ANAIS

"Tita Marian!" I swung the door to her flower boutique open. The fresh fragrance of different kinds of flowers wafted up my nose. It was like an indoor garden in here. Everywhere you look there were flowers beautifully arranged together, making the place look like an ethereal fairy forest that lures mortals with its beauty. It was a work of art.

Tita Marian turned her head to me. She stood in front of the workshop table along with her other staff, busily arranging different kinds of soft colored flowers together.

"Anais." She smiled when she saw me.

Lumapit ako sa kanya at binigyan siya ng halik sa pisngi. "How are you, Tita?"

"I'm doing good. May hinahabol lang akong orders para sa kasal kaya medyo maraming trabaho." She told me. "What brought you here anyway?"

"Wala lang. I just stopped by when I saw your boutique."

"How's your parents and your siblings?" She asked, her hands busy with the bouquet she was arranging.

"They're all good." I answered, picking out one of the white lilies that was on the table and bringing it to my nose to smell it.

"Kumusta na ang baby mo? I miss Cookie and Toffie."

"Toffie's getting ready to go to preschool this school year and Cookie's going to be in first grade."

"They grow up too fast." Tita Marian shook her head, smiling. "I remember Pio and Sam when they were little. Parang gusto ko tuloy ibalik ang oras. Having kids is a bit handful but you'll miss it once they get older."

"Bakit hindi kayo magbaby ulit ni Tito Seth?" I joked, chuckling.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm in my 40s, Anais."

"Mom was forty-one when she had Toffie. Kaya pa yan, Tita." I encouraged.

"Oh you. Maybe kaya pa talaga. Elizabeth, Mama Mary's cousin, gave conceived John the Baptist at eighty-eight." She laughed. "Sa edad namin, wala na sa plano namin ni Seth magkaron ng isa pang anak. But if it's God's will, it will be done."

I nodded my head, agreeing to what she said. "Anyway, Tita, I just want to buy a bouquet of flower."

"Para kanino naman?" She asked.

"I'm giving it to a friend." Dahilan ko.

"Oh, alright. Sandali lang, gagawin kita." She said.

She asked me what kind of flowers I wanted for my bouquet. She threw some roses and peonies in different hues of pink and put a few angel's breath. The flowers and the colors blended perfectly with each other. Tita Marian made it into a round bouquet, wrapping the bottom of it with an off-white paper and tying a cute light purple ribbon to keep it together. 

"It's beautiful, Tita. It's exactly what I want." I told her after it was done. "Thank you so much."

"You should've told you wanted flowers. Sana ako na lang bumili sa'yo." Froilan laughed as we walked out of the office building. For the past few days, si Froilan ang naghahatid sa akin sa bahay. I'd been intentionally leaving my car at home so he could drop me off. Froilan's house wasn't too far from us and he didn't mind. Kung iniisip ni Coco na boyfriend ko siya, paninindigan ko iyon. I'd show him na hindi lang siya ang may kayang makipagrelasyon sa iba.

"Ano ka ba? Kunwari lang nga." I rolled my eyes, holding the bouquet of flowers in one hand. "You're just going to pretend you gave this to me, okay?"

"You are crazy. Bakit kasi kailangan pa natin magkunwari? Pwede naman natin totohanin." He smoothly said, winking at me. 

"Akala ko ba ayaw mo ng girlfriend?" My brow cocked.

"I'm not closed to the idea of an open relationship." He said, stopping in the passenger's side of his car and opening the door for me. I went inside the car and closed the door. I watched as Froilan walked around the driver's side and slid in. 

"What does that mean?" I asked as he started his car

"What does what mean?" He looked over to his side mirror, reversing on to the parking lot pathway and to the road.

"Open relationship." 

"Dating each other without the exclusivity." Sagot niya.

"May ganon ba?" I chuckled a little. 

"Ofcourse. I've been in an open relationship a couple of times." 

"Why would people want to be in that kind of relationship?" I shook my head.

"Because some people like to do everything with everyone." 

"I'm not one of those."

"How many boyfriends have you had in the past?" He took a quick glance at me.

"I never had any." 

"But you're beautiful. How come?" He looked completely bemused.

"I don't know. I was young when I had Cookie and when he came, sa kanya ko binuhos ang lahat ng atensyon ko." I said. And in between those years, I waited for him to make a move. Hinintay kong sabihin niya sa akin na hindi lang kaibigan ang tingin niya sa akin pero hindi nangyari iyon.   We were stuck on the same spot as we were seven years ago. We were just friends who were horny for each other.

