Turn The Page

Chapter 8

After dinner, Page volunteered to wash the dishes. June stared at her and wondered if Page really liked staying with her or if this was just the typical first day in any household she's been to. "Good job, Page," June said as she walked over to her and rubbed her back. Page froze for a few seconds and swallowed. "I hope hindi lang toh for tonight ha. Sana bukas din and the next bukas and the next," June said. "Gagawin ko kung anong kelangan mo gawin ko," Page said without looking at her. June stared at her again. She watched as Page carefully washed each dish and each utensil. June smiled a little. "Page, feel at home, okay? Whatever's in the fridge is yours, too. Walang off limits dyan. If you feel like cooking, go ahead. If you feel like eating anything, the cake or whatever you want to eat, go right ahead. I have tons of ice cream sa freezer, just grab whatever, okay? Ayoko mahiya ka," June said. Page nodded. After they were done in the kitchen, June asked for Page to sit down with her in the dining room. Page looked at June as she sat in front of her. "Want some tea?" June asked. "Pwede ba yan sa bata?" Page asked in return. "Well, you're not exactly a kid anymore. Although, you're still considered a minor. It shouldn't be a problem. It's good for the stomach after a fatty meal like that. Want to try it? It's green tea. Very healthy," June said as she stood up to get the kettle. Then she poured a cup for Page. "This is also nice pag ganitong ma-ulan. See, we're having a little tea party. Page and Mrs. T having a tea party," June said as she smiled. Page leaned forward to give it a smell. June smiled. "Ah, so you're like me," June noticed, "You like to smell things first to make sure it's not poisonous," she joked. Page looked at her suspiciously which made June laugh. "I'm kidding. Eto naman. If plano kitang lasonin, I'd put the poison in the blueberry cake just because I know that's something you can't resist," June teased. Page frowned. "May nalason ka na ba noon?" She asked. June laughed again. "Do I look like someone who can poison someone else?" June asked. "Ewan. Yung mga babait bait na yan, yan ang kelangan mo bantayan," Page claimed. June laughed even harder. "You've got a really good point, I'll tell you that," she said as she took a sip of her tea. "But, hindi pa naman ako ever umabot sa point na talagang kinailangan kong mang-lason ng tao," she added. Page looked at her again. "Pero kung aabot ka sa puntong yun, mang-lalason ka talaga ng tao?" Page asked. The seriousness in her face tickled June's funny bone. "It depends. They really have to do something na super bad for me to do it. And that says a lot kasi napaka-patient ko na tao. Hindi ako mabilis magalit," June said. Page stared at her again. June shook her head and laughed. "I'm kidding, okay? Mamaya nyan isumbong moko sa mga sisters. Baka sabihin mo pinadala ka nila kasama ang witch," June said. Page took a deep breath which made June laugh again. Page shook her head. Then she took the cup and took a little sip of her tea. She wrinkled her nose immediately. "Don't like it?" June asked. "Ano yan? Ang pakla. Parang tubig ng pinakuloan na dahon," Page said as she wiped her mouth. June laughed again. "That's exactly what it is, sweetheart," June claimed. "Pweh. Ayoko nyan," Page said as she pushed the cup away from her. "Want to try it with sugar?" June suggested. Page sighed. June got up to get some sugar. She put them on Page's tea. "Okay, here, stir it and give it another go. Tell me if you need more," June said. Page did as she was told, then she tried it again. She shook her head while she made a disgusted face. "Ganun pa rin lasa, pinakuloang tubig na may asukal," she complained. "Hmm, okay. How about this," June said as she walked over to the fridge to get some milk. Then she poured it on Page's cup. "Okay, try it now," she said. Page took another sip. This time, she liked it. She nodded. June grinned. "Ah, so British ka pala ah," June said as she smiled. "Bakit British?" Page asked. "British like their tea like that, a bit of milk and sugar," June explained. "Edi matalino pala ang mga British," Page said and June laughed again.

