Start of Anew
The sheets ruffled as Aga turned to greet his wife a 'good morning'. He reached for her side, slowly slid his hand on her waist, and rested his chin on her shoulders.
"Good morning." He whispered by her ear; sending bolts of lighting into her system.
"'Morning. How's your sleep?" She faced him, touching his face. Admiring what he owns.
His skin, so soft, it was like she was touching a baby. His nose, complimenting the other features he has. His lips, so red and plump. On itself, it's heaven's temptation to kiss it.
"Couldn't get any better." They drowned as they kept the sight within each eyes. Lea closed her eyes as she ceased the moment, turning her back and pushing her body closer to him.
"Hmm, since we're now officially together. Don't you think we should have a call sign?" Aga's raspy morning voice tickled Lea's senses, airing his words to her ears as she laid sideways while he elevated himself a little over her, supporting his head by leaning on his hand.
"That's for teenagers. We're too old for that, aren't we?" Her opinionated answer made her husband's face scrunch as she turned to look at him, their eyes met, their nose touched and what baffled Lea is when he gave her a peck.
"I still haven't brushed my mouth!" She covered her lips, moving further from him. "It doesn't even smell bad. I doubt you'd have a morning breath, love."
"No. No. No. Definitely not 'love', Aga!" She sat up straight, opposing with the first "suggestion" of his.
"Why not?" Asked by the man, demanding for answers. "Too cliché. Overrated. And I've known a lot of people who used that term to address their partner and most of them broke up! No! Not that!" He chuckled with her reaction, catching her waist. She seemed too pissed with it that she's starting to turn red.
"Hmm... so - that means babe, hon, sweetheart and baby are also crossed out from the list?" He went near her and placed his head over her shoulder. Lea rested on his chest as she nodded her head, indicating that it was a 'yes.'
"Any suggestion?" He followed. Lea's mind did tbe magic. Being against him, the man wasn't able to see the grin that grew on her face.
"Mhmm..." she hummed, containing her laughter. "What's it?" Aga responded. Lea shook her head, indeed,'Curiosity kills the cat.'
"PIM."
"Huh?" She stared at him and mouthed it again. "PIM."
"PIM. As in, P-I-M?" He clarified. Once again, Lea bop her head. "Is there any meaning behind it?"
"You guess..." Said by her as she waited for his answer. "I can't think of any." He admitted then proceeded to ask her what it meant. "So? What does it stand for?"
"Putangina Mo." The gigantic smile she had. Her innocent eyes and shinning face. Lea was enjoying what she's doing. She was enjoying life.
Aga wasn't drinking anything but he coughed; once, twice, thrice and frowned at his woman not until he saw her aura.
"That was a good one but... ehem. Lea... it's supposed to be sweet!" He complained. Lea rolled her eyes at him.
"Sweet. Sweet. That doesn't exist! We should be practical, instead of directly cussing at you in front of people, I'd rather do it discreetly." She mumbled and was about to stand up when Aga pulled her wrist.
"No, no. PIM it is if you want. But please, think of at least one more meaning."
"I actually do have already."
"I'm all ears."
"Pipiliin In Millions of doubts." Her accent was superior as she said the words. It made Aga cackle, but he did like how it sounded like.
"Hmm... it's good. Really does sound a Lea's original thought. Even our call sign is conyo." He received a slap on his shoulder as Lea rolled her eyes.
"Let's stand up, we need to send Elli to school pa." Before Lea could place her feet on the tiled floor, her waist was snatched and she was pinned on the bed.
She squealed as Aga topped her. "Let me go!"
"Let me cuddle with you for a minute and I will let you go." He then laid on top of her and rested his head on her chest.
"I love the sound of your heart beat, it's shouting something..." Lea was perplexed. "Shouting?"
"Yeah, it keeps saying, 'Aga! Aga! Aga!'" For once again, we received a sting of pain on his shoulder.
"Oh, come on. Let me go, PIM." With the sound of their endearment, sweetly passing through Lea's lovely mouth; Aga immediately folded, with his cheeks turning crimson red.
Lea who was already almost at the door turned her head to check on him since she hasn't heard any noice, only seeing him completely blank, holding both sides of his face.
"What happened to you?" His head raised as he shook his head violently. Lea just bit her lower lips, cackling a little; already knowing what happened to her dear husband.
"What the fuck, is this finally love?" Aga whispered to himself as he forced himself to stand up, not wanting to ruin the warm morning Friday.
Lea who was already downstairs was preparing breakfast. After confirming that Elli was already in the shower, she then proceeded to check the little girl's bag.
As she was doing the task, Lea couldn't help but hum. Something that caught nanang Selda's attention.
"Maganda ata umaga mo, 'nak? Iba ang aura mo ngayon?" Lea passed by the kitchen to get some water.
"I just got enough sleep po." A smile came upon saying the words.
