Tadhana (Destiny)

Chapter 3: ahhh...him

"Doctor said we can take him home, but he will need to come back twice a week for his dialysis—" my step-grandma said in tagalog. I never met my mom's mom, but lola Mely has always been good to me.

"That's good to hear," my mom said with a sigh of relief.

I look at my grandpa and said, "Ayan, makakauwi na kayo—" There, you can go home now.

"You better cook for me," he joked and chuckled. He knew I couldn't cook.

"You bet!" I answered enthusiastically.

"Okay, let's get ready. Your uncle Dan is calling a friend of his to bring his van," my mom said.

I helped amang stand up with the help of lola Mely.

Outside, we waited about thirty minutes for the van to arrive. Uncle Dan was in the passenger side and before I manage to look at the driver, he got out.

My eyes widen as he walked towards me. I mean us.

He didn't look surprise as I was. Did he already know who I was? He greeted everyone, but was trying to avoid my eyes.

My heart was beating so loud, I wondered if he could hear it. I hope not, that'd be embarrassing. Who acted like this with a guy they don't even know?

Okay, Ela, he's cute. But so what? He's not your type. Right, right? I tried to convince myself.

"Ela, anong iniisip mo dyan. Tarana!" (Ela, what are you thinking there, let's go!) my mom exclaimed, bringing me back to reality.

Lola Mely already settled beside amang in the van. The guy was holding the passenger door, waiting for me to go in. I looked straight in front of me, not wanting to embarrass myself further. I felt his eyes follow my every move as I got in the van which made me more uncomfortable than I already was. Or maybe I was imagining it.

My mom and I sat at the very back; amang and lola Mely sat in front of us and Uncle Dan with the guy. I looked out the window, wanting to distract myself with my fantasy stories in my head while my mom settled, ready to take a nap.

After a long moment of silence, uncle Dan spoke first, per usual. "Ela, ito pala si Daryl, yung sinasabi ko sayo, yung ring bearer," he said and I looked at the front and caught Daryl's eyes briefly in the rearview mirror.

"Ahhh, hii, ikaw pala yun," (ah you're actually the one...) I said awkwardly, not sure what to say.

He let a shy chuckle out and gave me a friendly smile.

"She's your tita Grace's nephew," Uncle Dan said in tagalog. Tita Grace was my uncle's wife and one of the best people I've met in my whole life. I couldn't wait to see her.

"Magkaidad sila diba?" (They're around the same age right?) amang asked, suddenly interested. "Ilang taon ka na ba ijo?" (How old are you, kid?)

"Twenty-two po" Daryl answered.

"Ikaw Ela?" (How about you Ela?)

"Twenty."

"Ah, maganda. Pero, magaral muna kayo. Wag muna." (That's great. But no. You need to finish school first." amang added.

I knew this already, my parents kept reminding me every single day.

Daryl didn't say anything, but uncle Dan clearly wanted to continue this conversation.

"Graduate na si Daryl. Seaman na sya" (He graduated already. He's ready to be a seaman)

Oh no, I didn't want a seaman. He can't be away all the time, if we ever end up together.

Amang thought it was a great thing to be a seaman and started to talk about a friend of his who was a seaman too. He and uncle Dan continued their conversation as my eyes started to feel heavy and I fell asleep.