"Molly." It was almost a whisper but they heard it. They all turn around to see who's at the door.

"Utoy?!" Molly cheerfully greeted the newcomer. She got up so quick, almost tripping and falling over and gave the newcomer a hug and he did the same.

"Good evening, Nay Alita." Utoy greeted her Mom.

"Good evening to you, too." She countered. "Pull up a chair, Utoy. Molly, get a plate." Utoy pulled out a folding metal chair. Molly went straight to the counter to get a plate.

"Molz, I already ate, just bring some saucers here. I brought a coffee crunch cake." Utoy said.

"Wow Nay, your favorite." Sonia said grinning. "Guapo points yan, Bro." She added. Utoy just smiled.

"When did you get back?" Aling Alita asked. Utoy smiled.

"Not long ago. After dinner, I asked my mom if I can come here." He smiled and turned to Molly. Alden smiled as he saw Molly's cheek turned red.

"Utoy, this is Alden, his Vinny's big brother." Utoy's demeanor change from happy to worried and Alden saw it.

"Utoy, how are u?" His simple greetings. It gave Utoy a kick in the chest.

"H-hello." Utoy was moved to tears by the fact that the man sitting with them was the older brother of his best friend. "I'm sorry, Kuya." He doesn't know why but he felt like he needed to say it.

"I was told a different version of what took place then." Alden went straight to the point. "Will you tell me exactly what you saw?" Alden tried to sound as tender as he could but he knows he is far from tender.

Utoy started to narrate the whole incident, how it started and where they got the idea to take the motorcycle, the chase, as how the lady tried to persuade Vinny to get down the ledge carefully. How Vinny decided to get off with lady's help. He saw how hard she worked on Vinny after he fell, and how devastated the lady because of it.

Alden asked what kind of bike it is for his brother to get so interested to the point of accepting Liit's dare. Utoy pulled his phone and showed Alden what kind of bike it is.

"Here. I have been saving this as a reminder to me to be good and be the best I need to be, because that's what Vinny wants us to do. Vinny always wished that for the four of us; him, me, Liit and Egay. He dreamt of putting up a home for neglected kids like us someday." Alden took the phone and checked out the bike including the people in the photo. He was surprised to see who was standing next to it.

"Do you know this girl?" He asked, sitting up straight, it picked his interest. Utoy shook his head.

"No, not personally. I wish though. She's a five times champion for Michelin (MXGP) MotoCross Grand Prix. That's the only picture I could find without the helmet." Utoy said. Molly pulled the phone from Alden.

"She's a girl? No wonder she has a good taste when it comes to motorcycles." Molly was so impressed at the girl.

"The motorcycle she was driving at the time is the same brand, make and model as that in the picture. And that's the reason why we were so taken by it." Alden took the phone back and stared at it. He couldn't be mistaken. He knows this girl. His jaw tightened.

"That's impossible." Everyone looked at him with confusion. He couldn't believe his eyes. "There is no way that this is her." He added.

He knew for a while now who killed... well, who he thought killed his brother. That's why as soon as he was given the chance to get close to his subject, he grabbed it. He made sure he sabotaged everything around it.

"Do you know her?" Aling Alita asked. He nodded.

"Molly knows her, too." He dropped his head. Molly grabbed the phone again and stared at it very well."I can't do this anymore. I am confused then but now I am... ugh!" He couldn't find the exact word to express how he feels and thinks at the moment.

"No way!" She exclaimed. "There's no way this is her. It can't be. She's not her. She is loving, sweet and kind. I know she drives a motorcycle but this girl here in the picture is a tough one." Molly added

"And tough she is." Utoy said. "She has some ninja moves on her, too." Utoy agreed with her. "You should have seen her when she was chasing us and when she finally got to me and Egay... Hooh! She paralysed us without leaving any internal damages to us. Oh and you should have heard how she spoke to Vinny. She's sweet and loving, tender and caring. She has this voice that soothes your inner demon. I can attest to that. And that is why I was so mad at Liit because he made Nanay Nancy believe that that lady killed Viinny just to cover his own ass. That accident shouldn't have happened if not because of his cretinous dare. I was mad at Vinny for taking on Liit's mindless dare but I was beyond mad at Liit for being down right ludicrous, moronic and ignorant. He believed that he can make everyone do what he says, even the straightforward good boy like Vinny. He should have been the one that died, not Vinny!" Utoy poured out his anger. Tears coming down. Aling Alita handed Utoy a glass of water to calm him down.

