Epilogue
#DS3Unscripted #BelayaxPierce #LKCouple #DaggerSeries
EPILOGUE
BELAYA'S POV
Hindi ko alintana ang mga mata na napapatingin sa akin. I ignored the stares from the grown ups but I acknowledged the presence of the little humans gaping at me by nodding at them. Huminto lang ako sa paglalakad nang marating ko ang pintuan kung saan may nakapaskil na sign board na may sulat na "Grade 1 - Narra".
"You're attending a PTA meeting not a press-con."
Nilingon ko si Sebastian na siyang nagsalita. He can't see my eyes but I know that he can feel the daggers I'm throwing. Naiiling na kumatok na lang siya sa pintuan.
It didn't took long for the room to open. Halata ang pagkabigla sa babaeng guro nang mabungaran kami pero bago pa siya makapagsalita ay narinig ko na ang pamilyar na boses ng taong pakay ko.
Kaagad sumilay ang ngiti sa mga labi ko nang makita ko si Arctic na bitbit na ang bag na patakbong lumapit sa amin. The impact of his body hitting mine didn't take me by surprise anymore. He always greeted me with the same level of excitement. Isang buwan man kaming hindi nagkita, isang linggo, o isang araw.
"Mimi!"
Just like always, my heart instantly warmed at that. I can't be his Mommy since he already have that. He's the one who came up with "Mimi". I think the first time I heard him call me that, I cried my eyes out to Pierce.
"Are we going out for an ice cream?"
"Nope but you and your Tito Basti can go." Nginisihan ko si Sebastian na naningkit ang mga mata sa pangalan na tanging si Arctic lang ang nakakatawag sa kaniya. "I need to attend the meeting first."
Arctic's face fell. "Can't daddy go with you?"
"May meeting pa rin siya ngayon, baby."
Nilingon ng bata ang teacher bago niya nilagay ang kamay niya sa gilid ng bibig niya para bumulong sa akin. "But Mimi, James mom would be there too. Tapos kaklase na rin namin ang cousin ni James. They're mothers are sisters and Jame's cousin's mom is the president of the PTA and she's a nightmare."
I can't help but notice his words. His vocabulary improved as well as his pronunciation. Minsan hindi ko mapigilan na hanapin iyong bulol niya na pagsasalita. It's reminding me everyday that he's growing up so fast. I met him when he was barely four in Lia's wedding and now he's on elementary already.
"I'll be alright, Arc." Nakangiting ginulo ko ang buhok niya. "Go buy ice cream with your Tito and don't forget to buy a lot dahil pupunta kayo sa Dagger. Give Cookie his ice cream but don't feed the other babies specially IC."
Adalyn Liana or IC as we call her is the new addition to Lucienne and Thorn's family. Kung noong pinagbubuntis ni Lucienne si Cookie na ang totoong pangalan ay Duke Nikolas ay cookies ang kinaadikan niya, noong pinagbubuntis niya naman si Adalyn ay ice cream naman ang lagi niyang kinakain.
Cookie is already addicted to cookies. Masyado pang baby si IC kaya ayaw pa ni Thorn na mahumaling din siya sa namesake ng nickname niya.
"Belaya."
I tried not to pout with Sebastian's tone. "I'll be fine."
"Hindi ikaw ang inaalala ko." Tinignan niya ako mula ulo hanggang paa. "You should have changed your clothes first."
We came home from a TV guesting. I'm still wearing my wine red bodycon dress with puff long sleeves, my black Prada heels, Prada cat eye sunglasses, and the Gucci bag that Pierce gave me on our first anniversary.
Pinaikot ko ang mga mata ko at binalingan ko na lang si Arctic. Yumuko ako at hinalikan ko siya sa noo bago nakangiting tinapik ko ang pisngi niya.
He hesitantly reach for Sebastian's offered hand. Pinanood ko silang hanggang tuluyan na silang makalayo. When they're gone, I turned to the teacher and gave her a smile. "Where's the meeting?"
