"Where did you come from?" She asked Niko who came in a few seconds after she had pulled the blanket over her legs.
"I just checked on..."
"Nanaman?" Riki said with slight exasperation and annoyance. In the last month of her pregnancy, Niko had developed a strange habit of checking and re-checking Riki and the baby's hospital bag which he put by the door. He also came up with a schedule and procedures should Riki go into labor. Niko even had schedules for different times of the day, "...baka ma-traffic tayo..." he reasoned.
It was not that Riki didn't appreciate how Niko was becoming more obsessed with preparations for their baby's arrival but she found it just a little too much.
---
"Excited lang talaga yan..." Niko's mom said. "Nung bata pa yan, lahat pina-plano nyan. Gusto nya, perfect ang plano para daw maganda din ang resulta."
"Eh paano po kung hindi matuloy o hindi nangyari yung nasa plano nya?"
"Nung una, iiyak nalang yan. Pero natuto rin sya na tanggapin yung mga hindi nya naman maco-control talaga. Uhhh!"
"Po?"
Mama told Riki about an incident where Niko's plans fell into place and how happy he was of the results.
"Ay!"
"...pero matagal na yun...di naman na naulit e..."
---
Part of his preparation for Riki's delivery was wearing jogging pants to sleep. "Just in case" Niko declared.
Riki just nodded and recalled how she saw one of her aunts go in their home. Tita Terry had come to their home early in the morning with bread. She delivered bread to Riki's house as it was part of her daily exercise and route. Tita Terry was casually talking to Nanay while the girls prepared for school when she suddenly said that her stomach hurt. Nanay called for Ate Bimbim to get a rag for the floor and she sent Riki to call her Tatay. The school service came to pick up the girls, Tito Leo, Tita Terry's husband came and they left for the hospital. From what she could remember, it took a while for Tito Leo to arrive because she and Ate Bimbim were already in the school service when she saw Tito Leo arrive at their house.
Niko requested that Riki wear some clothes to sleep as well since she had been sleeping naked since they found out she was pregnant. Riki was also annoyed with this request. She complained that she felt hot even if the A/C's thermostat was already at its lowest setting.
"...excuse mo lang yan e..." Ina said when Riki mentioned about this request.
"Huh?"
"Sabi mo, you both sleep naked lalo na ngayon na buntis ka. Understandable naman dahil maraming nagbabago sa tao pag nabubuntis. Pero, ikaw din naman ang nagkwento na dati naman, si Niko ang natutulog ng nakahubad..."