Alden didn't know what to say after that. He needs to get the newspaper reports and the police report. He needs to piece all things together. Or not. Thinking about it right now, everything that he knew then was different from he's finding out now. First from one of the four who was there that day.

"Oh my. Kuya Alden, you're right. This is her. She's so much younger in this picture, but she's still the same one." Molly's eyes went big as she realized who the girl in the picture was.

"Who?!" The three chorused, all eyes on her.

"She's the foster mother of that cute little girl I'm babysitting." Molly answered, staring at him. She squinted her eyes then it went big and wide upon realizing something. "Oh. My. God. You did not." Molly gasped, covering her mouth with the other and the other on her chest. She was appalled at the thought that he may have some kind of plan against her. She stood up, mad.

"Molly, it's not what you think." He quickly said before she could totally leave the table.

"It's not what I think? Really!" She's mocking him. Well, a better word to describe is she's taunting him and at the same time sizing him up. "If it's not what I think it is, then what?" She then asked.

"Who are we talking about?" Aling Alita chimed in wondering what is going on.

"You personally know her?" Utoy butted in. "I need to see her to apologize." Alden turned to look at Utoy. He's on the verge of tears. If Alden did not realize the severity of the young men's action then, he thinks he had a slight idea now.

"Wait. Ate Maine is that girl?!" Sonia asked excitedly, wide-eyed smiles and giddiness combined. He ignored her.

"She's the reason why I asked for a transfer in this post. She's the reason why I am doing what I'm doing. And before you judge me, Molly, my Mom and my brother died because of her." He said, trying to justify whatever Molly saw in his eyes earlier.

Alden knew this girl since he came back for Nancy's and Vinny's funeral. He never heard her talk this long let alone get this kind of reaction from her, she's something else.

"She's the reason Nanay Nancy died? How?" Utoy asked. "I thought she killed herself? I know Nanay Nancy had tried killing herself before and that is why Vinny stopped going to school so he can help her, I didn't realize she, who is so sweet to Vinny till his last breath, could do that to Nanay Nancy. But how though?" Aling Alita and Sonia exchanged looks and laughed.

"You are such a dimwit." Sonia declared. Utoy gave her a deathly glare.

"She did not physically kill her but she caused the pain in Nancy that led to her killing herself." Aling Alita explained. Utoy's face turned beet red.

"I know that, Nay." He quickly said, trying to save his face. "What I meant was, how. No offense, Kuya Alden, that girl is not the reason why Vinny died. He died because of Liit's stupid dare. That is all there is to it. In whatever angle you look at the matter, we did it to Vinny, not that girl. If you are going to avenge his death, do it to us, not to her. She's just a victim of the circumstance." He firmly said with tears, looking Alden straight in the eye.

"So, what you're saying right now is that, my Mom lied to me?" Alden asked Utoy with anger in his eyes. Utoy did not back down. He looked Alden squarely in the eyes.

"Look Kuya Alden, Nanay Nancy wasn't there when that happened. You weren't there either, I was. You did not see anything, I did. You did not hear the pain in that lady's voice, I still hear it everyday, every night, every waking moment of my life for almost five years and even in my sleep, it still haunts me." Utoy never said those to Molly and Sonia but today he is letting it all out. "Don't get me wrong, I love Nanay Nancy like a true mother since mine is... never mind, but I disagree with her belief and that is Liit's fault. And when I see him, I do not give a flipping sheet of paper, I kill him with my bare hands for doing that to Vinny and Nanay Nancy." Utoy did not flinch a bit. He did not blink as he was uttering all those words. You can feel that sharpest side of the dagger slicing in.

They were eye to eye and no one was backing down. Aling Alita did not say anything because she somehow knew that this two young man would not square it out to the extent of brauling. 

