| Fan Fiction |
by kglove
Randy Anderson nodded. “For the nth time, RJ, yes, I am going to fine. Your Tita is here and she’s going to take care of me. Go home and get some rest. I was told you never left the hospital while I was unconscious and I really appreciate all of that, son. But now I want you to go home. Take your brother and Kim with you.”
“Alright, we’ll be back here tomorrow.”
“No, take all the time that you need. Why don’t you show Kim around? I'm sure she’ll love it here.” He turned to Kim. “Until when are you going to be here, Kim?”
“Well, I have two more days left Tito. I only asked for one week vacation from work.” Kim replied.
“Heard that, RJ? I'm sure you don’t want Kim to spend her remaining days off from work in the hospital, do you?”
“Alright, alright, I get the point, dad. But we’ll drop by tomorrow morning.” Gerald stood up and kissed his dad.
“Tito, I'm really happy that you’re okay. And thank you for letting me stay in your house.” Kim hugged Mr. Anderson.
“Anytime, Kim. RJ, drive safely, okay?”
***
“RJ, you guys go ahead. Kim, you have a car, right?”
“Hey, Ken! Where are you going?”
“I just have to drop by my friend’s house and I’ll be home soon.” Ken walked towards his car and drove off.
“So Kim, do you want to grab a bite to eat first before going home or are you too tired?”
Kim shrugged. “No, it’s okay. I'm hungry anyway. You can start showing me around like your dad wants you to.” Kim smiled.
“Okay. Now, I know it’s your car but will you let me drive, please?”
Kim handed him the keys. “Absolutely.”
***
Kim and Gerald went home a little after midnight. They ate dinner in one of the famous restaurants in the area and had coffee afterwards. When they arrived home, Gerald walked Kim to her room and helped her settle in.
“Do you need anything else?” Gerald asked Kim.
“I'm all set.” Kim replied. “And thanks, I had fun tonight.”
“I'm glad. See you in the morning then. In case you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me. I'm just two doors down at Ken’s room.”
“Noted. Good night.”
Before Gerald could close the door, they saw Ken walking towards them.
“RJ, we have a problem.” Gerald and Kim looked at him curiously. “Well, mom arrived earlier and she’s with a couple of friends.”
“Where are they?”
“They’re already sleeping. They were at the hospital and you know how dad is. He offered his house instead of letting them stay at a hotel or something. They are now occupying the vacant rooms. My friends are also sleeping over tonight so there’s no more available room for us. Well, I can still sleep in my room but what about you?”
“Don’t worry; I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“Uh, Gerald, you can stay here.” Kim offered. “I mean, this is your room. And the bed is big enough for the two of us anyway.”
Ken looked at Kim unexpectedly. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, of course. I wouldn’t feel comfortable knowing that Gerald is sleeping on the couch while I lay here all by myself in his very big bed.”
“Kim, I uh…” Gerald hesitated.
“Gerald, if you don’t sleep here I will go find myself a nice hotel room.” Kim warned.
Ken and Gerald exchanged looks. “It’s your choice, RJ.” Ken said.
“Okay, you win.” Gerald stepped back inside the room.
Ken waved at them. “Have a good night.”
***
Gerald was woken up by Kim’s tossing and turning on the bed.
“Kim? Are you okay?”
“Sorry, did I wake you?” Kim sat up. “I can’t sleep.”
Gerald had a worried look on his face. “Why? Do you want me to adjust the A/C?”
Kim shook her head. “No, it’s not that. I don’t know, maybe I'm just new to this place. Go back to sleep, I’ll be fine.” She assured him.
“I have an idea. Come with me.” Gerald got out of the bed and grabbed Kim’s hand.
“Where are we going?”
He led Kim into their kitchen and took a bottle of milk from the fridge and poured it to two glasses. He handed the other glass to Kim who was quite hesitant at first.
“It will help. We had coffee earlier, remember? That’s probably why you can’t sleep. Cheers” Gerald drank his glass of milk in one gulp.
Kim chuckled. “Thank you.” Kim raised her glass and drank slowly. “So, when are you planning to go back to work?”
“I just want to make sure that dad is going to be okay before I leave. Though he will not let me stay, that’s for sure. So I don’t know.”
“You worry too much, Ge. Your dad is strong; I can see that he is recovering pretty fast. I'm sure in a few days he will get the go signal from his doctors to go home.”
“I'm looking forward to that day. But for now, I'm staying here. Although I am hoping that he’ll be discharged within two days. I hate to see you leave for Manila alone once your vacation is over.”
