“Mara!” someone called behind them. “Tito Pedring and I are leaving na, can we bring home these flowers?”
“Isn’t that bad luck?” Jay asked, raising a brow.
“That’s funerals, dummy.” Mara chuckled, using his shoulder as an anchor to help her stand before she turned to the wedding guest. She was clearly getting tired. But that didn’t stop her from smiling at the guests. “Yes, tita! I’ll walk you to the exit. But not the vase po, we still need those—”
“Ha? But they’re the best part!”
Jay grinned as she walked away, clandestinely keeping her beer bottle at his side as she smiled and nodded to the unfamiliar couple. This happened a couple of times that evening, even as the taco bar finally opened and more ice cream was served to guests taking a break from the partying. The line to the tacos was so long that most of the guests had gone home by the time Jay managed to get a hold of a plate.
Hello, my love. We reunite.
“Taco?” Jay asked as Mara waved goodbye to a younger family heading back to the parking lot. In particular the ring bearer, sleepily waving at them from his father’s shoulder as they walked away.
“Jay!” Mara said. The surprise that registered on her face would have stung, but Jay had a little beer in him, which probably dulled the sting a bit. “You’re still here.”
“I agreed to drive you home, remember?” he asked, and if she’d forgottenthat, he definitely would have been hurt. It was absolutely no burden for him to drive her back wherever. Not like anyone was waiting up for him to get back, and it was a Friday. “Where else would I be?”
“Your friends…?”
“Scott’s driving Mon to Starbucks Reserve. They’re meeting Ava and her cousin there,” Jay explained. It was nice of her to think of his friends like that. “Like I said earlier, I’m—”
“All yours. I remember.” Mara nodded, and it seemed like she came to some sort of conclusion in her head. “I’m sorry I’m making you wait. There’s a lot of stuff for egress. I just want to make sure it’s done well.”
“It’s no problem,” he said, squeezing her arm with his free hand. “I’m having fun. I met your mom! She’s hilarious. She was trying to guess whose friend I was, because she was convinced she’d met me before.”
“Oh my god,” Mara groaned. “That’s her thing, and she’s really bad at it. I’ll try to hurry it up. Sorry, Jay.”
“Mara,” he said, placing the tacos in her hand. “Eat tacos. I’ll be here whenever you’re ready, okay?”
He smiled to reassure her that everything was fine. And he really didn’t mind waiting around a little longer. But he couldn’t quite read the emotion brimming in Mara’s face as she took the tacos from him. He didn’t miss that her eyes were a little more shiny, her lips moving as if there were more things she should probably say. Instead she took the plate, picked up a taco and took a bite.
“Mmm,” she moaned. The sound made Jay’s throat feel a little thick suddenly. Was he coming down with something? “That’s really good.”
“I know,” he said, clearing his throat because it definitely was not his throat. Because he could very easily picture Mara wrapping her lips around something else entirely. “Go, go.”
“Thanks, Jay!” Mara said, ducking back into the ballroom. Jay was about to head back himself when he heard a low chuckle from the benches nearby.
“So you’re the famous Jay.” He couldn’t quite make out his features, but the impressive fit and embroidery on the piña cloth was unmistakable. The face slightly glowing from the screen of a sudoku puzzle was that of Martin Barretto, Mara’s dad, and the father of the bride.
Marina looked a lot like her father, now that he was looking closer. Except where Marina was smiley and approachable, her father radiated an intimidating aura, one that told everyone in his vicinity that he was the one in charge. Funny enough, Mara was more like her father in that way.
“My daughter wants to sue you.”
“Which daughter?” Martin narrowed his eyes at him. They both knew which daughter.
“For stealing her heart?” Jay squeaked, feeling his heart lodge in his throat. He’d just been thinking of this man’s eldest daughter eating not-a-taco. If Martin (TitoMartin?) was going to murder him then and there, he would not be entirely unjustified.
The older man laughed, and Jay could not tell if it was because he thought Jay was funny, or because he was about to make Jay’s life a miserable hell. It was very unclear which one it was.
“Which daughter talaga. How very brave,” was his conclusion, spoken as he peered at Jay over his reading glasses. “I’ll have to keep an eye on you.”
Earlier that evening, Martin delivered a speech about raising his daughters to work hard and how he expected David to be of the same standard. He also inadvertently quoted Lil Wayne in saying that “real Gs move in silence like lasagna,” as he claimed most husbands will have to. It was a good speech. Jay thought it was funny, and touching, and quite right for the man that raised the hellions that were Mara, Mabel and Marina Barretto.
“You’re exactly her type pa naman.”
“Pops!” Mara exclaimed, stepping back out from the ballroom, sans tacos. “I thought you were going to find Mom and head back to the hotel?”
“Well, your sister forgot to book transpo to take her and her lovely groom back, so we’re all carpooling.”
