Responsibilities That Ties Us

Chapter 16: Mismo? Mis Mo?

Mother's calls don't come as often. So kung tatawag man siya, sometimes she takes almost an hour just talking and asking me about what's happening in school.

"A house party at Sophia's?"

"Oo," I grumply murmured, habang nagscro-scroll ako ng messeges sa aking laptop at binabasa ang mga pinagsasabi ni Landon at Sophia kanina pa. "Just letting you know, in case Landon decides to trouble you when the day comes... you've been busy. Pinapaalam ko lang."

Mama laughs from the other end, the mumbling of people being drowned by it. It's kind of obvious nga kahit ngayon, nasagitna parin siya ng trabaho niya. I could even hear someone talking to her.

"You know I always allow you naman diba?" she says after replying to whoever was talking on her end. "Si... dad mo lang yung iniisip ko..."

"I haven't heard from him in a while." Ang huli kong pag-usap sa kanya ay yung paghabilin niya ng bulaklak para kay mama. He's also probably in the middle of work, and since paparating na holidays, he'll be busier with the sales and all that.

"Well... minsan kasi ako yung tinatawagan ni dad mo at—"

"He calls you?"

Napatawa si mama. "Yes, hun... though minsan lang, but yeah, we talk."

Nakuha nito ang attensyon ko. "What do you talk about?"

"Just...mga bagay-bagay na dapat namin pagusapan."

"Like?"

Napatawa uli si mama. "Married things."

"That's the first time I heard about this." Mom agrees.

"Nagugulata na nga ako minsa kung sasagutin ko yung tawag niya..."

My parents' relationship is... let's say not that complicated. But in a way that is seen to be complicated nonetheless. Hindi sila nagpapansinan dahil sa work nila and their schedules don't aline much at all, leaving this invisible gap between them nga palagi kong mararamdaman whenever they exist in one certain place. Parang magkaparehas na magnet, pulling each other away.

They both hold different ground yet same levels, and I guess that's why ganyan silang dalawa sa isa't isa.

"He just asks me about you... at kung kamusta na yung recent projects ko ngayun." Kahit nga subtle lang minsan, whenever Mama talks about her husband, her voice tends to be a pitch higher, pero baka guni-guni ko lang yun— dahil then again, they barely talk about each other.

"Hindi kaba niya tinatawagan?"

"No, last time he did was nung nakabalik na siya sa US for a few days."

And the rest of our conversation fell short, dahil parami na ng parami ang naguusap kay mama. She had to hung up the phone in secret nalang dahil parang hindi na siya makakaalis sa usapan kung sino man yung nagsasalita. And a 'sorry' message comes through my messages.

I don't mind it much dahil I understand naman, she's always busy and we'll have another talk for the next weeks if she's lucky enough to squeeze it in her schedule.

Mama

Attend kalang nung party, anak ha...

Ako nakakausap sa dad mo if ever he finds out.