Learn to Love Again

Status

Sarah’s Facebook status read: US Visa granted… can’t wait for this trip with my baby.

He just got home from a very stressful day at the office. As he kicked off his shoes, he decided to log in at Facebook on his phone... something that he hasn’t done for quite a while. His already bad mood became worse as he saw his girlfriend’s post. “Of all the days that I choose to open this stupid thing, ngayon pa. Can my day get any worse than this?” He lightly threw the phone on his bed and stared into space.

Meanwhile, at the Geronimo residence…

“Mommy, I can’t wait to go to Disneyland,” Cassie excitedly said.

“Did Daddy Mark promise to take you to Disneyland?”

“Opo. I made him promise. I really want to see Sofia the First.”

“Is that one of the shows you watch on TV?”

“Uh-huh! Does Daddy Mark know that we’re going there?”

“He’ll call us later. That’s when I’ll tell him that our visa got approved. I’m sure he’ll be happy.”

“But what about Daddy Ge? We won’t be able to spend Christmas with him.”

“I know baby. Sinabi ko na nga sa kanya that Daddy Mark wants us to spend Christmas in the US. He got sad. He said he’s gonna miss us.”

“Can’t he come with us? Can’t we make this a family trip?”

Sarah felt like she was hit on the head when she heard her daughter refer to Gerald as part of the family. “Cass?” she hesitantly said.

“Yeah Mom?’

“Do you like Daddy Ge to be part of our family?”

“Opo naman Mom. He’s my Daddy. Nagkaroon po ako ng daddy because of him.”

“Eh what about Daddy Mark? Di ba s’ya ang totoo mong daddy?”

“I know. Eh di I will have two. One from far away and one who’s always here with us.”

“But who do you like to be with us permanently… for the rest of our lives?”

“Ikaw Mommy, sino po ba ang mas gusto mo?”

“I already made my choice. Eh ikaw, sinong mas gusto mo?”

Cassie kept quiet for a while as she thought of her answer. “Daddy Mark left us and that made you sad. Daddy Ge made you really happy. So I’m picking Daddy Ge.”

Sarah ruffled her daughter’s hair in amusement and said, “How did you become so smart?”

“S’yempre naman Mommy, nagmana ako sa ‘yo eh.”

Later that night, as expected, Mark called Sarah to ask about their interview at the Embassy. She gave him the good news and right away he made plans about the trip – from the date and time of flights and their itinerary. She just listened and tried to keep up with him. And when he has finally finished with his planning, they said goodbye and agreed to talk about the plans some more in the following weeks.

She checked the digital clock on her bedside table for the time - it was already 11:15. She held on to her phone and contemplated on calling Gerald, whom she hasn’t spoken to almost the entire day. She started to miss him… she wanted to call him and hear him say that he loves her… but she was afraid to talk to for she knows that the US vacation with Mark will be discussed. She almost dropped the phone in surprise as it suddenly rang. It was him.

“Hi Handsome,” she said trying to sound sweet.

“Hi Gorgeous. I miss you.”

And with that, everything inside her just melted. “I miss you, too. Sorry kung hindi na kita natawagan.”