"Good morning, Mom. Wala si Dad?"

Pagkababa ko sa dining room at six A.M., nandoon na si Mommy going around the kitchen na abala with a half-eaten bagel in hand. I kissed her cheek and proceeded to spread butter on mine.

"He had an emergency early this morning. He isn't the on-call consultant but Derek requested him as the co-managing Ortho."

"Derek? Why? Who got into an accident?" I stopped whatever I was doing. Biglang bumilis tibok ng puso ko, tila ba kinakabahan. My mom also stopped and looked at me.

Early morning calls for orthopedic surgeons almost always mean a vehicular accident or a bad fall in the elderly. If co-managing ang ortho, then meron ibang problem, like injury to the chest, abdomen, or worse, a head injury.

"His dad."

"Oh my God, Mom. I have to go!" Dali-dali akong bumalik sa kwarto para maligo at magbihis. I didn't care that my hair was dripping wet at basa na yung blouse ko sa likod. Tinali ko na lang buhok ko. I asked mom to take care of Justin for the day kasi I needed to see if Derek and his dad were okay. My mom handed me my bagel before I left pero hindi ko rin ito nakain as I rushed to the hospital.

Mabuti na lang at maaga pa and it was a weekend kaya hindi matrapik and marami pang bakante sa parking lot. I hurried to the OR station to ask about the case.

"Ongoing pa si Mr. Madrigal?" tanong ko sa nurse.

"Sino po, doc?"

"Mr. Madrigal, yung father ni Dr. Madrigal. Anong room?" inis kong sambit.

Ilang bang pasyente ang ino-operahan na stat surgery ngayon at bakit hindi niya kilala?

She gave me the OR suite number. Nandoon din daw si Derek sa loob. I immediately changed into scrubs and went to the OR kahit na hindi naman ako kailangan for the procedure. I put on the cap and strode into the sterile area while tying the mask.

When I passed by the lounge, the door was open and Derek was there, sitting on the couch. The surgical mask was hanging around his neck, halatang hinila lang niya pababa without untying it. His elbows rested on his thighs and his head rested on the palm of his hands that still had powder from the surgical gloves.

"Hey." Tinabihan ko siya and placed my hand on his shoulder and pulled down my own mask.

"Hey, Cars." He twisted his head to my side just enough to look at me, but his head remained in his palms. He looked tired. "He's okay now, I guess. Tapos na kami mag explore lap, and your dad is about done with the tibial and wrist fractures."

"That's good to know. Ano bang nangyari, if you don't mind?"

"The usual. Drunk driving. He was hit by a drunk driving idiot. Buti na lang he was using his pickup. The fucking idiot was driving a Jeep na naka set up. If my dad was in a sedan, siguaradong neurosurg bagsak niya, kundi sa morgue." Umiling sya and I saw his jaw muscles tense as he let out a heavy sigh.

"Derek, I – oh, Sky, nandito ka na pala. You have a procedure?" Dad was surprised to see me.

"Wala naman po. I just rushed over when I heard about his dad."

"Right, as I was saying, uhm..." he was looking intently between me and Derek, trying to remember what he was about to say. "Nevermind, I forgot. It'll come to me later. Breakfast?"

That was weird. Ang bilis naman makalimot ni Dad, whatever he had to tell Derek. If it was about the case, it shouldn't have been that hard to remember.

The news of Derek's dad spread throughout the OR, Surgery, and Orthopedic Departments by mid-morning and everyone was offering him kind words. Kahit nurses sa Cancer Center heard of the news.

I went to visit Derek and his dad a few days after his admission. Hindi pa tapos ang ortho, he was going to undergo the definitive procedure to fix the fractures in a few days, when he was more stable.

Derek was sitting on the bench beside the bed, his dad was in a semi-upright position and they were talking seriously.

"Good evening po. Hi Derek." I stepped into the room and handed him a paper bag with donuts and congee. His dad is allowed soft diet and I knew that hospital food was the worst.

"Hey Cara, ano 'to?" sinilip ni Derek bitbit kong pagkain. His dad cleared his throat as he sipped on his bottled water.

"Ay, pa, this is Cara, surgical resident dito. Anak ni Dr. Claraval, yung ortho n'yo."

Nabilaukan sya and water spurted from his mouth.

"I'm s-sorry." He said while coughing. "Are you together?" naluluha pa sya at hirap pa syang magsalita pero parang kailangan nya talaga itanong iyon. I felt myself blush. Ano ba namang tanong yan. Nahiya ako for Derek.

Mukhang mas nangingibabaw ang malaman ang sagot sa tanong nya kaysa sa makahinga.

