Her Unveiled Love

Kabanata 2: Family Dinner

[Via's POV]

Pagkatapos ng panghuling klase ko ay agad na akong lumabas. Natigilan lang ako dahil sa pagharang ng kung sino.

"Excuse me," iritadong suway ko. Tinaas ko ang mga tingin ko at agad siyang pinandilatan.

"I think we should just talk about our project now since your class for today just ended."

Oh, damn. Siya pala 'yung partner ko sa readings na project. Wala bang may nagbigay man lang ng warning sa kanya? Shit.

"Like I said, I'll just text you the details." I coldly said before walking passed at him.

"You don't have my number."

"Oh, right. I forgot, ako pala nagbigay ng number, noh?" Maang-maangang ani ko at hinarap siya. He's tall, too tall and I don't like it.

"You can just text me later, then mag-rereply na lang ako. In that way, hindi ko malimutan." Hindi na ako nag-antay pa sa kanyang sasabihin at agad na tumalikod.

.

"Hello, Tita!"

Napairap ako dahil sa umaalingawngaw na bati ni Rose kay Mommy. That's the reason I don't usually bring her here, our house is quite close with only a few windows kaya naman kapag nandito si Rose ay parang may rally sa loob ng bahay.

"Oh, hija. I'm glad na nakadalaw ka. I've been insisting Sylvian to bring you here. You know naman na sobrang tahimik ng bahay." Bumeso silang dalawa habang walang gana ko namang kinuha ang librong hihiramin ni Rose mula sa shelves na nasa ilalim ng tv.

"Really? Via said you don't like visitors."

Nayayamot kong pinaandar ang photocopier habang nakikinig sa matitinis nilang boses.

"Well, she doesn't like visitors but I do. What about you join us for dinner?"

"Really?" Excited si Rose. She's never eaten with my family before kahit ilang beses na siyang gustong imbitahin ni Mom, pero ako ang dumadahilan dahil ayaw kong makasama siya at ang buo kong pamilya sa iisang lamesa.

Rose is childish and just too overexcited. She will just be overwhelmed once she sat down with my entire family. I don't want her to be uneasy and feel pressured dahil alam ko that dining with my family is not the same picture running inside her head right now.

"Mom, Rose have assignments to do. May test din sila bukas sa Marketing at sa Finance, that's why she needs to review some of these." Tukoy ko sa mga photocopies.

"Come on, I need to cut off some slack, you know. Hindi 'ba, Tita?"

Awkward na tumingin si Mom pabalik sa akin at nakikiusap ang mga mata kaya wala na akong nagawa kundi ay pagbigyan siya.

"Wait, akala ko rito tayo magdi-dinner?" Nagtatakang tanong ni Rose habang naglalakad kami papunta sa nakaparadang sasakyan na naghihintay sa amin.

"Sa main house tayo." Tipid kong sagot at pumasok na sa backseat ng SUV.

"So your family practically own the entire village? Magkano ba ang mga lote rito?" Tanong niya na hindi inaalis ang mga tingin sa bintana nung nagsimula nang patakbuhin ng driver ang sasakyan.

"This is not a subdivision, Rose. This is a village for our clan. My great-great-grandfather happens to be the Chairman of this clan. He was once a japanese businessman who gave shelter to japanese soldiers who were lost in the battle. Through that, a brotherhood was formed. Until the Chairman decided to move here in The Philippines after marrying a Filipina seamstress, my great-great-grandmother." Halos mapapikit ako sa antok habang nagkukwento at siya naman ay interesado lang na nakikinig.

"Sumunod din 'yung mga soldado sa kanya?"

"Yeah, they are brothers which makes the entire clan our family."

The main house is surrounded by tall and broad walls. Pagpasok mo sa itim na gate ay mga bahay din sa loob. The bungalow houses are connected by wooden bridges. Aligned sa gate ang isang mahaba at malawak na daan na kung saan ang main house ay nasa dulo.

"The center of your village has a village inside. Galing," humahangang aniya habang papasok na kami.

"Ang mga balo na o ang mga hindi nakapag-asawa ay dito tumitira. Sila ang bumabantay sa main house at nag-aalaga sa mga bata. Kids from our clan starts living in the main house six months after they are born until they reach the age of seven."

Aliw na aliw nitong pinagmamasdan ang mga kahoy na merong mga ilaw na nakasabit. The lamp posts are dim and the clear beautiful canals are some of the few wonders in the main place because of the huge koi carps. Umiilaw ang canal tuwing gabi dahil sa waterproof na mga ilaw na nakapalibot dito.

"So, you stayed here before?"

"Yeah, we all did."

"You also wore that kind of clothes?" Tinuro niya ang mga batang nakasuot ng kimono habang nagtatakbuhan sa tulay.

"No, my Grandmother in my Mother's side was Scottish and my Father is half-British. Only kids who are born as pure japanese wears the kimono."

Tumigil ang sasakyan sa harapan mismo ng main house. The main house is a two-storey mansion. Sliding doors are made of wood covered with sakura curtains. The mansion looks as if it's floating because of the long staircase.

"Rose," tawag ko sa kanya nung maaliw siya sa fountain na may mga glow-in-the-dark pebbles.

"Yeah, coming!"

We took our shoes off and went inside. The wooden floor is perfectly flourish. We headed straight to the dining where our other family members are already there.

"Eat your veggies," matigas na paalala ko kay Nei nung makitang baboy at manok lang ang kinakain niya sa chop seuy.

Nakanguso naman itong sumunod at walang imik na tinusok ang carrots gamit ang kanyang tinidor.

Tumingin ako kay Rose para tingnan ang lagay niya at naiilang siyang hinihiwa ang backribs sa kanyang pinggan.

Natigilan ang lahat sa pagkain dahil sa maingay na paggalaw ng mga utensils ni Rose. Napapahiya itong ngumiti bago uminom ng tubig.

"The company plans an expansion. We are scouting for potential locations and we saw one, given that the price is also negotiable."

Nakita ko ang bahagyang pamumutla ni Rose nung magsimula nang mag-usap ang pamilya ko tungkol sa business.

I told her not to come. This is exactly how I predicted it to be. This is the first time I ever seen her this quiet and uncomfortable.

"Which business, Tito?" I asked Tito Savi after taking a sip of my red wine.

"The mall. We've all seen the profit we made over the past years and it's gradually increasing. The budget is also set and ready especially for the location that I'm talking about."

Madami akong gustong sabihin pero mas mainam sigurong magsalita kapag hindi ko inaalala ang kalagayan ni Rose ngayon.

"We'll excuse ourselves now, everyone. Kailangan ko pang ihatid si Rose sa condo niya."

I saw the relief in her eyes as I stood up. We said our goodbyes to my family and they considerately allowed us to leave.