"Well, this is... this is weird." It was Richard's cousin's wife who spoke first and she glanced at Maine again, still looking completely floored.
"Yea..." Richard's cousin agreed.
The little girl looked at her daddy first and then leaned over to look at her mom before glancing at Maine and Richard again.
Finally, Richard's cousin sighed when the two of them seemed like they weren't planning on speaking anytime soon. "I'm Jay, or RJ," he said, pushing his hand towards Maine. "This is my wife Dei, and this is our daughter, Athena. Dei, sya yung isa sa mga pinsan kong sinasabi kong kamukha ko. His name is Richard too -"
"Yea, if that isn't already weird enough. Hi Richard."
"And this, I believe, is his fiancée-- Richard, talk. And stop ogling at Dei."
Richard shook his head a bit and cleared his throat. "Yea, meet my fiancée, Maine. Maine, meet my cousin and his wife and kid," he said distractedly. "Dude, this is some twilight zone shit."
"I know," Jay said, pulling a chair for Dei and sitting beside her with Athena on his lap. "Hi, Maine. I hope you're not too weirded out. Welcome to New York," he added, and he gave her a friendly smile.
"Hi po. And Hi... uhm, Dei," Maine greeted her doppelgänger.
"Hi Maine," Dei said, smiling at her uncertainly.
"Hi!" the little girl said again.
Maine glanced at her and smiled. "Hi, Athena," she said, touching her tiny hand. The little girl grinned and looked at her mommy again.
"I think the little princess is confused too," Dei said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so flustered but this is just too weird. Tama si Richard. Parang twilight zone lang. It's my first time to see someone who look almost exactly as me. I already know that Richard and Jay look like twins, but us... as far as I know, wala akong kakambal. Mas magkamukha pa tayo kesa sa ate ko eh," she continued with a small laugh.
"Oo nga, hindi kaya magkamag-anak tayo or something?" Maine asked.
The two guys just stared as their partners chatted, still completely amazed by the coincidence, while Athena played with the ring on Maine's finger. She seemed already drawn to her mommy's double.
"Ilang taon ka na, if you don't mind," asked Dei.
"I don't mind," Maine said, smiling. "I'm 27."
"I'm 29 so we definitely can't be twins. Naisip ko lang bigla na baka we're twins separated at birth but apparently that would be too impossible, given our age gap," Dei said, laughing. "Anong last name mo, Maine?"
"Mendoza..."
"Okay. That's just -- my last name is Mendoza too. Teka lang ha," Dei said touching her temple, now completely bewildered. "Saan ang province niyo?"
"Sa Bataan," Maine answered.
"Oh my gods! We could be relatives, Maine!" Dei exclaimed. "Babe, I need to call mom and dad about this. Ang cool!"
"Definitely. Yea, let's ask your parents tomorrow. Baka hindi niyo alam magpinsan din pala kayo. Anyway, have you guys ordered?" Jay asked, trying to ease the awkwardness.
"Hindi pa," Richard said. "Ano bang gusto mo dito, Panda?"
"Yung tinuro ko kanina, Mallows. Mukhang masarap yun eh."
Dei and Jay glanced at each other.
"What do you guys call each other?" Jay asked, trying hard not to smile, and Richard looked up from the menu at once. "Panda and Mallows?"
"Uy, ang cute kaya, napaka-unique," Dei said, pinching his arm. "Ikaw, mamimili na lang ng term of endearment natin yung napaka-common pa."
"Hey, I sent you a full list before pero babe din ang pinili mo," Jay countered. "I knew I should've called you pussycat."
"Tapos? Ano dapat tawag ko sayo?"
Jay leaned in and whispered something to Dei's ear and Dei's eyes widened. She blushed at once and slapped Jay's arm with her palm.
Maine glanced at Richard. "So may pinagmanahan ka ng kaharutan noh?" she murmured.
He chuckled. "It runs in the family," he whispered back.
"Teena haf Panda too," Athena suddenly said, looking at them.
"Ano daw?" Maine asked Richard.
"Tanungin mo," he answered.
"What is it, baby?" Maine asked her gently as Dei and Jay looked on.
"Yow Panda, Teena haf Panda too. Is in caw," Athena said again, looking at her with her bright eyes.
Dei giggled at Maine's confused expression. "Sabi nia, 'You're Panda, Athena has a Panda too. It's in the car'."
"Ahhh... ehe. Akala ko sinasabi niyang half Panda din sya."