Mismong ang guro na ang naghatid sa akin papunta sa room kung saan magaganap ang meeting. Nang makarating doon ay mukhang kumpleto na ang lahat at magsisimula na sana sila.
All attention turned to me the moment I walked inside the door. Napansin ko ang isang babae na tumayo at lumapit sa amin. Hindi ko kailangan maging henyo para hindi malaman na siya ang tinutukoy na "nightmare" ni Arctic. I can already feel that she's judging me base on the look that she's giving me. "Hello. Are you someone's parent? Parang ngayon lang kasi kita nakita."
I'm pretty sure her sister already talked about me kaya walang duda na kilala niya ako. "I'm Arctic Dawson's step-mother."
The way her eyebrow raised didn't escaped me. "Ang alam ko ang parents niya ang pumupunta sa mga meeting. Sila kasi ang member. This meeting is exclusive for the parents."
"This is a PTA meeting right? I may be Arctic's step-mom but I'm still his guardian. Wala naman atang batas na nagsasabing ang biological parents lang ang puwedeng pumunta."
"But-"
"My husband has a full custody of Arctic. He already made me a legal guardian in case na wala siya o ang nanay ng bata. I have every right to be here because I'm his parent too." Nang bumuka ang bibig niya para magsalita ay inunahan ko na siya. "Charlotte, Arc's mom, already messaged me. She can't attend the meeting and so is my husband."
Charlotte and I will never be friends. She won't ever be Pierce's favorite person. But she's Arctic's mom and I can see that she's trying to be at least a better parent to her child. To do that she has no choice but to accept that I will always be part of their lives.
She's the one who messaged me about the meeting. May sakit ang nanay niya kaya nasa US siya. She already warned me about the president of the PTA. She told me that Francia Bradley is a bitch and for Charlotte to say that is saying something.
Hinubad ko ang suot ko na sunglasses at direkta kong tinignan ang babae. "I'm pretty sure even uncles and aunties can attend a PTA meeting or do we have problems here that I don't know?"
Tumikhim siya at pilit na ngumiti bago ako tinalikuran at naglakad papunta sa unahan ng kuwarto. I tried not to roll my eyes as I sat at the last row with an available seat. Nagulat pa ako nang pag-upo ko ay nakita ko na may madre sa tabi ko.
Sunod-sunod na napakurap ako at mukhang hindi naman bago sa kaniya ang pagkagulat ko. "Novitiate pa lang po ako. Sinamahan ko lang ang pamangkin ko at nasa ospital ang nanay niya." Nagpalingon-lingon siya. "Sinabihan niya na rin ako tungkol kay Miss Francia. Huwag kang mag-alala at ipagdadasal ko na bumait siya."
"Baka kahit si Lord hindi magawan ng paraan 'yan. He gave people free will and sometimes others just love abusing that by being pain in the asses-" Napangiwi ako nang ma-realize ko ang sinabi ko. "Sorry sister... uhh..."
"Mary Divine," sabi niya at ngumiti.
Ang banal naman ng pangalan niya kapag naging madre na siya.
Pinilig ko ang ulo ko at nagpokus na lang ako sa meeting. Meeting na hindi ko alam kung makakatulong ba para sa mga bata talaga.
Itinaas ko ang kamay ko at napatigil si Francia sa pagsasalita. "I have some issues that I like to discuss."
"Is this approved by the child's parents?"
Napataas ang kilay ko. "Excuse me?"
"I-"
"She has every right to discuss whatever she think is best for our child. She's our son's parent too. If you insinuate otherwise we're going to have problems Bradley."
Lahat kami napalingon nang may isa pang boses ang nagsalita. Nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang makita kong nakatayo sa pintuan si Pierce. He doesn't look happy. Not at all.
"Wow."
I didn't look at the nun who just whispered at my side. I can't blame her. Even the blind will appreciate Pierce.
Naglakad palapit sa akin si Pierce at tumayo siya sa tabi ko. His hand went to my nape and without having a care in the world, he gave me a kiss on the forehead. "Go on."
