Eighteen

Chapter 45

I was still eyeing the pen that he had left. How careless of him. It nestled in the same place. I had been doing this since the first hour I woke up in bed. Today was supposed to be a special day, but remembering what had happened yesterday and Anais' confusing gestures, my mind was a concoction of bad and good thoughts.

Left with nothing but a dangling friend request, I had to send Ivo a message about this instead.

Camille: I have Anais' pen. Would you mind telling him?

As expected, his reply came quickly.

Ivo: Hala. panong nasayo?

Camille: Naiwan niya kahapon. I think he is unaware that he did. He must have realized this by now.

Ivo: Bakit hindi mo na lang sabihan nang direkta? Im not hermes, ms ceo

Camille: Oh, that would not be a problem if he had only confirmed me on Facebook.

Ivo: Kailangan talaga sa don?

Camille: Asan pa ba?

Ivo: Wala kang business card niya?

Camille: It's their company's card. It would be weird to contact it directly for trivial matters like this. Anyway, do you mind?

Ivo: Hahahaha. Okay. sabihan ko.

I had to take a shower because this day was really supposed to be significant. I had decided to visit his grave. This would be a first. I knew I was so late, and I hoped he did not hate me from wherever he might be. I just loved him so much that acceptance had been hard to come by. Pero ngayon, susubok ako, inaasahang kakayanin ko.

Pagkatapos kong magpalit sa isang dilaw at mabulaklak na bestida, tinawagan ko si Leon. Hindi pa man iyon nasasagot, may kumatok na sa pintuan. Inasahan ko na sila iyon kaya pinatay ko ang tawag.

When I opened the door, I was not mistaken. Leon held Cain's small hand in his. This little guy would be my company today. Leon was supposed to come, too, but he was quite busy at the aviation academy even on a Sunday.

"Hi, baby," I greeted and stooped down to his height, ruffling his hair. He grinned at me, the missing link of his teeth saying hi, too.

"Ate, hi," bati naman ni Leon, ang tono ay parang nagtatampo na hindi ko man lang siya binati. Tumuwid ulit ako ng tayo at inosenteng ngumiti sa kanya.

"Hi, big baby," I teased. He pouted and laughed after. I mussed his hair, too, just to be fair.

"Your car broke, right?"

"Yeah. But I rented out another car, so we will be fine," ani ko.

"Okay. Then, I have to go."

"Sige. Good luck at school. See you tomorrow," sabi ko dahil bukas ko pa iuuwi si Cain sa kanila. I hope he would not cry later at night, missing his mother.

"See you." He bobbed his brows and walked away after giving Cain one last pat on the head and reminding him to be a good boy with me.

I held Cain's hand in mine and ushered him inside my place. I made him sit on the made bed while I styled my hair with a silver pin at the back of my head. Dinampot ko ang bag ko sa coffee table at ilalagay na sana ang cellphone ko sa loob nang nakita ko na may mensahe.

A message request.

Hindi ko maipaliwanag ang naramdaman ko noong nakita ko ang pangalan niya na nakabaybay sa makakapal na letra. Nawala lang iyong kakaibang nararamdaman ko nang nakita ang mensahe niya. The writings below his profile did not help at all-You're not friends on Facebook.