"Pa, what the heck? Lahat na lang nga babaeng bumibisita dito tinanong mo nyan. Nakakahiya ka na." Derek was clearly pissed but he still handed his father some tissue.

"Heto, dala ni Cara para sa inyo." He gave his dad the congee.

"Thank you. That's very thoughtful of you. So? Are you?" he eyed me curiously, his brows furrowed. Galit ba sya sakin?

Very important nga yung question nya kasi hindi sya makapag move-on.

"Pa, HINDI. Now stop harassing every female visitor. I don't have a girlfriend right now, okay?"

Patuloy inasar ng dad niya si Derek about how he should find a woman and settle down already. Derek was clearly used to this conversation kasi he just went about cleaning the room and eating the donut I brought them, nodding and just letting his dad tell him about starting a family soon.

Derek did not want to talk about his family because medyo magulo raw. He just knew that his mom left them when he was a baby and he never really looked for her. His dad and his dad's parents raised him. His dad never got married so he doesn't have any other siblings. Hindi ko nga alam ano trabaho ng dad niya, he just said he was a businessman in the province where his grandparents lived.

The monologue was cut when a nurse entered the room to administer medicines.

"Good evening sir, good evening doc. Magbibigay po ako ang antibiotics n'yo, sir. Ano na lang po complete name and birthday po natin sir? For verification."

"Ricaforte, Amadeo Madrigal, August 8, 1967."

Napatingin ako kay Derek, who was busy reading on his tablet. Naka earphones na pala sya, di ko napansin. Hindi naman pumalag ang nurse and patuloy na nagbigay ng IV medications.

Bakit Ricaforte apilyedo ng dad niya? Baka nagkamali lang ng order ng pagsabi? But the nurse should have clarified this. Kaya nga nila ito tinatanong sa patient each time they administer medications or extract blood e, to make sure that they have identified the right patient. I wanted to ask but Mr. Ricaforte was busy asking the nurse about his medications and lab results.

When the nurse left, bumalik sa pang-aasar dad niya, hanggang sa Derek had to sweep me out of the room to save me from further interrogation.

Nanlaki mga mata ko when I opened the door to my condo: the kitchen and the sala was a mess, parang dinaanan ng bagyo. May naka kalat na eggnog biscuits, may natapon na juice, mga libro at papel nagkalat sa sala, watercolor paint was on the floor. And on near the door, there were four pairs of footwear: a woman's dressy sandals, ang shoes ni yaya Elena, Justin's blue and white sneakers, and a pair of man-sized Adidas rubber shoes.

I heard laughing in the bedroom and Justin's sudden squeal. Then the door burst open and naghahabulan si Seb at Justin with water guns.

Water guns. Inside my condo. I wanted to shoot Seb myself!

"Cara, tabi!" sigaw ni Seb as he almost rammed into me.

"Oh my god, Miguel Sebastian stop it this instant!"

Both Justin and Seb screeched to a halt. Si Justin natakot habang si Seb may gana pang sumimangot. Their clothes were wet and Seb's light blue shirt had splatters of red, while Justin's shirt had just wet spots. He was wearing a dark blue shirt. Buti na lang kasi maha-high blood ako pag nakita kong may kulay to at magmamantsa!

They were both standing in front of me like two kids in the Principal's office.

"Ang KJ naman nito! Diba Jack? Corny ng mommy mo." Seb laughed. Justin giggled but knew better when I glared at him. His smile dropped. He slowly walked to me and open his arms. He was still holding the water gun in his hand.

Seb gave Justin another nickname, Jack, because his initials were J-A-C, Justin August Claraval. And because he wanted to remind me of the father of the child constantly, kaya nya ginawa iyon. Sometimes they'd refer to him as the little jackal. Buti na lang hindi little Jaxx because that would mean war.

"Carry, mommy?"

My god, bata pa lang marunong nang mang bilog ng ulo. He knew I could not resist him so he knew when to work his charm on me. I was so weak when it came to him and those gray eyes, lalo na kapag naluluha na. Dammit Cara, pati sa anak marupok ka!

He immediately wrapped his arms around my neck and kissed me when I lifted him up.

"Sorry, mommy. I will clean." He said in a tiny voice na nanginginig pa.

"Corny mo, mom!" huling hirit ni Seb. He was still smiling but he started cleaning up the mess in the living room. I put down Justin and he went to the kitchen to get rags.

"Hey Val, ano nangyari sayo?" she was curled in my bed. Yaya Elena was cleaning the mess in my room the two Tasmanian devils left.

"Uy nandito ka na pala. Natulog lang ako, ano ba." She smiled but she sounded weak. Hindi ko na sya pinilit for the time being.

