Project LOKI ③

Chapter 48: Honor Thy Father III (A + B)

We prefer to chat most of the time. Wala naman kaming seryosong pinag-uusapan sa group chat. Laging kumustahan, puro good morning o good evening. Sharing ng kung ano ang ginagawa namin. Payabangan ng ulam at merienda. Mostly si Jamie ang may pasimuno noon. Nakikisakay naman kaming dalawa ni Alistair. Loki wouldn't bother checking it. Even if he did, nagsi-seen lang siya.

"How's your trip with Sir Rivera?" tanong ni Alistair. Hindi na siya nagpaligoy-ligoy pa. Nakasuot siya ng shirt at nasa background niya ang landscape sa labas ng kanyang condo unit. Hindi ko naiwasang maalala ang offer sa akin ni papa na lumipat doon.

"Tingnan mo 'tong si Al! Mas excited pa sa akin sa chika ni Lori," singit ni Jamie noong akmang sasagot na ako. "Sabagay, 'yon naman ang reason kung bakit tayo nag-uusap-usap ngayon. Teka lang, ha? I-screenshot ko muna 'to tapos i-post ko sa social media accounts ko. Uhm... Lori? Pwede bang layo ka nang kaunti kay Loki dear?"

"Pero mawawala na ako sa frame."

"Okay lang 'yan!" She gave me a thumbs up. "Baka isipin ng mga fan ko na nagli-live-in kayong dalawa kasi pareho kayong nakapambahay tapos magka-share kayo sa iisang frame. We don't want those rumors going around, right? Hay, naku! Nakakainggit ka, Lori. Sana ako na lang ang nasa puwesto mo."

I moved a few inches to my right para medyo lumayo ako kay Loki. Nagbilang ng hanggang three si Jamie bago siya may pinindot. I froze with an awkward smile, waiting if it's okay to move again. Tapos na ba? Pwede na ba?

"'Yan, okay na!" sabi niya. Napa-relax na ang mga muscle ko sa bibig. "Now back to the chika. Kumusta ang father-daughter bonding n'yo kanina? Did he finally say the magic words 'Lorelei, I am your father' in a deep voice?"

"Nothing's confirmed yet—"

Jamie groaned. Napakamot pa siya ng ulo sa inis. Kaagad din siyang umayos ng upo nang mapagtantong nanonood sa kanya si Loki. "Poise, Jamie, poise! Ehem! Bale wala siyang inamin sa 'yo? Hay, nag-expect pa naman ako na may shocking revelation kang ibabalita sa amin."

She's treating this issue like a showbiz item, which would have offended me since this is a serious matter to my being. Pero hinayaan ko na lang siya. Jamie's being Jamie. What else should I expect from her?

Gusto ko ring malibang ngayon matapos kong malaman na naospital pala ang papa ko last week. Napapaisip ako kung bakit hindi niya sinabi sa akin o kung bakit biglang nagbago ang pakikitungo niya.

Anyway, I don't want to think too much about it at the moment.

"I did confirm a few things from him," I began, clearing my throat. Jamie leaned forward while Alistair reclined in his seat. "First, he admitted that he's the writer of The Serenade of the Siren. I thought he'd be lying, but he didn't. Hindi na niya ako pinahirapan pa. He confirmed what we already knew."

"The anagram is already a dead giveaway," Loki commented. "He's a fool if he thinks he could find his way out of that one. He must not dare to underestimate a member of the QED Club."

Well, he deserves all the credit. Siya ang unang nakapansin na anagram ni Sir Rich ang pangalang Dr. Harvice I. Ferri. I only relayed his suspicions to the person and had it confirmed.

"Next, he sounded like he didn't know that my mom died already," I went on, looking down. "Maingat siya sa pagsasalita niya. I thought his tongue would slip and give me an obvious hint that we might be right about him."

"That's not surprising," Alistair said. "He's a writer after all. He has a way with words. He'd be weighing everything that comes out of his mouth."

"He could be pretending not to know about my mom," I agreed. That's totally understandable especially if he doesn't want to drop the act yet. "Third, the publishing deal is legit. Ipinakilala niya ako sa editor-in-chief ng BEYOND Publishing. The man's name is Johannes Gutierrez."