Send Me In Orbit

Daddy's Girls

"Sigurado ka ba na okay ka lang dito mag-isa?" Leah asked worriedly.

"Wifey, I'll be fine. Just go to your conference and have a good time. I promise all the kids will be alive when you get back," Clark joked.

"Hindi sila ang inaalala ko. Ikaw!"

"Okay, I can't promise I'll still be alive," he admitted.

"Clark naman eh." Leah stopped midway through her packing. "Hindi naman ako sobrang kailangan doon. Tatawagan ko na lang ang editor ko tapos..."

"Wifey, go," Clark said.

"Sa conference lang ako pupunta. Hindi namin kailangan mamasyal ni Cecile-"

"Leah," Clark said firmly. His tone was one he usually used with the kids when he meant business. "You're going for the whole trip. No arguments."

"Pero-"

"I said no arguments. You need to go to the conference and you need some vacation time to yourself. You deserve it, so go stay with Cecile. Ako bahala sa mga bata, huwag mo kami alalahanin."

Leah sat down on the bed. "Parang kasi nagiguilty ako na maiiwan ka dito mag-isa."

Clark sat down beside her and took her hand in his. "Leah, I go on an out of town or out of country trip every few months. This is your first time to go out of town without me or the kids since...what? Since before Larissa was born! And that doesn't even count kasi nag-girls day lang kayo sa Laguna nina Angela at Manang Tiffany. You didn't even stay overnight."

"Ang hirap kasi mahiwalay sa inyo." Leah's shoulders slumped forward and Clark wrapped his arm around her.

"Can you tell me with all honesty that you 100% don't want to go to Cebu?" He asked. "I won't force you. But I know...I know there's a part of you that really really wants to go."

Leah nodded, though her face was miserable.

"There's nothing wrong with that." Clark kissed her forehead. "There's nothing wrong with needing to escape once in awhile. It doesn't make you a bad mom or a bad wife. You just need time to yourself, and it's long overdue."

Leah turned and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Hubby. Parang mas naiintindihan mo pa ako kaysa sa sarili ko."

"What's 13 years of marriage for?" He smiled.

~

Despite her worries, Leah packed her bags and was ready to leave for her three-day weekend. The longest time she has spent away alone from her family. The blog that Leah writes for is heavily sponsored and partnered with brands and products targeted towards mothers and their babies. Many of the brands have joined together to hold an island retreat conference in Cebu for family and lifestyle bloggers around Asia. It was a full two-day conference with a lot of events and guest speakers from around the world.

Leah would leave on Thursday night to be there for the start of the conference on Friday morning. It ran until Saturday afternoon but instead of going home, Leah had arranged to spend the night and all of Sunday with Cecile. She would be coming home Sunday night.

Despite Leah's misgivings and the numerous times that she almost backed out, Clark kept pushing her to go, insisting that she needed time for herself and that he and the kids would be fine.

It would be Clark's first time alone with the kids for a long weekend. Leah has had to go out of town for work before but usually only to nearby provinces and only during a weekday when the kids are in school. She has spent nights away to take care of Tatang whenever he was sick but only overnight and she always made sure to come home in the morning to take care of the kids before they leave for school.