redeeming alyson | ongoing

starlit sky

We both enjoyed ourselves too much. By this time, I already had three glasses of wine as I had to sub after Rica who was pregnant with her second child. Rush swept me up for a dance after every glass of wine. I hadn't noticed the time. It wasn't until a few streaks of pink touched the sky and the music was turned off by Aunt Lina (who sent us teasing looks!) that I realized we had been dancing all night. 

West who claimed it was his first time dancing bachata actually took most of my dances. Being so close to him and inhaling his intoxicating scent which made me want to drag him by the hand and get away from my family as fast as possible was difficult. His arms were like strong bands that made me want to melt into them, and him nearly towering over me didn't help at all. All I could think about was having this man on top of me. 

His hands pinning me down on a bed of roses. Yeah. The worst part was that he could tell. The way he looked at me.. it was like he could undress me with his eyes and his sight never even went past my chin. 

I was grateful when Uncle Joe led West to an empty room which was his and his wife's. It was the nicest room in the house, so I was grateful for him offering. I was so sleepy I ended up passing out in Rica's room with little Daniel beside me on one side, and her on the other side. Her husband slept beside my other uncles.

I ended up waking up at around 7AM or so, when the roosters crowed. I smelled the burning of the coconut leaves on the backyard and smiled through sleepy eyes. I didn't bother waking my pregnant cousin up and little Daniel. I left them a note instead. I washed my face, and applied some makeup before changing into some extra clothes I brought with me.

To my surprise, papa was already downstairs cooking us food. Rush was seated on the chair near him, and West on the other side, and they were talking and laughing. My eyebrows shot up. The smell of arroz caldo and boiled eggs wafted in the air and I inhaled the familiar scent with warmth in my chest.

"Preciosa, you're awake," Papa said gently as soon as he saw me. He turned to West. "She's always been an early riser, this one. She always woke up before everyone else did. She'd watch the sun rise from the balcony where you slept."

I sat on the chair beside West and yawned. Rush handed me a glass of warm water and I smiled gratefully. He never forgot. Rush looks like the male version of me. It felt a little uncanny looking at him sometimes because it felt like looking at a mirror.

"She drinks that first thing in the morning," he told West, looking at him as if reminding him not to forget. "It keeps her belly flat. My sister is high maintenance. You shouldn't forget this."

I burst out laughing. "Ani!"

West nodded. "I've committed this to memory."

Even Papa smiled. One by one, he handed us a bowl of arroz caldo and topped it with boiled eggs and some chili garlic oil. I was so hungry I forgot about etiquette and wolfed down my food. Papa watched me with a smile of satisfaction. "I guess I still haven't lost my touch."

I kissed him in the cheek which earned a wide smile from him. "Not at all, papa."

After we finished breakfast, everyone in the family slowly woke up one by one. There was another round of early morning karaoke and cards which West gladly joined. I thought my family liked him even more than they liked me at this point. He was completely game and he even thought of new games and gave out prizes.

I bonded with my grandmother, Rica, and the rest of my aunties and did their makeup for them. They were completely delighted with the new makeup products West and I bought for them. After taking polaroid photos, I decided it was time to bid goodbye to the family. I needed time to myself after socializing, and my family needed to stop being attached to my future employer. They were already treating him like he was my boyfriend, and I didn't want to get their hopes up like that.