Chapter Fifteen

“Wow! I didn't expect that my apos could cook something this good!” Lolo proudly exclaimed the  moment he tasted the food that both of Ashton and Kuya Vourne prepared in the table. Kahit na nagluto naman ang mga cooks rito sa mansion ay para kay lolo, parang nangingibabaw pa rin ang sarap sa mga niluto ng kaniyang mga apo.

“Thank you so much, Lo.”

“Lo, kinulam lang talaga kita para masarapan ka sa luto ko, siyempre baka mamaya hindi na ako ang paborito mong apo.”

“Excuse me, ako kaya ang favorite ni Lolo.” Arin disagreed. “Di'ba Lo?”

Lolo only chuckled simply. “Favorite ko naman kayong lahat, I appreciate you doing the things you like, mga apo. Basta't masaya kayo ang nagiging masaya na rin ako.”

“Pa naman! Dapat talaga hindi ina-allow ang mga emotional words kapag nasa hapag, eh!”

“Cadence, huwag kang ma-touch, hindi ka naman apo. Anak ka, okay?” Pabirong sita ni Tito Dave sa kapatid.

“Siyempre ganoon rin sa mga anak ko!” Dagdag naman ni Lolo.”

“Alam mo ba Pa, si Vourne na ang nagluluto ng mga pagkain sa amin kapag umuuwi siya.” Tita Aria gently smiled. Sa tabi naman nito'y si Kuya Vourne na tahimik lang sa pagnguya sa mga pagkain.

“Wow, that's great! How about Rianne and Arin right here,”

“Lo, para saan naman ang niluluto kung walang kakain di'ba, kaya naman I and Rianne are doing that role. Nagvo-volunteer lang.”

Lolo chuckled at umiling na lamang sa sinabi ni Arin. Alam ko naman na sanay na siya sa apong ito na minsan lang nakakausap ng matino. Minsan nga'y napapaisip ako na kay Tita Cadence talaga nagmana sina Ashton at Si Arin. Though kay Arin, her funny side, she got it from her dad. Si Ash naman ang hindi ko alam kung saan nagmana. Kasi pati si Ate Ashley ay unang tingin palang, masungit na. Katulad lang ng aura ng mom at dad nila.

“How about you, Aye? How are you doing these days?”

“I'm doing fine po, Lo.”

“Napag-isipan mo na ba ang college course mo, hija?”

“I'll probably take something that relates to business, Lo. I want to follow my dad's steps.”

“Wow, that's great to know! I'm glad that you are planning to do it, hija.”

Totoo naman iyon. Though, I sometimes feel pressured because my dad had also took over the highest position in the company and in the future, I wanna do that too. Gusto ko balang-araw ay isa na rin ako sa magpapaunlad sa Southern Lion Plaza. Though, I have something else in my mind as well. In the future, I also want to own a library! Lahat ng favorite books ko ay sisiguraduhin kong naroon.

“Ayezza really had the blood and heart of being an Acosta, sa pag-iisip niya palang sa future niya ay makikita mo na ito.” Tita Cadence smiled at me.

“Though, taking a different path wouldn't make as less a family. We still has the heart of the Acosta, we're just taking another path for another title.” Sambit bigla ni Ate Ashley habang hiwa-hiwa ang kaniyang steak.

“That's true. Di'ba nga sabi ko sa inyo ay na-a-appreciate ko kayo habang ginagawa niyo ang mga bagay na nakakapagpasigla sa inyo.”

Kinabukasan ng araw na iyon ay nagkaisang muli ang buong pamilya sa mansion. Today is our Lola's birthday. At dahil matagal na siyang namayapa, wala siya rito. Though, despite that, we still celebrates her birthday and even though she's unable to feel and see us now, we still wants to remember her by having this small dinner. Napagdesisyunan ng buong pamilya na magkita-kitang muli sa mansion para ipagdiwang ito and also because Lolo wants to see us. Pati nga ako ay na-miss ko na rin siya.

The conversation flowed continuously asking how our recent lives went. Ate Ashley is a college student now at suma-sideline rin siya bilang band singer. That tells why she has that aura of a rockstar. Her hair was cut short with the length of aboove her shoulder. Sa tuwing nakikita ko siya, napapansin ko na laging itim ang kaniyang suot.

Kuya Vourne, is like a carbon copy of his dad, Tito Dave. Their aura could be cold as well but once you get to know them, they're actually fun to be with. Though kay Kuya Vourne, depende iyon sa mga nakakasalamuha niya. If he likes the atmosphere then he'll show us what's really him.

Rianne on the other hand, is the one who's hard to read. She's very silent all the time, though hindi naman siya mukhang maldita. She's very charming just like her mom. Pero ang napapansin ko sa kaniya, she's always shy and rarely talks to us. Habang tinitingnan ko siya, she's vulnerable as glass but unlike the transparency of it, she's hard to see and hard to read.

