My Boyfriend is a Freak (Published under Pop Fiction)

68: Vren

I decided to let Mira do most of the explaining to Vince. I figured letting the woman talk to the doctor about pregnancy and babies and stuff was just the natural thing to do.

"Ganito kasi 'yon, Vince," my girlfriend began. "Si Zac, 'yong pamangkin mo na pamangkin ko rin, by the way... ay mukhang hindi mo naman talaga pamangkin."

"I'm sorry — what?" My brother's perplexed reaction was priceless. "That was so confusing, Mira."

"I know. Kahit kami, gulong-gulo na sa mga nangyayari." Mira sighed. "Pero nalaman kasi namin na September ang birthday ni Zac. Counting backwards, this means he was probably conceived on December of the previous year. But according to Vren, the first and last time na may nangyari sa kanila ni Ate Bella ay late October. Which means —"

"Na hindi si Vren ang tatay ni Zac!" Vince exclaimed. "Okay, got that."

I rolled my eyes. "Congratulations for finally picking up," I told my brother. "Took you long enough."

Mira smirked. "Sus, as if naman na-gets mo rin kaagad ang mga sinabi ko."

That shut me up.

"Well, I must say, that's good news, bro!" Vince grinned at me, ignoring my sarcastic remark from earlier. I'd give it to him — the guy knows how to pick his battles. "Mukhang wala ka nang problema, ah."

"Yeah, I guess... except for the fact that we still don't know how to break the truth to Zac. Telling the kid that I am not his daddy after all would be heartbreaking for him. It will be like losing a parent all over again — too soon after the death of his mom."

"Oh, right," my brother said in a faint voice, wincing at my pronouncement. Even Mira, whom I already discussed this with, hid her face in her hands as if my words caused her pain. Come to think of it, they probably did.

"At any rate, we wanted to be really sure this time," I continued. "A DNA test will be the most conclusive proof."

"Of course. And I'd be glad to help. Para na rin sa ikatatahimik ng lahat," Vince replied. "In that case, we'll be needing samples from both you and Zac. It may take up to ten days before we can get the results."

"I'll bring them here first thing tomorrow morning," I assured him.

"Good." My brother nodded. "Time to find out the truth, then."

****

The truth, as expected, was that I am not Zac's father.

I knew I should be happy. I didn't have an excess baggage, as it turned out. But I couldn't bring myself to be jubilant, knowing that the truth was akin to a child's heartache. Sa maikling panahon na naging ama ako kay Zac, napamahal na sa akin ang bata. He was nice, smart, and sweet — the kind of kid every parent wants to have. Even Mira, who was supposed to be the happiest after everything got clarified, wasn't in a celebratory mood, either.

"Kawawa naman ang pamangkin ko," my girlfriend breathed out while peering at the paper outlining the paternity test result. "Vren, paano natin sasabihin sa bata na hindi ikaw ang daddy niya?"

"I don't know, Mira," I replied with a morose shake of my head.

"At ang mas malaking tanong... kung hindi pala ikaw ang tatay ni Zac, sino?"

I sighed. "I have no freaking idea. I wish Bella was here to explain everything."

Like why she cheated on me, for instance. It's all clear to me now — dahil napatunayang hindi ako ang ama ng kanyang anak, ibig sabihin ay talagang may iba pang nakarelasyon si Bella bukod sa akin. Was it just really because I was too busy to give my all in our relationship? There must be more to it than that.