Asya

It was a hot Tuesday evening.

I was at Asya which is located just beside our office with a friend of mine.

Let's call him Douglas.

I met Douglas a few weeks ago in this event I attended called The Love Yourself Cafe. We were in the same group.

When we got to talking, we clicked.

We were supposed to have lunch earlier but he had some stuff to do so he asked if we could just meet for dinner. I agreed.

Over dinner, food was very disappointing by the way, we talked about our past relationships and relationships in general.

"It's hard kasi pag sa situation natin eh." he said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Kasi we can't get married. We can't have kids. There's nothing to hold or actually bind the relationship together. Walang assurance."

This struck a nerve a bit. It's not the first time I've heard him say this. It's just that the first time, I was to shy to share my thoughts since we just met noon. Baka ma-offend ko.

"I actually have to disagree with you on that one." I blurted out.

He looked at me. There was this questioning look on his face.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I don't believe that not having a kid should be an issue. Why? Mga gays lang ba ang hindi pwedeng magka-anak? What about the straight couples who can't have kids kasi they're sterile or something? They adopt and they love the child as if it were their own flesh and blood. That keeps their marriage together, it's makes their relationship stronger. Just because we're gay, it doesn't mean we can't have kids. There's surrogacy or adoption. And so what if we can't legally get married? Marriage is over rated. One should not need a huge ceremony to proclaim their love. That's not how it works. Don't use the reason na we can't have kids. It's not a valid excuse."

I just couldn't help myself. I had to open my big mouth.

"Alam mo..." he said before pausing for a second. I was worried he might start arguing with me. "You have a point. A really good one."

I was stunned.

"So did I actually change your view on the whole thing?", I asked.

"Yes. Yes you did." he answered with a smile.

I was surprised. Normally when I open my mouth and share my thoughts, people get annoyed since it's contrary to what they believe in.

"Well... isn't that something..."

"You know what?", he asked.

"What?"

"I'm older than you pero mas mature ka pa mag-isip kesa sa akin."

Natawa kaming dalawa.

"Don't be fooled. I normally have the emotional stability and attention span of a 10 year old." I answered.

Natawa ulit kaming dalawa.