WYM? 24
If there is one thing Uno knows the most about himself, it's him having no tinge of partiality in keeping his nose over something that doesn't concern him. There came no time when he meddled over his parents' misunderstandings, his best friend's pre-marital shaggings, and other issues that needed not his spin. Not until Dos walked in, he become the complete, utter opposite.
Three days after his conversation with Seri and after being pleaded with for a three-day allowance before parting with Dos--he found himself pressing his ear against the door of Seri's to hear her exchange of parting lines with Dos. Sounded off, he knew, but for someone guilty of being the reason of their split-up--the least he could do was slap himself with the possible searing words Seri would throw at Dos and dwell with it all for an indefinite time till his conscience drops.
Minutes had passed, he heard nothing but the machine of the air conditioner, chirpings of whatever nocturnal creature there was within the proximity, thuds of clenching and creakings of unclenching doors of the other flats, and footsteps and chit chats of tenants walking past him as they furrow their brows, wondering what he was doing.
"Why am I not hearing anything? Hindi ba naririnig mula rito sa laba--"
His hands crept to his chest in shock when someone suddenly peered over his shoulders and said, "What are you doing, young man?" in an uneven accent he couldn't identify.
He nervously turned around only for his eyes to land on a mountain of a middle-aged man standing in a stone's throw away from him. His chocolate eyes, blonde hair, rosy-white complexion, and the accent as Uno have heard--dashed a contrast to that of a foreign race.
"I--I was...I was--"
"Eavesdropping?" He chuckled. Its thick reverberating sound sent tremors to Uno.
He bowed his head.
A light pat on his shoulder was felt by him, making him lift his head to look at the man towering over his five feet and eleven inches height.
"It's okay," the man said, patting his head. His eyes tracked to the number embossed on the metallic plate by the door behind Uno, then traced it down to the phone he just fished out of his pocket.
Uno's brows met due to the man's action, and thus he wanted to course a presumptuous inquiry. "What--" he paused when the man tipped his finger on the doorbell.
"I'm already outside your unit, my little girl," said the man over the phone, cutting Uno's words once again.
Your unit? My little girl? Is he Seri's father? She's transferring address? he thought, issuing a thorough look at the man fronting him. But she doesn't look like him. Could it be...
"Yes. Sure. Just don't take your time, okay? Your Tito Marco and Tita Nicole are waiting for us."
What the heck?! He's....he's Dos' father? And my parents are waiting for them? How come I didn't know?
"Excuse me, Sir--" for the nth time, his words fell short when the man's phone rang. In his ears lapped a business-related talk he is so well-versed, hence his inclination to their family business.
If he's Dos' father, how come he's not familiar, and so am I to him? He shrugged, slowly taking steps out of the man's sight.
"Hey, young man," the man said aloud, stopping Uno.
"S-Sir?" he asked, hesitating. The man stashed his phone back in his pocket. "I-is there anything I can help y-you with?"
"You were standing by this door earlier," he pointed his forefinger at the door of Seri's flat, "do you know my daughter or perhaps her ex-girlfriend Seri?"
I thought her parents didn't know about her gender?
"Y-yes, Sir....I--I know them b-both."
"How are you related to my daughter, if you won't mind me asking?"
"I--I am a friend, S-Sir." His words fell on deaf ears when he heard Dos' voice.
"Papa!" Excitement was evident in her high-pitched tone, more so on the tightness of her arms that snaked around her old man's waist the moment the door opened. "I missed you...I missed you so much."
"I missed you more, Samara..." Her father wrapped his arms around his daughter and lifted her as he kissed her forehead.
"You just got off your flight? How long will you be staying with me, Papa? One month? Two? Three? Can you make it forever?"
Different varieties of emotions were tossed to Uno when he saw how peeved not Dos was at being addressed by her first name he knew she hated, how soft and sugary her voice and words were towards her father, and how her line of, can you make it forever, sounded like a plea.
Uno stayed standing a few meters away from them, enjoying the view of Dos he never once saw that happy.
"Hey!" came a low manly voice with a brush of accent as he snapped his fingers in front of the lost Uno.
He stared blankly at the father and daughter, who were earlier a little distant from where he was, yet now an arm's length away from him. "P-po?" He alternately darted his gaze on them.
The older adult beamed, flashing his perfect set of pearl white teeth, dimples showing on both his cheeks along with wrinkles beside his eyes. "Why didn't you tell me you were the son of Marco and Nicole?".
"So-sorry, Sir..."
"Sir?" Disbelief etched in the middle-agers voice. "Shouldn't you be calling me Tito instead?"
"Y-yes...T-Tito. Sorry po..."
"No worries." He draped his arm on Uno's shoulder, laughing. "You've grown too towering, eh? It must be your father's genes. And your looks," he rubbernecked his men, "boy, your looks are more than just acceptable. I didn't even recognize you!"
Excuse him? Have I seen him during my younger years? He really didn't strike a familiarity.
"Ah...." Uno mumbled, taking a clandestine peek at Dos, who instantly rolled her eyes skyward when they locked gazes.
"Anyway, let's go!" The man draped his free arm on her daughter's shoulder, causing Dos' arm to touch Uno's. "You should come with us. We're having dinner with your Mom and Dad."
"S-sure po..." Uno felt compelled. Not because things would go awkward with him and Dos, perhaps because his parents booked a dinner with them without letting him know.
Am I not invited? He pouted, groped for his phone in his pocket to check if he wasn't invited for real.
Zero new messages. Like, what the fuck? Ampon ba 'ko? Disappointed, he slid his phone back into his pocket, yet it accidentally slid off his grasp and fell on the floor.
The older adult, whose arm was around his shoulder, removed his arm off him so he could pick his phone up.
Much to Uno's timidity to let them wait 'cause his phone traveled a little far as it drifted off the overly-polished floor where even tenants could slip, he rather said, "I'll follow, Tito. See you by the lifts."
With no words, Dos and her father trotted off to the lifts. Uno quickly ran to where his phone was. It slid right in front of Seri's unit, which door threw open exactly when he crouched to the floor.
"Uno. What are you still doing here? Dos just--"
"You were inside the whole time? I--I thought you weren't..."/He thought she wasn't there, presumably the reason why it was only Dos who came out. And that regardless of their extended stay outside her pad, her presence was nowhere.
Seri gave a watery smile. "I'd rather not be watching her leave, Uno. I'm fine with having to contact her father and tell him Dos needs him badly. At least with that, I know I still did something best for her even at the end," she said. Uno felt a hammer against his chest. "That was why I asked for a three-day allowance. Aside from freeing her for her to have you and you to have her, I also wanted to free her from the overdue longingness she has for her father since her parents broke up when she was five, and the court gave her custody to her mom, who couldn't love her as she is. Kaya sana, Uno, don't mess with this chance. She's too precious, I tell you. Keep her. Shield her. And no matter how much she goes out of hand, never let her go."
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