Living in the Shadows

Mendacious

We went to Chaddy, walked around, and looked for toy cars for Austin, then we went to the game center so we could purchase something for Sydney. The boys were so elated, they couldn’t contain their happiness. Seeing my boys happy puts a smile on my face.

It was just like any normal family would do in a mall. Just strolling around, looking at some clothes for the kids, buying some shoes for me, for dad, and the boys. We also bought some perfumes, lotions, chocolates, anything we can possibly bring home once we get back home in the Philippines.

Art has this big box he is trying to fill in, so once we are ready to fly back to Manila, we have something to give his sisters and parents. We also checked some kitchenware. My mother-in-law loves to cook, so we thought of getting some for her. As for my father-in-law, he likes gardening, so we bought some gardening tools.

We spent hours just shopping around. Both boys were exhausted, so we decided to eat dinner in an Italian restaurant. Then we'd head home.

“Did you like the pasta?” Arthur asked Sydney.

He shook his head and answered his father, “I’d rather eat Jollibee’s spaghetti.”

For some reason, it made me laugh. “Oh, my big boy, you are indeed a Filo!” I cracked up. Filo is an Aussie slang word short for Filipinos in Australia.

“How ‘bout you buddy, did you enjoy your food?” Art asked our Austin. “Yeah, but can I have some ice cream dad? Please?” Austin gave his dad a puppy-look so he couldn’t say no. My baby, such a charmer.

“Why are you giving me that look, you know, you are like your mommy. She does that whenever she wants something from me.” Art imitated Austin’s expression, then he laughed, but I didn’t. I rolled my eyes, showing him that it was not funny at all. But both my Austin and Sydney laughed. Maybe they find their dad funny.

Boys will be boys. Then I shook my head in disbelief, all three of them have the same wavelength, father and sons.

We grabbed some ice cream, then headed to the parking lot as we needed to return home.

“Hi Art! You are Art the model-actor, right? Hi! We are your huge fans! We are also from the Philippines just having a family vacation! This is really crazy. I am so sorry, I am just star-struck in awe. Can we take a photo please?” A woman approached us. It turned out a group of ladies noticed us walking in the parking lot and recognized Arthur.

They took some photos, I pulled away the boys and continued walking towards our car. We haven’t experienced this yet, this is the first time a fan recognized Art, this is really not good.

I buckled in the child safety seats for the boys, made sure they were comfortable. I could hear the ladies talk giddily even from our car. From how it looks from where I am at, I could tell that they were taking a lot of photos and even asked Art for some autographs.

I heard one lady ask him, “Who are you with? Wife? Girlfriend? Kids? Aren’t you with Angel?”

“Oh no, that’s my sister and nephews, just having some time off here so I can look after her and the kids.” Art answered.

“How about Angel? How is she? How are you two? We heard on the news that she was pregnant. Is it true?” another lady asked.

“We’re okay, it’s getting late, they are waiting for me, I am sorry but I have to go.” Art answered and hurriedly went to the car.

I heard everything clearly.

He denied us, AGAIN. And Angel? Is she really pregnant?

I tried concealing my emotions when Art got in the car and started the engine.

“Sydney, Austin, are you all good? Babe, you OK?” Art looked at the rear-view mirror to check on the boys, then looked at me from the front passenger seat. He touched my hand, but I pulled my hands away and crossed my arms across my chest.

I don’t feel like talking to Arthur. I just want to be quiet.

I knew something was wrong. Could it be true? Is Angel really pregnant?

“Babe, are you OK? Why are you all silent?” Art asked while driving.

I did not say a word.

“Babe, talk to me. What’s going on?” He asked.

“Nothing. Just drive. Kids are sleeping. I don’t want to wake them up. They are exhausted.” I answered softly, looking away, looking at the car window. I just can’t look at him.

“Macky, talk to me, is there something wrong? I know there is something wrong.” He persistently asked, getting into my nerves.

I faced him with my arms still folded, “Is there something wrong Arthur?” I asked him and gave him an earnest look.

“Is there something wrong, Arthur? Is there something I should know about?” I asked again, this time with firmness.

He could not answer right away, it took him a minute to respond.

“What is this about Macky? Are you tired, do you want to take a nap?” he asked, trying to avoid the topic.

“Answer me Derek Arthur, this is not a time for me to sleep. I am not sleepy, and that is not the topic being discussed here. Is there something you want to tell me?” I asked for the third time.

“Let’s talk about it now. You asked me what is wrong, and now I am here, I am speaking up. I am asking you, is there something wrong? Is there something I should know about? Stop this s**t! And stop fooling around, this is so f****d up!” I just exploded then and there. I think I woke up Sydney as my voice raised.

“What is wrong with you, Macky? I don’t understand you, what are you talking about?” he raised his voice a little as I started getting agitated.

“Did you get her pregnant?” I asked.

“What? Who? What are you talking about?” Arthur just threw questions back to me.

“Do you really think that I am that stupid? Did you just use my Dad as an excuse to escape the mess you made back in the Philippines? Are you here just because you f****d up there and you need to escape from all the s**t you have to face there? You f*****g bastard pretending to love me, to be happy with us here in Australia, you were just concealing all the s**t you made! I knew there was something wrong. You always tell me that the thing with Angel is just for show, for your career, but in reality, you were f*****g her while I was waiting for you to come home! Is that the truth, Arthur? Is that the truth? f*****g answer me, I can’t contain it anymore. I’ve been stupid, I’ve been f*****g stupid believing all your lies throughout the years!” I told him everything inside my heart. All the pain, all the agony, all the frustrations, and lies.

He is being mendacious all these times! Such a liar! I started slapping him as I felt really frustrated.

“What do you want to hear? Do you want to hear the truth? Do you want to know why? Who started this? Who’s been flirting with her so-called best friend all these years? Do you think I did not notice that? How do you two flirt in front of me? Even in front of our kids? Are you not ashamed of yourself? Have you not thought of how I would feel?” Art raised his voice, he answered me with such absurd questions. I just felt so annoyed. I continued hitting his arm, “You are a f*****g i***t! Gali is like a brother to me! He is like a brother to US! How could you say that?!” I aggressively replied to his allegations, trying to reverse the situation.

During an argument, men would often do the reverse-psychology method. They will come up with something to attack you, catching you off guard and leaving you defenseless. But not me. Not me Arthur.

“Answer me, is it true about Angel?” I asked one more time.

“What? I don’t know what you are talking about Macky, this is insane! Can you calm down!” Arthur answered, being so defensive.

“Daddy! Mommy! A truck!” We heard Sydney scream, and our car crashed in a head-on collision with a delivery truck. As we argued, Arthur lost control of the steering wheel and went out of our lane, colliding with the vehicle in the other lane.

"Hello, we have an emergency." I heard Art's voice, talking to someone on the phone.

Everything went black.

(Rock bottom by Hailee Steinfield, DNCE playing)