Change of Heart

Last week saw me depressed and Ruy managed to change that with his Valentine gift. I’m now happier…and more efficient. I was able to bug people into doing what I want effectively tonight. Thus, the DSL, phone and aircon are all working now! So back to the gift, what did Ruy do exactly?

January — “Hon, on Feb. 14…” this was how Ruy started his sentence and I was so excited “Oh my God, he’s planning in advance” was the thought which popped into my head, imagine my chagrin when the next words out of his mouth were “…punta tayo sa Storyland, birthday nang anak ni _____ and it’s on a Sunday….”. Can you imagine how frustrating that is?

February 1-7 — Some time around this period he told me that he and his batch mates at work are going to have dinner on the 13th. I was already thrilled with this. I like going out and I know most of the people we’ll be with so I figured it should be fun.

February 8 — I told my Aunt that we’re going to have a Valentine’s date and we’re going to Annabel’s. We kinda snickered at the location cause it seemed like the kind of place old people go to.

February 8 – 12 — Tried on different kinds of looks using all sorts of lipsticks and I shadows….that was how excited I was.

February 12 — Ruy told me he needed to go to an affair at work cause someone’s leaving the office. I said ok. I needed one more day to practice my look for tomorrow’s dinner.

February 13 — We got to the resto early and Ruy and I stayed in the car to talk. I was crying cause I was feeling bad about something and I was having such a hard time making sure my eyeliner and mascara stayed on. We fixed our issues and went in.

I was surprised when they led us to a small enclosed room, sort of like a function room.

Ruy and I decided to check out their buffet which was quite a walk from our room. We decided to try their buffet and the waiter offered to set up a table near the buffet for us. When I brought the idea up to Ruy and his colleague they were both not up for it and so I just shut up and figured that at least I’ll lose some calories while walking to the buffet.

We had appetizers and after appetizers the men mysteriously disappeared. The ladies started talking and one girl hinted that there’s a surprise coming. I was shocked. Really? Wasn’t the fact that they set up this dinner already more than enough? (Ruy said my expectations were painfully low) No one knew what it was exactly though but one lady said she was forbidden to check her boyfriend’s mobile phone last week. I was curious but I figured it’s probably just flowers. Boy was I wrong.

The men went back carrying several musical instruments. They were going to serenade their wives? The first guy even had an emotional prose for his partner. Wow. I was chiding the next singer about having a dedication for his wife then I realized that Ruy was probably going to sing to and I really wasn’t ready for public declarations of love (I’m shy that way) so I shut up after that.

Ruy sang. I was happy. The entire thing reminded me of our first Valentine’s. He was singing a solo in one of their concerts in Ateneo and I surprised him by showing up. Now, 9 years after, I’m watching him sing again. It was really sweet.

I was giddy with happiness. Having your partner sing for you while surrounded by food from a buffet is as close to perfect as life could get. So we all ate dessert and suddenly the men disappeared again. Stupid me thought “Oh they’re probably smoking…” only to realize that none of those men actually smoked! They all walked in carrying roses. Awwwww….

Apparently one of the guys was tasked with going to Dangwa the night before, buying the flowers and transporting it to the resto. It was then revealed that Ruy’s affair the night before was their main practice session for their “gig”, I can’t believe I had no clue that something was going on!!

What exactly did I love about this entire thing? Let me enumerate:

1. That there was preparation and planning involved.
2. That they were ready to show their feelings to their partners in front of others. There were no machos in that group.
3. That Ruy’s friends value that kind of thing.
4. THE FOOD. Wahahaha
5. The talk in the car before the entire thing.