There's a smile on my lips when I turned to Francia who's now looking at us with something that I recognize as close to envy. "As I was saying, I have issues. First ang sabi niyo you want a board showing who excelled in class in front of the children's rooms. Pangalawa you want to create an event bukod pa sa yearly na intramurals. Pangatlo gusto niyong ipaayos ang parking kasi gusto niyong ligtas ang mga sasakyan niyo. " Sumandal ako sa kinauupuan ko. "Instead of focusing on new decorations for the classrooms bakit hindi ang report na natatanggap ng mga pamilya ang unahin? We only receive reports about their grades and their general performance in class. How about their social stand? Are they comfortable, do they have friends, are they being bullied? Only teachers can have a stronger inclination about that since sila ang nasa school."
I keep my face composed when I saw her eyes flashed at that. We both know her nephew is a bully.
"And another intramural-like event? This time focusing on dancing and singing? Paano iyong mga bata na hindi marunong kumanta o sumayaw?"
"That's why we're doing this. So that we could discover their talents."
"No. For some children events like that would be like torture." I can see some of the heads nodding as if agreeing with me. "Hindi parehas ang mga bata. Singing and dancing are not the only talent in the world. If you want a talent-base event then add a writing contest, drawing, or anything that might interest other children."
"How can we eradicate introverts if we tolerate them?"
"Eradicate? Introversion is not a disease. It's a personality. It's not something to be cured. Introverts excel on a lot of things too. And not just because a person can sing or dance means they're instantly an extrovert. You can't classify people's personality base on their talents. What I'm saying here is that there's more talent to cultivate." I decided not to give her time to respond. "And the issue about the parking lot? Is it really the priority? I saw some parts of the gate that needs tending. Instead of wasting funds on the parking lot why not focus on that first since it's about the security of the children?"
This time she didn't uttered one more word. Hindi dahil may iba pa akong sinabi kundi kaniya-kaniya na rin ang ibang mga magulang sa pagsasalita ng mga reklamo nila.
My eyes went to Pierce when I felt him reach for my hand. He curved it into a paw and gave me a smile. "Well done, Kitten."
PINIGILAN kong mapatawa nang makita ko ang nangyari kay Arctic nang inangat niya ang braso niya para sana punasan ang mukha niya. Imbis kasi na matanggal niya ang nakadikit sa pisngi niya ay lalo lang kumalat iyon.
"Mimi!"
Nilagay ko ang hintuturo ko sa tapat ng labi ko bago ko pinagpatuloy ang ginagawa ko. Pero dahil nagmamadali ako ay tumalsik ang ilan mula sa bowl. Sa pagkakataon na ito ay si Arctic naman ang napatawa lalo pa at may tumalsik din sa ilong ko.
"Mimi Star you have icing on your nose."
Umakto akong lalagyan pa siya pero natatawang umiwas lang siya. "Get me the strawberries. Dali bago magising ang daddy mo."
It took another couple of minutes to decorate the cake with strawberries. Nilagay namin iyon sa tray na may nakalagay ng platito at kubyertos.
"Let's go!" Artic said excitedly.
"Get the gifts!" I whispered loudly.
Bitbit ang mga regalo na tumakbo na siya paakyat ng bahay habang ako naman ay nakasunod sa kaniya. We tiptoed towards the master's bedroom and Arctic slowly opened the door so he won't make any noise. Nang makapasok kami ay dahan-dahan kaming lumapit sa kama kung saan natutulog pa si Pierce.
Iyon nga lang sadiyang malakas talaga ata ang pakiramdam ng lalaki dahil bago kami tuluyang makalapit ay bigla na lang bumukas ang mga mata niya.
Arctic and I froze.
"What are you two doing?"
Nagkatinginan kami ni Arctic at sabay pa kaming malakas na nagsalita. "Surprise! Happy birthday!"
