It feels different.
I can't even remember the last time we went out to spend time together and with each other.
It's been years and the thought of us going out makes me cringe.
It was a weekday so we had to take our leaves from work.
At first, we had to go to separate offices to process some documents and decided to meet at SM Baguio after.
He said he was in the SM food court as he wanted to eat lomi.
I ordered a combo meal shawarma: one small shawarma rice with 1 small pita shawarma.
I was done eating the pita shawarma and was already consuming the rice shawarma when suddenly, he nonchalantly scooped from my shawarma bowl.
Oh those days. He never changed.
I remember when we first started dating, we would eat at McDonald's and he often finishes first then snack off my fries.
It always happens that way.
After eating, we went to Session Road.
It was Session in Bloom, part of the Panagbenga Festival.
There were tents setup in the whole stretch of Session Road
right after the float parade every last Sunday of February and would last weeklong.
They are offering variety of products: food, clothing, wares and a lot more.
He now regrets eating in the food court when he saw lots of food choices in the trade fair. We ordered one bowl of Pork Sisig Rice.
He was eating it while walking.
I ordered crablets and chicharon bulaklak that we can snack on later.
From Session Road, we went down to Harrison Road then crossed to Melvin Jones Grandstand.
While walking, I put my hands into his arms, just like before.
It was so familiar.
I was so used doing it that it came naturally.
I just shrugged off the awkwardness as we continued walking.
On the other side of the Melvin Jones grandstand are the entries to the Panagbenga 2024 landscaping contest.
Here's some of them:
Thereafter, we moved to Burnham Park, just adjacent to the grandstand.
There is also a market encounter in the park.
Alongside are the entries to the Panagbenga vertical garden contest.
We went from shop to shop and amused ourselves as we check the products they offer.
There are pasalubong shops as well.
We strolled along the park while telling stories and catching up on what we may have missed while enjoying the view.
It's been years since I've gone there.
Stroll along the park.
This picture features the walkways, the lake and the bird house. It's almost summer. The leaves of the trees are falling off.
When we got tired from walking, we ordered drinks from the market encounter and sat on one of the benches beside Burnham Lake
while telling stories, discussing goals and enjoying our snack.
As we watched the boats pass by,
I remember the only time we rode a Swan Boat was when we were still dating.
We were not already in good terms at that time and
I felt like we only rode the swan boat just to experience it.
No enjoyment, no excitement, no fun. It was all gray.
I guess we were just busy or
maybe we just wanted to move on in our lives without each other.
Before, I felt like I was so into him but he wants me out
or maybe he just didn't feel the same way anymore.
More than three years in a relationship
and it seemed like there was nowhere to go.
He wants to enjoy, I'm lowkey.
We were just so different. I was no longer a priority.
As they say, "wag kayong pupunta ng Baguio kung ayaw niyong mag-break."
Baguio is beautiful but is the curse true?
Fast forward to now, I see him beside me.
Smiling while munching on the crablets and the chicharon bulaklak we bought earlier,
tasting each others drinks to know which flavor is better
and watching the rowers on the lake,
while planning our itinerary when we will be taking our son out
to stroll and have fun in Burnham Park.
And I'm not imagining things.
For Yes, he is my ex-boyfriend, but my husband, my partner, now.
We now live together and we are building our own family.
I'm still not a priority. Neither is he.
For the past years, we never really went out for a "date"
because of the pandemic and later on, we had our son.
Since having a kid, it was really hard for us to have time for us, alone and together.
Our priority is our son, us together, as a family.
So after our short "date", we decided to go home.
I can almost imagine our son waving and smiling waiting for us to come home.
As I put my hands into his arms again,
it was never really awkward.
It may just be that feeling of not having gone out for a long time overwhelming me.
For those who need this, here's some advices:
馃搶Hi again. I'm Cate and this is a story of a day in my life.
Live, Love, Travel. Enjoy!