"Well it's never too late to explore your options. Bata ka pa saka maganda ka." He told me.

"Are you flirting with me, Froi?" I jokingly asked. We'd been working together for years and he was the one who mentored me when I first started. 

"I don't know. Am I?" He laughed and then our laughters died down. "But kidding aside, bakit ba pinagaaksayahan mo pa ng panahon ang tatay ng anak mo? Why are you doing all these for him?"

"Dahilan gusto kong ipakita sa kanya na kaya kong maging masaya kahit wala siya. Na hindi lang siya ang lalaki sa mundo and I'm not just a backup bestfriend slash lover who's always available for him." 

"Fair enough." He nodded his head.

Froilan pulled up in front of our house and soon Cookie was running from the Cordova's with his Dada following behind. I smiled to myself. This was going according to my plan. Tinaon ko talaga sa oras na ihahatid na ni Coco si Cookie. I wanted him to see me with Froilan.

Let the show begin.

We exited the car and stood outside of it. He handed me the bouquet I bought from Tita Marian's flower shop.

"Thanks, Froilan." I smiled at him. "You're the sweetest."

"Anything for you, babe." He winked and then bent down to give me a cheek to cheek kiss. 

"Hi, Mymy! Hello Frutos!" Cookie hopped towards us, waving his cute arms.

"Hello, little monster." Froilan waved back at him.

"Cookie, he's Tito Froilan."I corrected, playfully pinching him on the nose. 

Froilan let out a soft laughter. "It's okay. Cute naman pag sa kanya nanggaling. Mahilig ka ba sa candy, baby?"

"He's not allowed to eat candies." Mariin na sabi ni Coco as he possessively rested his hand around our's shoulder. 

"Yeah because if I eat alot of candies the sugar monster will drill holes in my teeth and it will make my teeth hurt. Right, Dada?" He turned his head to his father and looked up at him.

"Right." Coco answered, not leaving his stoic gaze from Froilan.

"Oh and chocolates too! One time, Papa Nick brought me alot of chocolates from Neverland-"

"Netherlands." I corrected, laughing a little.

"Yeah, that." He simply said and went on with his storytelling. "And I ate alot of them and it hurted my teeth. Papa Axel got really angry, like Hulk angry, at Papa Nick for buying me lots of chocolates. And then several days after that, two of my teeth fell out and then Dada told me to hide it under my pillow so that the tooth fairy can take it so she can fix it for me. I hid it under my pillow and the tooth fairy took it but she didn't didn't fix my teeth because I was stil teethless when I woke up. But she left two fifty pesos so it's okay." 

"Wow." Froilan laughed, amusement on his face. "She must be a terrible tooth fairy. Hindi niya naayos yung teeth mo."

"It's okay. She gave me two fifty pesos and my teeth grew back. See!" Cookie pulled his lips on the side with his finger to show Froilan his new teeth.

"Cookie, don't put your finger in your mouth." Saway ni Coco sa kanya bago muling bumalik ang tingin kay Froilan. "The tooth fairy took alot of time fixing your teeth so you can have stronger, better ones. I think she did a good job."

"Well, she's a cheapskate. Two fifty pesos for two teeth?" I could see the deviant smile on Froilan's face. Alam kong mapang-asar si Froilan and he was riling Coco up. "Have you considered changing tooth fairy, little monster?"

"I can change my tooth fairy?" My son's eyes widened. "I never even saw her."

"His tooth fairy knows he doesn't need much money because Dada gives him everything. What is a six year old going to do with money? I literally buy everything for him." Coco defensively said, sounding annoyed. 

"Okay." Froilan nodded his head. "I'm not here to argue about tooth fairies. Gusto ko lang ibigay ang opinyon ko."

"You know. Papasok na kami ni Cookie sa loob, you should go. Thanks again, Froilan."

"No problem." He smiled.

"Oooh! Those are pretty flowers, Mymy." Cookie noticed the flowers I had in my hand.

"I gave that to your, Mom." Froilan boasted. "She's as beautiful as those flowers, isn't she?"

"Say bye bye na to Tito Froilan." I told Cookie.

"Bye, Tito Froilan." He smiled.

"Bye, little monster." He playfully messed with his hair. "Bye, Anais. Bye, Cookie's dad."

Coco didn't answer back. He stiffly stood there with arms crossed over his chest. 

"Our conversation about the tooth fairy was interesting. I hope to talk with you about Santa Claus in the future." He chuckled before pulling his car door open and sliding in.  Coco's jaw clenched as he looked at Froilan. 