After naligpit nila Seb ang kalat sa condo, we all left to go back to Valle. I dropped Justin and Yaya Elena at home then pumunta ako sa kanila Val, our usual meeting place.

"Hey Val, okay ka lang ba talaga?" tanong ko. She was not her jolly self. She had dark circles under her eyes and her eyebrows were not perfectly shaped, may stray hairs na na tumutubo. This was not Val at all!

Seb sat there, looking at Val who remained quiet and just looked at her coffee. Seb knew something.

"Seb. Magsalita ka." Alam kong si Seb ang pinakamadaldal sa amin and he would gladly tell anyone anything but he just gave me small smile.

"I met him. The guy na pinapa-asawa sa akin nila mommy. He's an asshole."

"Sino?"

"Some hotshot lawyer. Kilala ni Chino, same law firm sila e. Mabait daw sa firm but of course iba naman yun. Tingnan mo to si Seb. Mature sa work, pero paglabas, isip bata pa rin."

"I'll let it slide this time kasi malungkot ka. But I will have my revenge, Valerio." He chuckled.

"Empty threats." Val gave him a weak smile.

The door to the lanai opened and Chino walked in with Ace behind him. My heart raced as I looked at the door, afraid na may susunod pa kay Ace.

"Wala si Jaxx, don't worry. He's at another gala with the socialites of Manila."

We tried to comfort Val with her arranged marriage but it seems wala sa amin may alam kung ano sasabihin because none of us were forced into marrying someone we didn't know. I mean, uso pa ba yun sa Pilipinas? I thought that was only sa mga businessmen trying to marry off their sons or daughters to acquire more wealth. But Val's parents were both doctors and they were doing very well. They didn't need more money.

"Huy, safe ba na nandito tayo nagdi-discuss ng 'OPLAN Itak' sa bahay nyo?" tanong ni Seb.

"'Itak'?"

"ITigil Ang Kasal. O ITAKas si Val. Or Itaktak mo." He shrugged. Sabay-sabay namin siyang inirapan.

"Val, is there a way out of this? What did your parents say, may conditions ba?" Chino asked seriously.

"I don't remember. I didn't take this arrangement seriously naman kasi noh. Who thinks of an arranged marriage in this day and age? Fuck! Akala ko they were just kidding when they said they'd want that asshole to be their son-in-law. Hindi naman tinanong opinion ko if I wanted him to be my husband! Hindi man lang ako tinanong kung gusto ko bang magpakasal!" Val threw her hands in the air and leaned back on the chair.

"Do you want me to talk to him? Kasi if he also doesn't agree to this, I'm sure we can make a way. Kaso lang kasi his parents are also lawyers. Na senior partners ng firm namin. You know, yung mga Gonzaga sa Gonzaga-Lim-Esguerra."

"E di lalong wala akong kawala!"

Habang nag-uusap si Val at Chino about what they can do, si Seb naman nagbibigay ng mga walang kwentang suggestions. I took the opportunity to ask Ace how Jaxx was.

"He's okay, I guess. What do you really want to know, Cars? If he's forgiven you or if he's willing to see you? What?" he asked exasperatedly.

"Just wanted to know how he's doing. If he's less angry then maybe I can meet him and introduce Justin to him."

"He won't be less angry. He's always going to be angry. If you really want to introduce Justin, then just do it."

"Para namang ang dali. How do I tell him? Where do I tell him? Dalhin ko ba sa office nyo? Or puntahan ko na lang sa bahay nila or sa condo niya?"

"You can go up to his house and tell him 'hey, by the way, this is your son, Justin.' If he accepts Justin or shuts the door on you, wala ka na doon. Basta the ball is in his court. Nasabi mo na. Bakit are you expecting it to be a beautiful Hollywood reunion na maiiyak iyak sya and yayakapin nya si Justin and just accept it?"

"Of course I know it won't be like that. I'm actually expecting na hindi nya ako harapin and he'll just shut the door when he sees it's me behind it."

"Buti naisip mo yan kasi hindi yan malayong mangyari sa sungit nun."

I nodded absentmindedly. Shucks. Umurong na naman balls ko sa reassurance ni Ace.

"Are you expecting... something else?" Ace asked.

"Anong something else?"

"Are you really over him?" Ace sighed.

"Yes. Not entirely, but I'm getting there. Tama na, Ace. Five years in enough na siguro, no?"

"Ewan ko sa'yo. But if that's the case, then this shouldn't be a big deal. Just go up to him and tell him."

"Ambushin mo na lang habang nagjo-jogging sya sa village. Hashtag, HiJack!" ani ni Seb habang kumakaway. Nakikinig pala si gago all this time.