"Wait, hold on. I know I am sounding like a dim-witted idiot here, who is this girl? Is this Ate Maine?" Sonia butted in. She wants to defuse the rising heat between Alden and Utoy, she gotta say something. She needs to state the obvious since she did not get a direct answer from anyone..

"Yes, Sonia. That is Maine." Alden replied not looking at anyone. He brought his glare to the slice of cake in front of him. He is now confused more than ever. The weird part is, he believes Utoy's every word.

"She was a five times motocross champion, a nurse, a fire volunteer and a Mom... cool." Sonia did not hide the admiration in her voice. She is so taken by the achievements and toughness of this cookie.

Alden on the other is still trying to figure things out. He was led by his own mother to believe the opposite of what really took place.

For years he harboured anger at this one person, that he didn't even know, he didn't even give this woman the chance to prove his mother's allegation wrong or right. He just assumed that his mother was telling him the truth.

"She lied to me?" He uttered under his breath. Those words brought a bitter taste to his mouth.

"Alden. In your Mom's defense, she did not lie to you. She just believed in the wrong truth." Aling Alita said, defending Aling Nancy's memory.

Alden became emotional. He had never heard this side of the story. And this dinner with Aling Alita's family and meeting one of Vinny's best friends, took him to a different angle and perspective. And somehow it cleared his thoughts even if he is still a little confused.

He was led to believe that Maine had pushed his brother off that ledge that led to his death. When he saw the condition of his mother, it crushed his heart. After Vinny was laid to rest, everything his mother said stayed in his heart, his mind and soul. It burrowed in and stayed.

He needs to make sure that his mother gets the justice that wasn't given to her, but now that he has heard the same story from four different people, which by the way are the closest to Nancy and Vinny, he doesn't know if he will still listen to every word of it.

"I can still hear Vinny's laughter sometimes. I can hear him whine when he would get upset at times." Utoy uttered after a moment of deafening silence that covered them.

It's been four years but it seems like it was only yesterday for Utoy. He can still hear his contagious laughters, his sweet dimpled smiles, his outburst that is so funny because Vinny's outburst sounds like a two-year old's tantrum fits. Speaking of a two-year old... 

"Do you guys know where Irma is?" Utoy then asked. Aling Alita, Molly and Sonia glanced at each other then shook their heads saying no.

"No, we don't see her around. The last time was at the hospital before Alden came." Aling Alita was the one to answer. Utoy fell in a complete silence. He seems to be in deep thoughts.

"Who's Irma?" Alden asked, looking straight at Utoy.

"She's Vinny's girlfriend." Utoy replied. He took a deep breath before telling Alden a story.

Utoy, Vinny, Irma and Egay are really close friends. They do things together and they were inseparable before, then came Liit. They met him at the school. He got someone in trouble and after school, three other kids were waiting for him outside the school gate, getting beat up. They came passing by and saw what was happening, so they stopped the fight and helped him. Since then he became one of the five, then it became four because Liit made Irma feel uncomfortable with him.

Utoy went on telling the story of their camaraderie back then. The crazy stuff, the funny things and some of the troubles they get themselves into, not the kind of trouble that Liit gets into but just boy stuff. Utoy then went on to telling him about the girlfriend and how Vinny dreamt a lot for him and Irma. How Vinny wanted to take Irma away from her crazy guardians and many more till he ran out of words to say.

"Kuya Alden, you may not ask," Molly took his attention. "But there were times I would see Ate Maine looking out in space with a blank expression on her face but her eyes are full of sadness and questions." Molly spoke up after a while. His brows furrowed.

"Why? Is she okay? Is Periwinkle Okay?" Alden suddenly felt the urge to get up and go to her, go to them.

"She's fine. Periwinkle is fine. But there were those times when Ate Luisa and Kuya Mike would be around to visit her and Periwinkle, she would ask Ate Luisa questions, why are you always mad at her? She even asked Kuya Mike to transfer her to a different team or a different post, because she felt like she couldn't do anything right around you. She asked Kuya Gerald that question, too, which would end up with no answer from them and he would just hug her so she could cry it out." Molly continued on but in Alden's mind, he could no longer stay there. He wants to see her and punch the daylight out of Gerald.

