Hi beshies, sorry for the kinda late update. Took my hubby to the hospital for an aspiration procedure on a cyst in his kidney. Would appreciate including him in your prayers :)
In this chapter, you will get a glimpse at the root cause of Maine's insecurity, and how Alden hopes to put a stop to it. Isn't it wonderful when we have people who serve as our defenders?
I remember one instance when my brother and I had an argument that almost ended in him hurting me. I was already married then, lived near my parents, and to avoid further drama, my mom asked me to go home.
When my husband opened the door to see me crying, he asked what happened and took me in. He left me and went to my parents' house to talk to them. I found out later that my hubby told my parents that if my brother laid as much as a finger on me, he apologized in advance to my parents that he would use force if he had to, to stop my brother. My parents understood, they were in fact glad that my hubby was protective of me.
Let us cherish our husbands and boyfriends, for they are our protectors at times when we need protecting, even from our families sometimes.
Enjoy reading my dears, hope you guys have a great weekend:)
Maine was looking at her laptop, deep in thought. She was staring at her laptop for quite a while when Alden passed by her cubicle to bring her food. He stole a kiss on her cheek and liked that she giggled when his nose nuzzled her under the ear.
"Buti naman tumawa ka. I bought you some ramen, galing kasi ako sa labas."
"Thanks baby, hindi pa nga ako nagla-lunch eh."
"Dami bang work?"
"Di naman, just thinking about.....stuff."
"Hmmm, something wrong?"
"So kuya kasi, uuwi for a reunion this weekend."
"Is that a problem?"
"He wants to meet you, Alden."
"Good. I want to meet him too. Same age kami diba?
"You're older than he is by one year, actually. Pero.....I don't know if you will hit it off."
"If you're worried about me, I'll behave, promise."
"Pwedeng.......if may alanganin siyang hirit about me, will you let it pass?"
"Ha? Teka lang..."
"See? That's what I'm afraid of eh. Please, baby. 'Yaan mo na siya, ayoko ng gulo."
"I will try my best to look the other way, ok? That's the best I can promise."
"Hay. Sige, I guess that's good enough."
"Eat your ramen, sweetie. It's piping hot. Parang ikaw."
"Landi mo talaga."
"Hot ka naman talaga eh. Lalo na pag hahawakan ko na yung---"
"Ssshhhh. Utang na loob Alden Richard Faulkerson."
-----
Alden parked his car outside Maine's house and took from his car a cake, a bottle of wine and an assortment of local spreads that he bought from his favorite Filipino deli. He wasn't sure what to expect from this meeting with her brother, but he wanted to make a good impression and made sure to dress properly.
Maine opened the gate and looked a bit nervous. She hugged him a trifle too tight, and he felt his heart tugged with protectiveness for her.
"You ok, baby?"
"Yeah, I don't know why I'm nervous."
"Don't worry, it'll be ok."
The walked inside, hand in hand. Niko was on the couch, talking to someone on the phone. He looked at Alden and seemed taken aback to see him. Alden draped an arm around Maine's neck, kissing her on top of her head. She looked up at him and smiled, then pulled him to meet her brother.
"Kuya, this is Alden. Alden, meet my Kuya Nico."
"Bro....."
"Hi Nico..."
They shook hands, sizing up each other. Nico was tall and slim, with bushy eyebrows,a straight nose and thin lips. He had an easy smile and broad shoulders, a casual manner about him. He was a software engineer based in Australia, about to get married in a few months.
They talked about scale models, since both were into assembly and collection of such. Nico was into aircraft while Alden was into cars. Maine was pleased to see them getting along, while she was setting the table for their dinner.
At the table, Nico noticed how attentive Alden was to Maine. He saw that Alden was so attuned to her, even reminding her to take her asthma maintenance meds.
"Grabe sa alaga, bro."
"Your sister is worth it Nico. Ang swerte ko naman sa kanya."
"Actually ako ang swerte sayo," Maine said, caressing his jaw.
The way they acted towards each other made Nico a little envious. Who would have thought that this little squirt of a sister, the proverbial ugly duckling, would find herself a guy who seemed genuinely in love with her.
"Mabuti naman at nakatagpo ka ng tulad ni Alden. Swerte mo, bukod sa mukhang mabait si Alden, guwapo pa. May chance ka na magkaroon ng babies na magaganda."
:Hay naku eto na naman po kami. Kuya don't start."
"Anong kuya don't start?"
Nico started laughing and warmed up to setting the mood for his bullying.
"Napakita na ba sayo ni Maine ang pictures niya nung bata pa? Wait, may photo album dito eh."
He pulled out an album from one of the cabinets and sat down beside Alden, not noticing that Alden was not amused. He scanned through the album and showed a photo.
"Heto bro, baby pa lang nakakatakot na siya. Ang layo niya sa kaatid pa naming isa, si Nicole."
"Ha? Ang cute kaya. Baby ka pa lang Maine maganda na mata mo."
"Eh tignan mo siya dito."
"What's wrong with it? She looks adorable. She has a wonderful smile."
"Kuya tigilan mo na nga yan."
"Last na, last na. Heto bro, mas guwapo kapatid ko dito kaysa sayo."
"See? May game kami nito eh, naalala mo yun Maine? Yung bright saka dim?"
"Kuya......tsk."
Alden was looking at Maine, observing her discomfort over her brother's jokes. As he was figuring a way to cut the joking, her brother went for the kill.
"Alam mo nung time na yan, patay na patay si Maine sa isang kabarkada ko. Eh pano naman siya papansinin, tignan mo nga siya? Mukhang nagbibinata hahahaha.......badingin ampota."
"That's enough."
He couldn't stand it anymore. He wondered if there was a reason for this cruelty, and he knew that there were wounds that cut deep through what seemed like harmless ribbing between siblings. Unsmiling, he looked at Nico with a steely gaze, challenging him to continue.
"Baby, bihis ka. Alis tayo."
"San tayo pupunta?"
He looked at her and smiled gently, kissing her on the forehead. He whispered to her.
"Sa bahay ka na matulog, miss kita eh."
As Maine went to her room to change, he took the photo album from Nico.
"Kung pwede, akin na lang ito. I want to keep Maine's photos, para kapag nagkaanak na kami, papakita ko sa mga anak namin kung gaano kaganda mommy nila nung bata pa."
"You're just saying that pero iiwan mo rin siya later on."
"Nico, you have a wonderful sister. Despite your bullying, she turned out to be sweet and loving. But she has low self-esteem and your bullying from way back until now is making it worse. But it has to stop, ok? Tama na. Please don't force me to intervene because ayokong magkagalit tayo."
Maine was finally dressed, she skipped happily to Alden's side. She was wearing a yellow spaghetti-strap dress, light make-up and her signature red lipstick. Alden whistled at her.
"Ganda naman."
She smiled at Nico and gave him her phone. "Kuya, kunan mo nga kami, please. Gusto ko palitan screen ng phone ko."
Wordlessly, Nico took their photo. He checked the photo he took and his breath caught. Indeed, he had a beautiful sister.
They walked away from him, Alden's hand on Maine's waist, stealing a kiss on her cheek. Maine laughed and pinched his middle, and for some reason, Nico felt pain in his chest.
He knew his little sister had a new hero, and he just wasted his chance all these years to be that to her.