J
3 days passed and lolo is finally home. Akala ko hindi na siya papauwiin eh. Akala ko hanggang dun na lang. Pero buti na lang at lumaban siya. Buti na lang talaga.
"Sure kang you'll stay here?" tanong ni Rob sa akin.
"Yeah. Sasamahan ko kayo. I want to stay with lolo." sagot ko naman. He nodded saka sinilip si lolo na mahimbing ang tulog. "I want to make the most out of everything, Rob."
"Ako rin naman." aniya. "Kiana and Francine are crying when they learned about lolo's condition. Kung pwede lang silang umuwi ay gagawin nila kaya lang yung situation naman nila ang hirap daw. Bran's flight is scheduled next week. He'll be staying here for a while."
"Sayang naman sina Kiana at Francine."
"Well, sabi ni Francine, if her out of town business meeting gets cancelled this week, she'll book a flight immediately. Wala na siyang paki if her boss fires her."
"What about Kiana?"
"You know her situation, Juwie. Aside from her work, buntis din siya. I told her it's okay to travel kung hindi niya pa due pero she's expecting the baby a few weeks from now. Ayoko din irisk siya. I'm sure lolo will understand."
"Yeah. I'm sure he will..." sabi ko. Rob ruffled my hair saka ako pinilit ngumiti.
"We have to pretend that we're okay, Juwie. Lolo needs our strength." he reminded me. I nodded slowly saka ako suminghap and hugged him.
"Sana hindi na lang nangyari to... If only I could turn back to that time when lolo's still a strong man, gagawin ko."
"But it's God's plan for him and we can't do anything about it. No matter how hard we stop him from getting sick, if it's what God wants, then it'll happen. Lolo's been alive fore 85 years, Juwie. He's done a lot and he needs to rest."
Days and weeks passed and everytime I go home from work ay parang palala nang palala ang situation ni lolo. He can't communicate with us anymore. Iyak na lang nang iyak. And his bed sores are getting worse. Nagkkwento rin si Clarence at Rob sa akin that everytime pakakainin nila si lolo thru his tube ay parang nirereject niya ito. Hindi na nga ako makapagfocus sa trabaho kaya Maqui decided to let me have a rest day.
"You should eat." ani Elmo. He's been a constant companion to lolo whenever he's not doing his shoots. I know he's not supposed to do this dahil hindi niya naman responsibilidad ang alagaan si lolo pero nakakataba ng puso na he makes an effort to visit him. Nasa bahay man ako o wala, he makes sure to see lolo and spend time with him.
"I'm not really hungry." sabi ko. He sat down beside me on the couch saka ako inakbayan.
"Hindi ka dapat nagpapagutom."
"Inaalala ko lang si lolo." sagot ko. "He's turning 86 in a few months. Sana lang makaabot siya."
"Oo naman. Just think positive. Okay?" aniya. Tumango ako and rested my head on his chest. "May sasabihin pala ako sayo."
"Ano yun?" pagtataka ko.
"Sheldon's friend knows this guy who can contact Ebe Dancel."
"Ebe? Seryoso?!" gulat na tanong ko.
"Yes. And I remembered you telling me na Charm likes his songs?"
"Oo. Sobrang paborito niya si Ebe." sagot ko naman. "She was giving me hints that she wanted to have him for her birthday kaso her dad's too busy para makausap yung producer na kilala nila."
"Don't worry. We can get Ebe's contact. You want to talk to him now?" tanong niya.
"Ebe?!"
"Hahaha. No, love. Si Sheldon. Ikaw na kumausap sa kanya for your event. Pag saken kasi baka isipin pa nun pinagttripan ko siya eh." tawa niya. Napangiti ako saka tumango. He fished out his phone from his pocket and browsed for Sheldon's number. Hinintay namin magring yun and in two rings ay narinig na ang boses ni Sheldon.
