If I Hold On (Book 2 of If I Trilogy)

Kabanata 4

“Careful, anak.”

Pocholo giggled and slowly alighted from the van. Pagkatapak sa lupa ay agad naman siyang binuhat ni Brett. Pocholo giggled when Brett kissed him on his neck. Napailing-iling ako habang nakangiti.

Kararating lang namin sa resort nina Brett dito sa Batangas. Maganda ang lugar. Maraming puno kaya napakasarap at lamig ng hangin. Nabanggit sa amin ni Brett na nasa gitna ng pagre-renovate ang resort. But a part of it was already finished. That explained why there were no other people except for us and some employees.

“This place is nice,” komento ni Daddy matapos naming pumasok sa beach house na pinili ni Brett para sa amin.

It was a bungalow. The house was a fusion of modern and traditional interior design. Halos lahat ay gawa sa mataas na klase ng mga kahoy, mapaupuan man o mesa. May mga haliging salamin at kitang-kita mula sa kinatatayuan ko ang dagat.

“This house is nice, Dada,” komento ni Pocholo na tila matanda habang iginagala ang mga mata.

He probably heard his granddaddy’s compliment earlier. Kumibot ang labi ko.

Minsan pakiramdam ko, gustong-gusto niya nang lumaki at tumanda.

“You think so?” naaaliw na patol naman dito ni Brett.

Tumango-tango si Pocholo.

They made up. When Brett paid a visit yesterday to talk about this out-of-town vacation, Pocholo was really ignoring him. Brett playfully pacified the sulking little prince. It took a while until Pocholo gave in.

“Ipapahanda ko lang po ang lunch natin,” paalam sa amin ni Brett nang naipon na kami sa sala.

“Oh, sige,” sang-ayon ni Daddy. “Salamat sa pag-aasikaso, ha?”

Brett smiled. “Walang anuman po ‘yon.”

I saw Mommy rolled her eyes. Brett saw it. Nagkatinginan kami. He covered his mouth with his hand before he turned his back against us. He was laughing!

“Dada, I’ll go with you!” sigaw ni Pocholo habang pinapakawalan ni Keiffer mula sa pagkakakarga.

When my son reached him, Brett immediately scooped him up and proceeded to the door. When they were already out of our sight, saka namin binalingan ang mga bagahe.

“This is a nice property.” Daddy broke the ice, still admiring the interior design of the house.

“That’s the second time you praised this place, Dad,” sabi ko. “What do you think, Mom?”

Nagkibit-balikat lamang si Mommy at kinuha ang kanyang mga bagahe. “Help me with these, Keiff.”

Agad namang tumalima ang kapatid ko na naistorbo sa pagse-selfie. I smirked. She liked it. Ayaw niya lang aminin.

Sinundan ko si Daddy na ngayon ay nakatitig sa maarteng chandelier sa sala.

“Are you sure he has a girlfriend?”

Nagulat ako sa biglaang pagsalita ni Daddy. At mas nagulat ako sa gusto niyang pag-usapan.

“Yeah. That’s what he said.”

“I thought he likes you.”

I c****d a brow. “Why? You really do like him for me, huh?”

“He’s a good guy and he loves my grandchild. He’s good at business, too. What’s not to like about him?”

I bit my lower lip trying to suppress a smile. He was serious. Nang nakita ang ekspresyon ko, umiling-iling siya saka muling binalingan ang chandelier.

“I really like him for you,” aniya bago ako iniwan saka pinuntahan sina Mommy at Keiffer.

Napabuntong-hininga ako. This was the first time he was vocal of that. Dati ay binabasa ko lamang ang mga kilos niya kaya alam kong gusto niya talaga si Brett para sa akin. But now that his words confirmed it . . .

Buong maghapon ay naging abala ang mga lalaki sa pag-explore sa lugar. Habang kami naman ni Mommy ay nanatili sa bungalow. Before I left her, she was in the living room and scanning some magazines.

After a bountiful lunch, with all the seafood and delicacies, I fell asleep. It was almost 5:00 p.m. when I got up. Naalimpungatan ako sa ingay ng anak ko at pang-aakusa sa Tito Keiffer niya na mandaraya.

“Cheater!”

The hearty laugh of my brother welcomed me after I went out the bedroom. Naglalaro sila ng sungka at hindi yata matanggap ng anak ko ang pang-ilan nang talo niya. Lumapit ako at pinatakan ng halik ang ulo ni Pocholo.

“Mommy, Keiffer is so . . . so cheating!” ngawa niya sa akin na parang iiyak na.

“I didn’t cheat,” natatawang giit ni Keiffer. “Oh, sige. Let’s play again.”

“Ayaw na, ayaw!” sigaw ni Pocholo saka tinaob ang sungkaan.

“Pocholo . . .” I gave him a stern look.

He pouted and stood up. Walang sabi-sabing tumakbo siya palabas kung saan nagkukuwentuhan sina Brett at Daddy. Siguro ay magsusumbong at maghahanap ng mga kakampi.

Napailing-iling na lamang ako.

