In Love With Ms. Manoban

Part 40

Jeremiah

"We have a lot to talk about, don't we?" Lisa asked as we laid cuddled up under a blanket on the couch in the living room that night.

"Yes," I agreed. Since Lisa came back, we haven't had much time to just sit down and talk. She has been extra tired and had built up quite the appetite over the weeks she was away, so she was either sleeping, eating or discussing about the baby. All of those are good but I want to spend time with her, talking about her and us. That's why I can't wait for our date in a few days. We won't have as much free time when classes are back to normal.

"You said you wanted to talk to me when I get back. What is it?"

"It's about my mother." She glanced away from me briefly before looking back at my eyes. That's when I knew my assumptions were correct. "Did you pay for her rehab?" My eyes got a bit glossy when she nodded slowly. "Thank you, Lili." I buried my face in her neck to hide the tears that ran down my cheeks, but it was useless though because I knew she could feel them as they fell onto her skin. "Thank you, so much."

"Oh Jerry," she replied. Lisa then raised my head and kissed my wet cheeks. "Don't mention it. It was my pleasure."

"I promise I'll pay you back as soon as I get the position and have saved up enou-"

"Stop that now," Lisa interrupted me. "You don't need to pay me back. I did this because I wanted to help. Think of it as a gift from me to you."

"Lili, I love you so much, Lisa Manoban," another tear ran down my cheeks. I'm really grateful towards Lisa. My mother has been needing the help for a long while and it always upset me when I couldn't provide it for her but now with Lisa's help things are starting to fall into place when it comes to her health.

"I love you too."

"Not so much?" I asked, feigning sadness.

"I love you so much, Jeremiah Kim. From here to the moon and back," she said with a giggle.

"That's more like it," I wiped my tears with a chuckle. "We should go visit her sometime. I'm sure she would want to see you. She is very appreciative of what you did for her." Lisa replied with a nod of her head. "Enough of that emotional stuff, now. Tell me about your vacation, what you didn't tell me over the phone already."

"Nothing much really happened to be honest. My Dad is a boring old man." She went on to tell me about some things that had a little interest in them, with me nodding and cutting in every now and then for finer details along the way. "Also..." she paused for a moment.

"What is it?" I questioned further.

"I started having nightmares for a while," she said softly.

"What? Since you got there?" I asked in concern.

"No. Around the second week," she held my hand under the blanket, something she did when seeking comfort. I pulled her as close as I could with her belly separating us.

"What were they about?"

"The same thing. Or should I say person?" My eyebrows furrowed in confusion at her words. "Jonathan," she said and I'm sure my face contorted to an unexplainable expression.

"Do you remember what usually happened? Do you feel comfortable talking to me about them?"

"Yeah. It's okay. That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about." I waited patiently for her to continue as she smiled, leaving my confused. "Remember that day I called you early in the morning, wanting to talk?"

"Oh, yeah," I replied.

"Well, that was actually one of the times I had a nightmare."

"Really?" She nodded her head. "And I was being so mean to you Lili. I'm sorry."