Riptide

They Come Unstuck

Cienne woke up a little later than usual the next day. She saw Camille was already awake, but still in bed. She was on her phone.

"How long have you been up?"

Camille yawned before answering. "Not long..." Then she kicked the covers off and sat up, feeling the floor for her bedroom slippers.. "Okay, let's go down together."

Cienne outstretched her arms in her bed. She closed her eyes, breathed in, then breathed out. When she opened her eyes, she looked to the window at Camille's side of the room. That's where the sun rose. Seeing that soft light most mornings gave Cienne comfort. Gave her the strength to get her ass out of bed on hard days.

Like today. Today was going to be one of those hard days.

She remembered what their father told them.

"We'll talk about it in the morning."

She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and tied her hair back into a sloppy bun. Camille was already waiting at the door.

They made their way down the stairs quietly. The sounds of sizzling and the toaster dinging hummed in their ears. Smells of bacon and butter and orange juice greeting them as they entered the dining area.

They weren't that hungry though.

Ate Cha made breakfast today. Her internship started at 9:30 AM. She still had to get ready. Scrambled eggs were already on the table.

Seeing that their Ate Cha was still busy with the final batch of bacon, Camille took the pieces of toast out of the toaster and placed them on the big plate next to the eggs.

"Morning," Camille greeted their big sister. She stood behind her and looked over Ate Cha's shoulder. "Nice. Honey-cured," Camille said approvingly.

"Ah, good morning! Gising na pala kayong dalawa?" Ate Cha said, skillet in one hand, turner in the other.

Cienne came back from setting the glasses on the table. "Yeah," she said, bending over the sink to wash her hands. "Nanay and Tatay haven't come out yet?"

"I've seen Tatay. He said Ma was going to have her breakfast in bed."

The three of them circled around the table, finishing up the preparations when their father came in.

"Oh! My girls are up and at it so early in the morning." His calm cheeriness was the perfect coating to his grand entrance. Classic Papa.

"Morning, Pa," they all said in unison, then one by one, coming over to their father, standing on their tiptoes, and kissing their father on the cheek.

They all settled down to eat, filling their plates with this. With that. They were all unsure of what to speak about. Their father seemed to be taking his time. To the twins, he was putting on suspense without meaning to.

He finished his entire meal not speaking, but occasionally smiling at them whenever their eyes happened to meet. He ate quickly but cleanly. Their father was first and foremost, a gentleman. He downed his meal with a long gulp of black coffee.

Cienne and her sisters also ate in silence. Slowly and carefully, giving each other meaningful, WTF looks. If they were supposed to speak, they did not know.

He wiped his mouth with a napkin. And this was it. The moment of truth.

"Your Lola Carlotta's in the hospital. She had a mild stroke and must have passed out while she was in the bathroom. Her head hit the sink."

Even though they already had an idea from last night, hearing about it now, actually knowing the details made Cienne's stomach drop. She could tell from the looks of her sisters that they were more or less going through the same motions.