July waited for Veannie to tell him about Czarina's decision. It was already one week. However, the latter told him that the lady in his heart had never talked to her. He was in a daze, in deep thought, mesmerising how to get in touch with her without being rude and aggressive. As a man who is dead over heel to a young woman, he does not want to be careless in wooing her. For him, she should be put at a pedestal where he can always see her and be loved the way God has instructed Adam to love and care unconditionally Eve. He is Adam to Czarina and Czarina is the Eve to him.
A day after the promised length of waiting, he was forced to approach her. It was a bright night time with the moon shimmering its light. Czarina was watering their blooming bougainvilleas in their garden.
"Good evening lovely lady", he greeted in his normal booming voice. Czarina's body trembled in fear and yelled.
"Don't be frightened. It's me, I won't harm you." he told her in a gentle manner.
Czarina calmed down telling him not to do it next time. She was afraid of a ghost and she thought that a ghost was talking to her suddenly.
As July was already there, he willingly helped her in carrying pails of water for watering the plants. While watering they were talking about the next fund raising activity. Just like that. And the chore was over that ended their chance for conversation. It was already eight in the evening, the time when the lady has to go to sleep.
"Thanks for your help and good night."
"Anything for you at all times makes me happy, " he replied.
Left alone by her, he was forced to go home unsatisfied for he had failed to ask her about her decision. To assure himself, he tried to grope from his heart his feelings now that he was able to be with her even for a little while. He felt that his heart was throbbing like the galloping vrunning horse. The reality is that he was overwhelmed with joy. He should not ask for more. Talking to her, accompanying her, and even helping her is more than enough than getting whatever her decision. His arrival at their home stirred everybody. His family noticed his happiness as it was written in his face and the whistling of a love song as he entered in their living room.
"I can hear the ringing of a church bell," his mother jokingly prodded.
"If I were July, I would not wait for long. After all, she is a nice girl... A young woman to be a wife," added by her older sister who was a high school teacher.
July pretended not to hear them who immediately went to his bedroom.
It was morning time... Conversation among neighbours started as usual. The topic was about July's merriment during the recent night. It was a conversation with an unofficial announcement of a marriage proposal to Czarina by July. It was quickly spread in the neighbourhood that pierced into the eardrum of Czarina's father.
Noontime, a confrontation occurred. From the rice field Czarina's only parent went home despite his fatigue.
"Czarina, is it true that the son of Eulania would like to marry you?", his father's voice was in high pitch and sounded irritant.
"Father, I admit that he is my boyfriend but we did not yet talk about marriage," she informed him frankly.
"Don't you know that his family and ours are still related? That means that you can't get married with him!" her father explained his cause of rejection of the marriage.
"Really, father?" She was dumbfounded by this new information. "Rest assured that this information would be told to July." Czarina added.
Czarina hurriedly went to their backyard where she called Veannie when her father left her. She asked Veannie to inform July that she would like to talk to him at seven thirty in the evening.
Before seven thirty July was already calling and knocking. As her siblings were playing hide and seek with their neighbour she was then alone in their house, she decided to talk to him at the gate of their house. After all, it would be only for a while, she thought.
"July... Father told me that we could not get married," she told him calmly.
July didn't answer.
Czarina continued. He said that we are still blood related."
" Why worry? Our hearths are far away from each other. We cook separately and quite a distance cannot be measured anymore," July explained unreasonably.
Then he said," If you want to run away with me then I am willing to bring you along with me wholeheartedly," he said almost whispering excitedly.
" Hmmm... That sounds to be a good idea. When are we going to elope? " she asked enthusiastically with her starry eyes.
"Prepare your clothes. For now, go upstairs so no one might notice of our plan. At nine I'll come to fetch you" .
"Alright I shall wait for you at the back yard." she whispered.
That very same night, the moon lit night of fifth of May, 1974, a full moon evening, Czarina was brought home by July to their place as his little sexy wife. As he fetched her he quickly put his left arm on her shoulder while her right arm carried her bag of clothes. His family welcomed Czarina warmly and allowed them to be in a very comfortable narra bed.
The whole town was blazing with the hottest news the following day. The youngest well-taken care of the famous disciplinarian father who can't be touched even of a prettiest butterfly ran away with the youngest son of the most famous talkative mother in town. Everybody was stirred into motion including the circle of friends of July. Never would they thought that their friend had planned to tie a knot with the snobbish young lady and the hardest to get in touch with. But despite their curiosity to confirm if it was true, they did not budge to visit him at their home. Contrary to their decision, some close relatives confirmed the truth by pretending to sell dozens of necklace made of shells to nanna Eulania as it was her buy and sell business.
That evening of elopement escaping of July's feet to Czarina's while touching all parts of her body was enough for his first step. He didn't want to chase away her from him so he should be very gentle and one step at a time must be done.
On the other hand, Czarina was blinded with her emotions for her first and true love. She never thought of where would they be getting for their livelihood. What matters most to her was to be with him for the rest of her life. She was so much more in love with him that a fear in her heart could not be ignored whenever a thought of losing July to other woman came into her mind. She knew she would die a thousand times losing him. Yes, she admitted that July was not her first boy friend but the third. Yet the two were only a test of how was a feeling of a girl with a boyfriend. She felt nothing. Her first boyfriend who was ten years older than her was only a fruit of her naughtiness... Agreeing to her friends who happened to be her classmate to have a bf. So during the graduation ball she agreed to be his gf. The day after that ball, he left for the capital city of their country.
After a year, her so called bf came home but because another dead over heel with her since junior high school was more than willing by helping her to sell her ticket for popularity contest as a fund raising to build the barangay's Chapel, the birth place of her Mom and dad, she willingly break up with her first bf and pretended to be the gf of the ugliest and dullest suitor she ever had. This summer of 1974, the ugly suitor asked July to help him asked Czarina to reconsider him as her bf. Unknown to him, July and Czarina were very fond of] =3each other's mutual feelings.
As for July, Czarina was not also his first nor second, nor third girlfriend. He had more before her but he was fallen to her wholeheartedly.
Both of them had never talked of the resources for livelihood. They never got out of July's residential place except when July had to lead his members to attend a fund raising dance party. It was the time that Czarina was able to reach various barangay of their hometown as it was a taboo for her to gallivant from one place to another. It was a taboo in her family to become a truant. No idle time should prevail. They were taught that "Time is gold" therefore every minute should be productive.
For July an income can easily be earned as long as her mother is still distributing she'll crafts industry to some importers in the capital city. Since it was their elopement month, they should know each other better, day in day out, night in night out.
"No courage, no marriage", he thought.