"Parang ikaw?" Richard teased.
"Woi Marshmallow ha, wag mong simulan."
"So bakit Marshmallow? I'm curious," Jay asked, grinning.
"Yung ano nia kasi yung mpp---" her words were muffled as Richard clamped his hand on her mouth.
"Ano, favorite niya kasi yung Marshmallow," Richard said, while Maine struggled to get his hand off her face.
"That's not what she was about to say," Jay said with a smirk.
"Sige na kasi, Mallows. Cute naman eh," Maine said, laughing, when she was finally able to pull Richard's hand away.
"Subukan mo, mamaya ka sakin," he warned.
"Yungpisnginiakasiparangmarshmallow!" she said quickly before Richard could cover her mouth again.
"Babe, they're so cute," Dei said, laughing.
+++++
Their dinner turned out to be a nice and comfortable one once they'd gotten past the awkwardness. They had initially planned on booking a hotel, but the couple offered the guest room of their house instead. Dei said that that would be a better option since Richard would be very busy during the day and Maine might end up getting bored, all alone in the hotel room.
They both agreed, and they all drove to Dei and Jay's house right after dinner.
"Usually dinadala namin si Athena sa bahay nila mommy sa North Bellmore but this time, since you're here, we'll ask mom na lang to come over para may kasama si Maine dito. Mom is so excited to see you both," Jay told them as they walked into the house. "Nasa taas lahat ng rooms. The guest room is right beside ours tapos sa kabila naman yung nursery where Athena stays."
"She sleeps alone?" Maine asked.
"Yup, sanay sya," Dei answered. "She has a small cot she sleeps on and it's surrounded by her toys."
"Aww, you're such a brave girl, baby," Maine told Athena. The little girl was still clutching her hand. She couldn't seem to let go of her since they met at the restaurant.
"Come, Tita Panda, watch Fowzen wif Teena," Athena said, pulling her hand.
"Princess, Tita Panda's already tired. Let them rest first," Dei said.
"Hindi, okay lang, Dei. I'm not that tired. Let me play with Athena first."
"Are you sure? Medyo makulit yan," Dei told her.
"Yup okay lang, I can't let go of her din. Grabe sa pagka-cute," Maine said, lifting Athena from the floor and carrying her in her arms.
"Hayaan mo na babe, mukhang nagpa-practice na eh," Jay said, winking at Richard.
Dei laughed and elbowed him softly on the ribs. "Fine. Go set up the movie, babe, aayusin ko lang yung guest room."
She walked up the stairs to the second floor while Jay led Richard and Maine to the den. He found Athena's DVD right away and then played it.
"Relax muna kayo dito and I'm gonna prepare some night caps. Maya-maya tulog na din yan si Athena," Jay told them. "Are you gonna be okay here, bro?" he asked Richard.
"Yup, thanks bro!"
The opening credits for Athena's Frozen Sing Along DVD came up and the little one jumped up and down on the floor at once.
"Grabe yung excitement niya," Richard observed as he sat on the floor beside Maine."
"Oo nga," she replied, laughing. "But I bet she's already seen that a hundred times."
" 🎶DO YA WAMABIWASOWMAN," Athena started singing loudly along with the DVD. "COMOWENS GOWEN PWAY. I NEVEW SEEYOWEMIMOW, COMOWDADOW IS LIKE YUFGAWNOWAY!!! 🎶"
"Ang saya. Wala akong naintindihan," Richard said and Maine elbowed him hard.
"Just appreciate her voice. Ang ganda diba?" Maine said, looking at her fondly.
Richard smiled and touched her cheek. "Mahilig ka pala sa bata."
"Oo naman. At sino ba namang di mahuhumaling sa batang to, apaka-cute! Baka iuwi ko to ng Pilipinas!"
Richard laughed and scooted closer. "Wag na. Gawa na lang tayo ng satin..."
Maine shot him a flat glare.
"Pagkatapos ng kasal. Patapusin mo muna kasi ako," he said, laughing.
"Buti naman. As much as I want to, Mallows, baka talupan ka ng buhay ni Papa."
"Ikakasal naman na tayo."
"Alam mo naman yung concern ni papa diba?" she asked, looking at him.
He sighed. "I know. Pakasal na kasi tayo. May buyer naman na si Dave, pinafinalize na lang."
