Baby Madness

Chapter 45

Being close to him that time was suffocating. I needed to breathe.

"Paghaluin mo 'tong condensed milk saka all-purpose cream," he said and my musings were pushed at the back of my mind.

"Okay."

Sinunod ko na lang siya kahit na ang awkward pa rin namin sa isa't isa. I was stealing glances at him and I realized I never really looked at him closely. I studied him as he worked. His eyes were framed by long and black lashes. What caught my attention was the way he bit his lower lip when he focused too much on something and how his dimple appeared right after.

I got out of trance when he suddenly sighed. Seryoso siyang tumingin sa akin kaya kinabahan ako.

"'Yung kanina . . ." His voice trailed off.

Damn it, why was he bringing that back?

"Wala. Wala," sabay iling niya at nagpakawala ulit ng buntong-hininga.

What the heck? What was that? Mas lalo tuloy akong naguguluhan sa mga kilos niya. May meaning ba ang 'wala' na sinabi niya? Why did he sigh? This guy is mentally torturing me!

Nagpatuloy lang siya sa pagtuturo sa akin at sumunod naman ako. Wala rin naman kaming magagawa kundi i-divert sa ibang bagay ang usapan at kilos namin dahil nakakahiyang balikan ang pangyayaring 'yon.

"Tara! Tara!"

Napalingon naman ako sa mga bubwit. Jaden was playing with Jylliene, Czanelle and Clark and it looked like they love to be with him. Their attention shifted to us and the four of them ran toward our direction.

"Graham! Yehey! Graham!" sigaw ni Jaden.

"Hindi pa pwede," Jazer said, much to Jaden's dismay.

"Isang hiwa lang naman ng mangga," he pouted.

"Tapos hihingi ka na naman. Mamaya na kapag malamig na."

"What is that, ate?" tanong naman ni Czanelle at nakatingin na rin siya sa graham.

"Dessert."

"Is it yummy?"

"Yes, but you can't eat it yet."

"Why?" she pouted and the four of them looked really disappointed.

"Your tummy will hurt if you eat it right now."

"I'll get sick?" she asked, her sorrow turned into worry.

"Yes. So wait until the sun's down. Okay?"

"Okay," sabay tango niya.

Pagkatapos no'n ay napunta na sa aso sa labas ang atensyon nila kaya agad silang tumakbo para lapitan 'yon. Napabuntong-hininga naman ako. I didn't know that convincing a kid would be this hard.

I glanced at Jazer and he was staring at me. Napakunot naman ang noo ko pero nangibabaw ang kaba ko.

"What?"

"Alam ko na kung bakit," he muttered.

"Huh?"

"Wala. Wala," sabay ngiti niya at lumabas na naman ang pesteng dimple niya.

"Kanina ka pa wala nang wala," mahina ko namang reklamo habang inaayos ang graham sa harapan ko.

"Bakit, gusto mo ba meron?" he teased and suddenly, it felt like the awkwardness dissipated.

"Malay ko ba kung anong meron?"

"Ano nga bang meron?"

Hindi na ako sumagot dahil wala nang sense ang usapan namin. Pagkatapos naming magawa ang ilang container ng graham cake ay pinasok na namin 'yon sa ref at pinalamig. Lumabas naman ulit siya habang ako ay naghugas ng kamay dahil ang lagkit sa pakiramdam. Sumunod naman ako pero paglabas ko ay hindi ko na siya makita.