IT WAS just a usual day for Kelly. Shopping for new clothes, watching videos in YouTube, and trying to be a frustrated baker.
She's been spending hours making a blueberry lemon cake. Ever since her mother bought that cake, she's been craving for it. Gusto niyang siya ang gumawa kaso naalala niyang 72 nga pala ang grade niya sa cookery specialization nila noon ng junior high.
"Ma'am, gusto niyo po bang si Mila na lang gumawa?"
She glanced at the maid who's looking at her with hesitant. Mukhang takot pa yata siyang lapitan.
"Who's Mila?" she asked. It's not that she knows everyone in their private residence.
"Ah, " medyo nahiya pa ang babae. "S-Si Mila po, bagong tagaluto lang po ni Mommy niyo. G-Graduate po siya ng culinary at pastry po ang-
"Alright alright, where is that Mila? " pagputol niya. It's not that she's asking too much details right?
Napayuko naman ito. "S-Sige po ma'am, tawagin ko. "
Kelly was a little bit guilty for treating the girl rudely. But she shrugged her off. She doesn't do anything much than to cut off the maid's words. She didn't hurt the girl in any physical way so it's fine.
Right?
But her inner kindness was surfacing. Umiling-iling siya dahil doon. Does she have to apologize? She doesn't know though.
Minutes passed by before the maid, who she doesn't know the name, and the girl who's obviously is Mila went inside the kitchen. Kelly was expecting a fresh 20 image of a girl but in her shock, it was a woman in 50's. Nang sinabi ng kasambahay na bago pa lang, pumasok agad sa isip niya na bagong graduate.
"Magandang hapon po, ma'am. Ano pong maitutulong ko?" bati nito sa kan'ya nang nakangiti.
Embarrassed by her judgements earlier, she smiled back. It's not a wide smile. But still..
"You know blueberry lemon cake? Teach me how to do that-
Napatigil siya dahil napagtantong masyadong demanding ang pagkakasabi niya.
"I-I mean, If you know, please teach me how to bake it, " umiwas siya ng tingin, ".. po, " dugtong niya na agad niyang pinagsisihan. Nakakahiya!
The two woman was shocked. Pero agad ring nakabawi at tumungo sa cabinet para kumuha ng bagong ingredients dahil sinira na nga niya ang una.
Kelly was still embarrassed but she remained a calm and steady face.
She was silent all the process. Nakikinig naman siya ngunit hindi tulad noon ay tahimik niya lang sinusunod ang mga sinasabi nito. She enjoyed the mini baking class that when the cake batter was put in the oven, she patiently waited for it like a kid.
"Ang sabi ng Mommy mo ay may pagkamaldita ka raw. Sa tingin ko naman ay tahimik ka lang na bata pero mabait naman. "
Napaubo siya. Ganoon din ang kasambahay na nagpakilalang Dana kanina. Nagtaka pa nga siya kung bakit nito tinawag na Mila lang ang tagaluto gayong halos doble ang tanda nito kay Dana. Ang sagot naman nito, iyon daw ang gusto ni Mila. Kaya't iyon na lang din ang gamit niya.
But going back to what Mila said, ano daw? Mabait?
She's not! Tatlong kasambahay na nga ang napaiyak niya noon!
"I'm not. And I'm just giving my attention to the baking that I became silent, " she reasoned out.
Okay, there's nothing wrong with Mila said. It was actually a compliment. But it's embarrassing when someone is pointing that out. E hindi nga talaga siya mabait.
"Kung gan'yan po ang opinyon niyo ma'am. Sinasabi ko lang po ang nakikita ko. "
It's annoying in some sense. Naiinis siya dahil hindi siya makasagot. It was very unusual for her to do that. Before, if she have something in her mind that she wants to say, she will say it. Age or people around can't bother her.
Bumabait na ba siya? Hindi yata bagay?
Ngumuso na lang siya at tulala lang na hinihintay na tumunog ang oven. She was like a pregnant woman craving for food. But she's knows that it's impossible to happen.
She was eating the blueberries that will be put on the top of cake later when the main door opened, revealing her nieces and nephew with Manang Ilya, the kids' nanny.
