Chapter Two- Her Complicated Life

Enzo POV

“Mom, just hold on, I will be right there,” sabi ko kay Mommy over the phone.

She’s awake already from how many hours of sleep. She has trouble in sleeping, actually insomnia and anxiety as one. Over the years, ganyan na siya since her first husband, my dad died and the worst when her best friend with her husband was brutally murdered.

Mabuti na lang Tito Francisco, my dad’s best friend was there to support us. He became his knight and shining armour and he married my mom para masaayos ang company sa kanyang pamamalakad. I was 14 back then, naïve and purely innocent about my family’s business. Actually, it’s a joint corporation between Tito Rafael, Tito Francisco and Dad. Kaya lang mas malaki ang share ni Daddy.

After ng kasal nila at ng nangyaring trahedya, my stepfather brought us to US para mapaggamot si Mommy. She became restless each day. Mas lumala ang kanyang depression at anxiety so Tito force us to leave the country to find special treatment and therapy for Mommy.

Titodad just visit us in the US once every month o kung may business transaction dito. I was then 15, dito ko na tinapos ang aking pag-aaral while Mommy was having her treatment. Luckily, I earned my college and master’s degree here with flying colors.

So, the rest is history, it’s 10 years ago but di ko naramdaman ang pagmamahal at kumpletong pamilya. Mommy has her private nurse to take care of her meds and needs. I need to be strong for her kaya minabuti ko na lang pagbutihin ang aking pag-aaral way back then. Kesa naman bigyan pa siya ng problema.

Titodad was too busy with our business. He has busy schedules ayon pa sa kanya. Kaya if I need something or needs to consult him about something, dinadaan ko na lang sa kanyang secretry. It was like that for 10 years. Nasanay na rin ako and that situation made me who I am now, independent and responsible.

Hindi ko na rin binalak pang bumalik pa sa Pilipinas. I made a name in the US, 5 years ago. I am a business tycoon now at the age of 25. Young and brilliant sabi nga ng aking mga foreign professors sa university. Isa akong well-known architect and my designs are distinct at patok na patok sa panlasa ng mga foreigners and even Filipinos.

I am at the top of my career and I put my heart and time on it. Every detail and at kahit mumunting kapintasan ay very hands on ako. I had no time for pleasure things such as woman. They are just waste of time. In the past ten years, I had never been to intimate relationships. Women came to me to taste the man of me at pinagbibigyan ko naman.

Oh, fuck!!! How come I can’t resist their charms, eh! Sila naman ang kusang lumalapit. I am just no saint, may pangangailangan din ako just like any virile bachelors out there. But, I never commit myself. Just one fuck, it’s okay! I don’t give a damn any woman can enter my mind and heart. There’s only one girl before that captures my whole being up to now. My sweet princess Eliza.

Iniisip ko pa lang siya ay iba na aking nararamdaman. I was just fifteen years old when I felt this kind of feeling for her. For Christ sake, she was just 10 back then. Her long shiny black hair and almond brown eyes, tila nangungusap. Ang mapula-pula niyang cheeks, tuwing inaasar ko siya. Her pinkish lips, so irresistible. Oh, how I miss my dear Eliza.

Pinaplano ko sana magtapat sa kanya on her 12th birthday but fate separate us apart. Though still young at that time, I know for sure our parents will both agree because they both knew na matagal ko nang gusto si Eliza. I never believe that Eliza was gone also with her parents. Wala naman nakitang patay na katawan niya.

After her parents’ burial, pinatigil na rin ni Daddy ang paghahanap sa kanya. I was so devastated at wasak na wasak to the point na gusto ko na rin magpakamatay. It was also that time na lumala ang kondisyon ni Mommy. So I endure the pain and stay strong for mommy, I had to agree with Titodad to fly to US for good and start a new life.

Natigil ako sa aking pagbabalik tanaw sa nakaraan when my phone vibrated. It’s Tita Ren, Mommy’s private nurse. I answered it, “Hello Tita, kumusta si Mommy, malapit na ako, pakisabi I’ll be right there.”

I get my car key and get out of my 30th storey office building. I get in my new model sports car at pinaharurot papunta kay Mommy. Sanay na sanay na ako sa mood swings ni Mommy kaya before going to her mansion dumaan muna ako sa flower shop to buy her favorite tulips. Yes, I built her own mansion, it is just a piece of amount sa mga kinita ko na. I gave all the luxury in the world. Aside from Eliza, my mom is my truest treasure. Hindi ko siya ipagpapalit sa ano pa man dito sa mundo, kaya binubusog ko siya ng marangyang buhay.

Just like what my real Dad do to her. She is truly really pampered and loved. Kaya when Dad died, she was really broken to pieces. I promise to myself, when I will have all the money and resources in this world, ako na naman ang gagawa ng lahat ng bagay na makapagsasaya sa kanya. Mommy was fooled by sweet words ni Titodad, mabuti lang sa umpisa.

Oh, bullshit with that old man. He was too sweet and clingy at the start of their marriage with mom. Pero nang maipadala na kami dito sa Amerika tila ba naging estranged husband na siya ky Mommy. Bihira na lang ang oras niya sa amin ni Mommy. He was never there with us physically and emotionally. And I don’t even feel his presence as my father kaya malayo ang loob ko sa kanya.

Nasa labas pa lang ako ng gate when I called Tita Ren again. Tita Ren answered the phone and I heard the outcry of my mom. She is hysterical again, as if shattered into pieces; my heart aches with her situation. Palagi na lang ganito every inaatake siya ng kanyang depression, she can’t help to burst into tears recalling the death of her beloved husband and best friend with her husband. Isang taon pa lang ang lumipas nang pumanaw si Daddy due to car accident ay sumunod din ang malagim na trahedya nangyari kay Tito Rafael at Tita Bessie, ang mga magulang ng aking kababatang si Eliza.

I hurriedly clicked the automatic button inside my car to open the gate. With high-end technology and architectural work na pinagsama ko. I designed Mommy’s grand steel gate with bluetooth connected to my car kaya no need for someone to open it. And it will also close by itself when I push another button in my car.

I parked at the port just near the lanay area and jumped out of my car. Kabababa ko pa lang ay sinalubong na agad ako ni Tita Celeste, mommy’s cousin. She was a former public officer in Manila na pinagresign ko to be with us ni Mommy. She was widowed for seven years and had no children kung kaya’t malungkot din sa buhay.

“Oh, hijo, mabuti at dumating ka na!”, bati sa akin ni Tita Celeste.

“Puntahan mo na ang iyong Mommy sa kanyang silid at kanina pa di matigil sa kakaiyak, may hinahanap eh, parang ikaw lang ang makapagpakalma sa kanya,” patuloy pa niya.

“Hello po Tita, salamat po,” At tuloy-tuloy akong pumasok sa silid ni Mommy. Talagang malaking pagkokonsola na naman ang gagawin ko nito para mapatahan si Mommy sa kaiiyak.

"Oh,heavens, please make me strong for mommy!", I plead in silence hoping to ease the burden inside me.