Signed, Sealed...Undelivered

Chapter 4: Premonition

Sunday morning. I was woken up by the bright light coming from my window. Someone had pulled up the Venetian blinds. I covered my face with my blanket. Then I heard my mother's voice.

"Lytes reminded me yesterday to wake her up at 6am because she wanted to go for a quick jog before we head for church today," she was talking to someone.

"I woke her up at 6 but she said she would skip jogging today. I asked her if she will join us for church, and she passed. She will attend mass later this afternoon. We have returned from the mass, and there she is, still asleep," Mama said.

It's 10 minutes after 10am and I had no drive to get up from my bed.

"The mover will be here after lunch, Lytes. I know you're missing Anthony already but he's away for 10 days only. He'll be back," Mama said. Hearing Anthony's name made me cling more to my bed.

"Don't worry Tita Del, I will make sure that Lytes is up and about before lunch," Driggs assured my mother.

"Go away Driggs! It's still early for you to be here," I complained upon hearing my best friend's voice. My mother had left the room.

"It's 10:10am, Lytes. Make a wish!" he joked. "Come on, get up! Wakey, wakey, it's time for breaky!" He sat on the bed and pulled the blanket away from my face.

"Whoa! Look at those eye bags! Did you stay up really, really late and waited for Anthony's text? Or did you cry last night? Which is which?"

I sat up and asked, "Do I look miserable?"

Driggs looked at me and in his serious tone asked, "Lytes, what happened yesterday?"

"Everything went well", I replied un-enthusiastically.

(Yesterday...)

I was placing my box of memorabilia in the trunk of my car when Anthony came. He parked his car outside. "Hi, Babe!" He greeted.

He was carrying a gallon of salted caramel ice cream (my ultimate favorite!) and a dozen red roses. He walked up to me and attempted to kiss my cheek but he saw I was sweaty and dirty. He pinched my cheeks instead.

"Am I late?" He asked as he handed me the flowers.

"Thanks! You're actually early for lunch. Mama's still cooking."

"I guess I'm late. You're done cleaning up. I wanted to come here early and help you but I got pre-occupied this morning packing my stuff. I weighed my luggage and it was 2 kilos over."

We walked together and entered the house. It looked plain. All of the displays and home accessories had been tucked away. Some of the appliances had been boxed and sealed. The curtain windows had been removed and most of the furniture was placed on one area, except for the sofa, and dining table and chairs.

"Good morning Tita Del, Tito Lito. You're all set for tomorrow, huh?" He greeted them as we approached the dining area.

"Yes," my father replied. He was wrapping the legs of one of the dining chairs with newspaper. "And you? You're set for your trip tonight?"

"Yes Tito. It's my first time in Europe and I'm excited. It would have been more exciting if..." Anthony looked at me. "...Lytes would have been there," he smiled.

My mother reached out for the cheese at the dining table. She butted in, "Don't worry Anthony, next time Lytes will travel with you. You're trip's timing isn't good. But for sure the perfect vacation for the two of you will come soon", Mama said, flashing her best smile and winked. She went back to cooking

There was a short awkward silence. But thankfully my youngest brother, Donald, broke the ice. He will be graduating this coming semester with a degree in Fine Arts majoring in Visual Communications. He has a knack in taking beautiful photos and fond of capturing videos of just about anything that moves.

"Is that Ate's favorite salted caramel ice cream?" he asked grinning in delight.

"Hey Don! I heard it's your favorite too," Anthony greeted him.

"Hi Kuya! That's true!" Don answered gleefully. "Is lunch not ready yet? I'm hungry, Ma. It's tiring to pack and clean my room," he complained while clutching his tummy.

"Tired?" it was Dylan's voice. "You didn't do that much, Don!" He was carrying a box of old clothes. He put it down in the living room. Dy, short for Dylan, is my younger brother and a certified Architect. .

"Not my fault, Kuya. You had more stuff in our room than I do. You wouldn't let me help you."

"Because you play around with my things!"

"They're toys! To be played with!" Don pointed out sarcastically. Ever since Dy got employed, he had been collecting action figures and vintage toys. This has taken up much space in the room he shares with Don.

"Those are not toys, they're my collection Don," Dy reminded him.

"Okay, fine. Besides, I don't really play with them. I take pictures of them. They've been getting a lot of likes in my FB and IG."

"Why don't you guys go clean up? This is almost ready," Mama interrupted.

"I'll go first!" I exclaimed. I left them at the dining table and took a shower.

Lunch was great. We all loved Mama's mechado. And though I was already full, I couldn't resist dessert. We all had ice cream after, but Don and I went for a second round. We both like this variant.

Anthony and I took a nap together. His flight was later that night, at 10:50pm. He would be flying to Singapore first to meet up with his superiors from the Asia headquarters. From there, it's a non-stop flight to London.

"What will you do? That's 14 hours!" I was lying beside Anthony, his arm my pillow.

"I saved some movies I haven't watched in my tablet and laptop," he answered. His eyes were already closed.

"Movies? For 13 hours?"

"I have the eBook you told me about."

"What else could you do in the plane for that long?"

"Eat. Stare by the window. Discuss work with my boss. Talk to strangers, perhaps. Sleep...I'm sleepy," he said with a yawn. He was off to snooze land.

(Right now...)

"Everything went well – lunch, our nap, the drive to the airport, the send-off," I told Driggs.

"So what's the problem?" he asked.

"His text message," I showed him the message on my phone.

Plane about to take off

Have to go

Bye

"There's nothing wrong with his text. It was what I felt after reading it. It's like he's saying goodbye for good", I couldn't explain it to Driggs.

***************

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.