The Torpe Road Conclusion

And here we are again, to end all that needs to be ended. It was fun while it lasted, despite my unpredictability to keep the story moving because of my failure to keep the gears on my brain working. I mean, sure, I could have just write all of it in 2-3 months, but it just wouldn’t be the same. Mawawala ang wit, ang humor and most especially, the passion (naks!) to tell the most wonderful story ever done since The Notebook by Nicholas Parks. Or maybe Hachiko: A Dog’s Story (kahit di ko pa napanuod yung either versions sa DVD.) Again, before we begin, I would like to extend my gratitude to all those who read, natawa and nakarelate sa mga sinulat ko. You made this Torpe guy happy. Mas matutuwa pa ko kung na-recommend nyo pa ito sa mga kakilala nyo. At kung sinabi na “ayoko, ang haba naman” you have my permission to maul him/her.

Now that is out of the way what I find interesting is I promised myself na isusulat ko lang yung mga experiences ko sa mga niligawan ko, at hindi sa mga girlfriend ko. Pero I felt like it just wouldn’t be right if I didn’t tell my story on them. And besides, I only had 2 girlfriends (I’m a late bloomer, really), so this will be short. I decided not to tell all since some are pretty intimate.Sa amin-amin na lang yung ibang detalye.

It was 2008. So there I was, being dumped again for the 8^th time by Singapore at work. I was so frustrated at the world that I just want to piss at it. No girl is giving a damn on me so I felt like I just want to concentrate on work, be with my friends and laugh at everything and just let a potential girl come to me. Ayoko na maghirap pa. Kung me magparamdam man o wala, okey lang sa akin, I’m having fun without a girlfriend. It seemed the most logical thing to do during that time.

Until I met this girl at our office. She will be named Cubao. Cubao is of average height, almost at 5’6, has long shiny black hair, a distinguishing mole at her upper lip and a morena. One attention-grabbing thing here is she works as a security guard in our office. Now before you all raise your eyebrows and say something demeaning like “pumatol ka sa guard?, Lola na ba yan???” or “bumaba na standards mo p’re” hear me out. For one, she is not your ordinary security guard. She was statuesque. In short, seksi nya. In fact, what attracted me

when I first saw her at the front of the glass door separating our production floor from the lobby is her hubog. She had curves on the right places.

She was new to the agency pero di ko sya napansin until mga few days ago. I remember when really I saw her I did a double take. Parang, “wow, guard ito???” What’s really amazing about me and men in particular is sasabihin mo na ayaw mo na umibig ulet, pero once na me nakita ka na natipuhan mo, gagaling agad ang puso mong nasaktan. Which is what happened to me. I would go in out of the doors more often and talk to her. I remember when she asked me what my name is I gave a fake one. I gave Armando, if I’m not mistaken.

Then one time after work it was still in the afternoon and I was already at home since malapit lang ako sa office I have decided out of the blue to get her number. I mustered enough courage and reviewed the tips given to me by my friends and when I stepped out of the elevator I saw her with a fellow male guard. She was playing with a rubber ball since mga ganung oras wala nang tao sa production floor at petix mode na lang. I asked for her number and she obliged. I texted her in the evening and dun na nagsimula lahat.

Sa mga sumusunod na araw me routine na ko: after work, tambay muna sa office para makipag-kwentuhan kay Cubao. Then after her shift nagte-text-an kami. I learned a lot about her dahil sa pag-tatambay ko. She finished College from Davao but one thing lead to another that’s why she took the job of a security guard, likes Hamonado and treats her hair with hot oil. What I also found out that surprised me is that we have a 7-year age gap. But honestly, it wasn’t a factor. Heck, di nga pansin sa itsura nya. We clicked and I felt na me tsansa ako sa kanya. I guess we have that feeling.

A month or two after that first meeting, I asked her the magic question during one time na hinatid ko sya pauwi. Kung tayo na ba. She said yes and I can’t remember what happened after but I feel like a million bucks. I was the happiest guy on the world during that time.

After 23 years of being single, I’m a boyfriend to someone.

News spread fast on the office. Some of my officemates gave me a “mental fist bump”, congratulating me on the effort that I did. She is a looker, after all. There is also the usual teasing, like “uuyyy, si [my name] binata na”, “makakapasok na si [my name] ng kahit ano sa loob ng production floor” and “pag-swipe ng scanner nya me kasama pang kiss”. But I didn’t mind. Kasama talaga yun pag me nalamang balita na me jowa ka.

Speaking of kiss, with Cubao it was the first time I had an “intimate” kiss. Torpe as I am, I was not a “dude with no kiss experience”. I had my first kiss with a gradeschool classmate. Then after that I had some run-ins with some “bars” but it wasn’t passionate. There was no emotion involved. With Cubao I got that. I remember during Highchool a classmate of mine said to me that kissing a girl is no different from kissing your own skin. He even demonstrated by kissing his hand. I guess he has his opinion (and besides, gwapo rin sya so I’m sure nakarami na yun ng babae) , but for me, iba pa rin eh.

We were able to go out and watch movies and shop around on malls, despite her tight schedule. I was even able to meet her older brother one time. What I like about her is regardless of the age gap, or the “November-December” affair, she can be easily amused. Natatawa sya agad sa mga jokes ko. And her maturity helps when we have arguments; we can never be mad with each other for more than a day. I guess you could say I found the girl I’ve been looking for, unconventional as it may seem.

