Fleeting Moments

Chapter 22: Birthday

#HHFM Chapter 22:

Birthday

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"Ceskang, ikaw ba talaga ay galit sa 'kin?"

I paused on placing Raiko's hand covers upon hearing Tatay's question. I didn't look at him nor answered. I made sure there was a space in between us when I sat on the bed. I wanted him to feel that I was seriously disappointed with how he acted when Ryo's parents went here.

Ryo refused to tell me at first, of course. He wanted to keep Tatay's name clean. His parents didn't say anything either. Tito was obviously trying to avoid the topic. Tita just checked up on Raiko and stayed silent, too.

I had to fake my anger towards Ryo for him to tell me what happened. It turned out that Tatay didn't show himself to his parents. Nanay didn't kick them out, but I know that my mother was never a warm nor welcoming person. I could feel the tension just by imagining them awkwardly staring at each other in the living room.

Mainit pa ang ulo ko noon at sigurado akong wala rin sa tamang mood si Tatay kaya hindi ko na lang inungkat. We ate dinner silently and went to our rooms without speaking a word about their failed first meeting.

Pero ngayon, at hindi naman puwedeng hindi ko iyon ungkatin, pinaramdam ko na talaga kay Tatay na may mali. Ryo kept on convincing me that it was fine, that he expected something worse than the cold treatment, but clearly, it wasn't. Hindi ko muna pinapunta sina Tita rito sa amin hangga't hindi kami nakapag-uusap ni Tatay.

Earlier, I didn't join them for breakfast. Ryo almost crawled back upstairs so he could skip being alone at the dining area with my parents. Nakailang tawag sa akin si Tatay pero hindi ako bumaba. I wanted him to feel what it was like to be ignored.

Kaya kahit na may ikinabit siyang duyan para kay Raiko rito sa kuwarto, hindi ko siya kinibo. He kept on asking me questions about work and Cali, but my answers were limited to a shrug or a nod. Obvious naman na sigurong naiinis ako sa kaniya at tingin ko, naramdaman na niya iyon kaya nagtanong na siya.

Komportableng natutulog si Raiko sa duyan. Ryo was downstairs, helping Louie with the woodwork. So far, parang hindi pa naman inaabuso ni Tatay si Ryo. Maybe it was because of the rush orders he was working on, wala siyang time na gawing alila at pag-trip-an si Ryo na, obviously, wala namang masyadong alam sa pinaggagagawa niya.

"Galit ka? Bakit ka galit? Nagsumbong ba si Ryo sa 'yo?"

My frown deepened. I shook my head in disbelief as I looked at him with disappointment. 'Nagsumbong' talaga ang term na ginamit niya? At kung nagsumbong naman talaga sa akin si Ryo, dapat lang. What he did was extremely rude and Ryo's parents didn't deserve any of that.

Nagbuntonghininga siya sa tabi ko. I get that he might still be quite mad at me after finding out about my pregnancy later than expected, pero parang hindi naman tama ang pagtrato niya kina Tita. Ipinakikita ko rin naman sa kaniya na okay kami ni Ryo, and Ryo was obviously trying his best to get his approval. No amount of his anger would put Raiko back in my womb, anyway. If he couldn't accept Ryo, yet, at least he should have had decency to respect his family na wala namang ginawang masama sa akin kahit kailan.

"Alam mo, kapag tumanda na 'yang anak mo, saka mo lang ako maiintindihan," aniya. He reached for his mug of already-cold coffee on the table. "Kita mong hindi nga kita pinadadapuan sa lamok noong bata ka pa . . ." Pumalatak siya.

I sighed. Napalingon ako sa pintuan nang may sumilip doon. There were wet blobs on his shirt, probably because of sweat. Nakita kong nakangiti siyang sumilip sa bukas na pinto pero agad na sumeryoso ang mukha nang mapansing hindi ako nag-iisa sa kuwarto. Napaayos siya ng tindig at mukhang hindi alam ang gagawin—kung aalis ba siya o papasok.