AS THE taxi cab stopped in the bay walk, Thaddeus got off and ran around to look for Tamara. She didn’t tell him where exactly she was. She just mentioned that she was in the bay walk and thinking things out.
It was already five-thirty in the afternoon, and the sun is about to set. The night sky is unfolding, and the stars are shining faintly against the sun’s rays. Everything looked normal around, except with his heart. It kept on beating fast after discovering that his message to Mark didn’t send because he got out of mobile load. And, it was already late in the afternoon when he noticed it, so she called Tamara immediately to ask where she is.
“But where she is?” Thaddeus asked desperately. The sound of Tamara’s voice from the other line sounded like the voice that she has on the first time that he met her. “Tamara, where you are?”
Thaddeus raked his fingers through his hair while looking around the bay walk. There are a lot of people walking everywhere, he’s lucky nobody is paying him attention. He also checked if there are uniformed men around, just like the ones he saw in the sky ranch.
He was about to go to the other side of the bay walk when his eyes caught a woman in a white dress sitting on the barricade with her back facing the ocean. Her brown hair is flowing by the wind and covering her face. Thaddeus doesn’t have to think twice. He knew that the woman was Tamara.
He ran in her direction and stopped right in front of her. Tamara got startled again and almost lay back on the barricade if Thaddeus didn’t catch her back. “Why are you so jumpy?” he asked, brows furrowed.
Tamara sat up straight and moved away from him when he occupied the space beside her. “You just appeared in front of me, it’s just normal that I got startled.”
Thaddeus narrowed his eyes at her. “Why are you here? Where’s Wil?”
Tamara didn’t answer. Instead, she shifted on her seat and faced the ocean. “I left him in the restaurant,” she said, then heaved a sigh.
“And, he didn’t chase you before you could step away from the restaurant?” Thaddeus asked in disbelief.
The woman laughed. “Are you reading a lot of fiction? That scene can only happen in romance books.”
“Really?” Thaddeus stared at her. He can’t believe that men’s actions like chasing a woman didn’t exist in this country. “Ah, maybe he just doesn’t love you.”
“What?” Tamara looked hurt by what he said. “Is that how you comfort a woman?”
“Saying the truth doesn’t mean comforting someone,” he said matter-of-factly. “It’s the act of letting the person know his or her rights.”
Tamara pouted her lips. “Whatever. So why are you here?”
“I’m here because I’m worried about you,” he said without hesitation. “I can’t take you out in my mind since you go out with that man. And, here I am, correct with my instinct. So what that farthole did to you?”
“You’re worried about me?” Tamara asked, her eyes were rounded and sparkling in hope. “What makes you worried about me?”
“Your clumsiness,” Thaddeus said, then crossed his arms on his chest. “You always destroy things. What if you’ve broken something in the restaurant. Who will take care of the charges? Wil?” he laughed. “He can’t even fix his own savings. He’s broke—”
“How did you know about that?” Tamara asked confusion was all over the internet.
“Well, I clean the house, including your room…” he said, then held her stare. ‘Then I found the envelope on your bed.”
Tamara heaved a sigh. “Those were Wil’s bank accounts,” she sighed again. “He’ll lose his money if he’ll continue living the life that he can’t achieve right now.”
“Why you didn’t call Mark to pick you up?” Thaddeus asked when Tamara started to get serious with their topic. “In times like this, you should be calling him—”
“Wil wanted to come back in my life,” she cut off, ignoring what he’s saying. “He’s sorry for all things that he did to me and promised me that he’ll never do that again. He begged for me to accept him again and start over again with him.” She paused, and for a moment, Thaddeus thought that she’s crying, but she didn’t. Instead, she looked stronger now. Unlike before, she looked weak and can be fooled by any guy. “I’ve dreamed of hearing those words from him before… But that was before.”
Thaddeus scooted backward in his seat so he could see her face completely. The sunset light cast on her face like golden dust. It sparkled the contours in her face perfectly.
Tamara looked at him and smiled. And, it was the kind of smile that Thaddeus has been praying to see in her. “You know what, I realized that I am no longer in love with Wil. The intense feelings that I have for him before were just like a thought now and no longer an emotion.” She looked at the ocean and watched the setting of the sun. “I realized that I can now say that I am free…” Tears fell from her eyes. “The fear of losing him that I’ve been carrying inside my chest for a long time is finally gone.”
Thaddeus reached from her hand. “Tamara, I am happy for you… I am happy that you’ve learned to be stronger from that experience.”
“Thaddeus, I wouldn’t be able to surpass all of this if not because of you.” She held on to his hand. “You and your talent helped me to gain confidence and learn to believe in myself. And, you know what I realized?” She looked into his eyes. And as the sun completely disappeared behind Thaddeus, Tamara continued. “I realized that… that I want you to stay with me—”
“Tamara,” Thaddeus quickly cut off. He looked away when Tamara looked at her questioningly. “It’s getting dark. We need to go home…”
***