As the first rays of sunlight filtered through the drapes and the soft chirping of birds broke the silence of dawn, Maine felt a warm, steady breath by her armpit. She slowly turned and slightly opened her eyes. All her children were cuddled and asleep on their bed.
Maine smiled as she observed their various positions on the bed. Iggy had curled himself up beside Maine, his face half buried into her arm and armpit. Eena had her back against Iggy and was facing Rj, her arm reaching out to him. Charm, oddly positioned with her head toward Eena's chest and her leg resting on Rj's side. RT, lying on his belly on top of Rj.
With her free hand, Maine reached for her children's hair and either stroked their heads or tucked loose strands behind their ears. This was a perfect, peaceful moment.
Just last night, the parents had a hard time putting the children to bed as they had some conflict and squabbling before dinner time. RT was frustrated because some of his creations which were displayed outside had been chewed up by the dog. He was cross and started crying. In his anger, he accidentally stepped on some of Charm's toys which were on the floor where she was playing. Charm cried as well which caught the attention of Iggy who was passing by the area where Charm was playing. He tried to pacify Charm but because she was flailing her arms while she was crying, she accidentally hit Iggy in the eye. Eena saw what happened and tried to help but also slipped, tripped and fell on RT causing the little boy to cry some more. Maine and Rj came home to a group of crying kids, who, because of all the activity that just happened, couldn't quite explain themselves right away. It took them the whole dinner time and family time after, to sort things out. By bedtime, although, the children were quite tired and stressed out from their "ordeal", the parents still had a hard time getting them to settle down for the night.
Sometime in the middle of the night, Eena crawled up to her parent's bed just as Maine turned off her bedside lamp.
"Mom....may I sleep here?" Eena asked quietly. Maine nodded and cuddled Eena as they slept. But, unknown to Maine, Rj and Eena, the three other children soon followed on their parents' bed. The bed was big enough for the whole family, anyway. The children liked hanging out and bouncing on this bed. They sometimes took naps here but rarely slept with their parents now that they were bigger.
Rj, even though his eyes were still closed, felt something warm and heavy on his chest. He slightly panicked as he moved his arm on his chest only to feel a little body on it. He opened his eyes and saw a tuft of hair. He then felt the steady breathing of little RT. Rj gently put his hand on his son's back and rubbed it. RT moved his head and adjusted it to face the opposite side. Rj slowly turned his head and saw the rest of his kids between him and Maine who was lying on her side, resting her arm on Iggy and Eena who were beside her. Maine was gently tapping Charm's arm. Maine smiled at Rj, who smiled back at her. She mouthed, "Good morning....I love you". Rj responded with a smile. He looked up and gently exhaled.
Rj slowly turned and let RT slide on to the bed so he could get up and use the bathroom. When he returned however, RT managed to climb back on his chest even with eyes closed. A while later, one by one, the children roused from their sleep. Eena sat up and greeted both her parent with a kiss. Iggy opened his eyes and embraced Maine while still lying down. He moved his head to kiss Maine on the jaw but settled his head back on her shoulder.
"Good morning!" Charm chirped happily as she sat up, slightly kicking Rj on the side. "....sorry Daddy!" she said as she kissed Rj on the lips. RT, who had his eyes open already for some time but was not moving (yet), slowly sat up and rested his legs on either side of Rj's torso.
"Good morning!" Rj said to his kids. "Good morning, Babe!" he turned smiled and blew a kiss at Maine.
"Good morning!" Maine smiled back.
Rj sat up and cradled RT on his lap, the boy's head resting on his chest. The others sat up as well and Rj led his family into a morning prayer. They all plopped back down on the bed afterwards.
"....so, what are we doing today?" Rj asked.
"I want to go swimming!" Charm squeaked.
"It's too cold!" Iggy said.
"I want to watch a movie!" Eena suggested.
"What movie do you want to watch?" Maine asked.
"Hmm....Star wars?" Iggy suggestedl=
"I want Star wars!" RT sat up again on Rj's belly and started bouncing.
"Ugh! Anak! Don't bounce...." Rj said, chuckling.
"How about Daddy, what does he want? RT?" Maine asked the boys.
"I want pancakes!" RT answered.
"Sleep!" Rj closed his eyes and pretended to snore loudly.
"Daaaaaaad!" RT bounced again.
Rj laughed. "I think....I think...." he said slowly.
"What?" Eena asked.
"I think I want to eat...."
"Pancakes also? Always nalang pancakes!" Charm complained. RT just looked at her and hugged Rj as he lay back down on his Daddy's chest.
"I want to eat my favorite....chicharon!" Rj said as he quickly turned and playfully bit Charm's ear. This sent the little girl into fits of laughter. "Daaaaaaaaad....Daddy! Stop....please stop!" Charm giggled.
"....and my favorite, hamon!" Rj said as he grabbed on RT's leg and squeezed it. This also sent RT rolling off his belly and falling on to the bed just beside Charm.
Rj sat up and looked at his family. They were all smiling and giggling now. "...maybe I want some.....prociutto!" He said as he bent his body to "nibble" on Eena's tummy which sent the girl into giggles. "....and ensaymada!" Rj reached for Iggy's neck and tickled him.
"Daaaaaad....stoooooop.........daaaaaaaaaaaaaaad......Daddy!" the kids squealed and laughed.
Maine just watched her giggling family and smiled.
"But of course, my favorite would be this....." Rj looked at Maine in the eye and kissed her on the lips. The scene made their kids squirm and scream, "Daaaaaad!" much to Rj and Maine's delight. Rj just looked at Maine and wiggled his eyebrows. Maine playfully tapped him on the arm.
"What does Mommy want to do?" Rj said and the kids looked at Maine.
"Why don't we go to the mall, have lunch and watch a movie.....we'll swim next time...."
The kids liked the idea and bounced off their parents' bed to prepare. Rj and Maine stayed on the bed for a few more minutes to enjoy the "peace and quiet".