Naiiling na umupo si Pierce sa kama at pinanood kami nang magsimula kaming kumanta ng happy birthday. Nang matapos kami ay halos sabay pa kami ni Arctic na pabagsak na tumalon sa kama. Mine's more gentle since I'm holding the cake.
Nagpalipat-lipat ang tingin niya sa amin. He reached for my face and wipe my nose with a finger. My body instantly reacted when I saw him put his finger on his mouth and mumbled a "hmm". Belaya not now. May bata.
"Arctic and I made this for you." Inilagay ko ang cake sa harapan niya. "It looks messy and this is the first time that I baked but we tried our best. Recipe pa ni Mireia 'tong cake na 'to kaya mukhang okay naman ang lasa."
"And we have gifts too!" sabi ni Arctic at ibinaba rin sa kama ang mga regalo.
"Open Arc's first."
Kaagad inabot ni Arctic sa kaniya ang regalo. Pierce opened it and smiled when he saw the cufflink on a small box. Arctic probably asked his mom to help him buy it but he's probably the one who came up with the design. It's a lion and cat cufflink.
Inabot ng bata ang isang may kalakihan na kahon kay Pierce. "And this is Mimi's."
Pierce eyes went to me and he gave me a look. If I love shopping for myself, it intensified when I became part of their family. Dahil hindi na lang sarili ko ang binibilan ko kundi sila na rin. Pinagtalunan na namin iyon dati ni Pierce that he eventually accepted. Just like how I let him handle all the household's expenses.
He's the kind of person that wants to take care of his family in a way that he likes to provide. It's an issue for me at first because I have money but providing for the family matters to Pierce so I let him. Ganoon din siya sa akin. He realized that I just love spending for people that I care about and that I love giving gifts.
We're both different people but that doesn't mean that we can't compromise and even if we have differences there's a lot that we agree about too. Like how we take care of our home. He never asked me to do it alone. Para ngang naging family bonding pa dahil tulong-tulong pa kami sa household chores.
"Is this a vest?"
Pierce didn't opened the box completely. Binuksan niya lang ang taas at hinila ang laman no'n. Kita ang pagkalito sa kaniya habang tinitignan ang itim na bagay na hawak niya.
"That looks familiar," Arctic said with a knotted forehead. "Parang ganiyan po 'yung nakita ko sa kuwarto ni Mommy dati."
Ibinaba ni Pierce ang hawak at bahagyang nanlaki ang mga mata niya. For some reason I know that he's thinking about a different thing. Something that might not be appropriate to discuss in front of a child.
"It's not that," natatawang sabi ko.
"Then what is this?"
"I know!" Itinaas pa ni Arctic ang kamay. "Naalala ko na! Meron po ako niyan pero hindi nagamit ni Mommy kaya nasa bahay lang. She gave it to her friend. It's for carrying babies."
I gave Pierce a shaky smile as I reached for the box. Sinira ko ang balot no'n para makita niya ang kabuuan ng kahon pero hindi siya nakatingin doon at sa halip ay titig na titig lang siya sa akin.
"Belaya..."
"We're still shooting for the second book of Virago but I finally agreed to have a double. They have ways to hide it so it won't be a problem. Actually I didn't talked to them. They talked to me. Akala nila itinatago ko. They've been noticing things about me. So I went to the hospital and that's when I found out for real." Huminga ako ng malalim. "I know we haven't talked about this that much. We're not exactly planning to have a child just yet. But I missed a couple of my birth control pills when I got sick months ago-"
Hindi ko na natapos ang sasabihin ko nang basta na lang niya ako kinulong sa mga bisig niya. Tears welled my eyes when I felt him bury his face on my neck and I felt wet touched my skin. His arms are like vices around me but I didn't mind and instead I wrapped my arms around his shoulders to hold him closer.
"We're pregnant?" he whispered.
I pointed at him. "Lion." Itinuro ko si Arctic. "Cub." Ang sarili ko naman ang tinuro ko. "Kitten." His eyes followed my finger when I turned it to my stomach. "Future kitty...or kitties. So yes, Lion, we are pregnant."
