Beloved (4 page)

             
They woke up the next day with the sunlight entering through the window of their hotel room. They took a bath together for the second time and went downstairs for their breakfast. They ate a complete power breakfast of ham, eggs, rice, slices of pineapple, papaya, mangoes and coffee. They needed a lot of energy to power up for the day's activities. They explored the beach the entire morning. Sunbathing in the white sand and swimming in the clear blue sea. They took a lot of nice pictures of themselves while on the beach.

              By noontime they had lunch. Lunch was delicious Paella and Paella Negra - a dish of yellow sticky rice with bits of pork, chicken, liver, green peas, red and green bell peppers and sticky black rice with squid ink and bits of squid. They had fruit punch for their drink. After that they went back to the hotel to take a bath. After both of them finished taking a bath, each of them has their own agenda - Jacob needs to see his college friend who owns a bar in the island while Violet needs to go shopping for souvenirs of their trip in Boracay Island. So, they said their goodbyes and agreed to meet up for dinner in the bar that is owned by his friend and went their separate ways.

              Victoria went to the shops and bought souvenir shirts for her Mom and Dad. She also bought bracelets for her and Jacob and some swimwear for herself.

              Jacob, on the other hand, went to a bar called Miguelitos, which is owned by his college friend named Miguel. As he went inside the bar, he saw that Miguel was already waiting there for him.

              "Hi Miguel. Wow, it has been quite a long time since we have last seen each other. I missed you, man", said he to his friend while hugging him. The hug lasted for as long as thirty seconds showing that they really missed each other.

              "Me too man. So, what have you been up to lately? All I know is that you are working as a photographer for a fashion/retail company but how about your personal life? If you are not dating anybody, I would like to set you up with somebody. What can I say, I really believe in second chances, man", said Miguel.

              Just as he was done talking, somebody came out from the shadows and was on her way to joining them at their table. He suddenly froze, as if he doesn't know what to say and what to do anymore. It's none other than his first love, the one who broke his heart. It's none other than Victoria Arnaiz, his first love and she is looking lovelier than before. She looks more mature and sophisticated now.

              "What are you doing here? I didn't know that I've been set up", said he looking back and forth from Victoria to Miguel and back to Victoria again.

              "Well, well, well, nothing is impossible by the use of technology nowadays. He posted on his facebook page that you are going to visit him in his bar here in Boracay, so I decided to send him a message and coordinate with him regarding your trip and the time of your visit", she told him.

              "Well, it seems like you are interested in me again Victoria. The nerve of you, you have the guts to show up like this after all that you did to me. Well, let me tell you that I am not a toy that you play around with when you are bored. You leave it when you are done and you play with your other boy toys and then after a while you go back to play with that particular toy again", said he hating her too much for leaving him.

              "I'm here to ask for your forgiveness and I'm asking for a second chance. What can I say except that I'm only human and capable of making mistakes, which I really regret. I'm sorry Jacob, please forgive me", said she crying over his shoulders.

              "If you can do it once, then you can do it again. I'm sorry Victoria, but I don't want to look stupid and I don't want to play with your foolish games", said he.

              "It wasn't a game Jacob, it was a mistake! Don't you get it? A mistake!", said she seething with anger.

              "Well, maybe you don't know, but I already have a serious girlfriend and she is much better than you because she is worthy of my trust! I can love you again, but the problem is I could never ever trust you again, Victoria. Trust is just as important as love", said he.

              "I'm giving you the chance to make your first love last for forever Jacob and it's up to you if you're going to throw that chance away", said she.

              "Throw that chance away? Well, it was you who didn't think that our love was worth keeping in the first place!", said he.

              They were fighting when all of a sudden Violet arrived.

              "I didn't know that you will be here so early Violet. By the way, since you are here, I would like you to meet my ex-girlfriend Victoria Arnaiz. It's a long story, but don't worry if you can just let me explain please", said he.

              "Well, I guess I don't have any other choice, do I?", said she.

              "My friend Miguel posted on his facebook page that I was coming over to visit him in his bar here in Boracay and Victoria who is our mutual friend on facebook saw what he posted, so without my knowledge she coordinated with him regarding the schedule of my trip here and my visit. It's not that I two-timed you or anything", said he.

