Hearts Series 3: Hearts in Chaos

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Dating

"Iris... Are you dating, Stephen?"

Bumaling ako kay Mommy at nakagat ko ang labi ko. Hindi ko pa pala nasasabi sa parents ko ang tungkol sa amin ni Stephen.

"Hija, your Dad told me that Stephen talked to him." Mommy said.

Bahagya naman nanlaki ang mga mata ko sa sinabi ni Mommy.

She smiled at me. "I'm happy for both you and Stephen, Iris. Noon pa man na mga bata pa lang kayo ni Stephen ay parang nakita ko na may pagtingin na siya sa'yo..."

Bahagya naman akong umiling sa sinabi ni Mommy.

But Mommy just continued to smile at me. "At nitong usapan lang nila ng Daddy mo ay tingin ko parang gusto na rin hingin ni Stephen ang kamay mo para sa kasal sa amin, hija." Mommy chuckled.

Umiling pa ako lalo kay Mommy. "Hindi naman po siguro, Mom..."

But Mommy just smiled at me.

I just bit on my lip then.

"Anyway..."

"Yes, Mom?"

She looked at me this time like she's curious. "How about you, hija?"

"Po?"

Lumapit pa sa akin si Mommy. "Now that I know about this, I wonder... how you feel for Stephen."

"Mom!" Nanlaki pa ang mga mata ko habang nakatingin sa kay Mommy.

Tinawanan lang naman niya ang reaction ko. "Hija, naisip ko lang. Noon si Stephen ay napupuna ko na. Pero ikaw? I never knew that you had a crush on Stephen, too? O ngayon lang ba ito na nagkita kayo muli sa hospital ng mga Dela Cuesta?"

Napailing ako kay Mommy.

And then she added, "Iniisip ko pa nga noon na kailan ka kaya may ipapakilala na lalaki sa amin ng Daddy mo? Hindi ka rin kasi nagkukuwento sa akin ng tungkol sa kung may nagugustuhan ka na rin ba mula pa man noon... You know, Iris, I also worry about you, hija. Of course, you will forever be my baby. Pero gusto ko rin naman na makapag-asawa ka at magkaanak—mag-pamilya ng sarili mo." She sighed. "I sometimes blamed your Dad that you have become workaholic dahil sa pagbibigay ng pressure niya rin sa'yo, I know." Bahagya pang sumimangot din si Mommy nang maisip si Daddy.

I sighed. I think I'll just tell Mommy now. "Mom... I liked Stephen even back then, po..." pag-amin ko.

At habang sinasabi ko ito ay iniisip ko rin at nagbabalik-tanaw ako sa nakaraan. And I remember back then... "At first I didn't recognize my own feelings. Especially that I thought of Stephen like a little brother to me when we were little kids. You remember, I find him so cute when you first introduced him to me."

I sighed again.

"But then when we grew up, and he grew to be smarter than me... I became not that fond of him anymore... I even thought na parang inaagaw na rin niya sa akin ang atensyon ni Daddy... Kaya mas lalong natatabunan iyong nararamdaman ko talaga sa kaniya..." It's true. I couldn't properly think of my own feelings for Stephen back then dahil ngayon ko lang narealize na natatabunan din pala iyon noon ng insecurities ko. But then after he confessed to me back then, I realized my feelings for him, too. But at that time I still had doubts and I wasn't sure yet. We were young... But Stephen was even younger than me and he wasn't scared of his own feelings... He was even so brave to confess and let me know of how he felt. "But I just couldn't deny my feelings, Mom." I said.

Nakinig lang naman sa akin si Mommy hanggang sa matapos akong magsalita. And then she smiled gently at me. "Does Stephen know about this?" She asked.

Tumango naman ako kay Mommy. And then she just smiled again like she's satisfied.

Ngumiti na rin ako kay Mommy.

"Nag-usap raw kayo ni Daddy?" I asked Stephen the next day at work during our break.

Tumango naman sa akin si Stephen.

"Ano'ng pinag-usapan ninyo ni Dad?" I asked him.

And Stephen proceeded to telling me what he and my dad had talked about our relationship. Tinanong lang naman siya ni Daddy tungkol sa aming dalawa at nagsabi na rin si Stephen kay Daddy.

Tumango ako pagkatapos. "Are you free next weekend? Probably Sunday. My parents invited you to have dinner at our house." I said.

"Okay." Tumango naman agad si Stephen. And he agreed.

So on a Sunday I waited for Stephen to arrive at our house. When I received a message from him na malapit na raw siya ay lumabas na rin ako ng kwarto ko at bumaba. Nakita pa ako nina Mommy na bumababa na sa hagdanan namin. Tapos na rin akong makapag-ayos para sa dinner namin ngayon.

"Is Stephen here, hija?" I was asked by mom.

Tumango ako kay Mommy. "Yes, Mom." And then I went straight to our door para salubungin ko na rin si Stephen sa labas.

"Hi!" I smiled to him.

"Hi." Ngumiti rin sa akin si Stephen at nakita kong may dala pa siya para sa amin.

"Pasok ka." Pinapasok ko siya sa bahay namin and he immediately greeted my Mom and Dad, too.

"Good evening, po." Stephen politely greeted my parents.

Natutuwa naman parehong bumati rin sa kaniya ang mga magulang ko. At nakita na rin nila ang dala ni Stephen para sa kanila. "Naku, nag-abala ka pa, hijo." Mommy smiled to Stephen.

Ngumiti lang naman si Stephen kay Mommy.

At binati rin ni Stephen pati pa sina Manang din. Naalala pa niya ang mga ito at naalala rin siya ng mga kasambahay namin. Tumira rin naman si Stephen sa amin dati.

"Naku! Naalala mo pa pala kami, hijo." Ngumiti si Manang kay Stephen.

And Stephen smiled to her. "Oo naman po, Manang." He said.

"Salamat dito, hijo. Gumuwapo ka pa lalo!" sabi pa ni Manang.

At napailing na napangiti na lang din ako sa tabi nila habang nakikinig lang sa usapan.

And then we proceed to the dining area to have dinner. Then Daddy started talking to Stephen during our meal. Mga tungkol lang din naman sa trabaho at ospital ang topic ni Daddy. At sumasali na rin si Mommy sa kanila.

Naisip ko na parang gaya lang din ng dati.

I watched my parents with Stephen.

Daddy looked happy while he talked to Stephen. Kaya napangiti na rin ako. At nagpatuloy lang din kumain sa dinner namin.