"Okay," June said as she took a deep breath. "I'm going to continue laying out the rules for you now while we have our tea," June said which made Page sit up straight. Then she sighed. June immediately noticed. "Is that okay? O antok ka na?" June asked. Page liked June's thoughtfulness. "Okay lang," Page answered. "Sure ka? I can continue it tomorrow if you're tired. Sorry, I forgot kadidischarge mo nga lang pala galing ng hospital," June said. "Okay lang," Page answered. "Okay. So, do you remember me asking you how old you were kanina? Then you said seventeen. Is that right?" June asked. Page nodded. "Then I asked you kung how old do you think I am, and you answered twenty nine, right?" June asked again. Page nodded. "Actually, I'm thirty-four. That's twice your age. Si ate April mo, I'm not sure if you know how old she is, but she's thirty-two. Ang mga sisters and the rest of the staff in the orphanage are all older than me, ganun din si mang Joel. He's in his forties I think, I'm not sure. Anyway, the reason I talked about the ages is because I know that you are well aware that all of us are much older than you. Meaning, hindi mo kami kabarkada na you can talk to us as if you're talking to someone that is the same age as you. I think you know and are aware na you talk to us just like that, na parang barkarda mo lang kami. In the orphanage, I'm not sure ano patakaran nila, but in my home, I want you to talk to me as someone who is twice your age. That means na hindi moko kakausapin ng pa-balang. You will not talk over me. You will not interrupt me when I'm talking to you. You're going to look at me or at least face me man lang when I talk to you. And when I ask you something, you can't just keep your mouth shut, you have to answer me. Ang tawag dun respeto. Respeto sakin bilang temporary guardian mo at bilang head ng househould na toh. And here's a few more things, ang pinaka-ayaw ko is when you lie to me. Do not even try because I know how to tell when someone is lying to me. And another thing na I noticed na is lacking when you talk to adults? Po and opo. Page, I lived in America for how many years. Yung anak ko meron syang mga friends noon na medyo nag-tatagalog pa pero some were brought there sa America at a very young age, so majority ng spoken language nila is English. Pero you know what? Nag-popo at opo pa rin sila. 'Hey, Mrs. T, how are you PO?' 'Tita June, could I please have water PO?' Inglisera pa yung mga yun ha, yet their parents were wise enough to instill the Filipino kind of respect sa kanila. I ask them a question in English. 'Hey did you guys eat already?' 'Is your mom picking you up?' Sagot lagi nila? 'Yes po', 'Opo', 'Not yet po', 'No po'. I'm telling you this because kung sila mga laking America, marunong pa rin rumespeto the Filipino way, what more ikaw na taga dito ka sa Pilipinas? That should always be a part of you. Ako? I'm thirty-four years old and your ate April is thirty-two years old pero pag kausap namin yung mga sisters? We still say po and opo. I want you to do the same. Practice saying po and opo. It's called manners. If I have to teach you every single manners na I know, I would. Pero just so you know, hindi ko yun palalagpasin at itotolerate sa bahay na toh," June explained as calmly but as firmly as possible. "Do you understand what I want from you, Page?" She asked. Page nodded. "Okay, good," June said. Then she looked around the house trying to think of any more rules she wanted to talk about with Page. "Oh dito sa bahay, wala naman ako masyadong rules. Syempre, I want you to pick up after yourself. As you can see, wala tayong kasambahay. You cook, you wash the things you used. Nothing should ever be left sa sink to be washed for later, pet peeve ko yun. I don't know how many times I've laid out that rule sa asawa at anak ko, but oh my gosh, it drove me nuts when I see plates and cups and utensils left there tapos sasabihin sakin 'I'll wash it later'? Ay naku, it drove me nuts. Motto ko kasi: 'If you can do it now, why do it later?' Then sa kwarto, I want the bed fixed before you come down for breakfast. Summer used to argue na hihigaan din naman daw nya later so no point in fixing it, but I have a little bit of OCD, alam mo ba yun?" June asked. Page shook her head. "OCD stands for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, meaning: I want things in order parati. I want everything neat as you can see in my house. I want everything to be left in place. Kung san mo kinuha yung sugar, dun mo ibabalik. If nadatnan mo na ganito kalinis yung bahay, then gusto ko iwan mo rin sya ng ganito kalinis. It really is simple if you know how to pick up after yourself and if