“Ge, I came here all by myself, didn’t I? I can take care of myself, that’s what I always tell you.”
He held her hands. “I know that, but I want to. When we broke up, I realized that one of the things that make me happy is being able to take care of you. Now that I was given a chance to do it again, I'm never going to throw that away anymore. Not if I can help it.”
“I really appreciate you for that but for now I want you to prioritize your family. Whatever it is that we have right now, we’ll deal with this once everything is settled. I don’t want to rush because we still have a lot of things that we need to talk about before getting into another relationship. We failed the last time because we let our issues get the best of us. Now I think it would be best if we take it one day at a time so that if we decide to get back together officially, our foundation is stronger than ever.”
Gerald took a deep breath and nodded. “I'm not going to complain because it was my fault in the first place why we broke up.”
Kim stroke Gerald’s hand. “Will you stop blaming yourself for whatever happened in the past? We both made mistakes that led to our break up and we need to move on and forgive each other for that. I know I have forgiven you.”
“I don’t have to forgive you because I never blamed you for anything.”
“I need you to promise that you will stop bringing up the past and let’s move forward from now on. Actually, we both need to promise to put it behind us. It’s the only way that we can start all over again.” She offered her hand and waited for him to take it.
“Deal.” They shook hands to seal their promise.
***
Kim woke up before Gerald. She took a shower then went out of the room.
“Good morning, Kim! Come, have breakfast with us.”
She walked over to where Gerald’s mom and her friends were eating. “Good morning.”
“Kim, these are my and your Tito Randy’s friends. Everyone, this is Kim, my son Gerald’s girlfriend.”
Kim was astounded as to how she was introduced but didn’t bother to correct her. She just smiled and sat down in one of the empty chairs and ate breakfast. After a while, the guests went back to their room to prepare themselves to visit Randy Anderson at the hospital.
“Hija, I hope I didn’t offend you when I introduced you as RJ’s girlfriend. It’s a little difficult to explain the relationship you and my son have.”
“Oh, no Tita I understand. Don’t worry.”
“Did you sleep well?” Kim nodded. “Ken informed me when we arrived that you were out with RJ last night.”
“Yes, we just ate dinner and had coffee.”
“If I may ask, are you and RJ back together?”
Kim smiled at Gerald’s mom. “No, we’re not. But who knows, in time we might be if everything falls into the right place.”
“I'm happy that you’re trying to do things the right way this time. I'm definitely praying that you and my son will eventually end up together.”
Before Kim could think of something to say, Gerald walked in and kissed his mom before settling down beside Kim.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.” His mom greeted him.
“Mornin’ mom. Ken said you arrived with some friends.”
“I did. Your Tito Teddy and his wife wanted to visit your dad. They’re at their room getting ready. We’re going to the hospital.”
Gerald started eating breakfast. “Cool. We’ll drop by and check on dad later.”
“Alright, but I thought your father made it clear that he wants you to take the day off and tour Kim around.”
Kim and Gerald exchanged glances. “Mom, I will do that but it doesn’t mean that I'm not going to visit dad.”
“Yeah, Tita I don’t really mind. A couple of hours with Tito Randy is totally fine with me. I mean, that’s why I'm here. To make sure that he’s going to be okay.”
“It’s up to both of you but I wouldn’t risk it if I were you. Randy is serious when he told me to make sure you don’t come by the hospital today.” She stood up and left.
“That is totally unfair.” Gerald complained.
***
On Kim’s last day with the Anderson’s, Ken and Kim had a chance to talk when Gerald accompanied his dad to his therapy session.
“Is RJ going with you tomorrow when you go back to Manila?” Ken asked.
Kim shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. He really wants to be with your dad until he fully recovers and I'm so proud that he wants to do that.”
“But are you sure he’s not thinking otherwise?”
“Even if he does, I'm not going to allow him. I mean, I know how important family is to him.”
“Kim, you are important to my brother as well. Personally, I think dad is well on his way to complete recovery and I know RJ is very much aware of that. I'm not going to be surprised if he decides to go with you.”
“I'm going to be honest with you, Ken. I don’t want to leave Gerald here. If only I could stay longer, I would. But he needs to be with his family.”
Ken looked at Kim and sat closer to her. “RJ considers you his family. I consider you part of this family so there’s really no difference if you ask me. Besides, he has been away from work for a long time now.”
“Well, Gerald has a mind of his own so he can decide whatever he wants to do.”
“Decide about what?” Ken and Kim were startled when they heard Gerald’s voice.
“Where’s dad?” Ken stood up and pretended to fix his dad’s bed.
