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One day simply wasn't enough.

The three of us met again the following weekend for an overnight stay at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel. Unlike old times, it was so much easier to sneak in food and alcoholic beverages today. And unlike old times, we were able to coax a heartbroken Nicia to join us for a round of lemon shots.

It seemed that nothing had changed. Two weeks after we patched things up, Nicia resumed her roller coaster ride of emotional play-by-play about her recent breakup. Nothing had changed. She still ranted. I still listened. Gail still cried. And just the same, I stuck to my guns: Leave the guy.

"I just don't see the point of patronizing a habitual cheater," I said before downing a shot of premium vodka and sucking on a lemon slice. I forgot to take sugar.

"'Wag ka na kasing pumunta sa New Zealand," Gail said with a hiccup, pouring us another shot of vodka.

"Alam mo bang na-terminate siya sa work niya sa hospital?" Nicia said, as if she didn't hear me. "Kasi 'di ba nagkaroon siya ng kaso doon? Kaya nga siya malapit dun sa Cath na 'yun kasi may tito 'yung babae na mataas 'yung position doon, e."

Clearly, the three of us were talking in different wavelengths. So what's a girl to do? I indulged the heartbroken.

"E manggagamit pala 'yan, e," I said, knowing that was exactly what she needed to hear.

"'Yun nga, e!" Nicia said before she took her shot, grimaced, and handed the empty shot glass to Gail for a refill. "'Eto namang babae tuwang-tuwa kasi matagal na niyang crush si Ken!

"Nakita mo ba 'yung latest post niya sa Facebook about you?" Nicia asked me. "Pasensya na kung pati ikaw inaaway niya sa Facebook, ha."

Bakla lang ang gumagawa nun, I thought and shrugged my shoulders. "Hanggang doon lang siya. Hindi niya ako kaya. User-friendly talaga 'yang ex mo. He knows crush siya nung girl and he's using her. 'Eto namang isa, nagpapagamit naman. That's just pathetic, man," I said.

"Nag-uusap pa ba kayo?" I asked.

"Hindi na muna," Nicia answered sheepishly. "Pero nakikita ko doon sa Twitter account ng girl na marami siyang patama sa 'kin and sa 'yo, and kapag daw sinugod ko siya sa The Medical City, aawayin daw tayo ng friends nilang dalawa."

"Burahin mo na kasi 'yang fake Twitter na 'yan," I said. "Mas nakakagulo lang 'yan, e. Gail, help me out on this one."

"'Wag ka na kasing umalis, Nicia," Gail pleaded. "Dito ka na lang, madami namang hospitals dito na puwede mong apply-an, e. New Zealand is just so far!"

Gail looked about ready to cry. "Ganito 'yung feeling ko nung aalis 'yung sister ko papuntang Dubai, e," Gail added. "Nakakalungkot lang kasi ang dami na nating friends na umalis, tapos ikaw aalis din. Tapos itong si Veronica aalis din, ako na lang maiiwan dito."

"Gail, hindi naman porke't aalis kami, e hindi na tayo best of friends, 'no," I said. "Pero Nicia, go for New Zealand. Hindi naman sa pinapaalis kita, but it's the best way to get yourself out of this situation with Ken. I mean, at least if you're already there, you can't do anything when you're tempted to meet Ken after work or something, right? Unless lilipad ka pabalik ng 'Pinas. And hello, 'wag mo'ng sayangin ang binayad mo diyan para lang sa lalaki na hindi mo nga sure kung ano ang gusto."

"It's just sad because the original plan is sabay kaming aalis ni Ken," Nicia said. "Kaso they used the money for something else, so now, ako na lang ang aalis. Nakakatakot kasi mag-isa lang ako."

"E 'di ba kasama mo naman 'yung isang friend mo sa Cardinal?" Gail asked.

"Yeah, but still, it's different," Nicia answered.

For a while, we were all silent.

I understood Nicia. She was caught between grabbing a great opportunity that would take her halfway across the globe and wanting to stay to possibly save a relationship. Besides, this could very well just be that infamous three-year-itch thing, but, of course, I didn't tell her that because I wanted her to leave.

Yes, I would miss her terribly, but that New Zealand stint is not something that would just land on your lap. Yes, it would definitely be different without Nicia here in the same country, in the same time zone, but at least, there in New Zealand, she won't be tempted to go running back to Ken just because she feels lonely. At least there, she'll learn things about herself, learn to fend for herself without feisty girlfriends to back her up physically. And, she would be too busy to think about the past.

There's just so much you can do for your best friends. The rest they have to do on their own.

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