Divinagracia, 2002

It had been a strange few weeks for Iñigo. Ever since he went out to San Ignacio with Javier and Esther, the air around Kenji had been especially tense. At first, Kenji seemed to ignore Iñigo’s presence. Later on, that changed to cold, silent stares. It was clear to Iñigo that Kenji was mad, but whenever he would ask why, Kenji would grunt and walk away. In the end, Iñigo couldn’t even figure out why they were even fighting.

It had been so long since they had a meaningful conversation, and Iñigo began to miss those days where they would lay in each other’s arms, his safe haven. But now, all that was left was a stifling atmosphere, where with every conversation Iñigo tried to have with Kenji, the more suffocating it became for him.

So Iñigo spent more and more time in Esther and Javier’s company. They knew Iñigo was suffering back home and were always ready to support him as he continued to air his grievances. The situation became so tense that Iñigo found himself spending the night at the Samson estate more than ever.

Next thing Iñigo knew, tomorrow was Kenji’s birthday. As tense things turned out to be between the two, Iñigo wasn’t going to let it prevent him from planning something special for him. He had the corduroy jacket, his present for Kenji, wrapped up and tucked away underneath the kitchen sink. Thankfully, for Iñigo, Kenji was never thorough in his cleaning, so he had a feeling that Kenji wouldn’t suspect anything upon seeing a box wrapped in brown paper in its hiding place.

He had enlisted Javier’s help, after much persuasion, with making the perfectly perfect pandan cake he was going to serve at Kenji’s birthday party. He couldn’t make it at home, he thought, and Javier’s kitchen was better than his own by a longshot. Esther, however, had to send her regrets; she was too busy dealing with a personal problem of hers, Javier explained, and Iñigo did not press any further.

With his grocery list in hand, he made his way to the door. Javier was going to meet him outside their apartment complex with his driver. Iñigo couldn’t understand why they couldn’t just shop for ingredients among the local market stalls in Divinagracia, but Javier insisted that they go to San Ignacio instead; their ingredients were higher quality, he convinced Iñigo.

But before he could turn the doorknob, he felt a hand grab his wrist from behind. Losing his footing, Iñigo turned around and found himself face-to-face with Kenji.

“Iñigo, love, where are you going?” Kenji asked, his voice deep and  authoritative. Never before had he heard that tone come from his boyfriend. Iñigo looked down, intimidated by the eyes that had stared so deeply into his, but Kenji grabbed Iñigo by the collar of his shirt and pulled him down, bringing his face closer to his. Iñigo took a breath.

“I’m going over to Esther’s,” Iñigo answered back, his voice shaking ever so slightly, as he looked in every direction but his boyfriend’s. 

Kenji’s eyes narrowed, searching Iñigo’s face for a flicker of deceit. The silence stretched. Finally, a cold sort of calculation settled in Kenji’s expression, and his grip on Iñigo’s collar loosened. He was letting him go. Alexander opened the door and began to stride away.

“Say hi to your mistress for me, will you?” was what Iñigo heard from behind, and Iñigo stopped in his tracks. He turned around and stared back at his boyfriend in disbelief, but Kenji didn’t budge. 

He couldn’t believe that Kenji would say that about  Esther, of all people. But whether it was out of disbelief in Kenji’s lack of trust, or out of anger at his accusations, he couldn’t speak to Kenji any longer at that moment and slammed the door shut, the thud resonating into the air. This would be a problem for another time, he thought, as he stormed down the steps of the apartment building to meet Javier below.