Miguel has a bad case of being in love with falling in love. During the three years that Joanne has known him, she has heard him speak of being in love for right about thirteen times --- not that she’s counting, only it has come up in the conversation. Indeed, Miguel is the simpleton ladies’ man, who’ll find an apple for his eye from every class he’s been in, fall madly in love with her eyes, her nose, her smile or some other part of whoever she is. And Joanne hears of everything. She’s lost count of number of times Miguel has pulled her to one side and swooned over a new girl from, okay, applied physics this time. She’s given up on remembering their names or following his message of checking the girl’s picture from the Net and telling him how she thinks of the girl’s eyes, nose, smile or what have you. Joanne knows it’s going to be some other girl next season. And there has never been a defending champion.
He’s never stuck to just one. And he never took it well when Joanne reminds him how he never falls in love for a girl in her entirety --- he plays favorite body parts. One day Joanne offered to download all Miguel’s love interests’ faces from the Net, and ala-Truman, from their different facial features build the perfect face for Miguel’s perfect girl. Joanne was laughing far too hard when she said this that she didn’t notice how Miguel’s eyes were piercing right through her, first with deep annoyance, then with dark contempt, then finally, that queasy feeling he knows all too well. Miguel has fallen in love with Joanne’s laughter.
But Joanne of course, if she learns of this will never take it to heart. She’s known Miguel long enough to conclude that this will soon pass and that it is decidedly temporal. Her laugh, just like physics girl’s eyes, blue girl’s nose and that other girl’s smile, is nothing but an isolated case of a slice of time taking Miguel’s heart hostage. Miguel can never tell Joanne now of his new love. Of how he’s falling deeper and deeper into it every time she finds something funny. How he felt stupid over wanting to record that laughter so he can take it home with him. And how, this time, he understands every bit of what Joanne says of him --- that he simple loves parts, never wholes.
But he's one to take action. To every girl whose part he has fallen in love with, Miguel has been painfully honest. He has professed love to each one, be it via day to day rose delivered to the girl with beautiful feet or a sonnet for the girl whose voice he simply adored. And he never said that it came from a 'secret admirer.' He'll honestly sign 'Miguel' with every gift. So now he is finding it ever so hard with Joanne, as he could never, at least at this time, tell her, woo her. He could just imagine how she would give him that look once he even just starts to do a Don Juan on her. She would never give him her time of day and even ask him whatever happened to physics girl now. Joanne is Miguel's love encyclopedia, and this arrangement between the two betrays any charming plan Miguel might have up his sleeve. But his resolve is to tell Joanne, just as he has told everyone else. (In perspective, this very well shows how he's never one to specialize and is simply after the rush and the pursuit; he's in love with falling in love after all.) He has to let her know, make her feel with him how he loses his breath a little at the thought of that laugh she gave out over the Truman cut out portrait. He has to make her feel special and prove to her that she can think about maybe falling in love back. She's entitled to that sensation, he thinks, as he believes everyone must go after the sensation of falling in love. So during a random lunch at their college cafeteria, Miguel takes Joanne's hand, puts it by his chest and says, "You own this now."First silence. Then a blank stare. Then Joanne bursts out laughing. And it made Miguel's day. And a dozen more mornings.
