The Painting of 9 Months and a Valentine’s Story

February 13, 2010 (Saturday)

Warning: This is going to be another long blog post.

I knew he was cooking up a surprise for me since Thursday that week. He told me so because he didn’t want me to worry, but of course he didn’t tell me what the surprise will be. After work, he would text me that he will be going somewhere else before going home in preparation for the Saturday surprise. He really wanted to make it special and he wanted to make me happy.

The history behind this is that there was this one time (or maybe more than that) when I complained to him that he never really plans anything for me or even us for any occasion. He is not really the planner type of person, so I usually end up planning our dates or getaways. So he was really excited to do all this planning and preparation for this date.

At first, he set the date to be on February 14, Sunday, so that it would fall exactly on Valentine’s Day. However, we both eventually agreed to move it to February 13 which would be our 9th Monthsary (We made it a point to spend some time together every 13th of the month if possible).

On my end, I made extra attention to fix myself up that day as requested by the boyfriend, so I decided to wear this silky floral dress that I have never worn before. I bought it out of a whim and I thought it was really pretty. It must have been a year or so since I bought it, but I never had a chance to really wear it. Anyway, it was a pretty floral-printed silky spaghetti-strapped empire type of dress with the skirt just above the knee. I also wore my black shawl over my shoulders and my favorite soft black boots to compliment the outfit. To accessorize, I wore my vintage rose metal-molded pendant necklace which I recently got as a pasalubong from my Ate, my favorite silver dangling earrings, and I also brought along the new white hand-bag with a butterfly on it from his mom. Of course some powder, dabs of blush-on and mascara to complete the simple and natural make-up look. It always makes him happy to see me making extra effort to fix myself up for him and so I did.

So the date arrived, literally, the day did come and so did he on our doorstep with a bouquet of one dozen roses which he really took time to buy in Dangwa flower market in Dimasalang. It was beautiful as always as it represents his continuous desire to court me even if we are already in a relationship. Some people used to tell me that courtship usually ends once you become boyfriend/girlfriend or when you get married. Rather, I think that it is a matter of choice, as most things are, and it doesn’t have to end if the couple would choose to not let it end. The word panliligaw is simply the start of courtship and I believe the ideal one is one that would continue on in marriage till death do them part. Of course, this should be a mutual effort. Men have a really big role in this one as they should be the ones leading the relationship, and they must make the effort to not become passive in wooing their significant other. On the other end, women should be responsive to efforts done by the guys. I know how much it means to guys when their efforts are recognized, complimented and when the girls make an effort to really fix themselves up as well for the guys.

After picking me up, we took a cab towards the secret place. I tried my best not to guess the surprise as requested by the boyfriend again because I am usually good a picking up hints. Unfortunately, I did get a few ideas during our trip there due to the following reasons. During our conversation, we were talking about current events in our work. I was talking about how I was a bit worried and excited at the same time about my Sharepoint project because it was new to me but at the same time it was something I was really interested to learn. I was also talking to him about how great things are going with that project so far, and it has been such an answered prayer. Then suddenly, he interrupts me with a “Buti nalang! Ay… ndi…” Okay, this me, auto-processing what he just said without me really consciously making that effort to get the hint because I really didn’t mean to understand what he just said, but then again, what can I do about it. So my brain automatically zapped me up this “Aha!” idea. So what do I mean with all this gibberish? Let me break it down to this. First, I know my boyfriend. My boyfriend talks to me about everything.

So here are the puzzle pieces:

1. Early on, before I started my Sharepoint project, he told me about his officemate, who happens to be really good at Sharepoint. He would often tell me that if I have a problem, maybe I could ask for help from his friend.

2. One time, when he told me that he was going off somewhere for the surprise, he did mention that he was with the exact same person and another one who happens to be his boss.

3. The only restaurant/eating place I know that I didn’t know which I know he knows would somebody’s house where I have never been to before.   

4. “Buti nalang!” If I fill in the blanks. It would look like this, “Buti nalang, nandyan si Mark So, magaling yun sa Sharepoint, may mapagtatanungan ka!”

