A Soldier's Oath (Completed)

CHAPTER 5

Tessa

"Ma'am Tessa?" Maning called.

I walked through the door in the kitchen and opened it for Maning who carried boxes and bags. Kinuha ko ang ibang dala niya at iniayos iyon sa mesang pinagkainan namin ni Tate kanina.

Napasinghap si Maning nang nakita niya si Tate na naghuhugas. I looked at her in bewilderment, also Tate's.

"Good morning Maning" he greeted with his tight smiled again and back his attention in the dishes he's been washing.

"Ma'am, kailan pa po siya dumating?" Maning asked in a whisper.

"I have no idea, dito na siya dis-oras ng gabi. Lasing" I said nonchalantly. I looked at Maning weirdly.

"Ahh okay, yun naman pala" she shook her head as if she deduced a criminal case.

"Anong 'yun naman pala'?" tanong ko.

Umalis na kami sa kusina, naglalakad na patungong porch kung saan gaganapin ang Gender reveal na pinaghahandaan namin weeks before. I decided to hold the party in this house to honor Jake, I want him to be part of the party we throw for Deacon.

Deacon. My sweet baby. I unconsciously caress my bump.

"Dito kasi yan nagtungo si Sir Tate pag-uuwi, hindi po yan umuwi sa bahay nila Ma'am hanggat hindi dumaan dito. Kita mo po yang yate sa di kalayuan?" turo niya sa Yate na lumulutang sa malapit sa may boardwalk.

Deacon was painted on the body of the yacht. My eyes widen as soon as I saw the name.

"Yan ang ginamit ni Sir pag umuwi. Hindi po yan nagpapasundo sa airport, sumusulpot nalang po yan na parang kabuti sakay ang yati niya" she continued as if she's my teacher teaching me some things about her class.

Well, I did learn something about Tate and why he came to her drunk in the middle of the night.

I realized that this is their lair with Jake and every time he comes home from war, they hang out here ever since. And I stole it from him, now Jake's not around anymore.

That's why Jake gave a room across ours for Tate, he wanted his brother to stay welcome here because this was once their lair, their home.

I felt a pang in my chest as I realized things about Tate and Jake.

They're inseparable.

I wish I had that bond. I felt envious of their close relationship because I was never close with my own siblings. We seem normal, formal and civil but we can't stand each other at the end of the day, that's why they left and built their families away from where we grew up.

Both of my brothers were living in Metro Manila, while my sister resided in Cebu for good. They have their own families of their own, ako nalang ang wala.

But now, I have a son that I can call family even without Jake.

Maning and I got down to business and prepared the venue for the party. I never had a chance to ask why Deacon was painted in Tate's yacht. I want to know why Jake wanted to name our son 'Deacon'. I want to know the connection.

I feel like a detective investigating a criminal case. I hardly call myself a detective because I'm not a soldier like Tate or worked in that field.

Hindi ako chismosa, curious lang.

And Maning could answer my questions because she's here almost her life. Anak siya ng mayordoma ng mga Montereal. She grew up with them. Maning is 26, married and had a son named Tikoy.

She's 5 years older than me, I told her to call me Tess but she refused. Said it's part of her job. She refused to go back to school after she got pregnant at the age of 16. From then on, she served Montereal just like her mother.

I saw Tate walk out through the main door. He looked confused about what was going on. Nandito ang karamihan sa mga kasambahay para tulungan ako sa pag set-up. I refused to get help from the professional event organizer kasi maliit lang naman tong pagsasalo-salo at kaya ko naman.

I want an exclusive and intimate party for my son, just his family and mine. Though Mom had catering services and soon they'll be stepping foot any minute from now.

"Hi" I chirped as soon as he descended the last step.

"Hey, I'm sorry I'm confused about what's going on" He said.

"It's okay, I prepared a small Gender reveal party for Deacon." I whispered the final word.

His eyes widened and I just smiled. He realized that he's the first person I ever told about the gender of the baby.

He pretended to zipped his mouth which earned a laugh from me. Tate smiled, muscles relaxed in his face unlike the first time I met him.

"I should get ahead, I have to shower first. I reeked of alcohol and I think it's bad for the baby" He smelled his under-arm and winced at the scent.

"Can I expect your presence here? For the reveal?" I asked him when he's about to walk away.

"I can hardly tell its reveal, but yeah you can expect me here" he smiled, not the right one but a smile that shows his dimple at the left side of his cheek.

Then he walked. I traced his steps and Maning was right when Tate went to his yacht. Probably to shower and change.

She mentioned that Tate didn't mostly stay in Mom's house. He usually spends most of his vacation in his yacht, fishing and I don't know what else he does.

I can see that he doesn't spend so much time with his family. I don't know why.

I stopped my thoughts about him and tried to enter his life's mystery. I focused on preparing things for the party. Jane came as well as his husband Echo, helping around. Jane settled the tables for the guest while Echo helped in installing the lights.

Our lawn is wide enough to accommodate a hundred guests. Jake used to mow the grass here while painting him from the porch. Those days were the happiest days I had with him.

I wish I could just turn back to the time where we were once happy and content. Those days where we planned the life ahead of us, including this.

He planned to hold the gender reveal here with our children or the reception of our wedding. He planned it well, all the details while I was in his arms listening intently.

I was happy at that time and expected that he would be here while we made it happen. But what I didn't expect is that I was left alone to prepare all of our plans. I was alone with a child he dreamed.

I was living the life he dreamed.

I saw that our preparation came to an end and I can't help it but to cry. Tears started to roll down my cheeks. I was happy and sad at the same time.

Happy because the plans we used to talk about, that I thought were just gibberish, are finally made to reality, and sad because he was not here on my side witnessing all of this.

"Jake would be sad if he saw you crying right now instead of smiling," Jane said when she saw me.

"I can't help it, Jane. This was his dream, it's what we dreamed" I said crying.

"And you made it happen. I know he's happy right now. He's proud of you" she hugged me, calming me down.

Mom saw us in that state and she joined us. She cried hard at the end. She complained that her makeup is ruined and she's a mess which earned a laugh from us.

I'm lucky I have them.

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