"Associative Looseness"

Yolanda was in her mother's kitchen playfully picking on all the dishes on the
table.

"Stop that! You're gonna spoil the food", her mother shouted at her.

"Tastes good, ma. You're cooking never changed", she replied and got up from her
chair and gave her mother a warm hug.

"How about you? Have you changed?"

"Whatever do you mean by that, ma?"

"Are you still seeing him?"

Yolanda let go of her mother and slumped back into her chair. She continued
fishing out the good parts of the food with her finger, while her mother waits
impatiently for an answer.

"Yolanda, how old are you now? that's no longer normal. You should know that."

Yolanda just continued picking on the food.

"I've explained this to you a million times already. You're a grown woman now,
you're getting married for goodness sake!", her mother was sounding frustrated.

Then she let out a deep sigh and with a gentle voice, she said, "Yolly, I'm sorry.
I know this is all my fault. Had I been there to guide you properly when you were
young...this, this could never have happened...this, this could never have lasted
this long."

Yolanda was just silent.

"What would happen if Damien finds out? Good gracious, that would be embarassing!", her mother continued.

"He would think that you have a loose screw inside your head."

Yolanda replied, "He loves me."

Her mother was not surprised by that, "I know, that's probably the only reason why he's marrying you."

Silence.

"Not him, Castro loves me", she silently told herself.


(to be cont..

"Where were you last night, Yolly?" Damien gently asked Yolanda while they were having their lunch together at the cafeteria.

"You always disappear like that. You worry me sometimes," he added.

"Why?", Yolanda asked back.

Damien took a mouthful and took his time in chewing his food. Yolanda waited for Damien's reply.

Then a weak answer emanated from his lips, "I'm worried that you might disappear and would never come back."

Yolanda started biting into her sandwich. Both were trying to mask the awkwardness and the obvious and diverting it into the food. Damien kept looking up at Yolanda while Yolanda nonchalantly bites and chews her sandwich, mindful of Damien's behavior.

"I don't understand why you're doing this," she asked.

"Doing what?"

"This", and she gestured her hands as if pointing to the invisible connection that they have called a relationship by others; devotion by Damien, and stupidity by Yolanda.

"Coz, I need to. Coz I want to. Coz I love you."

Silence.

Then suddenly Damien found the energy and with high spirits asked Yolanda, "So! Have you chosen the motif yet?"

Yolanda shook her head. Then smiled and answered, "I would like it to be pink.."

"Pink?? Cmon, that's too over-rated. Choose something else."

"Yellow."

"Too bright."

"Orange."

"Difficult to pair with other colors."

"Why don't you just choose it since you're the bride?", Yolanda sneered at a laughing Damien and stood up from her chair and tried to walk out.

Damien grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her arm around his shoulders so it would look like Damien is rubbing his face against her belly.

"Fine, fine. Sorry. We'll have pink then."

"No, I want black coz it's gloomy getting married to a dork like you!", Yolanda was still upset.

"Sure, I like black. Let's go with black."

Yolanda's face turned red with frustration as she stared at Damien who's totally having a good time picking on her. For a moment she stood there, looking at Damien, her arms around his shoulder and his arms around her waist.

Then something inside her melted. She stooped and gave Damien a kiss on the forehead. Then on the cheeks. Then on the lips.

Then she whispered, "I don't know what I did to deserve you."

(to be cont..)