"Sino yung lalaking palaging naghahatid sa'yo?" Dad asked in a dark tone as we were having dinner. "I saw it in the CCTV footage we have outside at sinabi din ng mga securities natin na palagi kang hinahatid ng lalaking yun. I want to know who he is, Anais."

"It's Tito Froilan." Cookie said before I could even answer. "He's Mymy's guy friend. He's really nice and he gave Mymy lotsa flowers."

"Cookie, kumain ka na lang." I told him before averting my attention back to Dad. "He's my colleague, Dad."

"Bakit? May problema ba sa kotse mo?" His brows furrowed deeper.

"Wala naman." I quietly said.

"Magtapat ka nga sa akin. Are you in a relationship with that guy?" His voice was steely.

"Axel, your daughter's already twenty-three. Let her live a normal life. You can't treat our daughters like little girls forever." Sabi ni Mommy.

"Oo nga." Bryce agreed. "I am so going to that ball that."

"I'm not stopping you, Bryce. Sinabi ko naman sa'yo na pababayaan kitang pumunta basta kasama ako." Said Dad. 

"NO! I'm not going to take you to the ball! Nakakahiya! My friends will think I'm a loser!" Her face scrunched.

"Val o, kinahihiya ako ng anak mo." Dad frowned.

"Kasi naman, Axel, puro mga teenagers ang pupunta sa ball." Mom rolled her eyes. "Leave your daughters alone."

"I'm telling you, Bryce, kapag nalaman kong may umaaligid sa'yong lalaki sa ball pupugutan ko ng ulo yun sa harap mo. Do not try me." His eyes narrowed into a slit as she warned the sister from hell.

"I'm just going to hang out with my girlfriends, I promise!" She let out an irritated huff and rolled her eyes.

"Anais, hindi mo pa sinasagot ang tanong ko." Dad's attention went back to me. I thought I was going to get away with it but then I remembered he was Atticus Xavier Enrique Lavigne. He wouldn't stop interrogating until he gets an answer. 

"Dad, I'm of right age. Kung magkaroon nga ako ng boyfriend, hindi naman na siguro masama." I sighed.

"May anak ka na, Anais." Matigas ang tonong sabi niya.

"May anak na ako but I've never had a boyfriend. Don't you think that's a little bit weird? I want a normal life, Dad."

"Paano si Cookie?" He asked, his lips pursing.

"Dad, hindi ko naman pababayaan ang anak ko. Anak ko yan." My eyes went to my son who was busy eating. I brushed my fingers through his fine golden hair. 

"Cookie, baby, okay lang ba sa'yo kung magboyfriend si Mymy mo?" Dad gently asked him.

"Axel!" Siniko siya ni Mom. "Let her handle it herself!"

"Dad naman!" My eyes widened.

"The first thing you have to consider when you get into a relationship is your son. Siya ang higit na maapektuhan sa mga pinagagawa niyo ng gago niyang Tatay. Hindi na kayo naawa sa bata." Dad shook his head while he wore a sneer on his face.

COCO

Tito Froilan. I grimace everytime I remember my son calling the son of a bitch Tito Froilan. Hanggang ngayon nagngingitngit pa rin ako sa inis sa lalaking iyon. Next thing I know, he'd be calling him Daddy Froilan. Hell be damned if that happens. Magkamatayan na pero hindi ko hahayaan na lumabas sa bibig ng anak ko iyon. Anais would have to kill me first before I'd let that happen.

Thank God, today was Daddy day. I was to pick up my son from the Lavigne's. Kakausapin ko si Cookie tungkol doon sa Froilan na iyon. Hindi porque boyfriend siya ni Anais pwede na niyang angkinin ang anak ko. I'm Cookie's only Dad and it would stay the same until my last fucking breath. He won't have any other father but me.

I pressed the doorbell on the side of the gate and it opened. Lumabas ang security ng mga Lavigne.

"Pakisabi kay Anais susunduin ko na ang anak ko." I told him.

"Sandali lang po, sir." The gate closed again.

I waited for my son to come out like I usually do. Bumukas ang gate. Excited na sinalubong ko si Cookie pero nawala ang excitement ko ng makita si Tito Axel na nakatayo doon. He was holding a glass of whiskey in his hand as he sternly looked at me. He swirled the glass in his hand. 

"T-tito Axel..." Napakurap ako. "Good afternoon, Tito. I just want to get my son."

"Pumasok ka." Sabi niya bago tumalikod.

