After that day, wala nang interesanteng nangyari kay Ryan. Pangatlong araw nang hindi nagpapakita si Marianne. May sakit na naman daw si Love at kailangan alagaan ng dalaga. Damn, he’s starting to hate this Henry. He cannot have Marianne even just for a few days. He tried to roam around the place on his own. Pero tila nawalan na ng kulay ang bawat tanawin dahil hindi niya kasama si Marianne. Ryan drank his beer in one gulp. Isang babae lang at nagkakaganito na siya. He faced the canvas in front of him. When he cannot contact her after their trip, he decided to buy paint and try his hand on canvas. The image of the lonely artist drunk and painting seems like a loser fantasy but right now, that’s what he feels. He drew Anne’s face in red in one part of canvas. He doesn’t know what to draw on the other half. He wanted to release the anger, the pain he felt when Anne suddenly walked out of his life. Pero he cannot find something that will represent what he feels for this woman. Anger but not too much anger. Hay. Actually, he no longer knew what to feel about Anne. He felt all the anger had drained. There is just the aching emptiness somewhere. He tried to lighten the redness of the painting. Then he started to paint Marianne’s face on the lighter side of red of the canvas. He doesn’t know why. He just kept on painting. Two women. Same face. Both are ruining his sanity. He decided to go back to work tomorrow.
He smelled the garlic the moment the dreams left him. He remembered that day when Anne left him with that fried rice. He kept his eyes closed, waiting for that smell to drift away. But it did not. Lalo pa yata itong lumapit sa ilong niya. He opened one eye and almost screamed. The plate of fried rice is floating! He jumped out of the bed. Malutong na halakhak ang nagpagising sa kanya. Marianne is kneeling on his bed and laughing.
“I never thought that a plate of fried rice can be scary.” Sabi ni Marianne na hindi pa rin tumitigil sa katatawa.
“You came into my room and put that in front of my face tapos pagtatawanan mo pa ako! How did you get in here anyway?” Inis na sabi ni Ryan. He snatched a towel. He slept naked and though she’s laughing, napapansin niya ang paggala ng mata ni Marianne sa katawan niya.
She smiled mischieviously. “I have the key.”
Marianne left the plate on the bed and approached him. She looked serious. She removed his towel brusquely and looked at him shamelessly. Nakalimutan na ni Ryan na may itatanong nga pala sya. He was used to women looking at him with or without clothes. Hindi alam ni Ryan kung saan nanggaling ang hiya sa katawan niya. Ang alam lang niya ay para syang isdang pakiwal-kiwal dahil wala sa tubig. Marianne hugged him tightly at napabuntong-hininga si Ryan kasabay ng pagbangon ng pagnanasa sa kanyang katawan. Beneath her summer dress, ramdam ni Ryan ang bawat kurba ng katawan ng dalaga at lalong humigpit ang yakap niya rito. By now he was rigid down there and all he wanted is to lift this girl off her feet at ideretso sya sa kama.
Nang iyon na nga mismo ang gagawin niya, he heard Marianne sniffed at ilang sandali pa, he felt her shake and sob. She was clinging to him tightly habang patuloy ito sa paghikbi. Desire turned to concern. Akala niya ay immune na siya sa mga babaeng umiiyak. But this was different. For one, Marianne is not begging him to stay and love her. He can feel the pain. Paulit-ulit itong tumutusok sa kanya kada hikbi ng dalaga. Pero hindi niya pa rin alam ang dahilan bakit ito biglang humagulgol. He stroke her back over and over while hushing her. Damn, her shoulders are so silky to touch. He lifted Marianne and cradled her on the bed. Para itong paslit sa kanyang mga bisig. He rocked her back and forth. Kung may nagbebenta ng ngiti ng mga oras na iyon ay baka pinakyaw ni Ryan. He just wanted her to stop and smile again. Kahit pala playboy ay walang magawa sa ganitong sitwasyon. When the last of the sobs subsided, Marianne raised her tear-stained face to Ryan. Bukod sa lungkot sa mga mata nito, ngayon lang napansin ni Ryan how messed up she looked. May eyebags ito at halatang hindi pa nakakatulog nang maayos. He asked why.
“Love is so sick. I don’t wanna lose him.” Wika ni Marianne at bumalik na naman ang sakit sa mga mata nito.
Shet, she really loves him. Something tender touched Ryan’s heart. Ng mga oras na iyon, nais niyang ipagbili ang pagiging playboy and makipagpalit ng pwesto kay Love minus his disease. He wanted a woman to feel this same affection na binibigay ni Marianne kay Love. Walang kwenta palang maging playboy. Kahit gaano sya kagaling, no one would love him like this.
Tila wala yatang balak umalis si Marianne sa kandungan niya. Patuloy ito sa pagkukwento at paghikbi.
“I only met him for a few years. If not for him, I’d still be dating men left and right and feeling no love at the end of the day. But when I met Love again, I started to believe I can change. Na may tao na hindi ako iiwan no matter what. Pero ngayon… sasabihin sa akin ng doktor na mawawala na siya.” At muli na naman itong umiyak. She’s sobbing loudly and punching him. Pero Ryan did not stop her.
Marianne thought that everything now would be perfect. She found Love and Ryan again. Magiging maayos na muli ang buhay niya. She would correct her mistakes. Pero when she found out that Love has only months to live, she doesn’t know what to do. And then there’s Ryan. She wanted to get her strength from him. She knew Andrew gave this house to Ryan. Gusto niyang magsuspetsa sa intension ni Andrew for doing this pero deep inside, she’s thankful. The house is their family’s picnic house. She gave it to Andrew as a vacation haven. She still kept the spare key though. But now that Ryan’s here, she’s making the most of it before he decided to return to Manila and to his girlfriend. She needed a friend right now.