"Hi, Dante." I spoke to the top of his head.

Dante jerked his head and almost lost his balance in his haste to stand up. He had been kneeling because he was feeding his rabbits. The bunnies had grown a little since the last time I saw them.

"Brenda." He pulled his chair for me and asked if I wanted anything to drink.

I shook my head. "Since when have we bothered with formalities?" I gave a little smile.

Dante didn't return my smile. He stared at me inquisitively. I knew he was waiting for me to either issue him an ultimatum regarding our friendship, or explain what happened to cause the sudden turnabout in my attitude towards him.

"I..I went to see Joey." I said, thinking that this piece of information would be self-explanatory.

Dante tried to help me by guessing what I wanted to say.

"He told you to come and see me?"

"Yes, I mean, no. I mean.." I faltered in my attempt to provide a sensible and logical account of my confession. "Something like that." I said lamely.

Dante decided to get to the root of his main concern.

"Are we still friends?"

"Yes! Of course we are." I gave a nod of my head to emphasize the importance of that declaration.

Dante gave a relief smile and beamed at me. He grew more talkative and started to explain why he failed to tell me about all his secrets. However, I interrupted him because I wanted to be assured that he hadn't blamed me for slapping him or giving him the cold shoulder. Joey warned me that I could lose Dante's friendship as well if I continued the way I was treating him. I was afraid that Joey might be right.

"I'm sorry that I slapped you, Dante. It was terribly ungracious of me, especially when you just confessed an intimate secret to me. Also, I'll like to apologize for those spiteful words I said to you afterwards."

"No," Dante reached out to me. "I understand. Your reaction had been understandable. I should be apologizing for lying to you. I was selfish, Brenda. I wanted to befriend you. I took advantage of your friendship. I never thought that you would fall for me one day and the hurt you will suffer if you find out about me. I only thought of myself when I wanted your friendship. The group of friends who used to hang out with me, those that you mentioned; they left me because they somehow got wind of my scandal and left me because they were afraid that I would get them into trouble, just like what happened in the States. Don't ask me how they knew about it. I'm puzzled myself. I only knew the reason when one of them, Jeremy, told me. Just when I was sure nobody would befriend me again because gossips are sure to spread like fire, you appeared."

He paused for awhile. I turned my eyes to him. He gave a wan smile. There was no sign of resentment.

"You were one of the best things in my life, Brenda. I never told you that. After that night, I thought you were never going to speak to me again. I thought I had lost a friend."

He looked so lost now. My heart went out to him. I was still hurting inside, but I thought of Joey's words and tried to put myself in his shoes. What Dante needed was support, not another betrayal.

"You were the best thing that happened to me, Dante. Next to Joey." I said quietly. "That's why I reacted so badly. But I guess it wasn't really your fault because you never insinuated anything. You didn't even encourage me. It had been one-sided all along. I had to take part of the blame too." I wiped a tear away and smiled.

For a long while, Dante simply stared at me and didn't say anything. Then he walked towards me and put his arms around me.

"Thank you, Brenda. Thank you for understanding."

I couldn't move. The feeling of being in the arms of a loved one was new to me. After all those nights of dreaming of being in Dante's arms; now that I was finally there, I went totally stiff. For a few seconds anyway. I broke down and started crying again.

"I'm sorry, Brenda, I'm so sorry." Dante whispered hoarsely.

I tried to stop crying long enough to tell him that it was alright. I would recover. Eventually. But I couldn't. I simply wrapped my arms around him and sobbed uncontrollably.

I didn't know how long we stood that way. When my sobs finally subsided, Dante was rubbing my back comfortingly. We let go of each other. I gazed into his eyes and saw the unshed tears shimmering in his eyes. I knew then that it was time to forgive. I smiled at him through my tears. He grinned too and wiped his eyes as he turned away.

"I will be flying back to the States tomorrow. I have a favor to ask of you."

I went still. Dante was leaving?

"Will you take care of my rabbits for me while I'm away?"

I nodded and asked when he will be returning.

"I will be back just for the convocation."

I was crestfallen at this piece of news.

"I am really glad that we are through with this before I flew off. I couldn't imagine what it would be like if I were to leave without talking to you again."

I was silent. Although I had been relieved that I caught him in time before he left, I was still saddened by the news. Dante explained that he needed to return because Diane called him up a few nights ago and told him that their father had been hospitalized due to a sudden stroke. I was alarmed but Dante assured me that he was alright. Diane just wanted him to go home. I decided to send him off.