Four by Four

It was a very draining Saturday in class as always but my energy level was still very high at 5 in the afternoon. Class was good; I behaved as I should even though deep inside I want to strangle the neck of somebody within my reach. Good thing, I have friends in class who were texting me to put a smile on my face and to cheer up.

As the class wraps up for the day, I was giddily counting the minutes to dinnertime. I was to meet my former officemates and to celebrate the birthdays of Sheryl and Jannice.

Since class was dismissed early, I had time to chat with some of my classmates while waiting for their friends as well. It was nice to talk to Cat and Sheyan and even with the students from the other class.

As I wait for my friends’ arrival, they kept me company. Iyra was the first to arrive and then we fetched Sheryl who got a little bit disoriented in Diliman's campus and then Jannice infront of the Kapuso compound.

So that we don’t have to travel far away, I decided to have dinner within the area. It is good since it will be near for the three beautiful ladies. We had dinner at Chili’s Bar and Grill in Tomas Morato, Quezon City.


It was Sheryl who I haven’t seen for a long time. Four years! During the absence, we stay connected through chats, sms, and emails and of course, letter writing. Oh yes, I still believe in the power of the postal services. Sheryl changed a lot. She’s now blooming with longer locks and with confidence. She’s no probinsiya anymore. Iyra, the “Cutie”, was there and the last time I saw her was in 2007 with Jeremy during a side trip to Diliman from The Medical City. She is now wearing braces and we all agreed that she’s skinnier than before and warned her that she should eat more since she’s too slim. We missed her chubby cheeks and long hair. She’s now sporting a shorter do and takes a few years off from her age. Same with Sheryl, we never failed to update ourselves with the use of modern communication. Jannice or Ja, was very tired coming from her work in Las Pinas and was just so happy to see the two ladies as well.


We were calling Jeremy but he was not answering his calls and he was supposed to join us. Mike had to go to another planned gig while Marvin was out of town and Norman was out of the country.

Much as we want to spend time with the rest of our group, some of our officemates are already in various parts of the world. Abbie and Jean are in Sharjah and Dubai respectively while Raphael is in Bahrain. The significant others of some are also out of reach during dinner. Ka Roger is in Jeddah while Carlos was in Cagayan De Oro.

The night was purely just for the four of us. Four “single” ladies with tons of smiles, laughter and of course, good food to top the night.


We talked about almost everything. Work, school, entertainment, current events, love life, sex life and most of all the lives that we lead since the time we left our Concorde address and the people we met during those short but memorable times.

Dinner was not enough for all our stories. Since Roger’s coming home for a month’s vacation, Iyra suggested for another round, this time longer and more intimate. Iyra will organize the get-together and will try to have more of these good times. Sheryl suggested for karaoke and barbeque night, while Jannice suggested some swimming and I was thinking of doing all of it.


We almost forgot that it was a birthday celebration when we were about to dig in with our dessert. We informed our server about it and we got a freebie Birthday Sundae.


Much as we want to talk on and on it was getting too late for us and decided to call it a night. I distributed my birthday presents to She and Ja; and of course gave a present to Iyra as well.

As we were going out of Chili’s, we promised for a much sooner get-together. The dinner was really “bitin” and we missed our boys.


We parted with smiles in our faces and I was cruising on my way home, I can’t help it but reminisce the times we were together as officemates. It seems too long ago and a very short time for us, but the experience and the friendship that was developed was definitely for keeps.

One question lingering in my mind as I reach home, in Ja’s words – can we ever be complete as before? My answer – I really don’t know.