PMS1: President's Forgotten Wife

CHAPTER 25 [II]

CHAPTER 25, part II: MISSING FOR TOO LONG

"Mom?" She called out as she entered her mother's beloved garden.

The amusement on Jade's face did not disappear as she carefully danced her hand through the variety of flowers ideally situated into their respective places. With so many flowers from different places, her mother can now start a flower shop business only if she wished to empty her beloved sanctuary.

When Jade did not hear a voice from her mother, she decided to go around the vast garden until she stopped in front of a relatively large fishpond. And there she saw her mother, quietly having coffee while staring at the abyss. It seems that the depth of her mother's thoughts wasn't shallow, and it appears that she's severely thinking about something that Jade hope wasn't about her.

So Jade slowly approached her mother's seat, and when she was behind her, Jade undoubtedly covered her mom's eyes without even thinking that it was early in the morning and being disturbed with her coffee isn't a good idea at all.

"Who is this!? I swear to God, Janni, or Janus, I'm going to mercilessly twist your groin until you scream in pain to remind you that I am not to be disturbed when having my morning coffee!" her mother angrily retorted. Jade wasn't able to hold her laughter in when a chuckle rose to her throat. Jade cleared her throat as she changed her voice into something manly. "First and second clue, I am not Janni nor Janus. But I'm relatively close to them."

Jade held her breath in happiness as she stopped herself from chuckling or, worst, burst out giggling at how silly she act and sound now.

"Oh, you take care of your young life! I can drink my coffee even with my eyes closed." her mother's litany lingered while sipping her warm coffee as if she doesn't care a single thing about whatever Jade has said at all. Recalling her mom's behavior, they could stay there until midnight, and it's Jade loss if her mother doesn't give up now

So the first to give up? Of course, it was already served on the table who needed to back out of the challenge before it accelerates further.

"Oh, come on, mom. You're the biggest killjoy I have ever known in my entire life! Now, the reason is crystal clear that you're the reason why I'm never good at humoring people." Jade sulked to where she stood while hugging her mother from behind.

"I miss you so much, mom, and I can't afford not to be here, home with you, on your grand birthday. I won't miss the occasion, and you know that!" She happily squealed at her mother without breaking the hug.

"You ungrateful child! Didn't I tell you not to show your face in front of me again?! Why aren't you listening? And why are you calling me 'mom'? I'm not your mom, and you're not my child! I don't have a daughter." Jade can't help the smile forming on her lips. Her mother is still sulking, and it's tough to coax her once she gets mad. But Jade knew better. Her mother would never instill anger, no longer for a day. And besides, she's already there and no intention of leaving until the celebration ends.

"Mom, I have something important to tell you." She began, and a sad smile immediately replaced her happy emotion.

"Don't talk to me, kid—" her mother's based pitch was high, and she was too furious to entice quickly. But Jade did not let her mother finish what she was saying and forthwith interrupted her as early as possible.

"Mom, I'm pregnant, and I don't know who the father is," when she let those words flow out of her lips like a bustling wind, her mother lowered the cup of coffee she was holding and looked behind her with shock and anger painted on her face.

"What?! Is this your way of ruining my morning by showing your face in here like you didn't do anything wrong and blurt out something serious?! You—" before her mother gets any further of her litany, Jade covered her ears and pouted like a kid, begging for candy.

"Mom, come on. Is shouting became your habit the moment I left? Or is this your way of greeting me good morning and telling me how much you missed your unica hija?" She complained and acted as if her mother's voice was the root cause of her turning deaf.

"What?! You wish for me to laugh at something like getting pregnant even though it's not a joke at all?!" Her anger leveled up, making Jade flinch at her mom shouting.

"But am I finally going to have grandchildren?" Her mother instantly changed the subject the same as how she changed her mood towards her. Jade's mother's eyes were glimmering as they stared at her, waiting for a reply.

"Isheprenk (it's a prank)!" She shouted and couldn't stop laughing. Her mother frowned at Jade's word. Clearly, her mother didn't get it at all.

"What are you saying?! Is that the name you came up with for the baby? Is the baby a boy? What is the name again? Ishaan? Ispran? Why does it sound weird?" instead of making Jade laugh even more, she frowned in front of her mother. Her face was disappointed because her mother didn't quite understand that what she said was a joke.

Now, that made the situation even worst. Jade's joke ended up as an explanation—an excellent way to kill happiness and dig up her own grave.