He looked at me, his eyes liquid from the rush of emotions. The way he looks at me, it's as if I gave him the greatest gift. As if I just handed him the whole universe.
He gently caressed my cheek with the back of his hand. "I should have known..."
"What?"
"I should have know that you'll make life even better and better each day."
He placed a gentle kiss on my forehead before his lips went down on my cheeks to kiss the tears away. When our eyes met again I saw my own happiness reflected on his.
"I'm having a sibling?"
Napatingin ako kay Arctic nang magsalita siya. Bumalik ang kaba sa akin. "Yes, baby. Is that okay? I mean... you know you will always be our baby, right? We're just going to have little ones that will love you as well as much as we do."
"Can I pick the name?" Nang hindi ako makapagsalita agad ay nagpatuloy siya. "We've been studying about the universe and mythologies last week and I remember that you love stars. Astraea and Orion are great names for babies. I was waiting for Christmas kasi po iyon ang gusto kong hilingin kay Santa."
Mahigpit na niyakap ako ni Pierce nang muling bumalong ang luha mula sa mga mata ko. Pero sa pagkakataon na ito ay marahang hinila niya si Arctic para mapasama sa amin. He both enveloped us in his hug and Arctic seeing the tears in my eyes gently wiped it with his small hand.
"Don't cry, Mimi. Are you scared? Tito Thorn's said he almost fainted when IC was born. Don't worry I won't be scared so I can be with you when the baby arrive."
Umiling ako. "I'm not scared. I'm crying because I'm happy and I'm crying because you're perfect."
"I am?"
"You are. You're my favorite person in the world."
"More than Tito Axel? Sabi ni Tito Trace siya ang favorite niyo nila Tita Lia at Tita Lucienne."
Sa kabila ng luha ay napatawa ako. "More than your Tito Axel."
"More than Tita Mireia? She's your best friend."
"More than her."
"More than daddy?"
Nag-angat ako ng tingin kay Pierce. His chest rumbled with quiet laughter. "Maybe a close tie. You know I love your daddy too."
Sandaling pinag-isipan niya iyon pero pagkaraan ay nagkibit-balikat siya. "I'm okay with that."
I don't think the heavens can make my life even more perfect than this. I thought that I had everything before. But still even if you have everything... it means nothing if you go home to an empty house.
Isa iyon sa mga bagay na nagawa kong maintindihan sa kada araw na umuuwi ako sa bahay na nandoon si Pierce at si Arctic. It's like my world suddenly expanded and showed me that there's more that I haven't seen.
I was so used to living a life where everything was offered willingly to me. Where I can prepare myself for a lot of things. I'm used to knowing what words to say, what actions to act, and sometimes even what to feel. I was so used to being everyone's star and being put into a pedestal where I'm recognized as extraordinary... and yet somehow... slowly the world turned dull to me. Like I can't see what they're seeing because everything just feels too similar... too predictable.
Pierce showed me how to live full of wonder. Everyday is a new day and every moment is something to look forward for. I didn't need to be their only star because when I'm with them, I am not just me; there's us. A collection of stars... a constellation. With them I shine brighter than I ever did before.
Pierce showed me what it's like to actually live. With him and Arctic I became and felt more. I smile for them, I laugh with them, and everyday I fall in love just like the first time. Because with them, I'm living in a way where I let the wind take me wherever it needs me to go and it's pointing to the direction of where Pierce will always be.
"He will love you in a way that his heart will call for your soul."
His mom was right. Pierce didn't just gave me love. He gave me a home. He gave me a reason... a purpose and he showed me the way to the life that we're going to spend the rest of our lives together.
A life that is full of surprises. A life where I get to fall in love again and again.
A life despite with all of its complexities remain a surreal journey for me. Because even unscripted, I know the adventure will be worth while as long as I have Pierce Dawson beside me.
"I love you, Lion," I whispered to him.
"I love you, Kitten."
Just like always, Arctic's sweet voice joined us. "Love ko rin po kayo!"
FIN
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