feast (completed)

31. puree

"Ma'am, kaka-deliver lang po..." Melay leaves the room after giving Meng the package.

"Rj!"

"What?"

"Ano naman tong binili mo?"

Four months after Dea's birth, Rj has been on a shopping spree. He and Meng had agreed not to find out about their baby's gender while they were still pregnant so most of the items they got and prepared for were either white or very soft pastels. However, since Dea's arrival, not a week went by without a delivery of a toy, clothes or shoes for the little one.

"She's just learned to hold her head up and you already bought her all these clips?" Meng said after opening the package.  She picked up Dea from the crib which was beside their bed and carried the baby for a little while. Dea cooed and gurgled while smiling at Rj.

"She has a lot of hair!" Rj tried to smooth down Dea's hair. Dea squealed.

"Pero nakatayo pa lahat o...hindi ko pa mahawakan ng buo kasi maiksi..." Meng admonished him. She was just as happy and excited as Rj was for the arrival of Dea but she thought that Rj was slightly overdoing it. "Hon, iisa pa lang si Dea. Paano pag may kapatid na sya?"

"Then we'll get him stuff too..."

"Him agad? Sure ka?"

"If we have another girl, we'll get her stuff too. Kuhwahwah nuhmahn if she gets Dea's hand-me-downs..."

"Ay ewan ko sa yo..."

"Don't make tampow naaah...I got you something also..."

"Hmm?" Meng sat down on the bed as Dea didn't want to stop crying. She adjusted the nursing cover she had on. Rj, sat on the bed behind Meng and dangled an envelope over her shoulder. "Ano yan?"

Rj opened the envelope and presented Meng with travel papers. "I booked us a trip to Davao. Remember Chef Mike's invitation?"

"Davao? Kelan naman yan?"

"Month after next...."

"Agad-agad?"

"Yup! I also got Dea her own bikini! Isn't it cute?" Rj was now sitting beside Meng. He held up an infant's bikini set on a hanger. It was a 2-piece yellow ensemble. "Don't worry, Mama said there are swimming diapers for babies...I'll check on them later..."

"Talagang plinano mo to no?"

"...I also was thinking of enrolling her in infant swimming...the one for survival..."

"...sobrang spoiled ni Dea sa yo..." Meng just shook her head.

"Abao? Tunta tayo Abao? San yun? Ano yun kikini? Ahtay? Mama? Ano yun kikini? Ano yun miming?"

Two days after telling Meng about his plans to take the family to Davao, Rj came home rather early. "What's Dea's normal everyday routine?" He asked Meng over dinner. Meng gives him a rundown of activities that happen during the day.

"When does she take a bath?"

"She doesn't get as dirty like us yet so mga 2-3 times a week lang for now. Lalo na na hindi naman summer so hindi mainit..."

"Ahh..."

"Bakit?" Meng looked at Rj suspiciously.

"...we're going to Davao, right? We're going to the beach, she'll go swimming..."

"Ah iba naman siguro yun...kailangan naman syang banlawan after magswimming..."

"Huh?"

"Ah..Rinse...to remove the salt or pool water from her body..."