Chapter Seven

Dad

"Ezion was asking to meet with us."

Natigilan ako sa ginagawa. Tumingin ako kay Kuya Caleb. "What for?"

"Probably for Chelca..."

Nagbaba ako ng tingin. I knew that this was inevitable. Dahil ano pa man ang gawin at isipin ko ay may anak pa rin kaming dalawa ni Ezion. "Did you talk to him?"

Tumango si kuya. "Yes... I was also thinking of Chelca, Ciri."

I nodded. Naiintindihan ko rin naman. Chelca was also starting to ask about his dad. Alam ko na kahit nandiyan naman si kuya or even Declan I know that my daughter will still ask and look for her father. I sighed. Wala na talaga akong magagawa kahit galit parin ako kay Ezion.

"Okay... If he wants to meet with his daughter, then... I'll talk to Chelca about it first. Para hindi rin mabigla ang bata."

Kuya Caleb nodded.

I sighed again.

I started working with my brother at Declan's new company. I was happy kahit sa office pa lang ako nagtatrabaho. I also review for the engineering examination that I will take. And I became busy with our work and ganoon din si Declan kaya hindi na muna natuloy iyong pagpasyal sana namin kay Chelca. And when we had the time at muli nang nagyaya si Declan doon naman na scheduled ang meeting ni Chelca sa daddy niya... "I'm sorry, Declan. Chelca was also looking forward to this. We were all busy at ngayon lang din magkaka free time. So I also agreed to let Chelca meet with his dad..." I explained it to Declan.

Mukhang natigilan naman siya. "Nag-usap na kayo ni Ezion?" Ezion's his friend.

I shook my head. "Hindi." And I think wala na rin kaming dapat pang pag-usapan ni Ezion. Naging malinaw na sa akin ang lahat. Sasamahan ko lang ang anak ko na makilala ang ama niya because it is my daughter's right to know her father, too.

"Kailangan n'yo ba ng kasama? I can go with you..." he trailed off.

"Kuya Caleb will accompany us."

"Oh. Right." Tumango-tango siya. "Next time then?"

I nodded in agreement.

"Engineer?"

Pareho kami ni Declan na bumaling sa tumawag. We were on site at wala nang gawain sa office kaya sinama ako ngayon ni Declan para tumingin din sa trabaho ng kompanya. Tinawag siya ni Architect Soledad, iyong tingin ko noon ay malapit sa kaniya. But I realized now that Declan's just naturally friendly with the team. Nothing's really special with his relationship with Architect.

"Excuse me." He politely excused himself to discuss some matter regarding work with Architect Soledad.

Tumango lang naman ako at hinayaan siya. I still call him Declan dahil medyo nasanay na rin ako. But when we're at work I address him Engineer at ganoon din kay Kuya Caleb. Although he doesn't seem to mind at all how I address him anywhere. But as a professional I think it's really just right.

I removed my hard hat nang paalis na rin kami sa site pagkatapos ng ilan pang sandali.

When weekend came we came to meet with Ezion. Agad ko siyang nakita at agad din siyang tumayo nang makita niya kaming dumating. Nagtagal sa akin ang mga mata niya before his gaze was fixed to Chelca. Natigilan din ang anak ko at humigpit ang hawak sa kamay kong nakahawak din sa kaniya. I lowered my gaze to my daughter as she looked up to me, too. "It's all right..." I gave my daughter a gentle reassuring smile. This can still be overwhelming for her. Ngayon niya pa lang makikita at makikilala si Ezion.

Kuya Caleb who was with us greeted Ezion in a civil manner. Binati rin ni Ezion si kuya. "Let's sit down first." Kuya Caleb said.

Naupo kami roon at katabi ko si Chelca. We met in private at a restaurant. Nakita kong hindi na naalis ang mga mata ni Ezion kay Chelca. Habang ang anak ko naman ay tahimik pa. When I told Chelca that we will be meeting his dad, her first reaction was she fell silent. Before she slowly nodded her head in agreement to meeting her father today.

"S-Should we order first?" Ezion spoke.

"Chelca, this is your dad... Ezion Go." I introduced formally.

My daughter looked at me before she turned to her father who was in front of us.

"Hello... Chelca..." Ezion's voice trembled a bit.

"Daddy..." My daughter said after a while.

I saw tears shined in Ezion's eyes. My eyes remained looking at him with a serious gaze. It's been years since I last saw his face. Ganoon pa rin naman siya sa Ezion na nakilala ko. Although he matured with his looks now. I don't know how to feel exactly as I came here face to face with him. Parang nablangko nalang ang isipan ko habang nakikita ang pagsisisi sa mukha niya dahil ngayon lang sila nagkita ni Chelca. Well, he had the choice. And he chose to abandon his child before.

"C-Can I hug her?" he asked for my permission.

I slowly nodded and urge my daughter to go to her dad. Unti-unti namang sumunod si Chelca na inalalayan din ni kuya na nakapagitna sa amin kay Ezion.

Ezion hugged our daughter and I saw his tears fell. I looked away. It was still a painful sight especially that Chelca started crying, too. Pinigilan ko lang muna ang sarili ko na lumapit sa kanila para aluin din ang anak ko.

Hinayaan ko silang mag-ama. Hinayaan ko ang anak ko. For the past years my daughter grew up without a father by her side. Naisip kong nasanay na rin si Chelca o ayos lang iyon dahil nandiyan naman si kuya na tumayo rin tatay sa kaniya. Pero iba pa rin pala talaga kung ang totoong daddy na niya. I hate Ezion so much especially that I feel like he had abandoned us or even just Chelca. And I hated him more when I learned that while I was going through my family's hardships and pregnant with our daughter before, nagpakasal siya noon kay Gretchen kahit alam niyang nabuntis niya ako at magkakaanak kami. Sa totoo lang if not for Chelca hinding hindi na ako makikipagkita pa kay Ezion. Kung hindi ko lang talaga iniisip ang anak ko. I'm just doing this for my daughter.