"How long?" This time, Jade can't help but grimace at her mother's question. It wasn't what she expected to hear, and she didn't know what to expect anymore. Jade knew that her mom is clearly unhappy at her joke, but she's not showing any sign of anger, disappointment, or happiness. Just pure blank expression.

"What do you mean how long, mom? I told you already, I'm not pregnant, and I haven't given up my barriers. It was just a joke, and I'm sorry." Jade explained further, but her mother asked the same question.

"How long?"

"How long what?" It's confusing her, but she demands an explanation this instant.

"How long do you want to stay in this world so I could hire someone to dig up your grave, and I'll bury you myself? Sound fair, right?"

"Wait, what? Mom, are you—ouch ouch ouch! Mom, stop!" Jade wasn't able to stop her mother when she pinched Jade's ear and walloped Jade in her arm like a punching bag, ready to take every hit.

"Iseprengk (it's a prank)! You son of a b***h!" Mrs. Guevara even mimicked Jade's accent when she said that word, a sign that she's pissed off.

"Mom, come on. I'm not your son, and you're not a dog. Get your words straight!" Jade added, which made Mrs. Guevara's ears turn red. And with her last straw of patience, Mrs. Guevara grabbed her mug of coffee and prepared to throw the coffee at her, but Jade was already running away from her mother, scared to be burned by her.

So instead of being sad because Jade's mother was pushing her away, she uncontrollably shouted for help as she laughed, finding it even more exciting because Jade missed it—she missed being just a daughter. She missed being only herself.

__________

NIGHT CAME, and it was the last thing that Jade wanted to happen as soon as she arrived. Because when night cowers, she sure knows that time passed by so fast that in just a blink of an eye, will she realize that the time she had wasn't enough. However, instead of overstressing herself with something she's been battling for so long, Jade made sure to finish the dishes before going to her room and take some rest for a new day tomorrow.

Mrs. Guevara has been ignoring her the whole day which Jade can't blame her mother for doing so because it is her fault in the first place. First, Jade didn't deliberately say that she can't come home because of work. Second, Jade ruined her mom's coffee time. And third, she made a joke about something serious and ended up being chased around the house.

"You shouldn't have bothered yourself with washing the dishes, sis. You cooked, and now you're washing. It's unfair to do both things. You look tired and in desperate need of sleep, so leave that, and I'll let Janni do take over," Jade looked behind her and saw Janus holding medicine and water. She guessed that her brother intended to give their mom her medication. Besides, Mrs. Guevara didn't dine with them because she's still on bad terms with Jade.

"I'm not sleepy yet, and I missed cooking for you, guys; that is why I cooked the meal for you to taste. And you both still have to wake up early tomorrow, so I volunteered to do the dishes, so don't mind me. Do you want me to take that to mom's room so you can sleep early?" Jade offered to help her brother and was about to wipe her hands on the towel after rinsing the used eating utensils when his brother suddenly stopped him.

"No, no, no! Thank you, but no, thank you, sister. You have done your share in maintaining the harmony in this house, and I know you're tired, so I'm not letting you take over on this simple job too." Janus replied before leaving her alone and giving her a moment to finish the dishes.

After a few minutes, Jade had finally set all the utensils back to their proper places before she smiled at the sky while she let herself stay on the balcony of the house for a while. Leaning against the railings and breathing cold fresh air is what Jade needed at that moment.

The deeper she stare at the darkness, the tiny flickering lights started to glow from above, the better she gets a good view of the beauty revealed by the evening.

And as her eyes gazed longer into the vast nothingness, an image of Eisen sparks on her mind.

All day long, Jade was preoccupied with a lot of things, which made her failing to remember Eisen or the St. Clair family. And nothing, even her work or any action, triggered her thought about the young man not until at that moment when she started at the sky.

She's been disregarding him all day, and a part of her wished to see him. Jade wanted to see the young man and hug him. Jade wanted to see his genuine smile, his eyes that glimmer in amusement and everything he does that always plummeted her into nothingness.

She wanted to see the young man because she misses him so much.

But who is she anyway? What right does Jade have to feel such a thing? What liberty does he have to ask for something she knew she couldn't and shouldn't be demanding? Who is she in Eisen's life?

Jade closed her eyes and sighed deeply before coming to a final decision. She pulled out her cell and searched for Lewis's number. Because at that moment, calling Lewis is her gateway to talk to Eisen and say her goodnight.