"Ibang ngiti 'yan. May gusto ka bang sabihin sa'akin?" Nanang Selda, who had known Lea since she was a kid, kept questioning, knowing that she's not just happy because of adequate sleep.
"Aga and I..." she paused. "We've officialized it. It's not only for a dare po." She looked at nanang Selda's face, and what welcomed her was a smile bigger than any other smile she has ever seen.
"Masaya ako para sa'iyo, anak. Simula pa lang nang makita ko na si Aga, ramdam ko nang may kakaiba sakanya. At sa wakas, may nagpalambot na nga sa pusong bato ni Leayla Arwell." Nanang Selda teased as she reached for Lea's hands; sniffing.
"Oh, nanang, why are you crying?" Lea sympathetically questioned.
"Eh kasi naman! Dati, ang baby-baby mo pa. Tapos parang kailan lang noong umalis ka sa bahay nina mommy at daddy mo. Parang kailan lang din, kakasimula mo pa lang abutin ang mga pangarap mo, ngayon... may pamilya ka na. Hay!" Lea leaned her head on nanang Selda's wrinkled hand.
"Enjoy lang kayong mag-asawa ha? Hindi masama ang mag-file ng leave at magpahinga kasama sina Aga at Elli." The woman advised as she finally recovered from the burst of emotions.
"Ay, siya! Mag-aayos muna ako ng lunch ng bata. Sa susunod sana, dalwa na paghahandaan ko." The naughty tone on nanang Selda's voice left Lea baffled as she watched the woman cackle while walking away.
"Nanay! Nanay! Good morning po!" Then there comes Elli's energized voice that filled Lea's morning with joy.
"Good morning, too, sweety. How was your sleep?" Neither Lea nor Aga forgets to ask the little girl how was her sleep. It's been a routine for the both of them.
"Oh, it's good. For some reason po, I feel like it's been the best sleep I've ever had. I feel so complete right now." Lea's happy that Elli's a kind of kid who doesn't hesitate to tell her, or Aga, whatever she feels.
The little girl's very vocal about her thoughts and feelings. Which is a good thing because Lea doesn't need to act like a fortune teller to know how to deal with Elli's notions or perception; one thing she's not good at.
Reading other people.
Before Lea could reply, someone had already pulled her waist and placed a kiss on her lips.
"I love you." Were there words she immediately heard as they pulled.
"Ahhh! Mister! Why did you kiss my nanay? That's illegal! You didn't ask for her consent!" Elli fastly ran to Lea's side as she pushed Aga.
"Stay away! No kissing!" Her face frowned as she hugged Lea.
"Nanay, should I call the police? Is he harassing you?" Although close with Aga, Elli didn't hesitate to make an action she thinks is applicable to the situation.
"Oh, no, Elli. Calm down, I'm not harassing your nanay."
"I'm not talking to you po." Elli looked at Aga with her eyebrows meeting.
"Elli, that's not really nice, is it?" Lea followed the child's reply. She then proceeded to carry Elli, signalling Aga to follow, as they walked to the living room.
"Sweety, I know that this might seem like a surprise to you. The kiss, the 'I love you', holding of the waist. But it is normal for him and I, and no, he's not harassing nanay. What he did has been legalized by the law." Lea took a breath, preparing herself to reveal the news. Elli looked at them, waiting for someone to speak.
"We're married, Elli." The little girl remained quiet, trying to internalize the bomb Lea just dropped.
She asked herself a lot of questions:
'When did they get married?'
'Have they been married before I came here?'
'Why does he act like her guard if they are married?'
'If they weren't married before I came, why didn't I know about it?'
"Elli?" It was now the manly voice that gave her back the senses. "I- ugh. Ever since when po?" She tried her very best to be open.
"6 months ago." Elli immediately figured out that she was already in the story by that time.
"How come I didn't know po?" She followed, confused.
"It was a very simple wedding. Nobody but the two of us knows about it." Lea replied. She only received a nod which Lea didn't know if it was positive or negative.
"If you're married to mister po... and you're my nanay. What should I call him na po?" Elli kept throwing questions.
"Anything you prefer. Whatever you're comfortable with." Aga was now the one to clarify whatever it was blurred for Elli.
"I'll think about it po, but for the mean time, I'll still call you mister. It's a lot for me to take in po, I would have never thought that you two are a married couple." Elli's mind was still blown as she spoke. It was as if she's speaking random stuff.
"It takes steps. We'll help you with adjusting, Elli." Aga comforted as he took Lea's hand and they placed both of theirs over Elli's.
"Elliana Sovereign Galvez?" It rang a bell as the name was called. One woman's attention was called as she heard the owned addressing.
She roamed her head, seeing multiple students who were in line, sitting on the tiled gymnasium of the school.
"Elli? Are you present?" The child raised her hand. She was then gestured to come close.
