TEMPORARY MELODY (A Work of Fiction)
TEMPORARY MELODY
Lara Mia Veronica
 |
| The photograph was taken at Bauang, La Union |
Yet, Marvin did not have slightest idea that his surroundings was marvelous for he was sot. He was lost in his own little world.
___________________________
⏰
"Kringgggg!!!!!" went the alarm clock. It was seven o'clock and it was time for Marvin to get up.
Promptly, Marvin stood up, went to the bathroom, washed his face, gargled then looked at his reflection in the mirror. Boy, was he handsome!
He dressed up in a jiffy. Went down, drank his coffee, rang for his brief case then gave his instructions to his helpers. He ran to his low fast Saab convertible, jumped, started the engine, then off he went.
Inside his office Marvin tried to read. Janice's face clouded the room. He could not concentrate for Janice's laughter filled the air. He smiled as he saw images of Janice letting her hair be blown by the wind, but his feelings subsided when he saw Elmer's figure kissing Janice. Gosh, he was peeved.
He buzzed for Mymel, his personal executive assistant and secretary, to come in and she complied immediately. "What can I do for you, sir?," Mymel asked. It took him a long time to answer, but the only thing he could mouth was "Janice."
She understood.
"Did you pray about this, sir?"
He looked at her, and for a fleeting moment he was confused. For the first time in his life he finally saw that she was indeed very beautiful. "No!," he shouted in answer.
This startled Mymel. "I'm sorry sir."
He stared at her again with loving eyes.
"No, I'm the one who's supposed to be sorry." He stared at her.
She starts to blush. "If I didn't know you were so in love with Janice I would think you were in love with me," she bashfully said.
Marvin smiled and came to his senses. He relayed to her his problem, and she gave him words of wisdom, usually quoted from the Bible. She always impressed him to be wise, and if she only went to college instead of taking a two-year diploma course, she could be competing for his position. At thirty he was young to be a CEO of a big multinational corporation, but Mymel, although much, much younger, is like a twenty-year-old prodigy. It's not too late for her to further her studies, he mused.
After Mymel left he was baffled, but he shook his head. It was Janice he loved.
Now why did Janice confuse him? Elmer, his best friend, who was attending a fellowship seminar in a Paris hospital asked him to take care of his girl.
He took care of her all right. He shopped with her. He baked with her. He went to parties with her. He did everything with her except maybe take a bath, any business in the bathroom, or sleep with her.
"Janice," he whispered to himself, then went on with his work.
One hot summer's Sunday, Marvin decided to sunbathe in the middle of the pool. He was sipping a daiquiri (not a very manly drink, but he didn't care)when Janice arrived with two bags. He almost dropped the glass in the pool, but his reflexes were quick enough to save the pool water from his daiquiri.
"Hey, what's up sport?," he asked as he emerged in the pool. He placed the glass of daiquiri on the bar then approached Janice.
"I had a fight with my folks. You have lots of rooms in this place, so I gathered I could stay here," she stated confidently.
This was the chance he was waiting for. She could live with him and maybe fall in love with him, but Elmer's words haunted him. "You're the only one I could trust."
"Janice, you're a single girl and my best bud's love. What would everybody think?"
Janice was forlorn. "Don't worry, you can use my bachelor's pad at Sunset Boulevard."
"Really?" She embraced him almost immediately. They almost fell in the pool, but thanks again to Marvin's reflexes, they didn't. They laughed it out.
Marvin took time off from work and left his duties to Mymel who efficiently did everything her boss ordered. Yes, Marvin was right. She could be the CEO or at the very least one of the top executives. Marvin helped Janice fix the house. Since Janice needed work to support herself, and she was a Fine Arts graduate, Marvin rented a studio downstairs to be Janice's office. Janice came from a rich closely knit family so she never really needed to work before, and she had qualms about opening her office, but Marvin assured her that everything would be all right.
Fall came, and Janice had a lot of customers. She was even able to hire a couple of students to help her. She was really very happy.
Two weeks before Christmas Janice was busy drafting something when Elmer came. Janice was so elated that she didn't waste time. She jumped to kiss him. Her executive assistants, the two students, and her colleagues who eventually worked with her, started cheering. That was about the time Marvin came in unnoticed. His heart was shattered to pieces.
Now, a week later, Marvin was drunk in the middle of nowhere. As the sun was about to rise, an Ifiniti G20 parked beside his trailer. Three pairs of feet came down. It was Joseph, his forgotten best friend, Stacy, Joseph's girl and Mymel his personal executive assistant and secretary, but in reality, and we already pointed this out several times, she was really over qualified to be one.
Mymel went inside his trailer and got a bottle of cold water from the fridge. She handed it to Joseph who poured everything on his face.
"Where am I?" Then he saw Joseph and Stacy. Mymel was preparing black coffee at that time.
Mymel brought him the coffee and after finishing it he asked,"When did you arrive?"
"A week ago with Elmer. I saw you leave when they were kissing...we looked for you all over. When we exhausted all possibilities, we approached Mymel, and she said there's a great possibility that you might be here."
"You were there?" He turned ashen. It was as if that was the only thing he heard. They were there and they saw everything.
Joseph understood his fears. "Don't worry, he doesn't know. Since Janice is as clueless as he is, she told him about your loyalty to him." His face was blank.
"When she wanted to live..." His voice trailed as he saw Marvin staring at Mymel. Mymel noticed it too. This time she knew what Marvin was thinking.
"Just because you're heartbroken doesn't mean I could patch the hole. I resign!"
"But I love you."
"Who are you kidding? You came here because she broke your heart. Don't drag me into this."
Christmas came and New Year too. Then spring passed. It was summer again, and Marvin wasn't his old self. He missed Mymel. Joseph took care of Marvin's work. Elmer left with Janice for Europe after their wedding last May, so Joseph stayed to help Marvin out. Stacy acted as secretary.
One steamy day in July, Stacy and Joseph talked. "We've gotta do something." They agreed. They looked everywhere for Mymel. Finally, her mother gave in and gave them her number, called her up then they took her to Marvin.
Marvin was a mess. His beard was long and he reeked. He was calling Mymel's name and right there and then she believed Marvin really loved her.
They woke Marvin up. He saw Mymel and thought he was dreaming. Mymel pinched him and he knew she was real.
"I'll follow you down, I have to clean myself."
They left him smiling. He thought to himself, Janice was only a temporary melody and Mymel was the song imprinted in his heart for a lifetime. He smiled more for he knew he was also lucky to have a true blue friend in Joseph.
He stood up and started the rest of his life.
© Lara Mia Veronica M. Garcia
May 17, 1991
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Comments
Post a Comment