She immediately nodded, happy that Aika's engaging with her again but also nervous since this could also be Aika rejecting her as her mother's partner.
"I wasn't completely surprised by it," Aika mumbled.
"What do you mean?"
"Sabi niyo nga po, out of the three of us ako yung laging nakabantay kay Mama kaya po siguro hindi na rin ako gaano nagulat. I saw it, Tita.." Upon hearing Aika call her Tita again, she couldn't help the hope that bloomed inside her chest.
"I saw how Mama fell in love with you. At first, I chalked it up to you being close friends. The touches, the hugs, the besos. Normal naman po 'yon sa inyong dalawa but then I saw how Mama would look at you, how she would find a way to talk to you or be with you kahit sandali lang. How she would often ask about you... hindi lang siguro niya napapansin but it got to the point where her staff would be updating her about you kahit hindi naman niya na tinatanong. But it was her smile that was the dead giveaway." Aika looked away, smiling a little, probably remembering a moment about her Mama.
"Mama only smiled like that when she was with Papa. Well, Papa, and now with you. When I saw it, I started taking a closer look.. hindi lang po kay Mama but also at you. You are my Tita Sen. My second Mama of sorts. I'm your honorary HontiBaraq child remember? So, I watched the two of you. Both of my Mamas.. falling in love with each other. At first, I couldn't believe it. Noong una po because Mama had never shown any inclination of falling in love with the same gender but then I remembered who my Mama is and I knew gender would never be a factor or hindrance in her liking someone. Second, siguro po hindi ko lang napaghandaan despite me seeing it, I wasn't ready to hear it. To have it confirmed. The Ate in me went into overdrive. I know how my sisters feel about mama being in a new relationship and siguro po the ate in me wanted to protect them from that emotion. Siguro rin po concern na rin kay Mama since alam ko pong it wouldn't be easy for her. Because of the work that you both do at lalo na po sa lipunan na meron tayo. Lastly, I guess I was scared to admit it. Natatakot po akong aminin na okay lang po sa akin, na wala pong problema sa akin. That if anything, I'm glad it was you, Tita."
She looked up at Aika only to see Aika looking at her with a timid smile on her face, her eyes bright with unshed tears, "Hindi naman po siguro ikakagalit ni Papa na I'm okay with this 'no? With you and Mama being together." At that, a tear slipped down Aika's cheek.
She immediately pulled Aika in a hug, "Hindi ko masasagot 'yan, nak but I would like to think your Papa would want your Mama to be happy."
She felt Aika nodding, "Alam ko po and I know being with you makes Mama happy. I guess out of all the reasons, that was the one that weighed on me the most. I'm so sorry Tita, I pushed you away at kahit hindi niyo po sabihin alam ko pong nasaktan kayo."
She rubbed Aika's back, "Wala 'yon, nak. Naiintindihan ko naman and sabi ko nga I'm willing to wait. Hindi naman ako mawawala. I guess, more than the hurt, mas nangibabaw yung lungkot. Pakiramdam ko nagtatampo sa akin ang panganay ko." She felt Aika chuckle.
"I'm sorry, Tita." Aika pulled away to look at her, "Sorry po talaga."
She grasped Aika's hands, "Stop apologizing na, nak. You have nothing to apologize for. Uulitin ko, naiintindihan ko. Take all the time that you need at salamat. Salamat sa pakikinig. Thank you for letting me be with your Mama, for not outright rejecting the idea of us being together. Salamat, anak."
Aika smiled at her, "I may still need time to process this, Tita, but again, I'm glad it was you." She then felt Aika squeezing her hand.
She couldn't help but squeeze hers as well. This is a start and she knows it may take a while, but she's just glad to have her panganay back. Well panganay in Leni's side.
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