"Engineer, dumating na po 'yong mga materyales. Pinapatanong po kung saan idi-diskarga."
I finished signing the document before I looked at the employee. Nakatayo si Lemuel sa may pintuan ng pansamantalang opisina ko sa site.
"Sa harap ng bagong tayo na scaffolding, Lemuel. Kumpleto ba?" Tumayo ako.
"Hindi po ako sigurado, Engineer."
I nodded at him. "Nasaan si Paulo?"
"Kausap po iyong nagde-deliver."
Muli akong tumango. Akmang aalis na ako para tingnan ang na-deliver na mga materyales nang tumunog ang cellphone kong nakalatag sa lamesa. Mabilis kong inabot ang telepono nang makita kung sino ang tumatawag.
"Susunod ako sa labas, sagutin ko lang itong tawag." I looked at Lemuel.
He smiled. "Sige po, Engineer."
I answered the call while walking towards the sliding window of the office. I opened it a little, allowing more light to enter the room. The noise from the site became louder too.
"Magandang hapon, Engineer. Pasensya na po sa istorbo pero si Seev po kasi, umiiyak."
My forehead creased and looked at my watch. It's already quarter to one in the afternoon. I groaned inwardly when I realized I didn't check my phone for hours because I got busy with the papers needed for the briefing tomorrow.
"What happened?"
After I asked that, I heard my daughter's cry in the background. I sighed heavily and walked back to the table.
"Hindi po kasi sumasagot si Ma'am Elais. Nangako raw po itong susunduin niya ngayon si Seev pero hindi po nito sinasagot ang kaniyang telepono."
I bit my lip. Elais did promise that last night. Nag-usap kami kung sino ang may oras sa tanghali para siya ang sumundo kay Seev. She said she has a more flexible schedule than mine so she promised Seev that she'd fetch her. It's not a surprise that my daughter cried since her mother isn't answering the phone.
It's already 1 PM which means her classes are finished. Alas dose y media natatapos ang klase ni Seev. She's already in kindergarten. Alas nuwebe ang klase niya at natatapos ng tanghali. Ibig sabihin ay kanina pa ito naghihintay sa Mommy niya.
"Kausapin ko po si Seev, Manang."
After a few seconds, I heard my baby cries louder this time. I smiled but my heart broke. She's probably wiping her eyes non-stop right now. She doesn't want it when it gets too puffy after she's done crying. She believes that wiping it while crying will prevent it from being too puffy.
"D-daddy..." nanginig ang maliit na boses.
"Hello, baby. What's wrong?" I soothed as I sit on the edge of the table.
"Daddy..." narinig ko ang pag-singhot niya.
She continued crying with short hiccup breaks. Nanatili akong tahimik, hinahayaan siyang umiyak. She'd talk when she's ready. When I heard her slowing down a little, I braced myself for her next words.
"Mommy is not answering her phone. She's still not here. She promised she will come and get me today. She promised, Daddy." Sumbong niya sa nanginginig na boses.
Huminga ako ng malalim. Elais doesn't break her promises to Seev because we both know how sensitive she is. And we also don't want to turn our back on our words to our precious daughter. Elais might have a good reason why she wasn't able to fetch her today. She might have had a problem at work or anything like that.