“He is at his doctor’s office having his check up.” He sat down beside Kim. “So what do I need to decide on?”
Kim was looking at Ken. “Uh, well, Ken asked me if you will come with me tomorrow. I said it’s up to you to decide.”
“Is that it?” Gerald looked at Ken who nodded. He then turned his attention to Kim. “Actually I already made a decision. I am going with you.”
“Why? I thought you want to be here until Tito Randy is discharged.” Kim asked.
“Well, he will be discharged tomorrow morning.” Gerald smiled at both of them.
Ken’s eyes widened when he heard Gerald’s news. “Really? Cool!”
“Yes, and it is actually dad who told me that I can already go home if I want to. What about you, Ken?”
“I think I'm going to stay here for a few more days. You’re okay to catch a ride with Kim, right?”
Gerald glanced at Kim. “Kim?”
“Of course. It’d be great to have some company on the drive back to Manila.”
“Perfect! If you don’t mind, let’s just wait for dad to get out of the hospital before we leave. Doctor said he can be discharged first thing in the morning so we can leave right before lunch.”
“No problem.”
***
“RJ, can I talk to you for a second?” Randy Anderson asked his son.
Gerald dropped his father’s bag at the closet door and sat down beside him. “Sure, what’s up?”
“I know this is none of my business but I'm really curious about your relationship with Kim.”
“Dad, we’re not exactly in a relationship just yet. I'm still working on it. Kim wanted to take things slowly and I am respecting her wishes. I don’t blame her for having doubts about getting back with me because I screwed up big time.”
“Hang in there, kiddo. I'm pretty sure it will all be worth it once she takes you back.”
“Hopefully she will. Wish me luck.” Gerald quipped.
They were interrupted by a knock on the door. When Gerald went to open it, it was Kim.
“Kim, come on in.” Mr. Anderson motioned for Kim to sit down. “Are you all set?”
“Yes, Tito. I just wanted to say goodbye properly and thank you for your hospitality.”
“Are you kidding me? I should be the one thanking you for going all the way here just to make sure I am okay. My family really appreciates everything that you did for us. And you are very much welcome to come back here.”
“Well, I hope next time I'm here it will be for a happy occasion.” Kim laughed.
Gerald laughed as well. “You can bet on that. So, dad we better get going.” He approached his dad and hugged him. “If you need anything, call me, alright? I'm not sure when I will be able to visit again because I have a lot of catching up at work to do but I’ll keep in touch.”
“Son, I'm fine so you don’t have to worry about me. You guys take care.”
***
Halfway back to Manila, Gerald stopped for a gas refill. Kim fell asleep and Gerald was staring at her while waiting for the attendant to finish up that he didn’t realize that the attendant was knocking at his window to give his credit card back. He rolled his window down.
“Sorry, I must have spaced out.” Taking his card and receipt. “Thank you.”
“Drive safely, sir.”
As he drove away from the gasoline station, Kim stirred and upon realizing that she fell asleep, sat up straight.
“Sorry Ge, I dozed off.” Kim apologized.
Gerald smiled. “It’s okay, you can go back to sleep if you want. I don’t really mind. I’m already used to travelling alone when I visit my dad.”
“No, I’m fine. How about you? Do you want me to drive so that you can rest?”
“Kimmy, I said I’m fine. Actually my problem is I am a little hungry.” He massaged his stomach. “Are you in a hurry to reach Manila? We can stop and eat early dinner if you want.”
Kim shook her head. “No, there’s no rush. It’s not like I am excited to go back to work after a long vacation.” Kim quipped.
“Oh my God, I know exactly what you mean.” Gerald laughed. “Although my so called vacation happened in the hospital, I was able to have fun spending it with my family and you of course. Time and again I keep on saying that your presence absolutely made that whole ordeal a lot easier to handle and I mean it.”
“You know, one thing that amazed me is how you mom and dad was able to maintain a friendly relationship amidst everything that happened to their marriage before. To top it all, your mom and stepmother are even friends.”
“Yeah, I couldn’t believe it at first as well. That’s not normal, right? But when I think about it, I’d rather have it that way than have them bickering at all times.”
“Of course.” Kim looked outside and saw a restaurant. “That place looks nice. Maybe we can eat there.”
Gerald immediately pulled over and parked Kim’s car. Together, they went inside the restaurant. The waiter approached them and got their orders. They were chatting animatedly when one girl approached their table.
“Gerald? Gerald Anderson?” asked the girl.
Kim and Gerald looked up at the girl. Gerald was surprised when he saw who it was. He stood up and greeted the girl.
