"Tito, Tita, kain na po tayo," I said as I invited Jia's parents, who were resting in the beach house's living room, to eat.
Jia was right behind me. We were the ones in charge of grilling and we're done. I got here first because I raced her.
"Loser," I mouthed to Jia before smiling at her parents again.
Tito and Tita both stood up and walked towards us. Tito put his arm around me when he was beside us.
"Alam mo, Bea, anak, siguro dapat Papu at Mamu na tinatawag mo samin. Para ka na rin naming anak."
I was surprised to say the least but I grinned especially after looking at Jia's mom and seeing her nod at me. Jia had a shocked looked that mirrored mine.
"Thank you po. I would love that," I said and paused for dramatic effect. "Papu and Mamu."
Then, I turned to Jia.
"Ha! Kanina sabi ni Jobok ako raw paborito niyang Ate tapos ngayon anak na rin ako nina Papu at Mamu. Kabahan ka na, Jia!" I teased.
"Oh, bago kayo magbangayan," awat ni Mamu. "Mauna na kami."
Papu and Mamu tapped side-hugged me before walking ahead of us.
When I turned to Jia, she was smirking so I raised my brows at her.
"I don't want to burst your bubble, Bei, but if we're competing on who's closer to the other's family, I already beat you to it," Jia gloated.
"Were you not listening, Jia? I just became a part of the family. They told me to call them Mamu and Papu," I sneered.
"Oh, you mean like how Tita Det and Tito Elmer asked me to call them Mom and Dad?"
"Liar! The fact that you're calling them Tita and Tito gives you away!"
But then Jia took her phone and show me her conversations with my parents and even my Kuya. Each of them has had long conversations with Jia since last year.
Last. Year.
"You really are Godsent, Jia, anak."
"It's not a problem, Tita."
"You should just call me Mom, hija. From now on, I will treat you like my own daughter."
"Thank you po. And I would love to call you Mom po but I'll wait for the perfect moment to surprise Bea with it po."
"You kids are so competitive. Pero sige, hija. Wag kang magpapatalo kay, Bea, ha?"
I frowned at that conversation. Jia had similar ones with Dad and Kuya.
Jia was smiling at me like a vulture when I looked at her.
"By the way, Mom asked me to go shopping with her for that charity ball she's going to attend next week."
"Mom?! Charity ball?! Shopping?!"
My pitch became a notch higher for each question. But Jia just smirked at me so I took out my own phone and called my Mom.
"Mom! Why did you ask Jia to call you Mom?! And what's this shopping and charity ball thing she's talking about?!"
"Calm down, Beatriz," Mom answered. "I asked her because she's a great kid and I've always wanted another daughter."
"But you already have me!"
"I said another, Beatriz. And I asked her to go with me because she has good fashion choices."