"Tita Mommy!" Liara, the eldest went to her running.
She felt happy all of the sudden. She really likes being with her pamangkins. They are the most purest person in the world.
"Ako na lang po tatapos, ma'am, " biglang saad ni Mila.
"Alright, pakidala na lang din Dana sa sala kapag tapos na. "
Tumango ang dalawa.
There's a word in her tounge but she can't seem to said it. But when she saw Liara coming near her, she shyly glanced at the two. Oo, nahihiya rin naman siya.
"T-Thank you. Kain din kayo kapag natapos na. "
Nagulat ang dalawa at hindi na niya tiningnan ang mga reaksyon nito at sinalubong na lang si Liara.
"I missed you, Tita!" Liara tiptoed and hugged her. Napangiti naman siya at niyakap ito pabalik.
"I missed you too, Liara. You're growing too fast. I'm worried that the clothes I bought for you won't fit. "
"I'm sleeping early po Tita, that's why. I wanted to be a model like you! Daddy said it's okay!"
Liara was so adorable that she wanted to carry Liara but she can't now. Liara's not a baby anymore. She can't carry her.
She glanced at Lexi and Lexus, the twins, who's playing with Cheese, her mom's golden retriever.
"Won't you hug your Tita, Lexi?" she pouted.
Tumingin naman ang bata sa kan'ya at hinalikan siya sa pisngi.
"You missed Tita?" she asked and Lexi giggled.
"Yes po, Tita. But I see you po everyday in phone. I missed my Daddy more. " Umakto naman siyang nagtatampo.
"You see your Daddy everyday in person. And you just see me in phone. And you missed him more?"
She chuckled when Lexi kissed her cheeks one more time.
"Daddy's busy Tita so I missed him always. But I missed you rin po. "
She let out a laugh. Kids are really healing.
"What about our Kuya Lexus?"
The boy glanced at her with a little smile. "I'm happy you're home po, Tita, " he only answered then kissed her cheeks too. Bumalik rin agad ito kay Cheese.
"Is Kuya still on work, Manang?" tanong niya kay Manang Ilya.
Tumango ito. "Magoovertime yata ngayon para matapos ang trabaho. Noche Buena na bukas at request ng mga bata na 'wag na pumasok. "
It's understandable.
When the snacks arrived and her long awaited blueberry lemon cake, the twins went to their room in the house to change clothes. Liara was sitting beside her while looking at the phone.
"How's your studies, Liara?" she asked.
Binaba nito ang cellphone. "I'm doing good, Tita. I played guitar in our Christmas Party last week. "
Kelly was proud because of that. She knows that the kids would have a bright future ahead.
"Your Mama? Is she okay?"
She met Almira before, Liara's biological mom. Almira's pretty kind and soft-spoken. She clearly understands why her brother, Vincent, chooses Almira until his last breath.
It was sad that Kuya Vincent left Almira and Liara early. That's why Kuya Logan adopted Liara when Almira was abroad because of some situations.
"Mama said she's fine. She's still getting her treatment po. "
Hindi na niya inusisa ang bata dahil doon. She's also guilty for opening it up. She just change the topic and asked Liara for the Christmas gifts.
"I want a camera po, Tita. I wanted to try photography since my classmates said that I'm good at taking pictures. I didn't tell it to Daddy because he seems busy po these days. "
Busy, ew. Now that Eli's back, her brother must be miserable because of that. Speaking of Eli, does the kids know? Looks like not.
"Alright, I'll buy you one. But promise me that you'll still do good in school, okay?"
Ngumiti naman ito ng malawak. "I promise, Tita Mommy!"
CHRISTMAS MORNING became very exhausting for her. Her brother's mess are pissing her off. Anyway, she doesn't want to talk about that.
But because she's naturally nosy, here she is, talking to Liara to get some information.
"So you're mommy is there? I mean.. Eli?" Kelly double checked.
Liara giggled in the other line. "Yes, Tita! It's my Mommy Eli! So you don't have to give me gifts Tita! I'm fine po. Daddy gave us last night, a gift from mommy!"
