The Faulkersons

Prologue

RJ and Maine have been married for a little over than fifteen years now. Tons of things may have changed, but there are still some that remained the same. The two were blessed enough to have four children; Thirdy, Athena, Anthony and Jacob. Life over the past decade and a half has been good to the Faulkersons, although Mamita is now gone they are still doing their best to not let her legacy go to waste. RJ and Sebastian are the ones running their company now, it's the least they can do to keep their parents and grandparent's memories alive. Maine on the other hand is now the owner of several boutiques and restaurants, and every branch is very successful. One of the things that remained the same all throughout the years is them living in the beach house. There have been a couple of renovations here and there to patch the weak spots and make the space bigger but still, the house is their permanent home. Thinking about everything that happened in her life still makes Maine feel surreal. Fifteen years later and she still can't believe how lucky she was for meeting the love of her life.

"Love, are the barbecues ready?" she asked RJ who is busy grilling the meaty skewered treats.

"Konti na lang, love. Naglagay ba ng sunscreen yung mga anak mo? Baka matutong."

"Tutong? Ano yun? kanin?" she asked and he giggled. Maine just shook her head from side to side and walked towards the beach in front of the house. There she saw their four kids frolicking around the seashore. Maine smiled at the sight of their children being extremely happy. It quickly reminded her of her amazing youth. And if there's one thing she hopes they won't do, it's to repeat the same mistakes she and RJ did. What they had was a happy accident, which is something that can't be guaranteed if any of their kids decide to follow their steps.

"Athena! Thirdy! naglagay ba kayo ng sunscreen o kaya sunblock?' she asked.

"Opo Mom!" they replied at the same time. Maine then turned to Anthony and he quickly nodded. But by the time she looked at Jacob, her 6 yr. old started running away while laughing. Maine's heart fluttered, she's in awe of how adorable Jacob is.

"Thirdy, paki-habol." she then asked her oldest. Thirdy let out a sigh and sprinted towards his brother. With one quick arm movement, he was able to scoop Jacob up right away.

"Guys! food is ready!!!" RJ then yelled at the top of his lungs. Athena, Jacob, Thirdy and Anthony then rushed home, leaving their mother behind.

"Mga anak ko talaga, pag-pagkain nagkakalimutan na." she whispered before following them back.

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RJ is very happy with his life at the moment. He's finally at that place he's been dreaming to have for forever . But getting to this part wasn't easy. RJ went through a lot of hardships just to make sure his family will get all the good things they deserve. To make things worse, Mamita passed a couple of years ago. It left him damaged and broken. But slowly, Maine and their kids put all of his shattered pieces back together.

"Take it easy Anthony, you might choke." he said after seeing one of his twins take a whole piece of mini steak in his mouth.

"I can take this." Anthony mumbled, barely able to let the words out due to his full mouth.

"Anthony .... pag ikaw nabulunan jan tingnan mo man. Itatago ko lahat ng tubig sa bahay." Maine warned.

"Mom, wala naman magagawa yun eh. Ang laki laki ng dagat oh , kaya niya yan." Athena replied.

"Nga pala ... start na ng school niyo bukas ah. Ready na ba kayo?"

"Dad, I have to get my car washed." Thirdy said, pertaining to the car they gave him for his birthday a few months ago.