              "Okay, I believe you Jacob", said she.

              "Think about what I said Jacob darling", Victoria said to Jacob sweetly after blowing him a flying kiss.

              "Hey woman. How dare you disrespect me while acting like I'm not here. I am his girlfriend now and you should respect that", said she.

              "Well, I would like to tell you that he was madly in love with me. I was the one who left him, a decision that I deeply regret. He should be happy that I came back to his life" said Victoria.

              "Well, take note that you are speaking in the past tense. That was before he even met me", Violet said. Out of anger, she lost her self-control and she went to pull Victoria's hair.

              "Hey! What are you doing? Stop. Stop. Please!",said Victoria.

              "You got that one coming and you totally deserve it!",said Violet to Victoria.

              All of a sudden, Victoria slapped her in the face and she slapped her back.

              "How dare you do that to me. You bitch!",said she to Victoria.

              "Girls, I want you to stop this scene or else my friend Miguel here would be forced to throw you out of his bar. You are attracting a lot of people already. Aren't you ashamed?",said he to both girls.

              "It was all her fault. She disrespected me, that's why", said Violet.

              "Yes, I know but you have to control your behavior", said he to Violet.

              Victoria went out of the restaurant without a word and didn't even apologize to Miguel.

              "I am sorry Miguel. I guess we will go back to our hotel to rest for now. We will just go back here later at about eight o'clock tonight", said she to Miguel.

              " Yeah. I'm sorry for what happened, man. We'll all see each other later tonight", said he.

              They both went back to their room at the hotel and lied down the bed.

              "Oh my God, the whole thing was just a nightmare to me", said she.

              "I'm sorry Violet. I swear I didn't know about the whole thing with Victoria. She thinks that she can leave me and go back to me just like that", said he to her.

              "Do you still have feelings for her Jacob?", she asked him.              

              "What's the point of hurting yourself, Violet? Even if I still have feelings for her, I would never leave you and get back with her. I know that you are a good and trustworthy person and you don't deserve to be treated badly. I could never leave you, Violet", said he kissing her.

              "Even for your first love?" asked she.

              " Yes, even for my first love", said he while hugging and kissing her.

              "You don't know how happy and relieved I am to hear that", said she and then she kissed and hugged him back.

              They rested for a while and then they freshened up and dressed up for their night at Miguelito's resto-bar.

              They went to Miguelito's and then they were joined at the table by Miguel, the owner of the bar.

              "Hi guys! I'm so glad that you both are back here with us. So, what do you both want for dinner? This dinner will be my treat for both of you. Here is our menu", said he handing them over the menu.

              "Well, thank you. What's your specialty? What can you recommend?", asked Violet.

              "Well, I would have to say that I will recommend the Grilled Scallops and Prawn Thermidore and our very special Mixed Veggies with Coconut Milk Sauce", said he.

              "Okay, then we'll have that", said Jacob.

              "How about Pistachio Ice Cream for dessert", Miguel offered.

              "Oh my goodness! That's my all-time favorite ice cream flavor", said Violet.

              "Me too. I guess it's everybody's all-time favorite", said Jacob.

              "Yeah, I guess so too. That's why I always ask my staff here at the resto-bar to make sure that Pistachio Ice Cream is available at all times and as much as possible", said Miguel.

              After a few minutes, their orders arrived. The scallops were so yummy. It has butter, cheese, garlic chips, and olive oil grilled to perfection. The Prawn Thermidore and Mixed Veggies also tasted great. The Pistachio Ice Cream is excellent too.

              "Wow, the food is really good here in your resto-bar Miguel. Thank you so much for the treat and again I'm so sorry for what happened early this afternoon", said Violet.

              "Yes, thank you so much Miguel and we both apologize for what happened a while ago", said Jacob.

              "It's okay. I know that you didn't do it intentionally. I'm sorry too, because I didn't know that Jacob already has a girlfriend. I hope both of you can come back here again in Boracay some other time. I'm happy that both of you liked the food here at Miguelito's. Wait guys, don't say thank you yet because your day will not be complete without drinking beer and cocktails and doing the sing-a-long session" said Miguel.

