Plethora: ABUNDANCE

chapter six.

"livi, alam mo rin ba ang tungkol sa family dinner last time?"

Olivia scanned the rack of clothes in front of her, "family dinner?" she confirmed.

Tumango ako, "well, our families were there except i was not able to join, the Salvadors were there too"

She shook her head, kinuha niya ang puting dress mula sa rack at dumiretso sa kabilang aisle ng mga damit.

"maybe it's a business meeting" suhestiyon niya, not minding my odd behavior towards the topic.

Hindi talaga ako matahimik, I am uncomfortable of how something is being done behind my back, maybe it's not that big of a deal, but I have never been disregarded on matters like this happening to our family, mas lalo lang akong nagtaka at noong gabi ng dinner na iyon, my hermana was sent straight back to Iloilo first thing in the morning.

"no, no. Ate Dia was there, Yvo too! Something is really happening!" saad ko.

"por favor, feli, stop overthinking things. You know how our families like having random dinners like that" anas nito.

I flipped my hair to the side still not giving up to the idea and why Olivia seems so chill about it frustrates me more!

"Callisto! Your brother knows about it, he mentioned noong nagkita kami sa Casa ninyo, see he knows about it, pero ako, hindi ko alam kung bakit bumalik ulit ng Iloilo si Ate Dia" dagdag ko pa, causing Livi to throw a glare at me.

"give it up, feli, for sure the matter will come by! If not, annoy your kuyas and your abuella" she hissed.

"here, fit those" she demanded, shoving me a pile of sundress and kamisetas.

I decided to shove my issues at the back of my mind especially that Olivia was really not interested to deal with my drama, sobrang excited siya sa paparating na beach party para sa birthday ng pinsan ni Yvo. Our families are also invited kaya abala siya sa paghahanap ng maisusuot namin.

Magdidilim na nang nakabalik kami sa mansyon nila, inihatid ko muna si Livi bago dumiretso sa Casa upang tignan kung meron bang balita si Theo tungkol sa lagay ni Phoenix.

"hi, we're done shopping" bati ko nang makita si theo sa labas ng stable kausap ang dalawang trabahador.

He dismissed the two workers and faced me, nagsimula kaming maglakad papuntang cabin.

"phoenix is getting better, he is gaining his weight back" paliwanag nito.

I nodded at him, "uhm well, that's nice to hear"

Tahimik parin kaming nagtungo sa cabin, ngunit bago kami makapasok ay huminto ako sa harap niya.

"pupunta ka ba sa party sa sabado?" tanong ko.

He paused, "no, i'm busy"

I bit my lip, trying to hide my burning face, pumasok ako sa loob ng cabin at nagbukas ng cellphone ko. I read some few messages from my friends and replied to some nang biglang mag ring ang cellphone ko.

"yvo..."

Theo shifted in his seat, eyes still on his laptop screen.

"...yeah, a dress maybe" saad ko, looking at theo expecting a reaction from him.

But he is blankly staring on his laptop, just minding his own business.

"a two-piece? Yeah, sure" mas nilakasan ko.

I coughed a bit to hide my smile nang makita kong bahagyang kumunot ang kanyang noo.

"okay, bye"

I have a stupid smile on my face, satistfied with the reaction I got from this snob. Pinaglaruan ko mga maliliit na gemstones na nakapatong sa flowerpot malapit sa coffee table.

"my driver might take a while bago makabalik dito," i trailed, "do you have movies sa laptop mo?"

He stopped whatever he was doing in his laptop and looked at me, "i'm working, felicia"

My shoulders fell at his response, "tsk, suplado" bulong ko.

I leaned back at the counter and scrolled through my phone nang tumayo siya at ipinatong ang laptop niya sa kitchen counter.

"oh, i thought you are working?" tukso ko, pulling off a straight face.

Tumalikod siya at nagtungo sa ref, he grabbed something inside and its a can of beer!

"not anymore, go watch your movie" suplado pa din nitong saad.

I happily grabbed his laptop and skimmed through his documents, his wallpaper is a plain grey vector design, pumunta ako sa videos niya to see if he has movies I can watch.

"dios mio!" sigaw ko nang mag load ang mga videos sa laptop niya.

It was a bunch of pornographies! Nag-init ang mukha ko sa nakita ko, I glared at him shoving his laptop back on his lap.

"bastos!" giit ko.

Tumingin siya sa laptop niya, he lazily stared at me.

"felicia, i'm a healthy male. This is natural" saad niya.

Mas lalo akong namula sa sinabi niya, i pushed some strands of hair out of my face breathing for some air.

"ewan ko sayo!"

"well, these are better alternatives rather than catching a disease, eh?" ngisi niya.

Inabot ko ang isang throw pillow at inihagis sa kanya. Tumayo ako at nagtungo sa ref, getting also a can of beer from there.

Umismid ako nang matikman ang pait ng beer na natili sa dila ko, "ew"

"that's not juice, kid" he commented.

Inirapan ko siya at pinatong ang lata sa counter, "why do you even like drinking this? Kuya always buy those stuff, hindi naman masarap"

"i don't know"

I rolled my eyes, taking another sip from the can, I cringed again.

"stop drinking that kung hindi ka nasasarapan" saad niya now looking at me.

Nagkibit balikat ako at bumalik sa one seater couch malapit sa kanya, ipinatong ko ang beer sa coffee table.

"i want to drink this kind of stuff too, just like what adults do" i said, ignoring that i sound stupid saying that.

"i want to be an adult na, so maybe Abuella can share matters with me that only adults can understand"

I know I've been dramatically overdwelling on this issue but, "my Ate Dia was sent back to Iloilo, I know that something is up, ayaw din naman nilang sabihin sa akin kung ano ang nangyayari" kwento ko.

But this time, Theo looked at me, as if he is willing to listen and hear me out. Unlike others, he is looking at me as if he wants to share this burden, to share my anxiety with him.

I took a deep breath, "maybe if I do what adults do, mas madali akong maging katulad ninyo, I can be trusted with words only adults think they can understand"

Inabot niya ang beer na nakapatong sa harap ko, he finished it and licked his lips as he turned to me.

"stop wanting to grow up so fast, being an adult is more than what you think, may mga bagay na hindi dapat minamadali" saad niya.

"but adults handle it really well though" komento ko.

My hermanas and hermanos look like they enjoy being adults, they can do what they want to do, hindi na nila kailangan pang maghintay ng desisyon ng mga tao sa paligid nila.

"keep that innocence, you won't get hurt of the things you don't know, take your time to grow up, on your own pace" he said.

I heard my driver calling outside, hinatid ako ni Theo papuntang sasakyan, he handed me a piece of candy.

"don't tell Igo I let you drink beer" he tsked.