In the Midst (Daughters Series 1)

Chapter 8: Save Yourself

Ariel Benecio

The day that I dreaded came. Weekend na kasi, and Daryl was scheduled to come to our house for dinner tonight.

Simula kaninang umaga ay naghahanda na si mommy. Nilinis nila ang buong baba ng bahay lalo na ang dining room and living room. Pagkatapos niya maglinis ay nagluto na sila ng mga kasambahay ng pagkain.

I would usually help them prepare food, but I didn't want Daryl to think that I was looking forward to this dinner.

Umpisa pa lang ay alam ko nang hindi ito dapat na mangyari. I didn't plan on taking my relationship with Daryl farther. I just wanted us to remain as friends.

Ilang araw ko nang dini-discourage si mommy na huwag nang ituloy ang dinner with Daryl. Knowing my mom, she would not allow it to be canceled. The worst thing was, Lola Scarlet would be joining us, too. I loved her but knowing that she really wanted me to date someone, she would purposely join us to get to know Daryl. And if she ended up liking him, I was pretty sure that she would do whatever it takes to make Daryl and I work.

A knock on my door made me flinch. Nakadapa ako sa kama kaya napaikot muna ako bago tumayo para buksan ang pinto.

It was my mom outside the door. Nawala ang ngiti sa labi niya nung nakita niya ang suot ko. Obviously, she was not happy.

"Ariel. Why are you not dressed yet, sweetheart?" disappointed na tanong niya.

Tumalikod ako at naglakad papunta sa kama while saying, "Can I stay in my room? I don't feel like joining you all for dinner."

I heard her closed the door at sinundan ako sa kama. She sat next to me. Hinawakan niya ang kamay ko saka sinabing, "Do you not like the guy?"

I took a deep breath. "It's not like that, Mom. He is very nice, respectful, intelligent, gentleman, thoughtful, handsome, and has a good career. What is not to like about him?" Napailing ako saka sinabing, "I am just not the woman for him, Mom. Someone else deserves him, not me."

"That is not for you to say, my princess," mom said saka hinawi ang buhok ko at nilagay sa likod ng tenga ko. "You don't know his perspectives. What if he likes you so much, and he wants to fight for you? What if he thinks he deserves to have you than someone else?"

I did not answer. Mom had a point. Iba ang tingin ko at posible na iba rin ang iniisip ni Daryl. On a side note, my family could also be wrong. What if Daryl just wants to be a good friend to me that's why he is being nice? After all, hindi naman siya kailanman nagsabi na gusto niya ako.

Napatingin ako kay mommy. "He hasn't said that he likes me. What if you all are just assuming na gusto niya ako?"

Napangiti si mommy ng makahulugan. "You could be right. That's why you should get dressed, so you could see for yourself what's going to happen tonight."

Tumayo si mommy saka nilahad ang kamay niya sa akin. "Come on. You want to know the real deal with him, right?"

I gave up and inabot ang kamay ni mommy saka tumayo na. She smiled at me and leaned forward to rub her forehead on mine. Napangiti ko kasi I loved this sweet gesture of her. She had been doing this since maliit pa ako, and it was my favorite thing whenever she would do that. It would calm my heart tuwing ginagawa niya iyan lalo na kapag malungkot ako.

She picked a dress for me at iyon ang sinuot ko. I did not mind my mom choosing clothes for me, especially for special occasions. Wala kasi akong masyadong alam sa pananamit. Hindi rin ako magaling mag-ayos ng sarili. Besides, the nature of my job did not require me to dress up, so I would usually wear simple tops and bottoms.