A morning waker upper

“Hi. How are you?” says the text message I got one morning. It is a new number.

I reply. “Hi. Sorry. You seem to have changed your number. May I know who this is please.”

Seconds later, “Well, I used to have a crush on you but not anymore because I am a married man. Remember now?”

Uh oh. I still can’t. A lot of my male friends are married and (modesty aside), I recall some of them taking a fancy to me. I smiled to myself.

“There are several of you. Hahahaha” was my reply.

“You haven’t changed. Same sense of humor and confidence. So how are you?”

“I still need to know who this is first please.” I asked.

“Hint……” He gave me a list of unrelated things. A cake, a bag, a blouse, etc

“So you get it now?” he asks again.

Oh no! I still can’t. I thought to myself. Did he give me these stuff? I can recall this guy giving me a blouse years ago. But the rest he mentioned, I have no recollection.
And I wanted him to tell me…Why can’t he just tell me who he is?

I had to stop the guessing game. “I am sorry, I really can’t recall.”

Oh I hope I don’t offend him. Minutes passed. I got worried. I think I offended him. Finally, I decide to call a friend who I believe has the most updated list of phone numbers. I ask if she knows the phone number. So, I was right. It was the guy who gave me the blouse.

Then I got another message.
“You must have forgotten already. Anyway, that was a long time ago.”

So then I sent a reply. “If it is that black blouse..it is Al, right? But I would have remembered if you gave me a bag. Maybe you gave Rose that bag when you were courting her. Tsk tsk you are getting your gifts mixed up. Hehehe”

Al, Rose and I used to kid a lot about those times when Al was ‘befriending’ me then a year or two later, transferred his affection to Rose and then when we were all working, he decides to pursue me again. Now he is married to Elly, a very nice lady whom I met in Baguio. Funny how things happen. I met Elly long before Al met her.

Then he replied. “Nope. I gave you a bag. Those memories I retain. Hehehe”
Then for a few more minutes we continued to exchange messages, giving updates on each other’s lives. I haven’t seen this guy and his wife in a while. I realize, I miss the company of these people. Maybe it is time to set aside time and get together, stir up parts of the past and laugh about them.