              In a while, beer and cocktail drinks were being served at their table and they got to choose songs which will be played on the television with the lyrics displayed on the screen. Of course, Jacob has a great voice; he is the lead singer of his band named Love Addict. All three of them get to choose and sing a couple of songs and then they said their goodbyes and went back to their room in the hotel. They made love and later fell asleep in each other's arms.

             
They woke up the next day and had breakfast of French toast, mixed fruit and coffee. After that they both went shopping for souvenirs to take home. Jacob bought shirts for both of them. They also bought key chains and coin purse for their family, friends and co-workers back home. After that they went back to the hotel to change into their bikini and swim trunks and went for their one last swim in the beach.

              They had lunch at a local restaurant. They ordered Seafood Platter, Cucumber Shake for Violet and Watermelon Shake for Jacob. For dessert, they ate Custard Cake. After lunch, they went back to the beach to continue swimming and boating. They enjoyed and had so much fun during their short stay here in Boracay.

              After swimming, they went back to their room in the hotel. They took a bath and started packing their things because they have to leave early the next morning. After they are done packing all their things, they went downstairs for their dinner. They ate Chicken Barbeque and had Mango Refrigerator Cake for dessert. Then they went back upstairs and fell asleep again in each other's arms.

              The next day they woke up when their alarm clock sounded and took a bath, dressed up and left the island. They arrived in Manila safely.

              "Thank you so much Jacob for inviting me and taking me to Boracay with you. I really enjoyed the whole trip", said she.

              "You're welcome Violet. I should be the one thanking you for coming with me. The trip won't surely be that great without you with me. We'll just keep in touch with each other then, okay?", said Jacob.

              "Sure", said she while kissing him goodbye.

              "Bye Violet", said Jacob.

              "Bye Jacob", said Violet.

              They went their separate ways. When Jacob arrived at his house, he first feed Furball and gave him water to drink and then he went to wash his soiled clothes. He drank a glass of milk and went straight to bed without eating dinner.  He thought about Victoria. How could she come back into his life now that he has already moved on and has a relationship with Violet? Even if he still has feelings for her, he would never exchange Violet for her. Violet is just the last person that he would want to hurt. Events just came flashing back to his mind while he was still young and studying in college, while he was still with Victoria.

              "Well, only time and chance will tell where I'm going to be after I graduate. I wish to that we're still going to be together until the end of time. I do hope and pray that nothing could come between us", said he kissing her softly on the lips.

              "Yes, me too. I hope you and I would be together forever", said she sweetly to him.

              He believed in everything that she said and until now he could not fathom as to why she was able to leave him all alone. She probably got bored with him or maybe she couldn't wait for him to find work and then marry her. Maybe that's why she went off with that rich bastard. How could she come back now that she's in love with someone else? Well, maybe things just happen for a reason and they could never be explained. Maybe he and his first love are just not meant to be together. Since he couldn't sleep, he went to his desk and wrote a letter to Victoria.

A Letter To My First Love

              You were the one that I loved but I guess you didn't love me as much as I have loved you because you left me and went with someone else. You broke my heart and you were my biggest heart breaker. There were times when I couldn't eat or sleep just thinking about how you were able to do what you did. I was so lonely and alone and then I met Violet. She made me happy again and now I am in love again but you came back saying what you did was a mistake. Well, I'm sorry, but I couldn't bring myself to leave Violet for you. If you wanted to stay with me forever, you shouldn't have left me in the first place. If your love was true, aren't you supposed to be scared of losing me? Well, it brings me to the conclusion that you just didn't value what we have shared and that is why you were able to leave me in the first place. And because of that, I decided that I will be staying with Violet. She is the woman who helped me up when I was down, who made me happy when I was depressed. I was like a broken toy that has been fixed. I could never bring myself to leave her even if that means giving you a second chance. I guess this is my way of saying goodbye to you forever. Please accept that and move on and please don't bother me anymore.

              He turned on his computer and typed the letter in his email and sent it to Victoria's email address. There, he did it and now he could finally fall asleep.