The Correct Way To Drink An Affogato

21

"S-Sev"

There he is standing in front of me with... That familiar smile of his.

I remember how gentle it was.

"Papa, who is he?" Tanong ni Florian na nakapagpabasag sa katahimikan.

"I'm y-your Papa's friend" Sagot ni Severiano, napakamot sa batok niya.

I saw something sparkle on his finger. Was that a necklace?

"Hi, I'm Florian. What's your name?" My extrovert son asked enthusiastically.

Napako naman ang tingin ni Severiano sa anak ko. Hindi nasagot ang simpleng tanong sa kanya. Nakalimutan ata ang pangalan niya.

"His name is Severiano, Baby" Sagot ko sa tanong ng anak ko. Lumingon ako sa kanya. "I'm sorry but we have to go... Nice to see you" Sabi ko tsaka sinara ang pinto ni Florian.

He agreed and smiled at me.

"I have to say goodbye to him" Florian tried to open the window but it was on child lock.

Pumasok na ako sa sasakyan.

He just stood there smiling but when i stared at his lips curving.

I know that it was a forced smile.

Kasalanan ni Connie ito...

"Lolo Rabbit is calling!" Sabay abot ko ng phone kay Florian.

It's monday, my son's first day of school. I'm so scared but excited at the same time. It's our time to have a solid routine. I have to go back to work and he has to learn to slowly be independent.

Kaya tumatawag si Daddy dahil sa kanya ako nagsabi ng nararamdaman kong takot.

I trust the staff of the school after all it is a well known international school but two weeks of nonstop bonding with my son made me so attached to him than I used to.

Rinig ko naman ang mga bilin ni Dad kay Florian.

Malapit lang sa condo yung school. Maluwag ang parking nung isang araw pero ngayon maraming kotse ang naka-park. Marami rin kaming nakasabay papasok.

Magkahawak kami ng kamay habang naglalakad papunta sa classroom niya. Grade One - Sunshine.
Nakangiti lang si Florian sa mga nakakasalubong namin habang ako naka-focus sa paghahanap ng classroom niya.

When i saw his room, I felt so scared! This is what i felt when It's my first day in medical school...

Sumilip ako sa maliit na see-through glass sa pinto. May mga bata na naglalaro sa loob. Napansin ako nung teacher na nagbabantay sa mga bata.

I opened the door but its locked.

She gestured for me to wait. "Good Morning" She greeted and opened the sliding door.

We greeted her back.

"Pasensya na po, protocol po Sir na bawal ihatid sa loob ng classroom ang mga bata. Hanggang dito lang po sa labas ang drop-off point"

I nodded.

Nakangiti lang si Florian. "Hey, what's your name?" Tanong ni Teacher Ivy sa kanya.

He stated his name.

I shamelessly asked Teacher Ivy to take a photo of Me and Florian. She happily did.

I leveled down so I can take a good look at his excited face. I pulled his small body so that I can hug him.

"I love you, Baby" I whispered. I felt him hugging me back. "Love you, Papa"

Kumalas ako sa yakap. "Be careful when playing, always listen to Teacher Ivy, okay? And share your snacks to your classmates" Bilin ko habang pinipigilan na maiyak.

Sunod-sunod naman ang tango niya.

Tumayo na ako at nagpaalam na sa kanya. "See you later, Papa!" Aniya bago tuluyang makapasok sa classroom kasunod si Teacher Ivy.

I grabbed my handkerchief and wiped my eyes.

"Umiyak ba yung sa'yo o ikaw ang umiyak?" Rinig ko kay Julian.

Tinawanan ko lang siya. Nginuso niya ang anak niya na bitbit ni Lukas, nakasiksik ang mukha sa leeg ng ama niya.

Lukas nodded at me then whispered something to his daughter.

Nagpaalam na ako dahil may trabaho pa.

I have an appendectomy this morning. It's a short surgery that I can finish a couple of hours before i pick up Florian. For now, I'll take these kinds of surgeries. I can also teach medical students but I'm looking for a gig for that.

"Good job, guys" Pagbati ko sa mga staff pagkatapos ng surgery.

I'm currently charting when I overheard the the nurses talking.

"Ang gwapo, mabait, at kalmado mag-utos kanina sa appy"

It's the bare minimum to be nice but it felt good that they noticed that from me. I didn't try to hide my smile because I'm wearing a face mask.

But i heard a light slap.

"Naku, may anak na 'yan magtigil ka!" Pagsaway nung kausap niya.

I shooked my head then walked to the ward.

Bumisita ako saglit sa pasyente ko. Tapos na ang Pre-Op check at endorsements sa On-call surgeon. Pagtingin ko naman sa orasan, may dalawang oras pa ako para sunduin si Florian.

I changed my clothes and bid goodbye to the nurses.

"Jeo" I almost tripped when I heard my name.

"Severiano? Are you lost?" Tanong ko dahil nasa parking siya ng hospital na ekslusibo para sa staff.

He showed a brown envelope that he's holding.

"I saw you when I got out of radiology. I was getting my X-ray scans read. Can we talk?"

My first instinct is to decline but I don't wanna be rude. "Pwede pero mabilis lang, susunduin ko pa ang anak ko"

"I would like to apologize what happened last time. I didn't mean to ambush you and your son... I'm sorry." His eyes pleaded.

Fuck.

Hindi sumagi sa isip ko na offensive ang basta-basta niya nalang pagpapakita dahil ang nasa isip ko lang noon ay makaalis dahil hindi ako mapakali.

"I'll keep my distance from now on... Again, I'm so sorry, Jeo. I hope that I didn't scare your son"

Umiling ako. "Florian" I blurted. "His name is Florian and you didn't scare him. He's hungry that time so we really needed to go."

His lips curled into a smile.

"Can I see a picture of him?" Request niya na pinagbigyan ko naman. Lumapit ako sa kanya at nilapit ang phone ko.

His perfume immediately invaded my nose while I show im the picture of me and florian when i dropped him off. "He's a carbon copy of you" Kumento niya.

Agree ako dahil ito palagi ang sinasabi ng mga tao.

"I have to go, Bibili pa akong ng gamot" Paalam niya nung matapos tignan ang mga litrato.

Tapos na kaming kumain ng lunch. Alas tres na natapos dahil sa rami ng kwento tungkol sa mga nangyari sa first day of school. Pinagpalit ko muna ng pambahay para sa siyesta.

I tried sleeping beside him but when I was left alone with my thoughts, I felt like I have to say something to Severiano.

Kinuha ko ang phone ko sa side table at nagtipa na ng message para kay Severiano.

We're still mutuals in Instagram. His last post was last year pa but I prefer sending a message here than thru facebook messenger.

Alder Jeo:
Hi! Thank you Sev for thinking about me and my son's feelings but we didn't feel ambushed when we saw each other. I was just shocked to see you and my son told me that he's really hungry before you appeared.

Pigil hininga kong sinend sa kanya saka binaba ang phone tsaka yumakap sa anak ko.