Given those clues: I automatically came to a pretty close idea where we were going. It was somewhere where Mark So was. Probably his house or something, but I was sure he would be there.

After that, as a sign of mercy for my boyfriend who made all the extra effort to plan, I decided not to think about it any further.

Well, I was not disappointed anyway:

I came to a pretty close guess. We did go to someone’s house, but it was his boss’ house, Sir Brian. Mark So was also there, so that was correct. BUT what I didn’t expect was that Sir Brian and Mark So would be there to be our cooks/chefs for our very special dinner date. And everything was so beautiful. We went to the rooftop, where we had a simple table, with white tablecloth and two small candles lit up for the simple candlelight rooftop dinner. It was really cozy because it wasn’t noisy at all, there was a cool breeze blowing and the night was just so peaceful. The boyfriend and Sir Brian also set up some music to set the mood for Valentine’s. Then the boyfriend gave me one more rose specially for that moment. So I received 13 roses all in all! Perfect for our Monthsary day, 13. In turn, I gave him my end of the surprise. I gave him some pasalubong from my HK trip the previous weekend. He was really happy about his new pair of fluffy Domo slippers which he now regularly wears in the office. BUT, that was not all! I was not prepared for the sumptuous dinner that awaited us. The food was too delectable that words would not suffice to describe how good it was! We had humongous amount of Angel Hair Tuna Pesto with Nori specially prepared by Sir Brian, and two plates of extra big slices of a really mouth-watering Steak (I think it was Angus-Beef.. I forgot because you would forget when you eat it) prepared by Mark So. We also had Juice (whoops forgot what it was made of), but it wasn’t too sweet so I liked it. We also had salad. It had grapes and nuts in it. I was able to finish the pesto but it really was A LOT, so I was too full to eat my plate of Steak. So the boyfriend and I decided to share one plate of Steak and give the other plate to Sir Brian and Mark So who made a lot of effort in cooking in his behalf. It was the most amazing dinner I have ever had! In fact, it was just perfect for the occasion. I didn’t want to go with the rest of the Valentine’s community to a noisy and extremely filled-up restaurant, and get worked up about waiting for our reservation or whatever issue might come up. This was a hassle-free and delightful night for us to enjoy with the company of good food, and friends (after dinner).

The secret unfolded:

The boyfriend really wanted to give me a surprise, so he started asking Sir Brian and Mark So for ideas. They suggested that boyfriend can cook for me. The boyfriend thinks that it is a great idea! BUT, he can’t cook (though he used to boast to me that he is really great at cooking *ahem…* frying). So Sir Brian and Mark So volunteers to cook for us for our special dinner. Since Thursday that week, the boyfriend with the help of Sir Brian and Mark So have been shopping for ingredients. The boyfriend served as the financier while Sir Brian and Mark So as the cooking experts.

The conclusion:

I love my boyfriend. Some people would acknowledge fate, luck or destiny for their relationships. For me I would say it was and still is all thanks to God because I know that He is the Painter of this relationship. The most amazing thing about it is that, portrait after portrait of memories and moments, He continues to paint so many more beautiful pictures. He weaves the stories and intertwines them together to unravel even more beautiful pieces of the story waiting to unfold through the months and years to come. That is my faith. Last February 13, 2010, He made a very beautiful painting, The Painting of 9 Months and a Valentine’s Story. I wonder what is He going to paint next? :)

I believe that the perspective of love must always be one-way and that is “I will ___ even if you don’t ___”. It is as unselfish and as unconditional as that. You can fill in the blanks with something like “love you” and “love me”, but it can go beyond that such as “do everything for you”, and “care”.

However, for a relationship to work, first, love must be present. Next, it must be mutually perceived as unconditional as that stated above by the couple. Imagine that!

Sadly, nothing is perfect. People fail each other, but that makes it more important to decide and choose to have that kind of love for each other every single moment of your time as a couple, because when one of you fail each other, that love comes in and says… I will forgive you even if you have failed me. I will love you regardless of the circumstances, just because I love you.