papairalin mo yung motto ko na 'if pwede mo namang gawin na ngayon, bakit mo pa gagawin mamaya?'" June explained. Then she caught Page snicker a little. "Bakit?" She asked curiously. "Wala. Wala ka lang magiging problema sakin pag-dating sa ganyan," Page replied. June's eyebrows rose. Page rolled her eyes and sighed. "Wala PO. Wala ka lang PONG magiging problema sakin PO pag-dating sa ganyan PO," Page corrected herself. "Woah there, that was a little bit too overboard with the 'po'. Just talk normally, insert a couple of po's and you'll be good to go," June instructed. Page sighed again. "Okay, so...ano pa ba?" June tried to think. "Oh, I'm not very strict when it comes to bedtime and wake up time. I just had Summer follow the 'before and after twelve rule'. I want you to be awake before noon and I want you to be asleep before twelve. Ikaw na bahala kung gigising ka ng seven, eight, nine, ten or eleven, basta I want you up before noon. Kapag may school and may lakad syempre ibang usapan na yun, but yeah, weekends and tuwing walong pasok, that's my rule. Ganun din sa gabi, matulog ka man ng nine or ten or eleven basta by midnight, if I check on you, I want the lights off, and I want you in bed asleep," June said. Page nodded. She genuinely thought it was a good rule. "Hm, I think that's basically it. Well, of course ayoko ng umaalis ka ng bahay ng walang paalam. I want you to understand and treat me as someone like, I don't want to say na may authority over you kasi I feel like that's a bit too much, pero just treat me as someone na like your guardian. Syempre you would want them to know where you are at all times kasi you don't want them to worry? Right?" June asked. Page looked down. She knows she's someone who ignores this rule frequently, but she nodded. "I'm serious, Page. I want to know where you are at all times, okay? Gusto ko mag-sabi ka if may gusto kang puntahan, pwede kita samahan. Actually, may park dito sa loob ng village," June explained then she hesitated for a bit. She looked at Page as she thought things through in her head. She swallowed as their eyes met. "Ayaw ng sisters na hayaan kita lumabas ng bahay mag-isa, but I want you to know na hindi lang ako taga-bantay mo. I actually want to establish a relationship with you. So I'll give you my trust. I'll let you go out and meet friends dun sa park by yourself. Now, Page, I am trusting you on this one. Please lang, I am begging you. Do not break that trust. Because once it's broken, it'll take forever to fix. I'm trusting you because I know all your life puro lahat may authority sayo, I know for a fact na you haven't had that much freedom. And I want to give that to you kasama ng tiwala na ibinibigay ko rin sayo ng buong buo na ayaw ko sanang masira mo kahit kelan," June said. Their eyes met again. Page frowned and looked at the table. This was the very first time someone had given her both trust and freedom at the same time. It made her feel overwhelmed that she wanted to cry again. "Okay ba yun, Page? Nag-kakaintindihan ba tayo?" June asked. Page swallowed back her emotions. She nodded, but she couldn't look at June in the eyes. "Okay, so yun lang naman ata meron ako. Like I said, I will let you know if I think of other ones. We'll discuss them when they come. I think those were enough rules for today anyway. I think we should call it a night," June said. Page sighed. She looked at June and nodded. "Nakita mo yung towel dun sa cabinet sa loob ng bathroom mo? I bought that for you as well as yung shampoo, conditioner and sabon na kelangan mo. May brand new toothbrush and toothpaste din doon. Let me know if you need anything else, okay? Don't hesitate. Sasama ako sayo sa kwarto mo so I can show you pano i-operate yung aircon, so you can adjust if you want it colder or not. May electric fan din doon if you don't like it cold," June said. Page nodded. June stood up, "You're welcome, Page," she said. "Thank you," Page replied. June smiled and nodded in approval. "Now that wasn't too hard, was it?" She asked. Page shook her head as she stood up. "Always show gratitude, anak. Kahit gano pa kaliit yung sa tingin mo ginawa ng tao para sayo, always say thank you. You can never say enough thank you's. You'll never run out of things and people to be thankful for pero unang una mo dapat pinapasalamatan is yung Panginoon. And 'please' din pala; always say please and thank you," June said as she led Page upstairs while she held her by the shoulder. Page swallowed. No one has ever held her the way June always does. She knew part of it was her fault for pushing people away. For the first time, she's letting someone in, and she's liking what it's making her feel.