"Yes, teacher?" It was not from afar as the child came, asking.
"Are your guardians coming? The event is about to start." The woman stared at the little girl's face as she was enunciating how unsure she is where her guardians are.
"Elli, you can't stay here without a guardian. We'll wait for 15 minutes, and if none arrives, I'm sorry but we have to send you home." The teacher was in empathy as she explained how it would work if there's no one to look after Elli.
The disappointed look on the little girl's face pained the woman. She didn't know why, but she felt sad with how hopeless Elli nodded.
"I understand teacher." The little girl forced a smile and excused herself, going back to the line.
Her friends came near her, talking to her. They tried assuaging her but it looked like as if there's nothing they can do, her day's already ruined.
"Excuse me, uhm... I can accompany her for the mean time? Just don't send her home." She didn't know why, but her feet took steps, and out of a sudden, she's volunteering to be someone's guardian.
"Oh, no, ma'am! That's going to be too much to ask. We're going to call her guardians, too." The teacher tried her best to respectively deny.
"No, it's okay. I don't like seeing children sad." She took a peak of the little girl and saw her walking towards a room.
A few minutes later, Elli came back with a backpack.
"Teacher, let's go na po. 5 minutes left, I don't think they'll arrive po." Elli politely excused herself as she tried not to cry.
"Hi!" The woman came greeting Elli. She signed the teacher that she got the situation which then affirmed the teacher as she proceeded with checking her list.
Elli remained quiet, not being familiar with the person who just approached her out of nowhere.
"I'm Ylena. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I heard that you still don't have a guardian? If you want, and if it's okay with you, I'll watch over you for the mean time. So that you don't have to go home. Maybe your parents just got stuck in the traffic?" Her voice sounded soft and comforting. For some reason, Elli felt comfortable with her. Which was something that seldom exist to Elli.
"So?" The woman asked for once more.
"It's fine with me po. But you might have some other things to do? I don't want to waste your time po." Elli wants assurance. She didn't want to be a reason why someone's not going to enjoy because of her.
"Oh! No! I'm just here because I need to be a representative. I'll just sit and watch anyway. I'd prefer to have a bright little lady to accompany me." She seemed nice, and she sends almost the same vibe as her nanay. So Elli just agreed, she didn't want to go home anyway.
After she placed her bag down, with the newly met person, Elli went back to her place in the line. Beside her was Ylena who wiped her face with a Louise Vuitton white handkerchief.
They were 30 minutes in the program, the woman excused herself since her phone rang. Elli was celebrating with her classmates about the first game which they've won.
"Congratulations, Luna! Also tita Ella!" She hugged her friend and shaked hands with Luna's mom.
"You should've played, Elli! Where's tita Lea, though?" Before Elli could reply, saying she's not going to arrive, the opposite happens as a soft hand touched her shoulders.
"Apologies for being late. There was an accident and we couldn't take the short cut because of the renovation." Lea spoke as she kneeled, facing Elli towards her.
"Are you ready, sweety? It's going to be our turn next." She wiped Elli's forehead and reached her hand backwards for the water.
"What's the next game po ba?" Lea was thankful that the child didn't hold grudge.
"Chinese garter." She winked as she fanned Elli.
"You're going to play Chinese garter, PIM?" Aga doubtfully questioned as he chuckled. Lea shook her head, he's in the mood to pester her again.
"I am. Little did you know, I was always the mother when I was a child." She stated a fun fact, facing him.
"You played Chinese garter when you were a kid? Whoa!" He surprisingly muttered.
"Watch and learn, dear hubby." She tapped his shoulders as she held Elli's hand and they walked towards the registration counter to get their wrist bands.
And as what she have said, Lea and Elli did win. Elli jumped up and down, raising her arms up in the air.
Lea casually untied her hair and put it in a bun, looking directly at her husband, mouthing, 'I told you.'
After few more games, some snacks and more prices. The foundation day has finally come to an end. It was such a memory to hold for Elli.
She has only dreamt of experiencing such occasion. Now that she has, she'll always treasure the moments she spent with Aga and Lea. And whoever the mystery woman is, which she hopes she'll meet again to thank her.
"You did great, PIM." Aga whispered to Lea as they watched Elli run towards the car.
"I know." She boastfully reply which inevitably received some laughter from Aga. Of course, she's always great.
"You're going to be a great mom." He said before opening the door for her and crossing to his side of the car.
Lea was hit. Is she really going to be? Has she ever been a good mom?
"Good job again, Elli!" He gave her high five, signing guns with both of his index and thumb, clicking his tongue.
"Thank you po!" Elli took a sip of her water again. Lea handed her her tablet, reached for her as she took off Elli's shoes.
Tiredness reigned, and Elli, within a matter of few minutes was already snoring. And so was Lea.
Aga smiled with the sight of them both. "I can't wait to have more little ones with you."
End.