Napasapo na lang siya noo. Eventhough Eli is not really her cup of tea, she doesn't have a choice but to accept things for the kids.
"Alright, but I'll still give the camera you want, okay?" Kelly chuckled when Liara responded with a yawn. "I'll hang up now, you should rest. "
When the call ended, she immediately opened her instagram app and search Lily's account, Eli's so-called bestfriend.
And hey, she's not a stalker! She's just there to check some things!
Since Lily is popular, she can already see Lily's profile in top accounts. She rolled her eyes when she saw Lily's million followers.
It's fine, Kelly. You got a lot more. It's okay, don't be jealous.
She's really competitive.
But she's not usually sulking because of jealousy before. Maybe because it's Lily, the one she had to compete with not of achievements, but with contentment.
Lily and Eli, her ex best friends, needs to see that she's happy in her life right now. Because if they will see her living miserable and with no direction in life, she will definitely lose.
Going back to Lily's ig account, she just shrugged and went to Lily's recent posts.
Mas lalo lang siyang napairap nang makita ang bago nitong post. It was a three pictures. Two of Lily's and the last picture is definitely Lily and Eli. Eventhough it was blurred, maybe for Eli's privacy, she can still 100 percent say who it is.
She read the caption.
A friend is one who walks in when others walk out. Finally! Catching up with my best friend after a long time not having a coffee together! Definitely the warmest day before this year ends!
Ediwow.
Wala na siyang masabi.
Nainis na lang siya at ibinulsa ang cell phone bago kumuha ng cap sa lagayan. She needs a cold drink! Probably a milktea than can sweetened her day at least.
She entered a shop and ordered her desired flavor. She really ordered the large cup. It's cheat day. It's okay to gain some fats.
She parked her car just near a pastry shop to savour her milktea. She opened her stereo and get along with Yellow by Coldplay.
A grandma passed by just infront of her car. Looks like the grandma is trying to cross the highway. Iniwas na lang niya ang tingin doon at sumimsim sa milktea niya.
Still, in her peripheral vision, she can see the grandma struggling in walking.
Kelly groaned in annoyance and place her drink to her sit and opened the car door. She walked through the grandma's position and when it attempted to cross the high way with busy cars again, Kelly immediately held the grandma's shoulder. The grandma looked at her but she just focused on accompanying the old woman to the other side of the lane.
"Salamat, hija. Napakabait mong bata, " pasasalamat nito.
Gusto man niyang ngumiwi dahil hindi nga siya mabait pero tipid niya lang ito nginitian.
"Mag-iingat po kayo, " tanging sambit niya.
When she get back to her car, she sighed. Here she goes again. How many times do I have to tell to myself not to feel sympathy to every person I just met?
Remember that some can just take advantage of it.
She remembered before, she trust this certain woman a lot. Alona, the one she used to call as friend when she first went to States to study and master her modeling career. Kelly has a lot of things in her mind that time. Sometimes, she regret leaving everything for her career. Her mind was always clouded of what ifs. And when Alona approached her one day, she felt grateful. Atleast, she has a friend to talk to.
But that's all Alona's shell. Alona were just using her all along. Naawa siya nang bigla itong mag-iiyak sa harapan niya, saying that their family is facing a big struggle financially. May sakit daw ang nanay nito at ang tatay nito ay pinipilit itong huwag nang ipagpatuloy ang pag-aaral.
And because she valued education the most, Kelly talked to her parents. And so, they financially supported Alona's needs in university for a whole damn year.
Kung hindi pa niya malalaman na wala namang naging sakit ang ina nito, baka hanggang sa paghahanap ng trabaho ay siya pa ang gagawa ng paraan.
Kelly cut ties with Alona after that. She promised to herself not to trust everyone. She tried living as a callous woman over the years. But seems like she can't even control herself.
Bad mood siya. Dumagdag pa ang hile-hilerang billboard ni Caleb sa tuwing lilinga siya sa daanan.
Speaking of that guy, why did he sent her a gift early this morning?
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To understand more of KellyxLilyxEli connection, you can read His Unwanted Wife first. It's completed in my timeline. But this is a different story, so you can continue reading this without reading HUW.