I swallowed pass a dry throat. I almost fucking shat my pants when I saw him. What was he up to now? Was he really actually inviting me in?

"Bingi ka ba? Hindi mo ba narinig ang sinabi ko?" He turned his head when he noticed that I was following him.

Agad akong gumalaw sa kinatatayuan ako at sumunod sa kanya. The gate closed behind me and I felt like a sheep trapped in the gate with a lion.

"T-tito, can I just get Cookie?" I tried my best to keep my voice steady. 

"Wala si Cookie dito. They went out shopping with Val." He said in an eerily even tone. "It's just you and me."

"Oh, I see. Babalik na lang ako mamaya." I was ready to live.

"No, you're fucking staying here!" His voice boomed.

"O-okay..." I swallowed again. My mind went wild. Was he having a breakdown? Was he planning to murder me and bury my body in their backyard?

"Sit." Parang asong utos niya sa akin ng makapasok kami sa bahay nila. 

I hesitantly sat on the couch, not taking my eyes off him. You'd never know what would happen if I look away. Baka bigla na lang akong barilin o sasakin ni Tito Axel. Hell! Paranoia was slowly starting to creep inside me.

He slapped me on the forehead. Napahawak ako sa noo. "Tito, I didn't do anything..."

"Exactly! You're not fucking doing anything, you idiot." Galit na sabi niya. 

"What?" I looked at him, confused.

"May anak na kayo pero wala ka pa rin ginagawa!"

My mind still couldn't process what I was hearing. 

"Alam mo bang may boyfriend na si Anais?" He asked angrily.

"I... I know she's dating someone." My voice came out a squeak.

"You knew and you didn't even do anything?" He massaged his temples and then he placed the glass he had in his hand on the coffee table. He then charged at me and picked me up by my shirt collar. "Mahal mo ba ang anak ko o binuntis mo lang?"

"M-m-mahal ko po si Anais, Tito... I love her so much..." 

He harshly pushed me back down the couch. "Kung mahal mo si Anais bakit wala kang ginawa? Six years old na si Cookie!"

"Natakot ako. Hindi ko alam kung pareho kami ng nararamdaman at pakiramdam ko sinira ko ang buhay niya noong nabuntis ko siya. Hindi siya nagkaroon ng normal na buhay katulad ng mga kaibigan niya. She was barely a woman when she had our son, maaga siyang naging ina dahil sa akin. But Tito, I love her. I've loved her since we were kids." I felt a lump forming in my throat as I said those words. "I'm sorry, Tito..."

"You should fucking be!" He exclaimed. "Pero nangyari na eh. May anak na kayo. What you need to do is to give Cookie a normal life!"

"We're trying are best..."

"It's not enough! Hayaan mo na lang ba na magka-boyfriend si Anais? Paano pag sila nagkatuluyan nung lalaki? Lalo niyo na naman paguguluhin ang buhay ng bata." He said, walking back and forth in front of me. "You know, your son told me he doesn't like having two houses. Ayaw niyang nagpapalipat-lipat dito at sa inyo. Gusto niya nakatira lang kayo sa iisang bahay. Gusto niya ng normal na buhay at ng normal ng pamilya. Kapag nagkaroon kayo ng sariling pamilya ni Anais, ganon na naman ang mangyayari. Magpapalipat-lipat na naman si Cookie sa inyo! Wala na akong pakialam kung kayong dalawa lang ang maaapektuhan dahil pareho naman matigas ang ulo niyo pero may Cookie. May anak kayong dalawa."

I felt an ache in my chest at what Tito Axel said. I felt sorry for him. I wanted nothing but the best for my son. Pati siya nahihirapan sa sitwasyon namin ni Anais.

"Kapag nakatuluyan ni Anais ang boyfriend niya ngayon, pag nagkaroon siya ng pamilya at ng sariling anak sa lalaking iyon paano na si Cookie? Mas mamahalin syempre nung lalaki yung anak nila ni Anais. Ganon din magiging sitwasyon ni Cookie kapag nagkapamilya ka. Nag-iisip ba kayong dalawa?" 

I bowed my head, feeling another tight squeeze in my chest.

"Mahal na mahal ko si Cookie, Tito. I don't need a family of my own as long as I have my son. Kahit kami na lang dalawa, okay na sa akin." 

"Gago. Ang tanga-tanga mo talaga." He massaged his temples as he looked at me. "Bawiin mo siya sa boyfriend niya. I want you to win her back. Make a fucking move on my daughter or I will blow your fucking head off with my rifle."