Rewind

Chapter Six: A Plan of Their Own

Just as Mommy was about to finish her sentence, she was interrupted by the sudden ringing of her phone.

Another wasted opportunity. Darn it. Might as well eat another slice of pizza.

"I'm sorry, Brie, but I really have to take this call," she said. She then stood up and made her way to a small, unoccupied corner at the back of the restaurant.

A million thoughts came into my mind as I waited for her to go back to her seat. Who was she talking to? Was it all about the proposed annulment? God, I hope not.

I became restless, as I couldn't stop tapping my foot and craning my neck to see if Mommy was done. I didn't know what I felt at that moment. It was a mix of excitement, fear, and uneasiness.

Mommy came back in a rush. It seemed to me that she also felt uneasy because when I asked her about the phone call, she only said, "I'll ask for the bill. We have to go home."

"But, why? Is something wrong?" I asked.

"You'll find out later. We really have to go now."

She signalled the waiter to bring the bill, and in just a short moment, Mommy was able to pay and off we went.

We ran towards our car where Kuya Dennis was waiting for us.

"Dennis, drive us home, now," she ordered. "And fast." He couldn't do anything else but agree and started the car.

--

Mommy was on the phone again on the ride home. And this time, she was talking to Daddy. Well, not really in a nice manner. They were shouting at each other and I could hear Daddy screaming foul words at her.

"Come on Lea," said Daddy on the other line. "I don't need your consent with that."

"Well, of course, you do, you idiot! We're still married! Hindi ka ba nag-iisip? Bahala ka nga diyan!" she snapped back and ended the call.

"Your father is giving me a headache already!" she grunted as she typed on her phone.

As she finished typing, my phone beeped. I checked it and saw that she tweeted an indirect to Daddy. Good grief.

"@MsLeaSalonga: The world is full of such narrow-minded, idiotic people. And you're one of them. #WhereAreYourManners"

Within a span of two to three minutes, the tweet garnered over 300 retweets and 550 favorites. Some brilliant writer even came up with an article about it with a title that read: "Broadway Diva's sudden arrival in the Philippines, recent tweets cause a stir in social media". It gained over a thousand shares on Facebook after five minutes.

I never understood why everything Mommy says is such a big deal to everyone, especially the ones concerning fights or disagreements about certain issues. Because of that, I'm starting to think that the reason Mommy left us is because of the negative feedback she's been receiving from our countrymen. But that couldn't possibly be the reason why. It could be something far deeper than that.

"Mommy, look at what all these people are saying about you! They're all awful!" I exclaimed as I showed her my Twitter feed.

She sighed. "Don't mind them, sweetheart. I'm used to it. It's their problem, not mine. I'm just honestly expressing how I feel right now. They don't know what's really happening."

I shrugged my shoulders. "If you say so, Mommy. I'm just worried."

--

The first thing that I saw when I went out of the car was very, very unexpected.

All of Mommy's bags and personal belongings were seated in front of the door of our house. Daddy was standing beside them, his arms crossed.

No wonder he didn't want to join Mommy and I for lunch.

Kinailangan ba talagang umabot sa ganito, I asked myself. Everything that's happening is so unbelievable.

"Aga, are you out of your mind?" Mommy's eyes widened. "I just arrived here yesterday and--"

"--paaalisin na kita agad-agad. Yes, that's exactly what I'm going to do," he interrupted.

"I'm amazed at your hospitality, Mr. Muhlach," she replied in a condescending manner. "Wala kang karapatan na paalisin ako. Isn't that a basic rule when it comes to being a host?"

"I have the right to let you leave if you're causing trouble at our household."

"Without my consent? Dude, you're doing it wrong. You still have to inform me beforehand na you don't want me hanging around here anymore. That's just very rude."

"Well, I'm already informing you now."

I just couldn't stand their fighting any longer and I knew that I had to do something about it. While neither of them talked, I spoke up.

"Hold on just a minute. You kept on arguing about Mommy being forced to leave the house without telling her beforehand. You never even gave consideration to what I'm going to feel about it. Mawalang-galang na po, Mommy and Daddy, but could you please just allow me to voice out my opinion on this? I'm part of this family, too, you know?"

They stared at each other blankly.

"Alright, Brie," said Daddy. "What do you have to say?"

I took a deep breath and began to speak. "I haven't been with Mommy in a long time, tapos paaalisin niyo siya nang agad-agad lang? Five years, Daddy. We've only had the chance to bond again yesterday and today. Kulang pa nga yung oras na yun, eh. I wanted to get to know her even more, but it was cut short all because we had to rush home and find that you did this. I love you, Daddy, but what you're doing is just unbelievable."

His eyes widened. "So, now you're telling me that I've been a bad father to you? Whose side are you on, anyway?"

"Daddy, I'm not taking sides. And no, you haven't been a bad father. At all. I'm just hoping that you'd give Mommy and I a longer period of time to catch up and bond with each other. I've been living alone with you for five years and we got to bond a lot even if you were working, right?"

He nodded. "I see your point, Brie. Well, if that's the way you see things, then let's make a deal. Your mother should leave this house in three days because I don't want any fighting to be happening in this house. And I'm going to let you decide with whom you want to stay with."

"I want to stay with Mommy."

"Alright, then it's all settled. You're still welcome to come here anytime."

"Thank you, Daddy."

I turned to Mommy and said, "Please settle this the soonest, Mommy. I don't want to lose either of you."

She gave me a hug and pat my shoulder. "We'll work things out eventually, Brie. And thank you for giving me another chance to make it up to my five-year absence."

-----

Updated twice today because I was so guilty of the last chapter being a cliffhanger! Sorry, guys! And let me take this opportunity to thank all of you for supporting ALL of my written works which have over 1k reads already! It's unbelievable. Your comments encourage me to write better stories for all of you. :)

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