8.
The
last time I was home was when my uncle, the husband of my mom’s sister,
whom I call daddy because he was the one who stood as our (mine and my
brother’s) father because our real father abandoned us, was hospitalized.
He has diabetes.
Now
my mother’s side of the family—the only side of the family I know is
quite small. Sure, I have tons of second cousins but with real, immediate
family it’s really small. My mom has four siblings, two sisters and two
brothers. Merly, the eldest, forgot to get married as she worked to better
the lives of the whole family and had no children. Renato, the eldest
brother went the same course as Merly. But Renato was lucky to have the
family find him someone to marry—Easter—when he was already in his
mid-forties. Easter was too on her mid-forties, so even when they tried
having children, they weren’t able to. Wilma, came next to Renato. Wilma
being the belle of the family and the town managed to get herself married
and had four children. Then came my mom, who had us but was left but her
husband. Then Freddie, who also wasn’t also able to marry himself.
Mommy
Wilma, we call her so, had four children: Willy, Jun-jun, Malou, and Melody.
They were the only first cousins I have. And being that we are a closed knit
family, Mommy Wilma and Daddy Edu considers us as theirs too. So it was
Willy, Jun-jun, Malou. And then it was me, Boying (my brother), and Melody,
chronologically. My Aunt Merly only considered me the eldest of her
children, then my brother and Melody. So you see I have to go home for
Daddy.
Melody
had grown into a fine woman already. When I left Dagupan four years ago, she
was just fourteen. We were not close before mainly because I was strict on
her—ah! You’re not going out wearing that! I was big brother to her not
like she to my brother—they were boyfriends, actually more like
girlfriends as when they are together before they whisper secrets to each
other and giggle like hell at bed time.
When
I went home she have a boyfriend whom I automatically hate and would have
broken them up if Melody wasn’t eighteen already. I could no longer do
that. She was at age already. But I know I could at least try as I instill
to her some preaching. I decided to do this as we were grocery shopping for
the things we need in our stay at the hospital.
“So
how long have you two been boyfriends?” I asked.
“Six
months…” melody answered flatly, she knows by the tone of my voice that
I’m not pleased of her having a boyfriend.
“So
you two been kissing already?” I went on interrogating.
“You
have no right to ask me that,” she protested.
“Says
who?” I asked laughing. I do know I’m out of line.
She
didn’t answer.
“You’ve
been sleeping with him?” I asked.
“No!”
“Why
not?”
“Kuya!?”
she said but I distinctively heard her say, “back off!”
“What,
we are both at age? You could tell me… why not…”
“He
respects me…”
“Respect?”
“I
know what you really are doing here.”
“What
am I doing?”
“You
are trying to break us off.”
“Why
would I do that?”
“Kuya?
I know you are worried… I know you love me… but you have to trust me…
I would only have sex after I get married… so please…”
How
many times have I heard that before from my friends…?
There’s
Jisan… her sister, Mary Anne, and Maggie…
I
smiled at Melody, “Of course, I trust you…”