Loving Greene

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Sabado ng umaga at wala akong magawa sa bahay namin. It's raining cats and dogs out there so I couldn't do my outdoor leisure activities. Nakahiga ako sa aming sofa nang maabutan ako ni Tatay. He was sporting a casual look; a checkered blue and gray jacket and his favorite t-shirt underneath. He was also wearing a faded jeans and a pair of dark boots.

“Sup, Ad?” He even posed as he said those words. Na weirdohan naman ako sa aking ama pero hindi na bago iyon. He was kuya Lex’s exact replica. Magkamukha sila at magkaugali na rin.

“Saan ang punta mo, Tay?”

He doesn't always wear things like this. Madalas ay pormal ang kanyang mga damit kapag nasa trabaho. He is the Vice Mayor of our town and I am proud to say that he is very good at it. My father loves serving the people of Santa Catalina and I know that everybody loves him too. Who wouldn't love a responsible, kind, humble, wise man? And to top all of that, he is also a giant ball of sunshine.

He grinned. He slowly turned around to let me process his whole outfit. “Ganda ba, ‘nak?”

“Naks saan ang punta ni Tatay pogi?” Lumabas si kuya mula sa kusina at may dala-dala pang isang tub ng ice cream.

“Winston and I are supposedly going fishing today,” Tatay said.

I looked outside at medyo tumila na ang ulan pero alam kong babalik din naman ito mamaya.

“But it's raining, Tay. Walang isda ngayon.”

Mas lumapad ang kanyang ngisi. “That’s why he invited us to join them for dinner. Anyone free tonight? Adira? You and Atlas are classmates, right?”

“Anong oras, Tay? Wala naman akong ginagawa,” sabi ko sa kanya.

Tinanong niya rin si Kuya kung gusto ba nitong sumama but he said that him and Lucio already has a plan for tonight kay kaming dalawa lang ni Tatay ang pupunta kina Greene. Kuya’s smirk can't seem to leave his face tho. 

At five pm, bumiyahe na kami ni tatay. He is using his ford pick-up truck and it took us almost twenty minutes to get to the Li’s cabin home up on a hill. They live on a mountain cabin not too far from us but definitely out from the touch of the town. There's a beautiful landscape garden that surrounds their two-storey log house. May usok mula sa chimney at nang bumaba kami sa sasakyan ni Tatay ay kaagad kaming sinalubong ni Mrs. Li. She was smiling while handing us some towels to wipe ourselves. The rain drizzled on our way up the hill kaya nabasa kami nang lumabas kami sa sasakyan.

“Naku good thing you're on time kahit na mukhang may paparating na bagyo!” bungad ni Mr. Li sa amin.

Nakipagkamayan siya kay Tatay at ako naman ay nanatili lang sa likuran. Mrs. Li caught my gaze and she smiled. She looks exactly like her son. She's aging like a fine wine. She looks so classy and timeless. 

“Why, it's Adira. How are you? I haven't seen you in ages!”

Lumapit siya sa akin and I was shocked when she hugged me. 

“She doesn't want to be called Adira now,” singit naman ni Tatay.

Mrs. Li smiled. “Oh, you look beautiful, dear. Let's go inside, nandoon na si Atlas.”

Greene was setting up the table, he was busy arranging the plates and utensils when we came to their dining area. Nang makita niya ako, kaagad siyang ngumiti at lumapit sa akin.

“I thought you won't come,” bungad niya.

I shook my head. “Kuya and Lucio had plans and I don't want to be home alone so I came here. I hope you wouldn't mind,” I said.