"Why, Alden? Are you not happy that she's miserable now because of you? Or are you not happy because she's being consoled by someone else not you." Alden sat up straight upon hearing what Aling Alita had said or asked. It made him think. Why? Why does he want to go there to ease her pain? Why would he want to punch the daylight out of Gerald? He's not allowed to hug her, only him. Then a realization hit him hard in the face but pushed it aside.

So what if she's sad and crying all the time? What is it to him? Isn't that what he wants? He's succeeding in making her miserable. He should be happy that he is driving her insane? Isn't that what he wants? Why is she not happy? Why did it make him feel worse of himself doing that to her?

He leaned his forehead against the table. He is so confused now more than ever. He was in disbelief at what had happened to Vinny, he was baffled as to why his Mom did what she did and not thinking of Aleck, and now, he was beyond confusion. He is in the state of embarrassment and mortification.

He can not make the wrong right by doing another wrong thing? Why didn't he think of this before? Why is it easy for him to just jump into conclusion and decide on matters that happen because it needs to happen? Why is being so mindless? He is disgusted with himself at the moment.

"Alden, if you think you are doing your mother a favor, you're wrong. Nancy may be happy to see other people's misery because she is in it, I don't think you are one and the same. Make right where it was wrong. Do what's right the right way. Do things that will make you feel fulfilled. Don't be miserable like her. You may be your mother's son, but you are also your father's. Your father made her miserable and so did Wilfred. Her children are the result of those bad relationships, don't do things the way she wants. Do what's best for everyone not for your Mom. She's gone. She's not going to see what you've done for her." Aling Alita may be her mother's best friend but she didn't condone her actions.

"Aling Alita, I can't just turn my back on her." Alden tried to reason and stand his ground.

"Look. I am not telling you what to do and not to do. Remember that time when you came home, you just got back from the state to visit her and you were so excited to see her ? What was she? She was out drinking and hooked up with this guy. When you went to get her, where did you wake up three days after in time for you to go back state side?" Aling Alita was angry at Nancy that time. "You could have died and she didn't have any clue what happened to you. You're lucky to have some good Samaritan that helped you that night or will not be here tonight." Alden remembered that night. She went to get his mom. He didn't know it was the slum side of the city. He got held up, beat up and left for dead. Three men took his rental car. He didn't know what happened after that because he woke up the following morning in the hospital giving his statement to the policemen.

Aling Alita in deed is a true friend for his mom and even for him. She will tell you the right thing to do even if it is against what you want. A true friend will tell you you're wrong and show you the right way to do it, whether it will make you happy or not, and that is Aling Alita. She's loving and kind and he found out from this woman how his mom plotted to ruin Olivia and Colt's marriage since her's didn't work out. Nancy also had planned to sabotage Wilfred and Laida's wedding, so could see how miserable they'd turn out.

No matter how wrong or bad his mother was, she was still his mother. He will always love her till the time they see each other again, but is he doing the right thing now?

"Aling Alita, what will I do? I am confused, embarrassed, I am on the brink of insanity. How could I make this right. She was hurt and I made a promise to her." Aling Alita was so surprised to see tears rolling down Alden's cheek. She got up from across him and sat next to him.

"Alden, hijo. Do what is right. Yes, you made a promise to your mother, after that, what? Take everything we tell you and investigate them yourself. Find the truth and when you do, make it right. I know you are a very smart man. You will figure this thing out." Alden felt her warm palm rubbing his back. For the very first time in his life, he felt a motherly touch. He went on crying and cried some more. He can't help it.

Everyone looked at each other and sat down together quietly and just watched him cry his heart out. He knows he will be teased by Aling Alita's two girls but he doesn't care. This is the first time in his life that someone considered how he felt inside without saying a word, with just a simple rub in the back, Aling Alita touched his souls and a kid in Alden was screaming hunger... hunger of love, a mother's love.

The night went on lightly after that. Utoy and Alden became close like they've known each other for so long. That night, he made a promise to himself that he will make everything right.

Wait for me, Maine. I'll make it right for you... and for me and Periwinkle.

__________
End of TPA 18: Make It Right

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💖 ~ Ms J ~ 💖
04.28.20

The Periwinkle Affair
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August 26, 2019