But alas. Things started to get complicated for me to handle and kapal man ng mukha ko, I just don’t know what to do that time, I LET GO… As I’ve written on a blog post years ago “…accepted a terrible fate and moved on.” While I cannot expound much on what happened, let’s just say that I was placed in a situation where I had to make a choice and my decision made me break up with her. She got hurt and I was depressed during the next few days. I wasn’t able to move on properly so I still “became friends” with her in the strictest sense. Kinakamusta ko sya sa work, tine-text ko pa at kumain pa kame sa labas. I know it sounds pathetic, but I thought that I’d let her first find someone then stop pestering her.

This occurred for a couple of months but then something happened in a way where I saw how she can get angry that I decided not to talk or pansinin na sya. Maybe it’s just karma for what I did to her before or a method from the Heavens to stop me from dwelling on the past, but I had to toughen up and just throw my lovelife in disregard. I remember na pinatugtog ko yung kantang “The Last Time” by Eric Benet habang naghuhugas ako ng pinggan sa bahay. This time, I had enough. My only consolation is I was able to experience being a boyfriend and at least di ako mamatay na single since birth. Hey, some people are a lot Torpier than me.

And well, you know what happened after that if you’ve been following my “Road” series. Our team had a new agent, fresh from training. She will be named Fairview.

Fairview is of average height, almost at 5’4. She has long flowing black hair up to her upper arm, has a petite frame and a very distinguishing face. I only saw her when she was taking calls when I was just about to go my respective station. I thought that she’s an agent from another team who took up our space because there are no more available stations. I was introduced to her and several of my teammates by my Team Manager. When I saw her she looked cute and wanted to get to know her better. I was given that chance when my Team Manager made me sat next to her because she needed someone to help her with the concerns of the callers. What was really amusing about that time is I “broke the ice” with some corny jokes.

Me: May joke ako sa mayonnaise…

Fairview: Ano?

Me: Wag na, baka i-spread mo eh… Ito na lang, me joke ako sa dahon…

Fairview : Ano yun ?

Me: Wag na, green eh…

Really clichéd as it is, it helped me introduce myself to her despite the forced laugh from her. I learned from our talks between taking calls that this is her second job, likes 90’s Tagalog romance movies (Jolina-Marvin, Rico Yan-Claudine, John Lloyd-Bea etc.) and rates Sinigang na Baboy as her favorite food. Nagustuhan ko na sya nun since she’s very down-to-earth and very girly, something I look for in a girlfriend. The only problem is she has a boyfriend that is still working on her previous company. Pero sinabi nya na medyo nagkakalabuan na sila because of the “things men do”. I just thought that I should just be there for her when she really needs it, most especially those times. What’s really outstanding about my time with Fairview is that di ako humingi masyado ng payo sa mga kaibigan ko. Every joke, comfort and any manly thing I did to her, sariling kayod ko lang. You could say that my “teachers” (Bone Guy, Air Man 2 and Smooth Guy, see Part 7) taught me well.

I just waited patiently for the time when they would break up so I would seize the opportunity. That time did come and I presented myself in a different manner to her. We ate at some nearby restaurants after shift and I would accompany her to her ride home. It was that moment where my brain asked a question that has been bothering me ever since I found out that she’s single: “Pare, di ka ba mukhang rebound lang nyan?”

That’s when I asked some advice to my “teachers” and a few officemates and all of them gave me the same conclusion: “Wag mo na isipin yun masyado”, “Sa tingin mo papatulan nya lang yung unang nanligaw sa kanya after sya nakipag-break dun sa jowa nya???” “Di importante yun, pake nila???” I heeded their advice and I even asked her out to watch a movie and she said yes. It was that time at the mall that I got to know her better. I even presented to her my passion for collectibles in a toy store. She even learned my time with Cubao. What was really touching and showed that she also had interest in me is she bought me a toy that I’ve been looking at for some time during our date at the mall. I’ve been meaning to buy it but it’s a little expensive. That was very memorable and sweet.

A few days have gone by and eventually I became a little demanding and on the last few minutes of the shift I said to Fairview that our time together would be useless pag hindi pa naging tayo. She checked the clock on her telephone where she is taking calls and marked it as our official time as a couple. I was very, very proud of myself.

I saw in Fairview a very sweet woman, who makes little gestures that makes you feel loved. She also loves my jokes and my constant commentary sa lahat ng bagay na nakikita ko. While we do have our differences on music and movie choices, it was never an issue. And while we do have our ups and downs, they are not enough to bring our relationship to an end. We’ve been to places, celebrated birthdays, gone on countless dates, ate at a dozen restaurants, saw a lot of different kinds of movies, laughed together, met the potential in-laws, met each other’s friends, shared stories and so on and so forth.

I’d like to think that the UPs are what makes it worth it in a relationship, while the DOWNs are the ones that make us think if it really is worth it. So is she worth the journey that I’ve been through? Is she the diamond in the rough na matagal ko nang hinahanap? Is Fairview my “End of the Torpe Road?”

Ay pare, p*t*ng*na, oo…

In the strictest sense ,for now,

THE END.