JUSTINI put my arm around her at pinatakan siya ng halik sa ulo. Little things make her happy. I don’t understand her parents. How can they disregard their daughter like she doesn’t matter? Making mistakes is a part of life. Her parents had a fair share too, and no one is perfect. Pero kung husgahan nila si Riz ay ganoon na lang. My wife is not only beautiful, but she has the kindest heart too.“I’ll have the IT set up your online shop. Is that okay?” I know she’s new in the business and she’s going to need all the help that she can get. Tumango si Riz. “And I will be your first customer. I will order a box for each employee to take home.”Nagulat si Riz. “Ang dami!” Tumawa ako. “Ang sabi mo, may limit ako kada araw? E, ang dami mong empleyado.”Oo nga pala. Nakalimutan ko ’yon. Mas excited pa yata ako sa kaniya kaya hindi ko naisip na siya nga lang pala ang magluluto.“Right, sorry. I got carried away.” Hinuli ko ang kamay niyang mangungurot sa akin. “How about twelve dozen? Ipalala

RIZI WAS eating breakfast when my phone beeped. It was a message from my mother. Nanghihingi na naman ito ng pera at mapapalayas na raw sila sa apartment. Noong una, naisip kong huwag mag-reply. Pero nagbago rin ang isip ko. I composed a message and apologized. I told her I have no money and whatever I have left is for my baby’s arrival.From: NanayUunahin mo pa talaga ’yan? Hindi ka pa naman manganganak! Pero kami, wala nang matitirhan! Ipinangutang ko na ang matrikula ng mga kapatid mo at ipinangako ko sa katapusan. Padalhan mo ako ng sampung libo sa a-30.Mahaba na ang lista namin sa tindahan ni Mameng. Hindi na kami pinautang kahapon at wala pa kaming pansaing ngayong gabi. Magkano ang pera mo diyan ngayon?Wala na uli trabaho ang t’yong mo. Nasisante at kinukursunada raw ng boss niya. Hay naku! Punyetang buhay talaga!Wala na akong ni-reply-an sa kaniyang mga mensahe. I wanted so badly to text her and asked why she won’t look for a job kung ganoon na kahirap ang sitwasyon nila

RIZHINDI ko masabi sa asawa ko ang pinag-usapan namin ni Dad. Tahimik kaming kumain ng tanghalian at kahit anong sabi ni Justin na hindi na siya babalik sa office pagkatapos naming kumain ay pinilit ko siya. Gusto kong mapag-isa. We can always talk about it later tonight if he wanted to.I took a shower to make me feel better. I even wore pajamas to make myself comfortable. I felt tired so I thought the best thing to do is sleep it off. Wala na akong magagawa sa desisyon ni Dad kung hindi ang umasang balang-araw, matatanggap niya rin ang pinili kong buhay. Pero mailap ang antok at kahit anong pikit ko ay hindi ako makatulog. Iyon bang pagod na pagod na ang isip at puso mo ay hindi ka pa rin patutulugin?Nagpaantok ako habang nanonood ng TV. At parang napapanahon, tungkol sa isang anak na produkto ng isang broken family ang palabas. Parang ako lang, except the mother loves her daughter very much and would do anything to give her the life she deserved. Malayong-malayo sa aking ina.Nan

RIZWE had fun in Palawan kahit pa ilang araw lang ang inilagi namin doon. Mas higit ako dahil nasolo ko ang aking asawa. Honestly, I was expecting he would still be working from time to time, pero hindi. Talagang ibinigay niya lahat ng oras niya sa amin ni Baby.Wala kaming ginawang extreme dahil na rin sa kalagayan ko, but we’re content just being around each other. Naging routine namin ang maglakad tuwing umaga at hapon. And since the villa that he rented allowed cooking, we prepared our meals with mostly fresh seafood. Biniro niya pa ako sa talaba. Aphrodisiac daw ’yon at sa isang tao na healthy ang sex life, alam na nila kaagad kung ano ang tinutukoy niya. I grinned at him and said I don’t need it to fire me up. Needless to say, we had a quickie in the kitchen at kinailangan naming initin ang pagkain na lumamig na dahil nag-shower pa kami pagkatapos.And now we are back to the real world ilang araw na rin ang nakararaan. Mas tahimik ang buhay ko ngayon. My parents couldn’t bother

JUSTINNEEDLESS to say, my wife looked shock. Alam niya ang tungkol sa pagpapakasal ni Nanay kay Papa at legal na pag-ampon sa akin, but this part of my life is something I’ve never shared with her.Nagmano siya kay Dad at nagpakilala. Now we’re in the middle of dinner at nagtatawanan silang dalawa. Hindi na ako nagtataka na nagkasundo sila. My father has always been charming. Sabi nga ni Nanay, iba ang charm ng politiko and at the time, he wasn’t a senator yet. She knew he was going places and will make a difference in the people’s lives.“So, are you planning to get married again?” tanong ni Dad kay Riz.Uminom ng tubig ang asawa ko at ngumiti. “We haven’t really talked about the details, but maybe after the baby is born?” Tumingin siya sa akin. We do talk about it sometimes before going to sleep at night but there’s a lot going on at the moment so we haven’t really sat down and discuss it further.“I think it’s a good idea if you do it after the baby is born. You’ll have plenty of