“Today is supposed to be Mama's 80th birthday. I feel like we should spend not just a dinner but a whole day to celebrate it, Pa. Tsaka minsan lang naman ito nangyayari kasi halos araw-araw tayong abala lahat.” Suhestiyon ni Tito Alexander.

“Hmm, that's a great idea. How about we'll do it tomorrow? We can go out, I guess we could make time for our Mama.”

“Dad, this week na po ang examination namin,” I told my concern. Hindi kasi ako makakapangako na makakasama ako if ever man kasi nalalapit na ang exam at bukas ay may overall long quiz kami sa EAPP at ELS. Mahirap na, pag nag-absent ako'y malaki ang impact nun sa grading sheet ko.

“How about next weekend? Hindi pa naman siguro iyon huli, di'ba?” ani Lolo.

“Hmm, fine. We should consider the children’s studies.”

I only smiled when Dad responded to Lolo. Kaya naman ay umayon ang lahat roon. Next weekend, the family will spend the whole week at a resort. Si Tita Cadence na ang nag-insist na mag-book para sa amin and she even offered to pay with her own money kaso hindi pumayag si Lolo because it would be unfair for her.

Tita Cadence is a Crazy Rich Asian type of woman. Lahat ng mga gamit rito ay tumataginting ang mga mamahaling brands and even her daily outfits were designed by professional designers. She could do that, buy all her wants whenever she wants because she actually doesn't have a family to feed. Wala kasi itong asawa at wala ring anak. Hindi rin siya nag-ampon. Ang tanging kasama lang nito sa buhay ay si Lolo at ang kaniyang puti na pusa. She treats that cat like a kid. Kaya sobrang lusog ng pusa kasi ang ibang pera ni Tita ay napupunta sa kaniya.

Nang mag-uwian na, biglaang nagka-emergency si Daddy that's why he needs to go to the company again. I don't know what happened kasi hindi naman ako ganoon ka-pakialamera. That's why, I and mom had to go home without him. Mabuti nalang ay dala ni mommy ang sariling kotse.

“Aye, how are you? Your studies?” Mom started the conversation while we're on the ride.

“I'm fine po, My. I'm doing my best to be one of the honored students in class.”

She smiled while the eyes were focused on the road. “That's great! I bet it wasn't easy to be on top."

“Yes mom, lalo na't marami sa mga kaklase ko ang may potential na manguna. But I'm not having a competition with them, I just simply studies well while doing my own thing.”

Totoo naman kasi iyon. Sa aming klase ang daming may potential. Especially for Quinn and Ryden. Si Quinn, she's the type of student na hindi talaga nahihiya sa mga recitations. Hindi naman siya kasing-ingay ni Arin, she makes her own way to express her ideas over her head. I notice that she's like a general english queen in class because she knows a lot about it. She even knows how to do constructive criticism when our classmates go to her to ask for an advice about our writings.

Si Ryden naman, hindi masyadong nago-oral pero halimaw naman pagdating sa math. There was even one time na he corrected our teacher’s mistake about the process of solving kesyo mali daw ang sign na nagamit. Feeling ko nga halos hindi na niya kailangan pa ng calculator kapag nagso-solve kasi magugulat nalang ako, isang iglap lang ay punong-puno na ang scratch paper niya ng solutions. Nakakahilo!

“Naalala ko tuloy ang sarili ko dati nung nasa ganiyang edad mo palang ako.”

She sighed and then again, my eyes darted at her. Her eyes now speaks a lot of emotion ngunit nangingibabaw roon ang sigla. It was like she was reminiscing for something in her mind now.

“I have a best friend. Na-meet ko siya during MTAP. Nakasabay ko siya nun pero saka ko palang siya napansin nang nasa labas na kami, lunch time iyon. He went near to me and simply asked for my name. I asked for things about him at nalaman kong magkapit-bahay lang naman pala kami, ibang school lang siya. Until, we became best friends and we went to high school together.”

“We are both smart, iyan ang sinasabi ng teachers namin. Para bang magka-lebel ang aming talino pero hindi kami nakikipag-kompetensya sa isa't-isa. He was just such a very good guy that I couldn't ask for more, Aye. Palagi siyang nariyan para sa akin kaya naman nasanay na ako sa presensya niya.”

“Are you still friends po until now?” I curiously asked.

Sadly, she shook her head. “When we both got to college, I finally realized that I was falling for him. Sa sobrang daming similarities namin, we even took the same college course because we both likes it. Siguro second semester na iyon nang umamin ako sa kaniya tungkol sa nararamdaman ko. Of course it was so risky because after that moment, we would lose the friendship that we made half of our lives.”

It was like the whole world also wants to her the next flow of the story dahil narito kami ngayon, stuck sa traffic. But I didn't mind it because I want to listen mom's story.

“What happened next po?”