“Naligo kami kanina. You should have come,” ani Keiffer habang inaayos ang sungkaan. “Maganda ang tubig dito. Mag-i-snorkeling kami bukas ni Kuya Brett. Gusto mo sumama?”

“I’ll see,” sagot ko at nakisabay na rin sa paglalagay ng mga batong maliit.

“May boyfriend ka na ba ngayon, Ate?”

I blinked and snapped my head towards him. Nagulat din yata siya sa reaksyon ko kaya nagtatanong ang tingin niya. I cleared my throat and straightened my body.

“W-wala pa ‘kong time mag-boyfriend, ‘no,” mahina kong tugon at ipinagpatuloy ang paglalagay ng mga bato.

Keiffer stared at me for seconds before he grinned. I threw him an innocent look. He seemed not buying it.

“What?”

“Meron, ‘no?”

“Wala nga, ‘di ba?” Inikot ko ang mga mata.

“Come on, Ate! You can tell me. Hindi ko naman sasabihin kina Mom at Dad, eh.”

“Na ano, Keiffer?”

Napalingon kami sa nagsalita. My eyes went wide when I saw Mommy in her bestida and holding a cup of tea. Kunot ang noo niya. Mukhang bagong gising din siya katulad ko.

“Na ano, Keiffer? Anong hindi mo sasabihin sa’min ng Daddy mo?” she inquired with a bit reprehensive tone.

“Hindi nga po sasabihin, ‘di ba . . .”

Umambang hahampasin ni Mommy si Keiffer kaya agad na hinarang ng kapatid ko ang mga braso niya sa ulo. Then, he chuckled.

“Aba’t . . .”

Before Mommy could finish her litany, agad na tumakbo palabas si Keiffer. Bago pa niya ako balingan ay sumunod na rin ako sa kapatid ko. She called me but I didn’t heed. Instead, I closed the door.

Malapit na ang gabi at napagkasunduan naming mag-barbecue sa may dalampasigan. Brett brought two kerosene lamps with him. Tuwang-tuwa roon si Pocholo. He busied himself staring at it and he would occasionally blabber things about mosquitoes. Panaka-naka rin ang pakikisawsaw ni Keiffer sa ginagawa ng kanyang pamangkin kaya paminsan-minsan ang pagsusumbong ng huli.

It was Brett who volunteered to do the grilling. Ako naman at si Daddy ang nag-a-assist sa kanya.

“Eh si Addy, Brett. Did she ever date someone in US?”

I choked when, out of nowhere, he asked about my love life. Agad akong inabutan ni Mommy ng isang basong tubig na mabilis kong nilagok.

“Hindi ko po alam, Tito,” Brett answered while staring at me with a playful smile on his lips.

“W-wala nga kasi, Dad,” iritadong sabi ko at muling binalingan ang kinakain.

“You sound so defensive. Ano naman kung nakipag-date ka?” It was Mommy while busy feeding her grandson.

“Oo nga, Ate. So defensive,” gatong pa ni Keiffer na nakangisi sa akin.

I rolled my eyes. “If I had or have a boyfriend, ‘di ko naman itatago sainyo, eh. ‘Tsaka si Pocholo ang priority ko. Dating is not yet on my list.”

“I understand, anak. But you also need a partner in life.” It was Daddy, and I just couldn’t believe he was telling me this. “My grandson needs a father. Walang masama kung mag-boyfriend ka. At ‘di lang isang apo ang gusto ko mula sa’yo, Addy.”

“Granddaddy!” the jealous little prince protested.

Nagtawanan ang lahat at nabaling ang atensyon kay Pocholo. The little prince looked so upset with the topic. Mas lalo yata siyang nanlumo nang sabihin ni Mommy na mag-aanak din ang tito niya kaya hindi lamang talaga siya ang mag-iisang apo.

Nabaling ang mga mata ko kay Brett. Napataas-kilay ako nang nakitang nakatitig siya sa akin. Pinaglalaruan ng kanyang daliri ang ibabang labi. He was smiling a bit and his eyes were taunting. Inirapan ko lamang siya. I heard him chuckle but I didn’t dare glance at him.

Nasa kalagitnaan kami ng pagkukuwentuhan nang nag-ring ang cell phone ko. Napatingin sa akin ang lahat, as if waiting for me to answer it while they were listening.

Tumikhim ako at tumayo. “I’m just going to take this call.”

Brett c****d a brow at me. Inirapan ko lamang siya saka lumayo.

Mabilis ang lakad ko habang panaka-naka ang paglingon sa likod. They seemed absorbed with the stories. Mas lalo kong binilisan ang paglalakad.

“Baby . . .”

I bit my lower lip, trying to suppress a smile.

“Hi,” I almost whispered.

“How are you? I’m sorry I wasn’t able to keep in touch for the past few days. I was really, really busy with my thesis.”

I picked a peeble and threw it to the waters. “It’s okay. I was busy, too.”

“How are you and Pocholo?” Huminga siya nang malalim. “God, I miss you so much.”

Hindi ko na napigil ang ngiting kanina ko pa pilit sinusupil. “I miss you, too.”