"Let's just wait for that to be finalized, Mallows. And then go na tayo... para hindi naman labag sa kalooban ni Papa. Gusto ko masaya lahat sa kasal natin. Alam kong botong boto si Papa sa'yo. Pero you know what he feels about us getting married with that amount of money he owes you still hanging over his head. Konting tiis na lang."
"Oo na po," Richard whispered.
"Thank you." She smiled at him and gave him a quick kiss on his lips. "Gusto ko ng baby na kasing cute ni Athena ha."
"Sus. Mas cute pa sa kanya."
She giggled and leaned against his chest, and they both continued to watch Athena's all out performance.
+++++
At half past 8 in the evening, Athena finally fell asleep and Maine accompanied Dei as she carried her to the nursery.
"Mahimbing na sya matulog ngayon," Dei said as she gently placed her on the cot. "Kahit anong ingay di na sya magigising until mga 6 or 7 AM. But when she was younger, she would wake up almost every hour to feed."
"E di puyat ka lagi?"
"Yup. One of the sacrifices of being a mom. But I won't have it any other way," Dei whispered, looking at Athena lovingly as she brushed some strands of hair off her forehead. "Ikaw, ready ka na ba sa ganitong responsibility? I've been told you're getting married soon."
"Yea... ready naman na. I think," Maine answered.
Dei laughed. "Well, just make sure lang na kung ano man ang maging desisyon mo, maging open ka lang lagi kay Richard. I made a mistake before, early on in our marriage, when I didn't tell Jay I actually didn't want a baby yet. We had a huge fight over that but I definitely learned from that mistake."
"Richard and I actually barely fight..."
"That's good. Just make sure that it's not only because you prefer to sweep your issues under the rug," Dei said, looking at her.
"No, it's nothing like that. Pinapag-usapan naman namin lahat. Sobrang mature lang talaga nitong si Mallows pagdating sa ganyan and he's able to handle me well, dahil ako yung medyo mas kailangan pang mag-mature."
"That's good then. Ganyan naman talaga dapat. Magtutulungan kayo to make your relationship work. Ako kasi may katigasan ng ulo before. It's a good thing that Jay never gave up on me."
"Ang perfect niyo ngang tignan eh. I can see how much you love each other. Yung mga titigan niyo parang mga bagong kasal lang," Maine said, giggling.
"Yea..." Dei said, staring at a space dreamily. "Well, I guess that's one other most important thing you should keep in mind. Just keep the flame and the passion burning, malayo ang mararating niyo."
"I'll keep that in mind," Maine said with a smile.
"Tara baba na tayo?"
"Sure."
All four of them lounged by the poolside behind Dei and Jay's home, chatting while having their night caps. Finally, at around 11, the couples decided to call it a night. Richard and Maine went to the guest room while Dei and Jay headed to their room next door.
"Grabe ang bait ng pinsan mo at ni Dei," Maine said as they settled on the bed."
"Yup, mas lalo pa pag nameet mo yung mom and dad ni Jay. Tita Rose is one of the nicest people I know. Madalas sila Jay sa bahay namin dati with Tita Rose nung hindi pa sila nagma-migrate eh. Close din kasi si Tita kay Tita El and mom,"
"Nakakatuwa nga eh. Parang lahat kayo, closely knit ang families niyo, kahit kayong magpipinsan."
"Yea... I guess that's one of the things I can be thankful for," he whispered. "Panda..."
"Hmmm?"
"Parang ang hirap pala pag dito tayo."
"Bakit naman?"
"E alam mo na, maingay ka eh."
"Excuse me?"
He laughed. "Wala, diet to for three weeks. Unless gusto mong lumipat tayo sa hotel?"
"Ayokong iwan si Athena," she said, frowning.
"Aba, attached ka na? Paano si Junjun?"
"Magdiet muna kamo. Tutal a few weeks ago gusto niya akong i-hu u for a month diba? Simulan na nya ngayon," she said with a smirk.
"Hindi ko kaya ang one month."
"Well ikaw ang nagsuggest," she said, turning to lie on her side, facing away from him.
"Hindi mo rin naman matitiis dib--" he paused when they heard a loud thud from the other room, followed by a series of suppressed laughter.
"Hala sya..." Maine said, looking at Richard.
"So ano, papatalo ba tayo?"
"Hala sya..."
~~~~~~
• homaygad. mga 2 chaps lang tong crossover na to ayoko na. haha! i hope the deijay readers here are enjoying it too. if you've read TJ you'd know how adventurous those two can be) 😂 •
• have a great day guys! •