ER – Chapter FOUR – An Unexpected Visit

A/N: Happy April Fool’s everyone! I hope you are still there to read. 🙂

Maya sat on her bed somehow disappointed, realizing it was just a dream of the past and is now confronted with the present by an unexpected guest. While she has already accepted the reality that she could not avoid Richard forever, she did not foresee that she will face him again this soon.

“Hello Doktora? Paakytin ko na lang po ba diyan ang bisita ninyo?” asked the condo receptionist.

“Ah…huwag na, pababa na rin kasi ako eh. Paki sabi na lang kay Dr. Lim paantay sandali sa lobby, salamat.”

Richard actually had a quick access to Maya’s files at the hospital and discovered among others, her age, birthday, contact number and where she’s staying. However, he was too eager to talk to Maya and mixed the numbers in his mind.

He recalled the rules set by Maya, to which he readily agreed to. Rule #1: No exchange of personal information.

“Marra, can we at least reveal our age?” Richard asked.

“No.” she firmly answered.

“Why?”

“That’s personal information.”

“Are you not curious how old I am?”

“No. You don’t look that old anyway.”

“But I need to know your age. You look young and –”

“Don’t worry. I’m old enough to get married without needing the consent or advice of my parents or guardians.”

“So you are at least 25.”

“I assure you, I’m at least 25. Satisfied?”

“Fine.” Richard answered but still hoping she would reveal her age.

“Uhm… am I your first girl who is much younger than you are?”

“Hmmm…maybe.”

“Talaga? May ten years ba ang age gap natin?”

“Aha! Now you’re curious!”

“Eh ang daya lang kasi. You now know that I’m at least 25.”

“Okay, age gap is at least ten years. Are you okay with that?”

“Ah-ok! Sabi naman nila age does not matter when you’re in a relationship eh.”

Richard wondered if Marra would have answered the same if she knew that he is actually almost twenty years older than her. But does age not really matter when two people are in love? Did she really love him? But did she not want to marry him? Why did she leave without saying goodbye?

More than the questions he wanted to ask and the answers he needed to hear, Richard’s purpose in seeing Maya is to apologize. He put Maya at a difficult situation at internship and he realized this too late.

Maya pressed the button and sighed. She’s not ready to talk to Richard about what happened. Nonetheless, she is brave enough to see him and apologize for leaving him in Baguio abruptly. She knew too, that she needed to give him some kind of assurance because they cannot freely talk now that she is an intern at the hospital where Richard is a consultant.

Richard patiently waited to see Maya. After all, it’s what he has been hoping for. He wants to be by her side and take care of her but considering their situation, he has to find ways on how not to make things hard for Maya.

As soon as the elevator door opened, Maya searched for Richard among the people at the lobby. She was relieved to see him at the corner sofa calmly waiting without any trace of anger in his face. As she walked towards him, she noticed how he looked mature in his short sleeved polo shirt and wondered how old he really is. Their eyes finally met. Richard stood up right away and started walking but Maya stopped as thoughts of their intimate moments filled her mind.

“Marra…” he said, and moved two steps forward to close the space between them but Maya stepped backwards.

“I’m sorry.” Again, he moved two steps forward and quickly hugged her. “I’m so sorry.”

“Rich– uhm… Dr. Lim…please… ”

Richard felt Maya’s apprehension and understood what she wanted to say. He released her immediately and led her to the empty sofa. Once settled, Richard apologized. “I’m sorry about what I did in front of your co-interns. I’m sorry for being angry and all.”

Maya squeezed her hands as she gathered words in her mind. “It’s my fault. Ako ang dapat mag apologize. I’m sorry for leaving without a word. After all you’ve–”

“Marra…” Richard held her arm to stop her from saying anything further. Despite wanting to hold her in his arms, Richard withdrew his hand right away and spoke. “I’m not here to talk about that. I’m sorry for coming here so soon but I just had to come and apologize for ruining your first internship day.”

Maya bowed down to hide her face as tears started to gather in her eyes. Richard took a deep breath and slowly lifted Maya’s face. “I’m really sorry.” He said again. She saw regret in his eyes and felt the pain in his words. So, she nodded at him and tears rolled down her cheeks. He rubbed the tears and brushed the strands of hair away from her face. He pulled out his hanky and handed it to her.

After gathering herself, Maya looked at Richard but before she could even say what’s in her mind, Richard said “I do not want to ruin you first duty tonight, so I will not delay you more. Let’s talk about us and what happened some other time, okay?” Maya just nodded again with a bit of a smile this time.

With the expression Maya gave, Richard continued. “We’ll have that talk at some other place, at the proper time…when you’re ready and when your schedule permits. Just let me know, I’ll wait.”

For the last time, Maya simply nodded at Richard to acknowledge what he said. Then, Richard stood and said “Good luck on your first round of duty. Do not forget to eat, no matter what.”

With that, Richard kissed Maya on the forehead and left. Without looking back, he walked to the door with a happy heart and a smile on his face.