Amour Rouge (Red Love)

Chapter 15

"¡Eduardo, ha pasado un tiempo! ¿Es ella tu hija? Rosa?" A man, who looks the same age as my dad, welcomed us warmly. (*Eduardo, it's been a while! Is this your daughter, Rosa?)

"Amigo! Te lo dije, es Rose, no Rosa!" (*Pare, I told you, it's Rose and not Rosa!)

"Ah lo siento! Rose, Eres muy hermosa! Muy guapa!" (*Ah, sorry! Rose you are very beautiful! Very pretty!)

"Gracias Señor," I smiled kindly to the man, Carlos' dad. (*Thank you, sir)

"No tienes que llamarme señor, Tío." (*You don't have to address me sir, call me Tito.)

"Tío," I repeated.

Carlos looked at me weirdly. Aba, parang alien ang paningin niya sa'kin.

"You speak Español?" He gasped.

"Gracias to your ancestors for colonizing us," I smirked while his mouth suddenly closed. He looks so guilty, aba'y dapat lang! Our country suffered for 333 years! "Kidding, Spanish is one of the languages I learned last year. But it's my first time using it. It sounds weird, no?"

"No, no. You sound great. I was taken aback when I heard you. You are smart, huh" Tumawa lang ako, I'm not really fond of praises. Mahiyain akong tao, kaya mabilis din pumula ang mga cheeks ko.

Close nga ang pamilya ni Carlos at ang tatay ko. Akala ko kasi pinaplastic lang kami eh... joke! While eating dinner, kung ano ano lang ang mga pinag-uusapan nila. Mostly hindi ko naiintindihan dahil limited lang ang pinag-aralan ko.

Napatingin ako kay Carlos na tumitingin lang sa mga tatay namin. Para siyang natatae na ewan.

"¡Papá, no digas eso! Red es la novia de Charles. Mi amigo se enfadará si oye esto." Carlos dropped his utensil on the table. His voice also increased slightly, he sounds angry. (*Dad, don't say that! She's with Charles. He will get mad when he hears this!)

Masyadong malakas ang accent at mabilis ang salita ni Carlos. Pero I think, he said something about me being with Charles.

I looked at him with confused eyes. I was about to stand up, also attempting to join their conversation with my little knowledge of Spanish when he gestured me to remain seated kaya sinunod ko na lang.

Parang kumalma din ata ang usapan nila ng may sinabi ang papa niya. We continued with our meals habang busy pa din na nag-uusap ang mga tatay namin. Tía Reyes, his mom, looked at me apologetically. I only smiled para ipahiwatig na okay lang. I turned to Carlos again pero he's busy talking with her sister, Blanca. She's actually very kind, we talked kanina about how she wanted to tour me around Spain. Syempre, I agreed! Mabait naman siya at gusto ko talagang maglibot. I don't want to do it with my dad kasi feel ko hindi ko ma-eenjoy ng fully.

It's getting darker kaya sinabihan ko na si dad na umuwi na kami. Pero, nagulat ako ng sinabi ni Tío na dito na daw kami matulog. Apparently, my dad has his own room in this house. He gets lonely daw kasi siya lang ang nakatira sa bahay. I felt sorry because of that, I also wanted to work here in Spain mainly because I want to stay with my father. Nasa Pinas naman ang kapatid ko kaya may kasama pa din si Mama kahit papaano.

Tía Reyes guided me to their guestroom. Magkatabi ang kwarto namin ni Carlos at ate Blanca. Carlos gave me a shirt na hindi pa nagagamit, nahihiya kasi ako na tanungin pa si Ate Blanca dahil tulog na siya. Natatakot din ako na bumalik pa ng bahay para kumuha ng mga gamit ko. Si daddy kasi eh, parang may motor sa baba, ayaw tumigil sa chika nila ni Tío.

"Thanks for this, good night Carlos!" He dropped a folded shirt on my hands. He also wished me a good night before going inside his room.

Doon ko na lang nakita ang print ng shirt pagkatapos ko mag shower. As expected...

Ferrari