My TWIN Babies, NOT Ours

XVI

Song recommendation: Stolen by Dashboard Confessional
Thank you for all those,who wait. Loveyou all.

XVI

Alexander Ivan Ramirez

“Do I even need to meet them personally?” Pinaikot ‘ko sa kamay ‘ko ang maliit na ballpen at napasandal sa headboard ng kama. I just barely had two hours of sleep. Sanay naman ako but today is my birthday, not that I’m fond of celebrations. It’s just that my yearly present, for myself was to sleep adequately during this kind of days.

“Ram, si madame mismo ang nag-schedule doon. Malaking deal.” Napatingin ako sa orasan. Seven. Too early but I needed a jog for today. Binaba ‘ko na ang tawag bago ‘ko pa mamura si Elmer. Alexandra would probably kill me, she’s way too obsessed with time management. And once she planned for something beforehand, no one can make a discord.

Pagbaba ‘ko sa hagdan ay agad nang may nakahandang almusal. Napatingin ako sa paligid bago kumuha ng tubig sa ref. Pang-ilang araw ‘ko na dito pero hindi ‘ko alam bakit umalis dito ang caretaker nan a-hire ni Jeda, na nagkataong anak pala ni Manang Feli.

Maybe that is why she’s quite familiar. I don’t know but the more I discover little things about that woman, the more I wanted to know more. She’s like a force, as well as her kids. Pero ayokong pagtuonan ang mga ganitong bagay.

Siguro nabuo lang yung atensyon ko dahil bihira lang akong makakita ng babaeng katulad niya. She’s somehow unpredictable and quite confusing. Well I guess, I’m just bored.

Mabilisan akong nag-send ng message kay Alexandra. I gotta deal with her, no matter how much I wanted to just shut her sometimes.

I did some few warm up before I started my run. Hindi pa nakakapaso ang sinag ng araw kapag ganitong mga oras pero iba ngayong araw. Kaya kahit gusto ‘ko pa ng isang round ay mabilisan akong pumasok sa loob ng villa.

I jogged my way up the stairs. I’m not planning to have breakfast today. But I stopped midway when I heard steps from the entrance.

“You’re early.” Dumiretso ang titig ‘ko sa damit niya. She’s dressed up, like what I told her. She’s quite skinny for a mother of two. Ganon ba kapag single parent?

I jogged back to the entrance. Mukha kasing wala siyang balak pumasok o ni sumagot. She’s really not approachable. And she always look terrified or startled, whenever I try to approach her. Maybe I made an impression back then when she works under our family.

I can see that she painted her lips and cheeks. “Kumain ka na?” I asked and ushered her inside the villa.

“Uh nagkape na ‘ko kanina.” Wika niya at hindi makatingin sa mata ‘ko.

“Come on, join me.” Pinauna ‘ko siyang maglakad patungo sa dining area. “You should eat breakfast, it’s an important meal.” I sounded so fond of eating breakfast, when I’m not. Masyado akong napapayatan sa kanya,her waist says it all. I somehow felt like she needed to eat more than of what is expected.

“Hindi naman ako gutom—” she insisted but I’m persistent. I felt her stiffen when I held her small waist to sit on one of the dining chairs. I chuckled when she finally agreed and silently joined me for a meal. Umupo ako sa harap niya.

“You shouldn’t skip meals Miss de Suarez.” I uttered when  I observed that she’s too engrossed with her food. Hindi naman talaga ako mahilig makipagusap, lalo na kapag wala namang kinalaman sa business. I just felt like I should.

“Hindi naman sa ganon Sir Ramirez.” She formally answered after she swallowed. Napangisi ako. She looks grumpy pero nawawala iyong atmosphere sa kanya kapag lumalabas ang dimple niya.

“You should just call me Alexander or Ram if you feel comfortable.” Napatigil siya and finally she got to look me in the eyes. Pero agad din siyang nag-iwas ng tingin at napainom ng tubig. Why does she look so nervous? Am I that intimidating?

“Are you alright?” Tanong ‘ko. She looked at me again with her blank face.

“Sir hindi naman po tayo magkaibigan para tawagin ka sa first name mo.”

“Then lets be friends.” Simple ‘kong wika. She gulped.

“Why do you look so nervous Miss de Suarez?” She stiffened for a second bago umiling. Napakunot noo ako.

“Come on I really like you to be my friend. I hope I don’t make you feel uncomfortable. You know, Manang Feli kind of remind me of childhood, and knowing you’re related to her makes me feel nostalgic.” I explained.

Umiling ulit siya.

“You’re unbelievable.” I sighed out of disbelief. I never knew I could feel frustrations out of simple things. I can still remember when she rejected my invitation for a simple meal.

Maybe this is how single mother deal with people. Gaano kaya nahirapan sa kanya ang asawa niya noong buhay pa to? Man, she’s quite hard to please. It reminds me of her daughter.

Hindi na siya umimik. I can’t think of any topic anymore. She’s really difficult, not that I’m trying to impress her or something. It’s just that there’s this weird force which makes me want to know her, like she’s got something in her that I needed to know.

“Fine if that’s how you feel Miss de Suarez. I’ll just prepare before we go.” I uttered coldly before leaving her alone at the dining table.

I took a cold shower and quickly put on my clothes. I looked at my watch and we got few minutes. I need to meet my client in twenty minutes. Mabuti na lang at nakahanda ang speedboat na pinakuha ‘ko sa assistant ‘ko. Dapat noong martes pa ‘yon pero natagalan sa pag-transport.

I jogged down the stairs as I played with the keys on my pocket. I was supposed to wear formally, since Alexandra requested and I was about to meet up with an investor. But then I got no extra clothes for that.

“Lets go.” Pinauna ‘ko siyang naglakad palabas.

“Saan ba kami magkikita ni Maam Alexandra?” She asked. Hindi ako sumagot. Napatingin ako sa relo ‘ko. Alexandra haven’t replied yet. She’s not the type of person that rejects my message especially if it’s my birthday.

I needed to attend with my client first, I don’t know if I should just drop this woman in their meeting place. Pero alam’kong hindi pwede dahil kilala ‘ko si Alexandra, she’d probably let me lose millions of money, just to make it up for her.

“D’yan tayo sasakay?” She looked surprised. Tumango lang ako at inilahad ang kamay sa kanya. Alanganin pa ito pero sumakay din siya. I secretly smirked then quickly acted normal.

She sat next to me looking quite amazed.

“Is this your first?” I asked. Nakangiti siyang tumango habang nakatingin sa mga alon, she looks too unguarded now. She looks more carefree unconsciously. I chuckled, kaya napatigil siya sa pagkamangha at nagbalik sa blankong ekspresyon.

“Bakit?” Kunot noong tanong niya. Umiling ako. Well I think she’s got some loopholes, she’s not a sturdy plot after all.

“Kapit ka.” I smirked again as I started the engine. At mas natawa ako nang napatili siya nang  bigla ‘kong pinaandar ang speedboat. Hinampas niya ako sa balikat nang mahimasmasan. Didn’t expect that from her.

Nang mapagtanto niya ang ginawa niya ay agad siyang nag-sorry. I just chuckled and played with the boat’s speed again. I don’t know but I find her fun, after all her grumpiness. I guess I can make her my friend, slowly but surely.

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