Let Me See (Let Me Series)

Chapter 3

By 5:30 pm, tadtad na ng texts at missed calls yung cellphone ko. All of them were from my mom. Hinahanap na ako. Bakit daw hindi ako makita ng driver ko, nasaan ako, sino ang kasama ko, at marami pang sermon na pwedeng mag-last for more than 2 hours kung personal niyang sasabihin sa akin. William was already driving para maihatid ako sa amin but he insisted na dumaan muna sa isang cake shop para raw may dala naman siya kahit papaano kapag nagpakilala siya sa parents ko. I told him it wasn't necessary kaso ayaw naman niyang magpatalo so I just let him be.

Noong papasok na kami sa subdivision where I live, para akong kinabahan bigla. I was so sure that my mom would throw a fit kapag nalaman niyang nag-cut na nga ako ng classes tapos biglang pag-uwi ko, may boyfriend na ako at sa condo pa nito ako nanggaling. She would say na hindi ganito ang attitude ng matinong babae and all I could do is to shut up and makinig sa sermon niya.

"Hey, it will be okay. I promise." William reassured me as he held my left hand with his right hand. He even gave it a little squeeze para kumalma ako but it did not help at all. Grabe pa rin yung kaba sa puso ko.

When we reached the gate of our house, bumusina si William at lumabas yung guard namin to check kung sino ang nasa kotse. William opened the window on my side para makasilip ako roon. Noong nakita ako ni Kuya Kiko, tumakbo na siya para mapagbuksan kami ng gate.

William parked directly in front of our main door. If we were in normal circumstances, malamang ay nadagukan ko na siya dahil sa lakas ng loob niya. Only my dad parks in front of our main door but usually, one of our drivers moves the car to the garage pa rin afterwards. But now, wala namang maglilipat ng sasakyan nitong si William. My god. Ewan ko na rin talaga sa takbo ng utak nitong lalaking 'to.

"Aisleen, relax." William said and he pinched me on my left cheek before he got out of the car para mapagbuksan din ako ng pinto. Inalalayan niya akong makalabas then he got the cake from the back seat. After locking the car, he immediately held my hand then we entered my house already.

"Where on earth have you been? Bakit hindi ka nagpapaalam ha? Do you know how many times I've called you? My god, Aisleen! Kailan ka pa natutong sumuway sa akin ha?" Dire-diretsong litanya ni Mommy habang palabas siya mula sa dining area. But when she saw William beside me, bigla siyang tumigil and her facial expressions changed in an instant.

"Pinag-alala mo kami ng daddy mo. You could have texted me na gagabihin ka. And who's this young guy beside you?" If I could describe how my mom looks right now, the perfect word for it would be plastic. Her smile screams plasticity. For sure, she is racking her brain right now to remember if she has met William somewhere before. If not, sa malamang ay palalayasin niya na agad 'to.

"Wait, hijo. You're the son of Emil Tiongson, right?"

"Yes po, Tita. I'm glad you still remember me po." William answered at binigyan niya ng tipid na ngiti si Mommy. When my mom confirmed her hunch, tuluyan na siyang lumapit sa amin.

"Tita, this is for you po pala." William said as he raised the cake box from his hand. Agad namang inutusan ni Mommy si Manang Elsie na kunin iyon mula kay William.

"I'm sorry for not informing you that I was with Aisleen the whole afternoon and for coming here unannounced." Mom waved her hands like it was no big deal. Para pa ngang tuwang tuwa pa siya noong sinabi ni William na kami ang magkasama buong maghapon.

"No worries, hijo. I know your parents very well and I'm sure that you won't do anything to harm my unica hija. But what brings you here though? I didn't know you were close to Aisleen." Tanong ni Mommy. At that moment, grabe na yung kaba ko. I didn't know if anong klaseng introduction ba ang gagawin nitong si William. My mom would probably flip kapag nagpakilala 'tong si William bilang boyfriend ko. If it's the good or bad kind, I'm not so sure.