A piece of the past...

"Is Danica okay?" Lee asked George and Jackie. Troy pretended to be busy with his pen and notebook while waiting for an answer to his friend's question.

"We don't know. We've been wondering the same thing," Jackie answered, concern in her voice.

He wanted to ask a follow-up question but Jackie and George did not seem to be in the mood today. Danica had been missing school for three days now.

"Do you know where she lives?" asked Miguel.

"Why?" Jackie asked.

"Just asking, Jackie. Don't you want to know what she's been up to?" Troy wanted to hug his friend for speaking out.

"Yeah. She might be sick or something," he finally added when Jackie and George kept their silence.

"Let's give her some time," Jackie said. "She has been gone from school for weeks in the past, right?" But there was something in her voice and the way she said it that told Troy Jackie and George were already making plans of their own.

"Come on, guys," Troy said to Lee and Miguel. "Let's go get something before the bell rings." He almost dragged his two friends out of the room and when he looked over his shoulder, he saw George and Jackie's heads together, talking about something. "I think George and Jackie are planning to go to Danica later," he said to his friends conspiratorially. "And they need escorts," he added with a grin.

*****

"What the hell, Troy!" Jackie shouted in surprise. "Miguel! Lee! What the hell are you three doing here?!"

The three of them were caught in the act of following the two girls. There was nothing they could do about it so Troy said, "We just want to make sure you two don't get in any harm."

"And you should be thankful, you know," Miguel added. "Three cool guys made it their task to make sure you boys are safe."

"Stop following us," George ordered.

"You're going to Danica, aren't you?" Lee asked.

"No."

"We are only five minutes away from where she lives," Troy said.

"And how do you know that?"

Troy swallowed and tried to think of a fast excuse. "I just figured. There's some sort of a squatters' area around here, right? And Danica never denied she lives in such neighborhood. It's just a well-calculated guess. So come on, let's go see Danica."

George and Jackie looked at each other wearily.

"Come on. We won't tell anyone," Troy urged.

"Dannie won't like it," George said.

"Then we'll not show up. You two can go visit her. We'll just wait around one corner and make sure you're safe."

"Come on, boys," Lee and Miguel uttered in unison.

"Fine," Jackie finally gave in. "But if Dannie sees the three of you, you're all dead."

"Deal," the three of them answered in unison.

PRESENT DAY

When I saw Troy again, he was grinning from ear to ear, pulling Dannie baby by the hand toward Tata.

And then I realized something. Wait, wait. Does this mean I would be left here?!

"You should have told me you were coming!" Dannie was saying as she struggled to keep up with Troy's brisk steps.

"You would have done anything just to prevent this from happening if I told you," he said.

"What about Toto?" Dannie asked.

Yeah, what about me?!

"He'll survive. Come on." Troy opened Tata's passenger door and gas almost leaked out my headlights.

No! Don't leave me here! Troy, you kidnapper! Come back! I shouted after them but no one heard me save Tata who was laughing at my despair.

I saw Dannie hesitate for a few seconds before she finally gave in and climbed inside my pick-up friend.

I'll have the last laugh, Troy!

****

"Where are you taking me?" Dannie asked warily.

"My parents' house."

"What?" she asked in surprise and panic. Troy's parents were okay, but it would be weird to spend some time alone with them without Jackie or George. "You planned this, didn't you?"

"Of course not! They asked me where you boys were and how you were planning your Christmas eve and I told them the truth. They wanted to invite you over because you are alone."

"I wasn't alone. I was with the sisters and the children not five minutes ago!"

"Yes, you were, but what about after the party's over? Come on, Danica. My parents want to see you. They want to hear everything you've been up to this past year. And you're saving me a lot of trouble. With you around, they will stop bugging me with useless concerns."

"It's because you do a lot of things they have to be concerned about."

"Hey, I've been a good boy since—" he stopped midway and did not finish.

"What? Since what?"

He threw her a glance as if to say, "You know what I was trying to say," and she couldn't help but feel the tension between them again. She cleared her throat and sighed.

"Fine. I'll greet them and then you're dropping me back to the church."

"I don't have to. I already told the sisters you're sleeping at my parents' house. In the guest room. Alone. With the doors locked. That did the trick and they said yes."

"You're lying. When did you tell them?"

"While you were trying to avoid me when I came in. Did you not see me talking to two of them?"

Dannie gritted her teeth and took a deep breath. She'd let this pass for once.

She would be gone in a few weeks after all and it would not hurt to drop by and say hello to his parents. They had been good to her and if it meant spending Christmas Eve with them would make them happy, she'd do it.

Complete silence reigned between her and Troy, the tension obviously still there. The things he said that night of the shower party were still fresh in her head. Though she was not sure he remembered all the details because of his state that night, the thought that he still harbored feelings for her up to this day were for certain.

She wanted to ask him how he was planning to manage that and if he intended to forget whatever it was he was feeling toward her at all.

It's all up to him. He's a big guy.

Dannie stole a quick glance at Troy. He was just like the man she had known for so long, the same man who had tormented her and her friends for years just because he could. She could count more frustrating memories of him in the years they had known each other. But there were also good times. He was one of the first people who stood up for her in the past when people other than him gave her a hard time that she even wondered how much he knew about her past.

No one really talked about her past openly and she trusted George and Jackie. They would never tell anyone about it. But stories still reached some people and she couldn't help but wonder how much Troy Brady knew.

