Lorna, holding on pa rin kay Daboy

Aminado kami pa­reho ni Gorgy Rula that neither one of us would want to disturb the privacy of Rudy Fernandez and Lorna Tolentino, whose supposed month-long US trip was cut short for some reason.

All that Gorgy and I knew, these times are better reserved for the showbiz couple na mas nanaisin munang magpahinga from their exhausting trip before either of them could even reply to a never-ending series of inquisitive text messages asking about Kuya Rudy’s health condition.

Suddenly, it dawned on me, that even the best text message composers would have a most difficult time na mag-text man lang ng pangungumusta kay Ms. LT. Sa paanong tono kaya namin ni Gorgy kukumustahin ang TV host-actress? Anong mga kataga nga ba ang dapat gamitin o iwasang gamitin sa text, realizing na wala itong kakayahang maka­ramdam?

Personally, I even had to consult my fellow-QTV writer Loi Landicho: How do I even say hello to Ms. LT? Puwede bang dedmahin ko na lang ang pag-uwi nilang mag-asawa sa bansa, without having to text her ng “welcome back?” Sey ni Loi, “Go send Ms. LT a text message. Hindi na pinag-uusapan dito how ingenious you are when it comes to writing... you are Ms. LT’s friend.”

That was jolting enough.

After mustering a great deal of guts at ’di mabilang na pag-e-edit sa sarili kong text message kay Lorna, finally, ito na ang kinalabasan ng ipinadala ko sa kanyang dalawang cellphone numbers: “Good am po, Ms. LT. Honestly, ’di ko po alam if now is the right time to text you amidst the thoughts in your mind. I don’t even know how to compose this message. But Ms. LT, what I know for sure is that GOD works in mysterious ways. GOD will never fail those who have strong faith in Him. We’re one in keeping that faith dwell in our hearts.”

After I sent it, I had to get a second opinion from Gorgy, himself trapped in the same dilemma.

I least expected Lorna’s reply, and it would be understandably so. Sa dami ng mga nagte-text din sa kanya for sure, I could imagine Kuya Rudy’s wife na naka-mute mode ang dalawa niyang cellphones, and let her no-reply ironically be the answer.

Less than two hours after I sent Ms. LT that text message, sinagot niya ito. Her reply was (timed exactly at 9:56:39 a.m.): “Holding on, Kuya Ron. Thank you for the care. Our gratitude.”

Nai-imagine ko how  Lorna looked at the time of her reply, puwedeng naalimpungatan in her barest of make-up, but waking up to another day full of hope and faith.