“Hi! It’s been years since we last saw each other. How are you?”
“Good, good. What brings you here?”
“Oh, I came from my dad’s house. Long story, but right now we’re on our way back to Manila.” Gerald glanced at Kim who was fiddling with her fingers. “By the way, this is Kim, Kim Chiu, my uh--”
“Your girlfriend, I know. Come on, Gerald, don’t think I haven’t heard news about you.” She playfully slapped his arms and smiled. She then offered her hands to Kim and introduced herself. “Hi Kim, I’m Rizza Gatdula.” Kim took her hand and smiled at her. “From the looks of it, you don’t know me. I don’t expect Gerald to tell you about me but in case you’re wondering, I was his girlfriend before.”
Gerald was shocked. “Rizza!” he stole a glance at Kim who was now only half-smiling.
“What? It’s the truth which shouldn’t bother you because that was ages ago. Last I heard you two are living together so I expect it’s really serious. Anyway, do you still work for that call center in Makati?” Gerald nodded. “I was recently assigned to our Makati branch so if you have time, let’s hang out one of these days.” She reached inside her handbag and handed Gerald a calling card. “Here’s my number, call me if you’re free. For old times sake.”
“Rizza, I’m going to be very busy once I get back to work. I have been on leave for a couple of weeks and I have a lot of work to do.”
“That’s fine. I’m leaving for Australia next week for a conference. Let’s catch up when I get back, okay sweetie?” she pinched Gerald’s chin. “I have to go; my friends are waiting outside. I’ll be expecting a call from you Gerald. It was very nice to finally meet you, Kim. Bye!”
***
After dinner, the rest of the trip back to Manila was a silent one. Gerald kept on trying to start a conversation but Kim would barely respond. At one point, Kim spoke out loud which startled Gerald because he thought she was sleeping.
“Gerald, I think you should head to your apartment building. I know you’re tired, I can drive myself to my place.”
“No, I’m going to take you home and then I can get a taxi from there.” Gerald insisted.
“Be practical, your apartment is on the way and you have to go all the way back if you do that. Really Gerald, just go to your place and I can take it from there.”
Gerald sighed. “Kim, I noticed that you have been quiet. Did I do something to upset you?”
“I just want to go home and rest.”
“Kim, I know you. You’re distressed about something and I want to know why.”
“I told you, I’m just tired.”
“Is this about Rizza?”
Kim shot him an annoyed look. “Of course not! What made you assume that I am upset because of her?”
“There you go, you said it. You’re upset. Kim, what is it? Please tell me.”
“Gerald, please just leave me alone.” She pleaded.
Gerald pulled over on the side of the road. “Yes, she was my girlfriend. First girlfriend, if you must know. But I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in her.” He pulled something out of his pocket. “See this?” he tore the calling card that Rizza gave him earlier. “There, I don’t have her number anymore. Will you talk to me now, please?”
Kim still didn’t look at him. “Seriously Gerald, let’s go. It’s getting late and we have to be early at work tomorrow.”
“Sorry Kimmy but I’m not going to leave until you tell me that we’re okay.”
Kim looked at him finally and saw that he is serious. She nodded. “We’re okay.”
“You are just saying but you don’t mean it.”
“Gerald, I don’t have time for this.”
“Kim, you said that we have to start all over again. How can we do that if we’re not being honest with each other? Ask me anything you want to know about Rizza and I’ll answer them truthfully.”
“Why do you insist that I am upset because of Rizza?”
“Because you are, Kim. Look, I know you very well. In case you’ve forgotten, I was your boyfriend for four years. I know when something’s bothering you, just like now.”
She took a deep breath. “I just felt weird, that’s all. I never met any of your exes before and you never really mentioned them in detail.”
“I thought you said that our past doesn’t matter.”
“I know. I guess meeting them is just a little different. She obviously is flirting with you. I know I’m not supposed to feel this but I was annoyed.” Gerald couldn’t help but smile and Kim saw him. “Do you find this funny at all?”
“No, of course not. Don’t worry; I’m not going to see her again.”
“I’m sorry.” Kim apologized.
“No, no, no. Don’t be sorry. I would’ve felt the same way if it was your ex that we saw.”
“I have to be honest; I haven’t felt this way for a long time.”
Gerald held her hand. “Thank you.” He smiled at her. “Thank you for being honest with me about your feelings. And thank you for feeling that way because it means that slowly but surely I am gaining back the love that you once had for me. It made me so happy. I think that’s more than enough to get me through until the day that you take me back wholeheartedly.”