The Pillow 6: The Way She Looked that Night

 They were sitting in an open, sidewalk cafe. The sun had set over the bay. The light banter had turned semi-serious, they barely noticed the song piped in from speakers hung on the rafters. It suddenly occurred to him that the song was on its third pass. The lyrics were becoming familiar. He knew the song well but not that particular rendition. It must've been from one of those revival artists.

It was their first date. They had talked about it while he was out of town. He knew her for quite some time but he never attempted to ask for her number let alone, ask her out. He knew it was unthinkable that she would consent to being alone with him. She was probably the last person on earth who would want him. But there they were—laughing, chatting about most everything, enjoying the cool September evening.

A lull in the conversation reminded him of the events that led them here...

They were at a party. He could not recall exactly where or what the occasion was. He was certain the journey started at a gasoline station where the rest of the guys had left them. Normally, someone else would take her home but the guy did not show up. He felt awkward being alone with her for the first time since they met a few months back.

“Let me take you home.” was really all he could say.

They hailed a cab. He sat right beside her, consciously putting some space between them. His eyes were forward but he caught her every once in a while with his peripheral vision. She had that weird way of glancing at him. He wasted no time getting her number, which he thought was something he should've done a long while back. They were soon fidgeting with their phones and storing each other's contact numbers.

It was really the first time they were left alone, isolated from prying eyes and ears. She was always cautious about how she handled him but in the confines of the cab they were in, she let everything hang out.

She was staring at the driver then she motioned for him to come closer. She whispered something in his ear:

“You and the driver must be related.”

--“How so?” he inquired.

“You're both bald!” she was quick to blurt out.

He broke out in a fit of laughter that shook up the cab a bit. It was the first time he had laughed so hard since that trip he took to Lemery, Batangas. That too, reminded him of another adventure from another time but he focused on the present.

And like all good things, the ride had to end. They were standing at her doorstep as the cab pulled out from the curb. She invited him in. He politely declined. There would be other opportunities, he thought. Indeed there were, and sooner than he expected. That would be the start of a very intense albeit brief affair that would haunt him in the years to come.