5 Years Later || 30 DAYS

“Mahal, I know that you get antsy when you just stay at home. Pero naman, sobra na ‘to.”

RJ had his back towards Maine as he led them to their bedroom, his lips pursed into a line when she walked in without so much as a glance towards him.

In the rare instance of their schedules lining up since their new projects began, RJ and Maine agreed to have dinner at the Italian restaurant they used to frequent back when they were dating.

For old times sake Maine texted earlier, to which, RJ immediately replied Can’t wait. :)

Laughs were shared over empty plates of pasta and glasses of wine, as were stories of how it used to be and how it will be in between sweet kisses that sometimes lingered and turned deeper. Promises were once again told, pulled up and dusted off from the pile of call-times, scripts, and contracts that seemed to slowly take over their lives once again. And in the high of Maine’s 5th ‘I love you’ to RJ that night, just as he signed the check and handed it off to the waiter, he shared the great news of a new project: An encore of his recent tour stretched all over the country and then some outside.

“Meng, we’ve been through this,” RJ said as he walked past her and began emptying his pockets on his bedside table. “Pwede bang bukas na lang ‘to? Promise, I’ll listen then because right now, all I want to do is take a shower, put on some sweats and go to bed. Can I do that?”

“Bukas na lang?” Maine scoffed, throwing her purse towards her side of the bed before heading to the bathroom. “Magusap, bukas na lang. Pumunta sa doctor para magpa check-up dahil nangangayayat ka na, nagkakalagnat, lahat na! Bukas na lang.”

“Alam mo ba yung Nagaraya? Yung nabibili sa tabi? Yun ka ngayon, naga-nagger.”

“Hindi nakakatawa!” She called out from their bathroom.

“Ano ba meron?! What’s so important that we have to talk about this now?”

“I’m just worried, RJ,” Maine said, walking to their bed. “Because this isn’t healthy anymore! Mahal, you just did a bunch of shows all over the country in a span of a month. All of that on top of the teleserye you’re doing with Ate Marian. Oo, alam ko na these are all blessings pero naman, people outside don’t see what I see every time you come home. Swerte na nga ako that I do get to see you when you do come home because more often than not, you just head straight to our room and pass out on the bed without even changing out of your clothes!”

“Pero kaya ko naman, Meng. I’ve done this before, you saw me do it and I’m still here, right?”

“Alam kong kaya mo, mahal, and it’s one of the many things I love about you. But I’m afraid that unless you tell yourself that you need to stop, something else will force you to. Paano na lang if you get pneumonia like your mom? Mahina pa naman yang lungs mo.” Maine rolled her eyes at the grin that ghosted RJ’s face and chucked a pillow towards him. “Don’t look at me like that! Now is seriously not the time para kiligin ka!”

“I just think it’s sweet everytime you worry.”

“I don’t. RJ, I’m serious.”

“So am I,” he said as he crawled to the space right next to her. “I’m serious too, Meng. I’m going to be okay! You’re right, I do push myself pero I know my limits. I know when it’s time for me to stop and take a break but now isn’t it. Kasi nga kaya ko pa.”

“You say you know your limits, pero RJ, for example yung pneumonia — it easily gets confused with the flu! Ikaw pa naman, kahit nilalagnat ka na, push parin ng push. Kaya ganito na lang ako magworry, because what if you can’t get past the pneumonia? What if we catch it too late because we just thought that it was the flu? What if I lose you because of it? Do you know what that’ll do to me?”

“I do. I remember how worried I was when it happened to you. Pero Meng, I’m really going to be okay! Aray!”

“I’m sorry. I know that was a little harder than usual but I don’t think you’re getting what I’m trying to say here, mahal.”

“Then tell me.”

“Stop agreeing to the mall shows. You can start with the one at PAGCOR next month.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Back out of the show next month?”

“Meng, you know I can’t do that.”

“Why not?!”

“Because I already said yes!” he said. “And people are expecting me to be there! Kamusta naman. Ano yun, do you want me to just go on ahead and tell everyone ‘Ay, sorry po, day off ko.’ ”

“Celebrities do that all the time!”

“But I don’t! And so do you!”

“Just this once, I’m going to use the shit out of my wife card and ask you to please, RJ, take a break. Say no and just focus on one thing.” Maine looked at him pleadingly. “You still have the teleserye! You can focus on that?”

“Meng, I love you. With all my heart. But you’re asking me to do something that’s really hard to do!”

“I…I don’t mean to. I just — RJ, you have to take a moment and think about my feelings here. I know that’s really selfish of me to ask, and I’m sorry, but come on!”

“I did think about your feelings! That’s why I asked you if it was okay in the first place, but I didn’t expect you to tell me to back out of it!”

“Well, I didn’t expect you to be sick all the time either! Look, what if…what if we had kids? Plano natin yun diba? Look around us, mahal. We have everything and I’m having a really hard time understanding why you’re breaking your back for more.”

“Wouldn’t you want our kids to be settled and not worry about anything because we have money saved up?”

“Wouldn’t you want to be around to see our kids grow up?”

The sound of RJ’s phone echoed loudly inside the four walls of their room and pierced through the thick haze that lingered around them, pulling them out of their thoughts as they exchanged knowing looks quietly, just as it’s always been.

A standoff.

Stalemate.

“Meng, nothing is going to happen to me, okay?” He sighed as he reached over to grab his phone.

“If you want to go to that show so much, fine. Bahala ka.” Maine rolled her eyes and pushed herself off their bed to grab a change of clothes for RJ from the dresser. “But the next time you come home and complain about how tired you are, don’t count on me to feel sorry for you.”

RJ gave her a look and ended the phone call quickly. “That’s very supportive of you.”

“I just don’t like what this is doing to you, okay?!”

“Nothing is even wrong with me! I’m perfectly fine! I’m still here!”

“For now,” Maine said, her voice just above a whisper as she set the clothes she got for him on the foot of their bed.

“So you really want me to back out of it? Just like that?”

“No? I don’t know. I just…” Maine trailed as she took in every inch of her husband’s face and saw the tire etched onto it as if she was meant to see it. Letting out a sigh, she went under the covers and stared at their picture on her bedside table. “I worry, all the time and I’m scared that you’re pushing yourself too hard and there’ll come a time that your body will give up on you.”

“Meng — ”

“If you really want to go to that show tomorrow, go ahead. I won’t stop you anymore but please, RJ,” she sighed, turning around to face him with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She brushed her knuckles on the side of his cheek and pulled him in closer to kiss the top of his head. “Last na ‘to. After that show, kahit para na lang sa ikakarelax ko, kung pwede magpahinga ka naman.”

“Meng — ”

“Please.”