“Unfortunately, he likes somone else. I tried to persuade him trying to fall for me and then we happened. In a short while, we happened. But then, our relationship didn't worked because he simply fell out of love. Inamin niya sa akin na kahit anong gawin niya, hindi niya ako magawang piliin because there was someone else already engraved in his heart.”

I swallowed hardly. I didn't expect anything of these to hear from mom. It was like she was missing the idea of him with the sight of her now. Kitang-kita ko kasi sa kaniyang mga mata ang magka-halong lungkot at saya.

“So both of you didn't ended up together, po?”

Tumango siya. “It broke me so hard when a few months passed by, he finally got his significant other. Habang ako, naroon pa rin sa sulok at nalulugmok. Alam ko kasi, malabo nang mabalik kami sa dati. And of course we didn't end up together because I ended up with your dad.”

Tumango-tango na lamang ako. I was processing all the things that she said. Ang lungkot naman nun, the one you treasures so much almost half of your life, and then in a sudden, you lost them. All the strings were being cut and never be able to be back again as it used to be.

“I almost gave up on love but your Dad saved me. He comforted me until the day he confessed his love for me. Along the way, I learned to love your Dad kaya naman noong gumraduate kami, a month after that, we both decided to get married.”

Mom meeting dad was another story in her life. It was an another season of her life's novel. Though, I'm happy that she met her true love along the way. I couldn't imagine mom crying in pain during her old days because of the love that she can't have. But then, she met dad eventually.

Kahit na medyo nagkalabuan na silang dalawa ngayon ay nakikita ko pa rin naman na mahal na mahal niya pa rin si mommy. He did never hurt her physically and he didn't even cussed at her. Sa napapansin ko, sa tuwing nagkakaroon sila ng argument, dad was always at the verge of crying.

Naging magaan ang atmosphere sa aming dalawa ni mommy kaya naman hindi ko rin maiwasang maikwento ang tungkol kay Ryden. She was just there, listening to me the way I describes him.

"Paano kayo nagkakilala n'on?"

"He's my classmate po."

"Do you like him?"

Para akong nalagutan ng hininga sa biglang tanong niya. Magkaklase lang kami, iyon ang sinabi ko I'm not saying na may gusto ako sa yelong iyon! Bigla akong nakaramdam ng hiya at ramdam na ramdam ko ang init ng aking dalawang pisnge.

My heart is beating strangely.

"N-No, hindi po Mom."

"Okay, mas mabuti iyon. Pero mas mabuting iwasan mo nalang ang lalaking iyon, Ayezza. Baka mamaya'y matulad ka sa'kin, begging for the love because it's hard to have them.”

“Hindi naman po, Mommy. W-Wala pa rin naman akong nararamdaman sa kaniya.”

“You'll realize it eventually, Aye.”

Iyon lang ang sinabi niya at nakarating na kami sa mansion. Iwasan?! Paano? I mean, magkaklase kami and we are seatmates kaya paano ko siya iiwasan? Gosh why is Mommy being like this. Wala naman sigurong masama kung makipag-approach lang ako sa mga lalaki di'ba? He's actually harmless naman.

Nang gumabi na, tahimik lang ako sa kwarto ko habang nag-sscroll lamang sa Facebook news feed ko. Laughing at some memes, and some funny random posts. It made my night. Nang makaramdam ako ng antok, pinatay ko na ang cellphone ko at natulog na. Thankfully, weekend na naman.

Ito na namang si Ryden, hindi ulit ako tinantanan. Pulang-pula ang pisnge ko nang magising ako galing sa panaginip na iyon. He was kissing me raw! Pakiramdam ko tuloy, para akong may nagawang krimen.

Maaga akong nagising and I don't know why. Siguro dahil masyado akong mahimbing na nakatulog. Alam niyo iyong feeling na parang totoo ang panaginip mo? I felt his lips and its kind of awkward to see him today. After that dream about us I had. It's awkward and embarrassing at the same time. That's what I'm feeling right now. I wanted to slap my face.

Actually dalawa ang naging panaginip ko. Pinapamukha talaga na hindi iyon totoo. I dreamt about me na napunta daw ako sa mundo ng aking libro, oh yes! Iyong libro na pinahiram sa akin ni Lolo. Lakas niyang maka-fairytale kasi pagkabukas ko pa lang daw ng isang page, nag-iba na ang lahat ng nasa paligid ko. I even saw a very familiar man there but I can't remember his face. Blurry ang mukha niya pero alam ko daw na familiar siya sa'kin.

Niligo ko na lang ang lahat ng iyon. Kahit ano-ano na lang talaga ang pumapasok sa panaginip ko.

The whole weekend went on and on peacefully. Gladly, hindi ko na ulit narinig ang parents ko na nag-aaway. Mas mabuti na iyon, ayaw ko na ulit tumakas ng maaga.