Good morning my dears. Early update before I head for work. Thank you guys for reading up to this point, it's been great so far and I love how we all seem to get along:)
In every relationship, communication is always the key, but sometimes, words can fail you. When you love someone so much but can't seem to articulate what you want to say, a simple gesture is enough. A hug can convey what a thousand words cannot, and as I said in the past chapter, hug your parents whenever you can.
This chapter reiterates that. A heartfelt hug can erase pain, sadness and suffering. The sense of touch is really strong, use it to convey what words cannot say.
Have a great weekend, beshies :)
"Maine.....I see your rings, and if I'm not mistaken, Alden is your fiance, not just your boyfriend. Parang biglaan ata na engaged na kayo just like that. How long have you been together at engaged na kayo? Are you pregnant?"
Maine felt so embarrassed at her father's question. It showed how little faith he had in her, and she felt animosity from her dad. Maine's mom tried to lighten things a bit and interevened.
"Teddy, why don't we let them explain things to us? Let's not assume anything."
"She didn't go home last Christmas, Annie. Is he the reason why?" He turned to Maine and waited for her answer.
"Dad, I'm not pregnant. I already told you why I wasn't able to go home last Christmas. I ran out of flights. I was so busy with work, I forgot to book for a flight home."
"You could have at least gone home after Christmas to see us. Pero no, maybe because you were preoccupied with your boyfriend."
"Teddyyyyy......"
"Sir," Alden interrupted. "Maine holds a really important position in Phoenix Development. As a Marketing Manager, her work peaks during the last and first quarters of the year, and it was a tough for us last year but her programs successfully pulled up our sales performance. She's new to the company and had to work doubly hard. You should be proud of your daughter, she delivered. Saka with all due respect sir, if Maine couldn't make it here, pwede naman kayo ang dumalaw sa kanya diba?"
Her father was silent, Maine's hand searched Alden's and squeezed it with gratitude. Annie smiled at her daughter.
"Big shot na pala ang anak ko. And I'm happy for you both. Alam mo Alden, I have always worried about Maine living alone in Manila. But since you're in her life now, I'm glad. May nag-aalaga na sa anak ko."
"Mom, Dad.......Alden and I have been together for eight months now. I'm sorry if it seems like nagmamadali kami. I just see no point in prolonging our engagement when I know he's the one for me. His parents will be coming tomorrow from Singapore to meet you."
"Okay, let's just meet here also, more convenient for everybody. Do you agree Teddy?"
"Fine."
"Alden, Maine tell's me you're an architect daw....."
Dinner progressed a little more smoothly after that, thanks to Annie's graciousness. They were able to catch up and Maine's nervousness eased up a bit. After a while, Teddy rose from his chair.
"I'll just go out for some air." Alden stood up as well.
"I'll go with you sir."
The two men walked left, leaving mother and daughter to talk on their own.
"Ang guwapo ng mapapangasawa ng anak ko ha."
"Mom.........hindi ka ba galit sakin?"
"No......why, because you got engaged?"
"Yes. And also about Raymond. I'm sorry mom, I know dad lost a lot of money because of me."
"Maine..........you're my bunso. I always worry about you because among the three of you, you're the one who's different, for a while parang wala kang direction because you didn't know what you want. We set you up with Raymond just to make sure you'd be ok even if you don't pursue a career. We did not consider that Raymond might not be good for you."
"I was not flirting, mom. It was just a chance meeting with my batchmate, Stan. Ni hindi ko naman kabarkada man lang yun. Raymond yelled at me in front of him and dragged me to his car."
"We should have talked about this way back. I'm so sorry you had to carry the burden alone. Your dad can be stubborn at times, but he loves you."
"Galit pa rin po ba siya sakin?"
"No. Hindi naman siya galit sayo, he's just angry with the situation, and disappointed also with his friend. Forget about that, matagal na yan. Let's just talk about Alden. Tell me how you met....."
While mother and daughter were talking, the two men silently made their way out to the al fresco area. Seeing the place filled with people, they opted to just go to the hotel lobby. They sat down across each other and talked.
"Sir, I'm sorry if we surprised you about our engagement. If there's anyone to blame, it would be me. I was the one who proposed. I was so sure early on that I want to spend the rest of my life with your daughter. I am thankful she said yes. Sana po, you'll allow us to be together with your blessing. Our happiness will not be complete without your consent."
"Alden, I don't know if my daughter told you about a falling out between us that happened years ago. She was a happy-go-lucky person back then, and we never heard any concrete plans from her about her future. We tried to help her but the plan backfired, and I lost a good friend in the process."
"She told me about that po. She feels so guilty for that friendship you lost. She blames herself for it."
"Hindi naman niya kasalanan yun, I know that now. But during that time, I was so caught up in the contracts I would lose. A long-standing friendship went down the drain. Then by the time I already accepted everything............she left. Iniwan niya kami, and I hurt because my youngest thought it better to live alone than continue living with us."
"Sir........sana po you get the chance to show her everything is ok. Sana rin po you will give us this chance to be happy together. Alam ko, you don't know me and you probably dislike the order of things being done now with our relationship. I just hope I can convince you that your daughter is in good hands. I have a stable job and my own private practice. She does not know it yet, but I'm building a house for us. Mahal na mahal ko po ang anak niyo. I promise you, I will be a good husband to her."
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Alden and Teddy went back to their table and saw Maine and Annie discussing animatedly. As soon as Maine so them, her face changed and Teddy noticed it. It broke his heart that his daughter was so afraid of him, and it was his fault. He didn't know how to fix this, he was not very good at showing his feelings.
"It's getting late Annie. We should be leaving."
Alden asked for the bill and sat beside Maine. Despite the presence of her parents, he took her hand and kissed her on the temple, the action not lost on Teddy. Maybe Alden was right, he was good for his daughter. He saw the look of gratitude that Maine gave him, the seeming absolute trust. His daughter chose well, and the time for worrying about his youngest might be over.
"Dad.........are we ok?" Maine asked in a soft voice. Her face reminded him of that time Nico teased her, and she run to him crying, asking to be carried. She was already six years old them, but he carried her anyway, she was his baby girl.
"Halika nga dito bata ka," He said gruffly.
They both stood and hugged tightly, and words were no longer needed.