Turn The Page

Chapter 24

June wiped the tears in Page's face as she smiled at her. "Kain na tayo, ang drama nyo pareho eh," May said as she wiped the tears off of her face, too. Page turned her face to the side, embarrassed to be seen crying by everyone. June reached for a napkin and wiped Page's face with it. "Ako na. Thank you," Page said. Then she took the napkin from June, but she wiped June's face first before hers. June closed her eyes as she felt Page's warmth. Then she opened them again while she looked at her future daughter. "I'm so lucky," she said to her seriously. Page gave her a gentle smile. "Upo ka na ulit para maka-kain na rin tayo," she told her. June gave her another smile before she took her seat. "O diba, we're all emotional wrecks. Anyway, Page, kita mo naman sa reaction ng mama Junjun mo just how much she loves you," May said. "At kita din naman nating lahat sa reaction ni Page just how much she loves you, ate," April added while she turned her head head towards June. "So to conclude, you guys are perfect for each other," July summarized for everyone. The women giggled. Page smiled, too. "Hindi na tayo nakapag-toast actually," May noticed. "Oh yeah, yeah," June said as she giggled. "Napangunahan na tayong lahat kasi ng iyak. Anyway, sweetheart. This toast is for you. Cheers to this new chapter in our lives. Cheers to many more adventures together, and cheers to the start of something new. Welcome to the family, anak ko," June said as she raised her glass. Page couldn't help the tears that managed to escape from her eyes again. The ladies raised their glass as well. Page did, too. "Thank you po," she said to the women. "Do you have anything to say, Page?" April asked. Page was never big on words, so all of them were surprised when she stood up. "Gusto ko lang po mag-thank you. Thank you mama Junjun kasi hindi lang bahay mo ang binuksan mo para sakin kundi pati puso mo. Salamat dahil sayo ko naramdaman lahat ng gusto ko maramdaman sa isang pamilya kahit nag-iisa ka lang. Salamat dahil sayo ko na-experience lahat ng mga gusto kong ma-experience. Salamat sa haba ng pasensya mo sakin at sa pag-iintindi, sa pag-lalambing, sa pag-aalaga, sa pagmamahal. Hindi ko alam ano nagawa ko para ibigay sakin yung isang katulad mo. Ikaw yung matagal nang hinahanap ko," Page said. She looked at June with a smile. June and the other ladies were in tears again. June stood up, gave Page a kiss on the cheeks, and pulled her into an embrace. April looked up at the sky, trying to stop herself from crying even more. "Guys naman eh, ang drama natin. Lumalamig na the food oh," May complained. Page and the ladies laughed. "So, petition to change the name of the group from JJAM to JJAMP," July suggested. "I second that motion," May replied. "I third that motion?" April joined in. Then they all laughed. "Well, it's really up to Page," June said with a smile. "Bakit po ako?" Page asked shyly while she looked at each one of them. "Because they have already laid out the invitation for you to join our group," June answered. "Yeah, Page. Ikaw lang sa mga anak namin ang inimbitahan namin na maging parte ng grupo," July said with a smile. "Bakit ako lang po?" Page asked. "Because you're special. Not that we're saying na our kids aren't, but you're extra special," June answered. Page took a deep breath. "Para po fair sa mga anak nyo, jojoin na lang po ako sa grupo nyo tuwing magkakasama kayo na kasama din ako," Page decided. "Sounds about right to me," June said. Then she looked at the others for their approval. The ladies nodded. "Yup, sounds good," May said. "Okay, so kapag nandito sila, kasama tayo, kasama ka, we're the JJAMP," June said. It made Page smile. It made her like she belonged somewhere. It made her feel like home.

After eating their meal, Page sat quietly by the table while the adults talked. June immediately noticed. "Hey guys," she said. The ladies stopped talking and turned their attention towards June. "How about we do things a little differently when we're JJAMP," June suggested. "Like how different?" July asked. June touched her jaw as she thought of an idea for a while. "How about we do something each week that Page hasn't done yet?" June suggested. The ladies looked at each other again. "What haven't you done yet, Page?" May asked. Page shook her head shyly. "Swim, you haven't had the chance to go swimming, right?" June answered for her. Page shook her head again in response. "You've never gone swimming before?" May asked. She felt sorry for her. Page shook her head again, embarrassed. "What else?" July asked. "How about we surprise you every week? Me and Page. Just come prepared. I will let you guys know what to bring. Maybe then you'll have an idea kung ano gagawin natin, but it doesn't matter. We'll do it anyway. Does that sound good, anak?" June asked. Page swallowed. She loved how June didn't want to embarrass her in front of the others. Then she nodded. "Okay, so today, enough chitchat and let's go hit the pool," June said. "Napalinis mo na?" Page asked, surprised. "Yes," June said with a smile. Page smiled, too. She couldn't help but feel excited. "So you go to your room, anak. Bihis ka na, your titas and I will do the same. Okay?" June said. Page nodded. June gave her a hug and a kiss on the side of her head before she let her go to her room. June swallowed at the sight of her. Then she took a deep breath. "Mahal na mahal mo na ano?" May said. "Oh, May," June said as she swallowed. "Are you going to cry again? Because if you cry, I'll cry," May said. "Di mo alam kung ano yung nararamdaman ko para sa batang yan. Alam mo halo halo na nga talaga siguro eh. Yung lungkot at awa sa lahat ng pinagdaanan nya, pero at the same time that pride and joy that I have her because she's going to be mine forever. I'm so lucky and blessed to have found her. April, salamat," June said. Then she swallowed again. "Ano ka ba, ate? Wala akong kinalaman dyan. You found her. YOU found her on that bridge, not me," April said. June took a deep breath. "You're right. I was meant to find her," June said with a smile. "Kaya please, no matter how extreme yung activity na she wants to do, let's do it. I need your support, especially now. You're even more than welcome to bring your kids along para hindi sila mag-selos," she told them. "Parang kinabahan ako dun sa word na 'extreme' ah. Juney, baka naman tayo eh mapatalon ng eroplano, ayoko ng ganyan," July whined. June laughed. "I don't think Page is up to that kind of stuff, but if it really comes down to that, I promise you, ako lang yung tatalon ng plane with her. You guys won't have to do that, but if she tells me she wants to ride an extreme roller coaster, I'm hoping you guys would come through. Purpose ko lang naman to drag you all into this is para may karamay ako sa mga nakakatakot na gusto nyang gawin," June joked. "Salamat ah. Talagang hinila mo pa kami. But you know what? I have a good feeling about this, so I'm game," July said. April smiled. "Gusto ko rin yun, ate. Game na game din ako," she said. "Fine, syempre kung mag-back out ako, ako nanaman yung kill joy diba? Edi ano pa nga ba?" May said as she rolled her eyes. June did a little happy dance with a series of claps. "I'm so happy. Tsaka I think this is an opportunity to take our friendship to a whole new other level, right? Hindi na tayo just chitchat over tea or lunch and dinner. Hindi na tayo yung movie and spa and all those mommy stuff that we used to do. Now we can go on adventures, more than just going on a resort just to chitchat some more over wine. This time, we get to experience things again like when we were young," June said. The women loved the idea of what June had just laid out in front of them. "Sige na nga. Parang nakaka-tempt eh," May said. Then the women all went inside to get changed into something to wear on the pool.