Turn The Page

Chapter 48

That afternoon, June and Sandy drove separately to pick their children up from school. June parked the car at the curb as she anxiously scanned the crowd of students for her daughter. She was about to reach for her phone when the car door suddenly opened. "Mama!" Page exclaimed as she got in the car. Then she threw herself towards her mother. "You scared me!" June said while she and her daughter hugged. "Where did you come from??" She asked. "School," Page answered casually. "I know that. Pero hindi kita nakita. San ka ba? San ka nanggaling? Where's Keeper and Nicky? Your tita Sandy's parked behind me," June said. "Nakita namin kayo, mama. Nakapasok na sila dun sa kotse nila tita Sandy bago pako pumasok dito," Page replied. "Oh I see. Sooo, how was school??" June asked nervously. She was eager to find out. "Okay lang," Page answered. "Okay lang as in it was okay or okay lang as in it sucks?" June asked. "Okay lang as in okay lang," Page answered. "Baby, you have to be more descriptive than that. You know me, I like details," June said as she drove off. "Eh, okay lang naman talaga kasi," Page answered. "Fine. Then what did you na lang?" June asked. "Nag-aral, kumopya ng notes, nakinig sa professor, yun lang naman," Page answered. "Eh naman toh eh. Those are general things to say. Tell me more," June insisted. "Si mama. Ano pa ba ginagawa sa school? Ah eto na lang, kanina nag-iyakan kami ni Nicky. Naiyak nga rin si Keeper eh. Meh puso din pala yun noh?" Page said. Then she snickered. "What the heck? What did you two cry about? What happened?" June asked worriedly. "Wala naman, mama. Naawa lang kasi ako kay Nicky. Dami daming pinagdadaanan dahil sa sexuality nya. Kita ko naapektohan yung confidence nya dahil dun," Page informed her mother. June glanced over her daughter quickly. Then she stared at the road. "I'm sorry to hear that. Di bale, he has you na naman. He has Keeper and his family. He has us. What matters is that he knows that. It's better to have a few people that care than none at all," she said. Page nodded in return. "Did you finish your lunch?" June asked. "Ubos na ma," Page replied. "Good. Was it enough?" June asked again. "More than enough," Page answered. "Good," June replied. Then she gave her daughter a smile. "I'm proud of you," she said. Then she reached for her chin and caressed it gently. "Thank you, mama," Page replied with a grin. "Proud of you din ah," she claimed. "Proud of me? Bakit ako?" June asked. "Eh kasi na-survive mo rin tong araw na toh. Kelangan nga lang ng support ni tita Sandy, pero na-survive mo pa din. Mas kabado ka pa yata kesa sakin eh," Page claimed again. June couldn't help but laugh. "How did you know I needed your tita Sandy's support?" She asked, amused at her daughter. "Sus, 'kaw pa. Sinilip kaya kita kanina nung nag-drive ka paalis. Umiiyak ka kaya," Page informed her. "No, I wasn't!" June lied. "Mama," Page said with her eyebrows up. "Fine. I was crying," June admitted. "See. At kilala ko na rin ikaw. Need mo ng support pag ganyan. Kaya ka nga biniyayaan ni Lord ng mababait na kaibigan kasi alam Nya kekelanganin mo suporta nila katulad kanina," Page explained. June laughed again. "Hay, Page. I can never get away with anything. You're too smart. Here I thought na you already walked away towards your class. So bumalik ka?" June asked. Page nodded. "Binagalan ko mag-lakad. Nung-narinig ko na nag-drive ka na, tumalikod ako ulit para tingnan ka," she informed her. June smiled a little. "You're so sweet," she said which made Page smile in return.

2017

Some years later, Page, Nicky and Keeper finally completed school for each of their majors. Page worked as a social worker for the county. She helped place children into foster care and helped families with the adoption process while Keeper and Nicky worked at a nearby hospital as nurses. June, on the other hand, also made good use of her time. She took classes to enhance her talent in cooking, baking and gardening. She also learned a few new ones such as how to sew and make her own clothes, how to crochet, and how to paint. She and Page along with Sandy, Ben, Keeper and Nicky also trained to flip houses and has been on the business of flipping houses together and selling them. On the love side, both June and Page had a few acquaintances, men that wanted the mother and daughter's attention, but all have failed. The mother and daughter were inseparable and have enjoyed each other's company more than the men that wanted to date them. Keeper also stayed single. Like the mother and daughter, women also tried to date him, but none of them succeeded. However, Nicky was a different story. He was lucky to have found love with a boy named Trevor, and the two have been in a secret relationship for more than five years. Nicky never dared to tell his parents. He was extremely afraid to have him and Trevor hurt by his father. He knew it was a huge possibility, so they, along with Page, June, Keeper and his family, were very careful.