Ayinah

After almost eighteen hours of sitting and standing too sometimes, her back and butt are numb.

The pilot announced that they are soon ready for landing. She held her breath, and she hopes that going down will not be as bad as going up. His hand already enveloped her hand. Precaution, she thought. That's why she said he is good sometimes and arrogant sometimes.

When the plane was descending, her stomach churned. She wants to throw up. Mr. Arrogant is fast; he opened the airsickness bag and gave it to her. She's not only sweating but also tears welled down her face. When the plane finally landed but was still moving, he lifted up her face and got his handkerchief and wiped her tears and sweat.

"It's okay now; we've landed," he said, still wiping her forehead.

"I thought I was going to throw up," she said, glancing at him.

"I thought so too because you're holding your stomach," he replied.

"Thank you so much. Are we going to fly to Boracay too?" She asked.

"Yes, but only for less than an hour, then we will take a shuttle bus to Boracay," he replied.

"Okay, maybe I'll be immune with the next flight," she said, hoping.

"Hope so, but we're not going there yet; we will stay here in Manila for a week; that will give you some rest," he told her.

Yes, she forgot that he mentioned it to her on the way to the airport yesterday.

"Where are we going to stay here?" She asked.

"I've booked a hotel for a week," he replied.

"I see," she just said.

She guesses that the aircraft finally fully parked because some of the passengers are standing to fall in line. She glances at him. He is taking out his briefcase along with her handbag. She actually forgot her handbag. He handed it to her.

"Thank you! I forgot about it," she admitted.

"I know, your mind is probably already in Boracay. But not yet; we have many things to do in Manila before we fly there," he said.

"You're right; I'm dreaming of walking on the beach," she said, smiling.

"Let's line up now; you go first," he said.

She stood up and followed the woman in front. He stands behind her.

"Hmm, your back is all wet; you must get changed before cough catching you," he said, touching her back.

"I thought you were a celebrity, not a doctor," she said, turning to look at him.

"I'm both," he replied.

That's why she said that sometimes he's nice and sometimes he's Mr. Arrogant. Like now, he's cool. He's attentive to her. He's to the rescue in case she faints or throws up, or—she knows he's Mr. Nice Guy today.

"Well, thank you, Doctor. I'll get change later when we arrive at the hotel," she said.

"Do you have any handkerchiefs or facial tissues?" he asked.

"I have facial tissue here," she said, pulling out a small pocket of tissue from her handbag.

She suddenly felt his hand in her back inserting a tissue.

"It's better than your sweat getting dry and you catching colds. You're pregnant, and I don't want the baby to take it," he said.

The woman in front of them turned around and looked at them. She smiled at them.

"Your husband is right; when the mother gets sick, the baby inside will also take it. That's why some babies who are just born already have a cough because they had it already while they're still inside," the woman said.

"See that? She agreed with me. That's why I am also reminding her to take her vitamins," he told the woman.

"First baby, I suppose," the woman said.

"Yes," he replied. smiling from ear to ear. 

"No wonder, the first baby has many adjustments, but that's good. With a supportive husband, the pregnancy will not be difficult," the woman said.

The two are still talking even though they're on their way to the immigration counter.

This man now is weird. He acted like a real loving husband. He even held her close and even kissed her temple. He's a very good actor, she thought. She reminded herself that he is a celebrity. Also owns a very successful business. She saw him with women posted on the internet.

After they finished at the immigration counter, they proceeded to the luggage claim conveyor. They were waiting for their suitcase when she heard some people whispering.

"Hi, excuse me, you're familiar to me; is this you?" said the woman holding a magazine and showed it to Mr. Nice Guy. Yeah, he's a nice guy today.

He averted his gaze and quickly grabbed the suitcase; he almost missed it.

"I'm sorry, Miss, too many men are mostly identical; maybe it's because of the angle they took in the picture that it's almost like him." She replied to the woman.

"Yeah, maybe. Sorry for disturbing you guys," said the woman and walked away.

When she turned her gaze to him, he already had the two suitcases in his hand. She gets his briefcase.

"The shuttle bus must be waiting outside now. Let's go," he said.

He leads the way, and she follows him. Outside there are too many people waiting for their loved ones coming home or maybe a guest or whatever.

"There, I saw Thirdy. Is that our service?" She asked when she saw a man dressed in gray like a hotel uniform holding a placard.

"We'll check it out if they are from the hotel where we're going to stay," he replied.

They walk to the man with a placard. He asked the man if they are the one from the hotel. He said yes, and he helped him to carry their suitcases.

They both followed him; the man took out his phone and called; after a while, the white van with a hotel logo stopped in front of them.

The man opened the door for them; he let her in first, and he followed. The man then put their suitcase behind him, and after closing all doors, he climbed up to the seat in front beside the driver, and they drove away from the airport area.

She could see the heavy traffic on the road.

"Are they always like this in here?" She asked him.

"I believe that not all areas are heavy traffic like this," he replied.

So this is the Philippines, she thought. Warm.