Tristan Montero
1139 Words
After a week of staying in our home, I have decided to take Andre out for a tour around the city.
He has always loved playing with other kids so I promised to take him to the public playground at the city after getting him groomed at the salon because his hair is already covering his eyes when put down.
“Mom, do I look handsome on my new hair?”
“Of course, Andre. You always do.”
“Uncle Andy told me that I look like his friend, Tristan.”
“Oh really? What else did your uncle told you?”
I took my chance to get to know what else Andy have told him for the entire week that they bonded. Andy was so hooked with Andre that he took a leave in his med school to spend time with him and I have been wondering all those days in which Anton only laughed whenever I bring up the topic to him. I took Andre to my favorite local fastfood chain to let him try the food I loved my whole life for it is not available back home and I really missed filling my mouth with local food, I have forgotten all of their taste when I left. I was never able to find any authentic food from here in the country I went to. And I can only eat one if I cook it myself and I am not that great too.
“He said that you know Tristan too, mom. Is he your friend too?”
“Was, Andre. He’s actually your dad.”
“Really?”
The look in his eyes turned so excited when he heard his dad from me for the very first time.
I knew all along that he wanted to ask about his father to me but he would always refrain himself from doing so because he was afraid that I will cry when he did.
I knew that he knows every cry I made before. I already noticed how intelligent he is the very first time he was able to utter a word and I know he will eventually be curious about his life, where he came from and why I am the only one with him and I never planned of hiding him the reality about his father, I was just waiting for him to grow enough to understand our situation.
“Is he here? Can I meet him?”
“You will meet him, Andre. Your uncle will let you meet him.”
“Can I call him dad by that time?”
He was munching his mashed potato while asking, his attention is fairly distributed to his food and to the information he is getting from me.
“Yes, it would be bad to call your father by his first name, right?”
“Does he know me?”
I know that he is trying his best to digest all of these and that it will be a long night for the both of us because I am sure that he will never stop asking me about his father until he is satisfied and he never gets satisfied unless it is mashed potato and his friends.
“Mom, are you mad at me?”
“No, never. Why do you ask?”
“Why didn’t you told me sooner?”
“I didn’t know how, Andre. If I told you about him at home, you will ask everything about him, you will ask for his pictures, you will ask for reasons, I didn’t have all of those to show you.”
“Did he hurt you?”
“Your father never hurt me the way you think, Andre. He was a good person.”
“My teacher told us that people doesn’t only get hurt physically, mom. People can get hurt emotionally too. I don’t understand much because she said I can be fully aware only if I’m grown up.”
“Your teacher really helped you to be this smart, Andre.”
“Yes, mom.”
And he is also aware of those things now.
“Did dad hurt you, mom? Did he made you cry? Did he do something to you that is why we left my grandparents and my uncles here?”
“Everything became a problem for me, Andre. I decided it will only be finished when I went away.”
“With me?”
“Yes, Andre. With you. You were still in my womb when we left this place.”
“So they never knew about me?”
“I’m sorry if you think that I kept you.”
“You kept me for my safety, right?”
“Yes.”
I was confused by how far Andy gone in telling him about Tristan but I cannot just ask him to tell me everything because if there is one thing that I taught him that I really hated of doing so is that to never share everything he knows to people because sometimes people tells things to him because they trust him the most to never share it just to anyone who asked for the information.
Why did I even taught him that?
“Mom, if we ever see him today, should I introduce myself to him?”
“Do you think you will meet him today?”
“Uncle said that I might.”
He smiled and went down the chair he was sitting from and went to me to pull me into a hug.
“Uncle Andy told me that dad always shows up wherever you go. He said Tinkerbell connected you with a string that she always pull each end to stay near each other.”
Tinkerbell huh?
“May I play the playground right there, mom?” He pointed the fast food chain’s playground. He has been eyeing that ever since we came here.
“Of course, but you have to take off your shoes to play inside with the other kids.”
“Yes! Thank you, mom!”
He kissed me first before placing down his now empty mashed potato and sipped his juice before walking towards the playground and removed his shoes to put it at the shoe rack by the entrance of the playground.
“Is he Anton’s?”
With a heavy breath, I stopped moving when I recognized whom the voice came from.
“T-Tristan.” I never imagined calling his name again. I never imagined seeing him again.
Tristan Montenegro, the only person I loved, the father of my child who cheated on me when he realized that he no longer loves me.
“I figured that this day will really come. I’ll take this seat while he’s there. So what brought you back?”
Tinkerbell. How dare you?
- Writer
