Ophelia (Overseas Series 1)

Kabanata 2

#OpheliaKab2

"Look who's here!" A man with a dark blonde hair, striking blue eyes, perfectly pointed nose, and a playful smile opened the door and greeted me right before I even got the chance to knock.

"I can't. I'm blind," I sarcastically replied to Lukas as I made my way inside the Anderson residence habang ang lalaki ay natatawang sinabayan ako papasok. Lukas helped me remove my coat at siya na rin ang nagsabit no'n sa stand. After that, as if on cue, his right arm draped on my shoulders as his left hand settled on my head and crumpled my hair. And as a 5'7 petite Filipina woman, I already made peace with how this 6'2 Filipino-American man greets his friends.

Lukas whistled. "Ah, really I missed the grumpy grinch named Lia."I gave him an eye and jokingly elbowed him just to get away from this giant. "Tangina mo, Goliath!"

"Hey! I know you just sweared at me!" Lukas acted like he sounded offended and ran towards the kitchen. "Mom, Lia just dissed me in Tegelog! She's so mean, Mom!" Rinig kong parang batang nagsumbong si Lukas kay Tita Lyla.

A couple of seconds passed, natatawang lumabas si Tita Lyla mula sa kusina na nakasuot pa ng pot holder habang binabalanse ang isang grayish tray na alam ko ay lasagna ang laman. Sa likod naman niya ay nakabuntot si Lukas na mukhang tangang naka-pout pa. Software engineer ba talaga 'to?

"Mom, Lia is so mean," ulit na sumbong ni Lukas kay Tita Lyla matapos nito mailagay sa formal dining table ang dala. Hindi na siya pinansin ni Tita Lyla because she went to me and embraced me with a tight hug. "I missed you, Lia, iha," she whispered to me as I hugged her back. I saw how Lukas crossed his arms, leaned his head sideways and a gentle smile appeared on his lips as he watched us. "Huwag mo ng pansinin ang lalaking 'yan na sobrang baluktot ang dila sa Tagalog, ha?" Tita Lyla loudly joked, making sure it's audible enough for Lukas to react Oscars- worthy.

As expected, his gentle stance earlier was immediately replaced with another 'acting' scowl on his face. He then exaggeratedly covered his mouth and pointed us with a how-dare-you-talk-about-me-in-tagalog-when-you-know-I-only-speak-the-word-tegelog-and-mebuhhay-but-hey-you-know-I-tried-it's-just-that-I-sucked-at-it face. Lukas Anderson is clearly a frustrated actor in this lifetime.

I spent and enjoyed my whole afternoon catching up with the whole Anderson family. Tito William, Lukas' father, is a retired Navy general. His wife is Tita Lyla, who was the nanny of Tito William's niece. They met, fell in love, got married, and raised Ate Lilac and Lukas here in the US with Filipino values and culture instilled in them. Ate Lilac speaks fluent Filipino. As for Lukas, well, he tried, but he just can't. He understands a few words, tho, but he only speaks the words Tagalog and mabuhay, bulol pa.

"How do you plan to spend your remaining months here in the US, Lia?" Tito William asked. "I suggest," he continued as he shrugged his shoulders, "you can spend more time with Lukas now that he's on a vacation and has a lot of PARTIES to go to," Tito William said with a clear emphasis of the word parties which earned a loud laugh from me and Tita Lyla and an are-you-kidding-me-dad face from Lukas.

"C'mon dad, are you kidding me?"

See?

I happened to get to know Lukas, well, almost everyone I spend so much time with. I guess, it comes with the profession. As a special education teacher, it's like our innate nature to know and understand our students especially those that have difficulty or cannot speak at all. Along the way of teaching children with special needs, we get to comprehend, speak and be fluent with their language. That is the magic of special education that I was able to use and master as I communicate and interact with a lot of people— especially the one closest to me, and that includes this family I was sitting and laughing with right now.