Bitteresa Magbanua Part 1 of 2

I always tell my friends when they start falling for someone that when you give a person the right to love you, you also give them the right to hurt you more than anyone else.

Ganun yun. The nearer that person is to your heart, the more pain he can inflict and the more damage he can wreak upon your poor poor heart.

I am not just referring to what happened to my friend Rex, but to all and sundry too.
After all the continuing shiszmics he has gone through, the affair ended with one noisy clattering break point.

"Guys can we please all be at WGHJXVB Hospital at 7PM later? Perlas' IV has already been removed and her endoscopy results are OK. W will be there. He wants to talk to all of you. Pls. don't text him what he's going to talk about, just trust me please, and be there. C yah"

Group text yan ni Rex sa aming lahat. I decided to go. I wanted to see Perlas and I think I have an idea what this is all about. If at all, I just want to be there to show Rex some lovin and support. A little backgrounder would be proper I guess. This is the crux of the story.

Rex saw W three years ago, and at that point, he already pined for him. Years later, they had the (mis)fortune of getting acquainted. Iloilo is such a small place and we know how rainbow denizens move about in a very limited dating/gimmick pool, don't we. And so Rex pursued W. Eventually, W's wall of resistance crumbled in sweet surrender to Rex's urgings. I do not know how many kilos of Mangoes it took, or how many baskets of fruits, bowls of pasta, boxes of cake it took to do the job. I heard of one incident where Rex filled the whole car with ballons and what nots to woo W. You'd say its a classic boy meets boy, hunter pursues prey and ends up victorous, story, but wait, there's more, says the TV Shopping Network.

W has a long time partner. W and Hey have been together for the longest time, with both families accepting their union. In fact, W and Hey are partners in a bar biz. In other words, Rex became the third wheel. I kept telling Rex how wrong it is, and how, the end, will really justify the means. What do you expect from such a complicated relationship such as this one? Unofrtunately, Rex's heart had a mind of its own and wouldn't listen to logic. We respected na lang what they were having. Sino ba naman ako para mag pumilit sa kung ano ang tingin ko ay tama? After all, I had my own string of married men during my heydays.

In the process, it was unavoidable that in the blind surge of love and passion, the barkada got kaladkad. There were times when Rex would call and organize a 'dinner' in W's bar to support the biz and bring clients to the place. Halos araw araw nandun sya, at halos araw araw din nyang nakakaladkad ang pwedeng makaladkad para pumunta sa bar ni W (at ni Hey).

Now, what exactly went wrong, as if it could go any more wrong as it already was? Rex began to feel neglected. He began to feel his efforts to be never enough for W. I do not know exactly how, but W seem to have assured Rex that all he needs is to stick it with him, and when time is right, he'd leave Hey. Up to the point of planning an orchestrated exit, while Rex temporarily disappears from the picture when W breaks it up with Hey.

To be very honest, Rex may be my friend but my heart goes out to Hey. Kawawa naman sya. Wala syang kamalay malay pag nagkataon. I know how it feels and I can not stand the fact that I, in one way or another, will become party to this betrayal. I put my foot down, and registered my continued objection to the ploy. I will not stand for that. Bahala na a alienate sa barkada. Ayoko maging part ng isang kataksilan at pagkakasakit sa isang taong walang kamuwang muwang.

Choo bee kantinyood