Chapter 27

Thank You

"Wala pa po si Kalyx, Mom... He's still at work." I told her after I let her in Kalyx's condo.

Nakita kong nilibot din ni Mommy ang mga mata niya sa loob ng unit. Kalyx's condo's decent. Malaki rin ito, and it has spacious living room and kitchen with the dining area. Hindi lang din iisa ang bedroom nito. It also have a guest room. Malaki na nga ito para sa aming dalawa lang ni Kalyx na nakatira ngayon dito. And it's one of the expensive and secure buildings or towers here in Metro Manila.

Tumango naman si Mommy. And I saw it on her face that she seemed satisfied with the place. "Is this his?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yes, po... This was bought by Kalyx's Dad for him when he was still studying..."

Tumango muli si Mommy. "He's working now, right?" She asked.

I nodded again. "Opo..."

"Ikaw lang mag-isa dito?"

"Opo, Mom. But Kalyx and I already talked about having someone here as well to help with the house chores... At para may kasama rin po ako rito kapag nasa work siya." I said.

Tumango lang si Mommy.

"Uh, Mom, do you want juice or tea?" I asked her.

"You can serve me anything, Rina. Kung ano ang nand'yan sa kitchen n'yo..." She said.

I nodded and I went to the kitchen. Sumunod din sa akin si Mommy. Mabuti na malinis naman ang condo ngayon. I even started decorating this a bit. I just ordered things from shops online because I couldn't really shop now at the mall. I'm pregnant and gusto ko lang na nasa bahay lang ako. And Kalyx's also kind of busy now with his work. Kaya nga kukuha na rin kami ng kahit isang staff lang muna para may kasama rin daw ako rito sa condo niya kapag wala siya and he's out to work.

I saw my mom also checking the kitchen.

"Are you okay here, Czarina?" She asked me a little bit seriously.

Bumaling ako kay Mommy at tumango ako sa tanong niya. "Okay lang po ako rito, Mommy. Hindi naman po ako pinapabayaan ni Kalyx."

"Nag-usap na ba kayong dalawa? Ano ang plano niya? Ano ang plano ninyo?"

I looked at my Mom. "Kalyx said that for now we can stay here..."

"He has a plan on buying a house? Iyon din ba ang gusto mo?"

Tumango naman ako. Although I like Kalyx's condo as well. Pero mas nasanay din ako sa bahay namin. Isa pa, Kalyx said that he wants to grow our family in a big house with a yard and a pool, too. At iyon din naman ang gusto ko.

"At nag-usap na rin po kami tungkol sa pagpapakasal..." I said.

"Oh. When?"

"Nagpaplano pa lang po kami ni Kalyx..."

Nang matapos kong igawa ng konting snacks si Mommy na isang slice ng cake galing sa binili rin sa akin ni Kalyx kagabi nang umuwi siya galing trabaho dahil nag-c-crave din ako ng strawberry shortcake. And I just paired it with tea for my Mom because that's how she likes it. She likes to have tea with a sweet like this cake.

"Kumusta ang pagbubuntis mo? Have you gone to the doctor already?"

Tumango ako kay Mommy. "Opo. Just the other day."

"And how's it?"

"Okay naman po ang baby..." I answered.

"All right..."

And then she sipped from the tea a bit.

Nagbaba siya ng tingin pagkatapos at bahagya rin siyang nagbuntong-hininga. And then she looked at me again. Habang naghihintay din naman ako sa sasabihin niya sa akin.

Pero nang magkatinginan kami ni Mommy ay bigla na lang din akong napaiyak.

"Rina..."

Maagap kong pinunasan ang luha ko. And I even chuckled a bit. "I'm sorry, Mom... Since I got pregnant I feel like I've become too emotional..." I tried to excuse myself.

"It's all right... It can happen sometimes..." She said.

Tumingin ako kay Mommy at ngumiti na lang. Ang totoo rin n'yan, I was really touched too because she checked on me now.

"And... I'm really sorry, hija... I just realized that I was being unreasonable..." She said.

Agad naman akong umiling sa sinabi ni Mommy. "No, Mommy. It's all right. I know that you still think about Dad..."

Tumango rin sa akin si Mommy. "I know that it's no one's fault... Matagal na rin iyong nangyaring aksidente sa inyo ng Daddy mo..." She sighed a bit. "But you're right that I still think about him and what happened until now..."

"It's okay lang po, Mommy... Alam ko po na nabigla lang din kayo ng tungkol sa Daddy ni Kalyx. But, Mom, he's really nice to me, too. When I went to their house with Kalyx, maayos din po nila akong tinanggap sa bahay nila..." I said.

Nagkatinginan kami ni Mommy pagkatapos at tumango na siya sa akin...

"Gusto mo rin bang sumama sa akin, Rina, na bisitahin natin ang Daddy mo sa sementeryo ngayon..." She asked me after a while.

We've never done that for years, visiting Daddy together. Agad din akong tumango kay Mommy at ngumiti. At nakita ko nang ngumiti na rin siya sa akin.

So we visited Dad's grave. Kaming dalawa ni Mommy. At habang nandoon kami ay may sinabi rin siya sa akin. "Parang gumuho ang mundo ko noong may tumawag na lang sa akin para sabihin ang tungkol sa aksidente ninyo ng Daddy mo..." She said while looking a Daddy's name sa may lapida.

Nagdalawang-isip ako kung sasabihin ko pa ito pero sinabi ko na rin ang nasa isip ko noon. "Naisip ko rin po noon na sana ako na lang po ang nawala at hindi si Daddy..."

Agad na bumaling sa akin si Mommy pagkatapos ng sinabi ko. Her eyes widened a fraction. "What are you saying, Czarina?" Umiling siya sa akin. "You don't know how I felt when your Dad was already gone, at nasa hospital ka pa rin. I prayed to God not to take you away from me, too. Dahil hindi ko na kakayanin kung pati ikaw ay mawala rin sa akin." She said.

Lumuha lang ako muli sa sinabi ni Mommy. And then she held my hand. And I felt fine from her warm hold. Napangiti na ako bahagya pagkatapos.

"You went with your Mom today to visit your Dad?"

Tumango ako kay Kalyx at ngumiti. Nakauwi na rin ako sa condo namin. Hinatid din ako ni Mommy at ng driver. "Yes. And she's inviting us to dinner tomorrow at home, Kalyx." I said.

Ngumiti rin sa akin si Kalyx at tumango siya.

"Ikaw ang nagpapasok kay Mommy kanina dito sa building. Nagkausap na rin ba kayo?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Yes. I've been trying to reach out to her. I went to her office, to your law firm. Until she's talked to me."

Bahagya naman nanlaki ang mga mata ko sa sinabi niya lang ngayon sa akin. "You did that?"

He nodded at me. "Yes, Rina. I know that you're greatly affected especially because it's your Mom. And I just want to do something about it, kung may magagawa naman ako."

Niyakap ko na lang siya habang nakatayo kami rito ngayon sa kitchen and we're preparing for our dinner. "Thank you, Kalyx."

Hinagkan naman niya ako. "I love you, Rina."

"I love you. Thank you." Humigpit pa ang yakap ko sa kaniya.