__________

LUCKY FOR EISEN, he was able to put his brother's phone in his parent's room on the second floor to act like he never knew that it was already there. It was a lot of struggle to go upstairs, but Eisen's sufferings paid off when his mother saw the phone inside their room, and they concluded that maybe, he forgot he placed it inside the room.

His brother may not look or sound convinced, but he knew that Lewis is plotting a fair catch at Eisen and discovering everything he plans to do. Just like now, the whole family was all watching tv when Lewis's phone vibrated, a sign that someone was calling him.

It was already dark outside, and his favorite night show was flashing on the tv screen. But that wasn't enough reason for Eisen not to lose sight of his brother's phone screen when he took it out of his pocket.

And the name he was expecting to hear was the one who was calling; Jade, his wife. Curiosity was evident on Eisen's features as his eyes followed Lewis's body as he went outside the house, concern written all over his face.

He kept staring at the door where Lewis had come out of, and a few seconds later, he followed him outside. Eisen can't help but wonder why Jade phoned Lewis that late in the evening.

And as Eisen approached his brother's whereabouts, he can't stop himself but frown after hearing Lewis made a faint voice while still talking with Jade.

"It can't be... God! Are you sure it's her? Because the last time I checked, she's still outside the country... s**t! I'll look into it and stop worrying for now. Do you want me to send a guard—you don't know what might happen! I'm just looking—Jade, would you just listen to me! This is, I'm doing it for your safety, so please—" this is the first time that Eisen heard Lewis getting worried about something he can't decipher. He can't hear Jade speak from the other line, maybe because Lewis didn't put the phone on the loudspeaker. Soon, Lewis will lose his cool and explode like a cola with mint; however, silence took over for almost a minute before his brother spoke again.

"Give me a call as soon as you see her again. I'll be sending a guard to look after you—whether you like—Jade, listen to me! Whether you like it or not, I'm sending someone to look after you. Please, be careful next time. I can't afford to—never mind. Just, please. Yes, he's watching and has been acting weird since the day you left... Do you want to talk to him? Wait." when he heard his brother's footsteps, he immediately moved his wheelchair towards the kitchen. Eisen acted like he was about to get some water on the fridge, not to look like he was eavesdropping on Lewis and Jade's conversation, even though Eisen doesn't even understand a single thing. At all.

Fortunately, Eisen's wheelchair came in handy when he needed it to be beneficial because he was far enough away before Lewis could open the door.

"You could've asked mom or dad to hand you some water instead of getting it on your own, given the fact about your condition. And you even mentioned that you liked the night show, so I didn't expect you'd be wanting to miss a scene. By the way, Jade wants to talk to you."

His heartbeat quickened as time slowed down when Lewis mentioned Jade wanting to talk to him. Shortly after, Lewis handed him the cellphone, and Eisen did not say a word while his hands tightly wrapped around the phone, desperately wanting to hear Jade's voice on the other line.

"I'm not sure why you're not talking, but I guess I need to speak up first, right? Is this Eisen?" A weak and gentle question serenade Eisen's ears as soon as Jade spoke on the other line. Eisen didn't even know that he was already holding his breath and waiting for the right moment to hear his wife's voice.

"Yeah. I think I deserve to hear your voice first, so thank you for letting me hear you from wherever you are now." Eisen replied, trying to hide the smile from his face. When he said those words, Lewis excused himself for a moment to give him a moment with his wife.

He heard the woman on the other line softly chuckled at his remark; maybe he didn't expect to listen to him speak that way. To voice out what he felt for the days that have gone by.

She promised to call. And at least Jade did do that. It was enough gesture to make his night complete, to bring color into his life once again.

"I don't know if it's right for me to tell you this now, but... I—you've been running in circles in my mind, and it's making me worried about you. Maybe it's because I was used to being right beside you and not think of you too much. Does that sound weird? Am I acting weird?"

And at that moment, his heart jumped in so much joy as his lips curved into a smile. Jade knew the perfect words to complete a sentence that hugged his heart when he's struggling. Jade knew how to tame the beast inside him. Jade was there, but his mind had forgotten about her.

He felt that all the pain he had endured since Jade had left had suddenly disappeared like a bubble, popping up in the sky. Her words were enough. Jade is enough.

Eisen did not lose the smile on his lips as he calmed himself before answering her. "And looks like we've been missing each other for too long, Jade. I missed you more than you could ever know."