He was a pain in the ass but he was also, in some ways, her protector.

He was her friend and it hurt her to see him hurting because of her. He may be acting like his old self most of the time, but Dannie knew better. And she'd give anything to bring the old Troy back.

It would make things easier. The pain would be lesser.

*****

Mr. and Mrs. Brady were cool folks. They almost ran to the door when Dannie and Troy parked outside their large home in Ayala.

Mrs. Brady hugged Dannie as soon as she stepped inside the doorway and said, "Merry Christmas, my dear. I am so glad you could join us."

"Dannie!" Mr. Brady bellowed heartily and grabbed Dannie away from his wife's embrace. She suddenly found herself trapped in his strong warmth. "When was the last time we saw you, huh? Was it during my wife's birthday?" He turned to his wife for confirmation which was then met with a nod by the other.

"Dad, come on. You're squeezing the life out of her," Troy said, tugging at his dad's arm. "Danica misses you, too. Right, Danica?"

Dannie nodded with a laugh as Mr. Brady finally let her free.

"See? She misses you both so stop with the exaggerated greeting."

"Have you eaten yet?" Mrs. Brady asked.

"Yes, she has," Troy answered before she could.

"You have to eat some more anyway. Come on," Mrs. Brady said, taking Dannie's hand.

Dannie suddenly noticed the noise. She looked at Troy with eyes wide open and threw him an accusing glare.

"You know we have a big family," he whispered beside her.

They entered the living room and there, everywhere, was his family—his aunts, uncles and cousins from both sides. It was a mixture of American and Filipino people talking and having fun.

Everyone stopped whatever they were doing and turned their heads toward her.

The kids looked at her curiously and the adults all smiled at her saying, "Hi!"

"This is Dannie, Troy's friend," Mrs. Brady addressed the crowd of at least twenty people. "She's the one I was talking about earlier."

"The nun?" a man who looked almost exactly like Mr. Brady asked from the couch.

"Not yet," Troy answered almost immediately. "She's not a nun YET."

Dannie elbowed his side and smiled at the crowed, forcing the anxiety she felt away. "Hi. Merry Christmas."

"Let me introduce you to everyone," Mr. Brady said, taking her by the shoulder to enter the holy huddle of his family. She went from one person to the other without being hugged and kissed Merry Christmas. It took almost twenty minutes to meet everyone, including the kids who instantly took a liking of her.

"Everyone in my family flies here for Christmas every year," Mr. Brady explained after the introductions.

"Dannie, let's go. You have to eat something," Mrs. Brady said, taking her by the hand.

All that time, while she was being ushered from point A to point B around the house, Troy was tagging along behind them, dropping a comment here and there which Dannie barely heard, too overwhelmed with the crowd.

She let herself be guided to the dining room where evidence of a feast was still over the table. She was full, but she didn't want to disappoint Mrs. Brady so she took a seat and received the saucer of cake offered to her.

Troy was struggling with some of his cousins not far away. One was hanging by his neck behind him, another by his left arm and another girl was hugging his right leg. He walked toward the dining table looking like a huge Christmas tree with live decorations of laughing children.

Despite being an only child, Troy sure knew how to play with children.

"I'm sitting down and I don't care if one of you falls down," he warned the children as he neared the chair right across from Dannie.

The children squealed and jumped off him and ran away to find some things to play with.

Troy's parents sat with her around the table like she was an honored guest they had to watch over. Mr. and Mrs. Brady were two unlikely couple. Or so she had thought when she first met them for the first time during a PTA meeting back in high school. Mr. Brady was very American and a lot more like Troy. His wife, on the other hand, was reserved and very quiet. But now, after many years of seeing them together, she couldn't think of any couple more suitable.

"Have I ever told anyone that I love Filipino Christmas more?" Mr. Brady asked.

Troy groaned. "I lost count," he muttered as he reached for a pear.

Mrs. Brady's eyes wrinkled as she smiled. She winked at Dannie and mouthed, "Here we go again."

Dannie smiled in return, trying to take in her surroundings. She left a bunch of people at church and went to a lot who are louder and...well, louder. There was a Christmas song playing in the background but that was barely audible due to the noise of the ten or so kids running around everywhere and the laughter and chatters of the adults in the living room.

It was new to her. She had never celebrated Christmas with a big family. Dannie didn't know what to do then. She knew how to deal with kids, but not one big family from two different races.

"You'll be fine, Danica. Don't worry," Troy said from across the table.

"Why? Are you feeling anxious?" asked Mr. Brady. "Don't worry. We don't bite. And we sure do know how to have fun."

"Yes, Dannie," Mrs. Brady said assuredly. "Troy would not have brought you here if we don't feel okay with it. And we really are. Anyone is welcome to join us in this special occasion. Would you like some fruits?"

"I'm okay. And thank you," she said shyly, forking her cake.

"We are going to play some games to wear the kids out to sleep in a while so you better be ready," Troy said excitedly.

"What?"

"Come on. You were a preschool teacher for years. You will be of great help."

"Okay, that's it then!" Mr. Brady said, jumping to his feet. "I'll go get the kids. And the prizes! The prizes will be awesome!"

Dannie sat in her chair like a rock for a few seconds, trying to wrap her head around what was happening around her. No one was making such great efforts to make her feel welcome, but somehow these people made her feel like she was part of them—like she had a family again.