Everything Has Changed

XXIV

Migo gets up and checks his children in the guest room but he finds no one. As he goes downstairs, he hears the laughter of the twins and the voice of his mother. He finds them in the dining room eating breakfast together.

Aurora sees him. "Good morning! Kain na."

He approaches them and sits beside Aurora, in front of the twins.

"Good morning, Papa!" -Pippa greets him with a wide smile on her face.

He smiles at her too. "Good morning, my angel." He pours water in his glass and drinks it. "I can hear your laughter from upstairs ha? What's up?"

Dylan smiles. "Oma was telling us funny stories about you when you were a kid."

He frowns. "Oma?"

"I told them to call me oma. That's grandmother in German. Cute, right?"

The doorbell rings and Migo gets it. He gets back to the dining room and gulps.

"Who's that?" -Aurora asks. She sees their visitor and squints her eyes.

"Good morning po." -Patricia greets her. She approaches her children and kisses them.

"Mama, what are you doing here?" -Pippa asks. "Tonight pa we're going home, diba?"

She smiles. "I'm not here to fetch you. I'm here to talk to your--"

Aurora sighs. "Sira na yung appetite ko. Actually yung araw ko, sira na rin."

"Ma." -he warns her. "Tricia came here to talk to you. Matagal na daw kayo hindi nag kita."

She stands up from her seat and walks out of the dining room.

Patricia looks at Migo first before following her.

"What's happening?" -Dylan asks him. "Is everything okay?"

He nods. "Finish eating na. Then take a bath after. We're going out."

Patricia clears her throat. "Tita, yesterday... Kayo po ba talaga yun?"

Aurora doesn't answer, with her back facing Patricia.

"Tita, I know you're upset or angry with me because of what happened in the past. But..." She bites her bottom lip. "I just want to forget everything for my children." She keeps playing with her fingers out of nervousness. "I'm sorry, tita... I'm sorry for having to leave Migo before."

She finally faces her, raising an eyebrow.

"I know I should've let him explain and we should've talked about it but we were too young that time kaya ako nagpa-dalos dalos."

She smirks bitterly. "'Sorry'? You think just a 'sorry' from you would make everything okay? You think everything would go back to the way it used to be with your 'sorry'?"

She looks down.

"You ruined Migo's life, Patricia. You nearly killed my son!"

Her eyes widen, she looks up. "Killed your son?"

"He got into an accident the day you left him." She chuckles. "Of course you wouldn't know that. Iniwan mo nga, diba?"

"Migo never told me anything about that."

"At bakit naman nya sasabihin sayo? Para maawa ka?" She looks away. "Sa bagay, kulang na lang lumuhod sya noon just to get you back." She breathes heavily. "You made Migo's life miserable, Patricia. There came a time when he didn't want to go out of the house. He didn't want to spend time with us. He even wanted to starve himself to death!"