Dogtag (completed)

17. opening up

Dei helped in bringing the food to the table. She was surprised but happy to hear Lolo Teddy and Rj chuckling while they were talking. It seemed that they got along very well.

“Lunch time.” Dei returned to the living room. “What were you talking about?” Dei asked as she pushed Rj’s wheelchair to the powder room so he could wash his hands.

“Wala. Ang cool kasi ng…ni Col. Mendoza. Ang dami nyang kwento about his adventures while in active service…”

“…halos pareho pala kami nitong si Rj e” Lolo Teddy said as Dei and Rj joined him at the dining table “…makulit nung bata…” Lolo chuckled.

“Hay naku, Lolo. Maloko to…”

“At least laging masaya. Diba, Rj?”

“Opo, Sir…”

“Lolo…Lolo Teddy…o, Dei, bigyan mo si Rj nung paella…”

Dei was a bit surprised to hear Lolo Teddy requesting Rj to address him as ‘Lolo’ this soon. Although she had been wishing for Rj to formally court her, she was a bit flustered by the ‘sudden-ness’ of everything.

“Wow! This is one of my favorite dishes! My Mom used to cook this madalas pag may reunion kami…”

“Di ka pa ba uuwi sa inyo?” Lolo Teddy asked.

“Uhmm…baka po pag na-discharge na ako…dun na muna siguro ako sa amin…”

“Ahh..oo…pero, paano si Dei?”

“Hmm...ang alam ko po, Dad has a car already…hiramin ko para makaluwas...magvvolunteer akong driver ni Dad…”

“Hmm…may trabaho ka na?”

“I will get to practice my mobility na rin…ah opo, tuloy-tuloy pa naman yung online work ko e…nag-uupgrade yung office ng system so yun ang inaasikaso ko ngayon…kaso…”

“Ano?”

“Uhmm…wala po...” Rj thought about his personal care but just shrugged his shoulders. “Mmm…ang sarap!” Rj said as he ate a mouthful of the paella.

“O ayan, Dei. Mag-aral kang magluto nito…”

“Ah opo…opo…” Dei was lost in her own thoughts – Rj’s impending discharge, Rj’s out-patient care, Rj’s housing arrangements…most of her thoughts were centered around him (a/n: weh!? ‘most’ lang talaga?  May kulang pa nga ata e…)


“Love…love, okay ka lang?”

“Huh?”

“Lolo’s asking if we want to stay for dinner daw?”

“Huh? Dinner?”

“We’ve been here since before lunch. It’s just past 3pm. We’re now resting in the guest room which Lolo says is your room kasi nag-nap muna sya. You were about to change my diaper. Are you feeling okay? What are you thinking of?  Kanina ka pa tulala e.” Rj said as he lay in the bed. Dei was also lying beside him, facing Rj, her head propped on her hand.

“Uhm…eh…”

“O, bakit ka lumuluha? Hey…don’t cry...shh…” Rj looked at Dei and pulled her to his chest.

“I’m happy lang. Ang dami kasing nangyari today. You stood up on your own, you managed to eat half your food by yourself, Lolo giving you permission…”

“Hmm…but I think meron pang gumugulo sa isip mo e…you’re never like this…”

Dei stood up and began changing Rj’s diaper. She had been doing this for months so Rj sensed and knew if something was wrong.

“O, bumalik na sa dati yung balls ko…nakapag-usap na kami ni Lolo…he’s a cool guy…di na umurong yung balls ko…” Rj said while looking at Dei who was directly in front of him.

“Rj!” Dei scolded, swatting his thigh slightly

“Pinapatawa lang kita. Sorry…”

“Naman e…” She finished and pulled him up to sit up again. Together, they moved up the bed so that they leaned against the headboard. Dei laid down beside Rj so they could lounge side-by-side on the bed. Her eyes were puffy and she sniffled. She cuddled up to him – a first. Rj put his arm over her shoulder and kissed her on the head.

“Magkaka period ka ba?”

“No, not soon…”

“Hmm…eh bakit ang emotional ng Baby ko?” Rj buried his face into Dei’s hair.

“…ma-mi-miss ko kasi ito…ma-mi-miss kita…”

“...yung last check up ko kay Doc Jack, sabi nya, I’m okay. Incontinence nalang ang problema ko. My therapies are going well, too. I have to work on my fine motor skills a little more but the therapists say I will be able to do most of what I used to do really soon…I can stand on my own…and…”

“And what?”

“I…I took my first step last Thursday…” Rj said softly.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Dei sat up a little and looked at him.

“Because I wanted it to be a surprise….I wanted to surprise you…Gusto ko sanang makalakad toward you without assistance na…I can’t really walk far yet but I took four steps…”

“That’s good!” Dei said as she settled back and cuddled. She patted his chest.

Rj asked for his phone and showed Dei videos taken by his therapists.

“Go Coach! Kaya mo yan…one more step…one more…yes!”

In the video, Rj, who was standing in between the parallel bars in the therapy room, took wobbly steps after getting his bearings standing on his prosthetic leg. In another video, he had been coaxed and coached to stand up from his wheelchair unassisted. He gripped on his wheelchair’s arm rest and pushed himself to stand. He reached for the bars in front of him for balance. Other videos showed Rj working on standing on his own from a chair, using a walker, using crutches, and putting on his prosthetic leg.

Dei cried some more as she watched Rj progress so much. She was very happy and proud of his achievements. She was still sad, however, by their impending separation – Rj’s discharge from Genevieve’s Home.

“Don’t cry…everything will be alright…”

“Haaay…bakit ba ako ganito? This is the first time ata na I feel na iiwanan mo ako…”

“Di naman kita iiwanan e…”

“Malalayo ka sa akin…”

“Hmm…nagkahiwalay naman tayo dati ah…”

“Iba yun…di pa kita kilala noon…di pa tayo close…”

“…wala pa kayo masyadong close encounter ni junjun…”

“Bakit ang horny mo?” Dei sat up and looked at Rj, scowling.

“Ang hot mo kasi…” Rj replied. Dei lay back down. This time, she rested her head on Rj’s chest.

“Huy!” Dei admonished him. Rj was slowly rubbing Dei’s arm. He tried to put his hand under her shirt. “…mamaya na…” she whispered.

“Bakit? Room mo naman to, diba?”

“O…oo…but my Lolo is just in the next room…”

“Hmm…ganito, let’s have dinner out…date night…and then…” Rj wiggled his eyebrows.

“Hmm…sounds good to me…”

“Ayan, naka-smile na ang Baby ko. Wag ka na malungkot…we’ll figure out how we’ll to get to see each other like we always do…besides, my work is still connected to the camp. I might have to report to the office once in a while…”

“Haaay…o sige…o, wait, I’ll go tell the helpers na di na tayo mag-d-dinner dito…”

“Okay…I love you…”