Fleeting Moments

Chapter 07: Massage

"Wala akong pamusta," I replied. My dry response earned me a grin from him, which I haven't seen for three whole weeks.

"Sino kaya'ng kamukha niyan?" he asked, throwing a glance on my bump. He opened the car door for me and didn't leave the passenger side until I was already comfortable on my seat.

"Ayaw mo bang kamukha ko?" tanong ko pagkapasok niya sa sasakyan. The thought automatically made me frown, and maybe I'm extra sensitive because I used to not care about what people would say about how I look.

When we were in college, I was always against the idea of PDA. Walang nagawa si Ryo roon pero siyempre, minsan ay nakalilimot din ako. A few of our schoolmates had seen us together, but Ryo never said anything about it, respecting my decision to keep our relationship private. Hindi naman nakatakas sa akin ang ibang naghihinala na nagsabing bakit daw ako ang g-in-irlfriend kung maraming mas maganda. I wanted to fire back and tell them that it was Ryo who asked for my number first, who made the first move, and who was the desperate one to have me, but I kept it all to myself. I believed that those would only be a waste of my time and my energy.

"Magagalit ka na naman e," aniya, napakakamot sa batok. "Wala naman akong sinabing gano'n," pabulong-bulong niyang dagdag.

I ignored him. The ultrasound wouldn't show our baby's face, anyway.

Wala sa aming dalawa ang may gusto ng pa-thrill. So the idea of making Dra. Dael giving us something pink or blue to reveal the baby's gender, which they usually do per patients' requests, was already off the list. Parehas naming gustong marinig nang deretso iyon. Ryo was thinking of doing a gender reveal party for Tita though, because she's a fan of events.

I haven't told my parents about my pregnancy yet. I planned to call them anytime this week, since baka hindi ako makauwi sa bahay para sa Pasko at Bagong Taon. A part of me wanted to tell them about my pregnancy via video call, pero kinakabahan kasi ako sa magiging reaksiyon nila. Both of them would be so shocked.

Okay lang sana kung wala silang kayang gawin at hihintayin lang nila akong umuwi roon, pero iyong bigla silang susugod sa bahay nina Ryo? That would be a disaster. They're aware of our split up, though we never really talked about it because I preferred to bury that thing away. Kung pupunta si Tatay rito na may dalang bolo at ang bibig niya ay hindi titigil sa pananakot kay Ryo . . . hindi ko ma-imagine. Unang meet-the-parents iyon at mukhang magkakagalitan agad.

The ultrasound was pretty quick. The gel felt cold against my belly. Si Ryo ay nasa isang gilid at panay ang lakad. Iyong apat na tiles na nilalakaran niya ay puno na yata ng shoe prints dahil sa di-mapakaling kakapabalik-balik niya na para bang manganganak na ako. I couldn't even crane my neck to the monitor dahil nababahala ako sa kilos ni Ryo.

"Do you want to know? Right now na?" Dra. Dael's face crinkled in delight. My eyes widened a fraction as my heart swelled with anticipation. Ryo immediately stopped walking in circles. Agad siyang lumapit sa tabi ko. Both of us looked at the monitor, na wala naman kaming naiintindihan bukod sa alam naming anak namin ang naroon. The small blob of life inside me looked like it's starting to gain its form.

"It's a boy!" excited na sambit ng sonographer. Dra. Dael clapped her hands at ako naman ay parang nasa alapaap pa at hindi agad iyon naproseso.

When it finally sank in me that I had been carrying a baby boy who would probably be Ryo's mini version, a pang of excitement ran up my spine. I looked at Ryo to see his reaction. Para siyang na-estatwa sa puwesto niya at nanatiling nakapako ang tingin sa monitor. It took him a few more seconds before his muscles started to loosen up. Bahagya siyang napasubsob sa may tuktok ng ulo ko at narinig kong napatawa.

The mere sound of his light chuckles made me smile. Siya nga yata ang pinaglilihian ko. When he lifted his head, I noticed how glossy his eyes were. Saglit siyang umalis sa puwesto niya at tumingala.