpapasundo kasi si Sara sa airport, naisip ni Darren na i-check up muna condition ng makina nito.

Malaki kasi impluwesya sakanya ni Ellie. Oo, naku si Eleonor!! Alam naman nating lahat na only child lang si Darren, meron naman silang kaya so he could ask anything para masunod ang lahat ng layaw niya. But due to the strong influence of Ellie... na saksakan ng kuripot at sobrang magpahalaga sa pera, Darren never thought about using his own car for school. Atchaka, mas gusto niyang kasabay ang dalaga sa pagsakay ng jeep.

Speaking of Ellie... bigla tuloy naalala ni Darren ang loka-lokang kaibigan... He grabbed his phone in his pocket and was about to give Ellie a call ng biglang kusang nag-ring ito with an unknown number flashing on the screen.

Baka si Sara.

“Hello.” An unfamiliar voice said. Tono ng babae, but it’s definitely not Sara. “Hello...” The stranger repeated when Max wasn’t responding. May pagka masungit kasi itong si Max kaya he was thinking about dropping the call if the voice didn’t continue with, “This is Max, right? Darren Max Sanchez?” Napakunot ng noo si Max, sinusubukan niyang kilalanin yung boses. But as much as he tried to recall... wala talaga siyang kilalang ganito ang boses.

“Sino toh?” Tanong agad ni Max.

There was a loud laughter in the other end. “You don’t remember me?” The voice seemed thrilled with excitement.

“Sino nga toh?” He repeated in a much heated tone. Wala siyang patience makipag-guessing game. Baka mamaya this is just one of Borge's or Japo's pranks.

But then...

“Hoy, it’s me!! Pepita! Don’t tell me you don’t remember me anymore? Haha.”

It wasn't a prank. It wasn't even close to a prank.

Pepita. Parang umecho yung pangalan sa tenga ni Max.

Pepita.

To be continued.