Rewind

Chapter Eleven: The Matchmaker

When Mommy called Allie and I for dinner, we had already hid the B-Box in one corner of my mom's closet, then covered it with a pile of old clothes I'm sure she wouldn't use anymore. Since we couldn't find a box similar to its size, Allie surprisingly made up an alibi and told Mommy that her mom phoned her and said that there wasn't any space left in their car's compartment and that they would have to drop by another time to get the box.

As for Mommy and Allie being my dinner companions, I'd say being with the both of them is such a joy. We took a rather long time consuming the spicy buffalo wings and potato wedges we ordered because we all had many stories to tell. Most of the stories were so funny, there were a number of times when I nearly spat out the iced tea I was drinking. And if that wasn't bad enough, they both relished in narrating my most embarrassing moment and poked fun at me.

I sure wish that Daddy was there. If ever he heard Mommy and Allie poke fun at me, he'd come in the first line of my defense. Not that I resent my mom's teasing nor do I prefer him over her; both of them are actually fiercely protective of me when it comes to public scrutiny. It just so happened that he's the more lenient one and even lets me get away with some things whenever I don't get her approval. Their somewhat contrasting personalities give a wholesome balance to our family, and I like it that way.

It seemed to be a lot simpler before, but now, it seemed that they're using their personalities to force the other to submit to his or her superiority and get my full approval and loyalty. Now that I think of it, if he were actually here, he would've defended me in order to convince me that he was the better parent...

Scrap the whole I-wish-Daddy-was-here thing out. I don't want Allie to witness them fight over me. It would've been too humiliating if ever that took place.

Okay, but frankly, I want to have another family dinner. Hopefully it won't be like the last one with silverware-throwing and yelling coming from the two adults.

--

After Allie had been fetched by her mom, Mommy and I decided to turn in for the night early and we made our way to the master's bedroom. We took turns in using the bathroom to freshen up and change our clothes, then jumped on the bed, lying side by side with each other.

I let out a huge sigh and smiled at her. "I missed doing this, Mommy."

She nodded and ran her fingers through her hair. Her nose crinkled, too, just the way I remembered it from when I was young and we used to have our semi-monthly Mommy-Daughter Bonding Day.

Then, silence.

It took quite a while before I was able to break the ice by asking if we could spend the weekend at Daddy's house (of course, so I could carry out my plan).

"It's alright," she replied, "but I don't think your dad will welcome me there. I'll just drop you off and probably head out to meet with my friends."

"Come on, you'll be fine," I insisted. I just had to get Mommy to come along with me to Daddy's house and everything else will fall into place. "I promise that there'll be a fight-free environment once we get there."

"And how are you so sure that everything's gonna be in control, kiddo?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and giving me a pat on the cheek.

"Oh, just you wait till we get there, Mommy. For all I know, nagmana kaya ako sa'yo," I winked.

She playfully slapped my arm and chuckled.

"Weh? 'Di nga? You just sounded like your dad kaya!"

"Yieeee, si Daddy agad ang naalala," I teased her.

"Brianna," she chided me, "stop being makulit."