He immediately grabbed her by the arm and dragged her towards their bedroom.

“Are you out of your freaking mind?” fumed Enric. “Why did you have to bring him here?”

“Honey, his mother left him...”

“So what? You just don’t go around and picking up other people’s kids. He’s not a puppy that you can easily make a home for!”

“Enric, he’s all alone out there. You yourself said that Tondo is a harsh environment to live in, what if something happens to him there?”

“But he has lived there all his life. He is used to it...” Enric said lividly. “You can’t just uproot anybody from his surroundings and not expect any ramifications...you’re a bloody psychiatrist, you should know that...”

“What If something happens to him there? I can’t live with myself if that happens...”

“He is not your responsibility!!!”

“But he is now!”

“You have three other kids, don’t you think it’s enough responsibility? You can barely take care of them...now you decide to add another one...”

“But this is just temporary set-up, honey...” Agot said.

“Until when?” he answered sarcastically. “Until he has milked out every penny he can get from you?”

“Is this about money? Are you afraid that he will steal from us?”

“Don’t be naive, Arlene...”

“Enric...he’s just a kid...” defended Agot.

Enrico sneered at her silently. He walks over to the window and looks pensively into the dark horizon.

“Honey, let’s give him a chance....” Agot said softly.

“The moment I see him doing something wrong,” warned Enric. “I’ll be the first one to kick him out, understood?”

“Okay...but I know it won’t happen because Gerald is a good kid...”

“God forbid if he influences any of our kids with his squatter attitude...I will have his neck...”

Agot seethed at him. “Enric, hindi ko alam matapobre ka rin pala...”

“Matagal na...” Enric answered. “Basta pagdating sa mga anak natin, magiging matapobre ako pag kinakailangan...”

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Back in Tagaytay, the foursome had just finished their dinner of hamburger and softdrinks. After which, they all lounged in the comfortable couch, watching a horror movie on DVD.

“I’m tired...” complained Pauline. “I think I want to go to bed...”

“Sige, mare...” Kim said. “Ako rin...”

Kim made her motions to head back to their room when Aki pulled her back. “Babe naman...mamaya na...”

“Oo nga, mare...” said Pauline, giving Kim a knowing look.

“Why don’t you guys stay here while Pauline and I head off for sleep...”suggested Jim.

Jim winked at Pauline and she seemed to have understood his drift.

“Kimmy...keep Aki company for a little bit, okay?” Pauline proposed.

“O sige...we’ll just finish this movie...” Kim decided. “After that, I’ll go to sleep na rin...”

“Alright...” Pauline said as she dragged Jim to her room.

“Sandali!” Kim called out to Pauline. “Saan kayo pupunta? Kwarto natin yan, Pauline. Akala ko magkatabi tayong matulog?”

Pauline only responded with a well-meaning laugh as she led Jim inside the room. Kim was left confused and dazed.

“Paano na ngayon yan, saan ako matutulog?”

“Sa tabi ko...” insinuated Aki.

Kim slapped him on the arm, “Aki ha? I don’t like jokes like that...”

Aki grabbed hold of Kim’s arm. Kim shuddered at the intrusion.

“Aki...let me go!”

“Kim...you’re so nervous...what’s wrong?”

“I don’t like where this is going...” muttered Kim.

“Honey,” responded Aki. “That’s why we’re here...you need to relax...”

Aki began massaging Kim’s shoulders. Kim tried to focus her attention to the movie but Aki decided he’d induce more intimacy.

Aki lowered his head and kissed a part of Kim’s neck.

“Aki, ano ba...” complained Kim.

“Honey...you need to relax...you’re really tense...”

Kim’s heart pounded. She knew exceptionally well what Aki wanted to happen.

She was more of battling with herself if she will allow him to continue further. She couldn’t understand herself. She was anxious yet excited. Her mind screamed NO but her heart felt differently. Does this mean she was ready to give herself away? Kim was terribly confused.

Aki, seeing some resistance fade away from Kim, d her wantonly. He pinned her down on the sofa and began taking his t-shirt off.

“Aki, ano ba...” she protested.

“Kim, it’s about time we do this....”

“We have talked about this Aki...” Kim screeched as she pushes him away. “Sinabi ko nang ayoko pa eh...”

But, Aki was very persistent. He locked Kim’s arms and lowered his lips to kiss her on the mouth. Kim angled her head to avoid his lustful gesture.

“Aki....please...ayoko...”

“Kimmy, don’t be afraid...”

“Hindi pa ako handa...”

“Babe, we’ve been together forever. If you really love me...” Ako said guiltily. “you need to show it to me...”

“But Aki...”

Aki presses a finger to her lip. “No more buts....”

Aki kisses her on the ear lobe. Kim closed her eyes and
cringed.

.
.
.

Back in the big house, Agot and Enric showed Gerald over to Kim’s room.

“You can sleep here for now...” Enric said. “Our daughter is away on the weekend...”

“Yes, Gerald...this is our daughter KIM’s bedroom...”

Gerald looked over at the garish images on the wall. The dark mauve paint color of the walls made him uncomfortable.

Agot smiled and explained it to him, “Alam mo kasi si Kimmy...may pagka-rebelde yang batang yan...”

“Okay na po ako dito...”

“Well, you may have to make do with this room tonight. There’s just a couple things we need to fix on the guest room...” Enric detailed. “We can easily get you transferred there tomorrow. So...whether you like it or not...you will have to sleep here tonight...”

“This is fine po...” Gerald said.

“Pasensya ka na, anak ha...” Agot said fondly.

Enric gave his wife a sardonic look. Having his wife call another person’s child “anak” is something Enric didn’t think was right. He said instead, “Gerald, I hope you understand that we are not really expecting any guest to stay with us at this time....kaya hindi kami nakapag-prepare...”

“Okay lang po iyon...” he answered. “Your home is very beautiful. Even if I have to sleep in your washroom, it would still be better than where I came from...”

“We won’t let you sleep in the bathroom, you silly boy!” laughed Agot.

“I’m just saying...” Gerald added.

“You know what...we get it...you’re poor....” Enric cut him off with a grain of disdain.

This left Agot cold. It was rude of her husband to do so. “O sige, Gerald...I’ll let you sleep na...it’s getting late...”

“Sige po...tita, tito....thank you po talaga...” Gerald said as the couple closed the door.

Gerald sighed as he looked around the room. The room was very untidy and organized. The sight of loosely strewn papers and clothes, made Gerald restless. He could feel a lot of chaos and angst surrounding the room.

Even though he lived in a modest house, Gerald was very proud of the fact that his bedroom was very tidy. He didn’t have many things, but with the little that he had kept, he had made the most of. He liked clean things and clean environment. He couldn`t stand being in a room where it`s untidy and cluttered.

Gerald was pretty sure he was going to have a bad night sleeping in this pig sty. Add to that, the cold reception he got from Agot’s husband Enric. Somehow, he already anticipated his disapproval of him. The moment he had stepped into the house, Gerald felt a negative energy surrounding Enric. It was as if, he had lot of things boiling up inside him, ready to blow anytime.

But his thoughts about Enric has to wait. Seeing that it was past midnight, Gerald decided to concentrate his efforts to get some sleep.

Seeing that he had no choice but to clean up, Gerald started picking up one article after another. Moments later, he had the trash bin full of junk. As soon as he was done with the floors, Gerald moved over to a shelf where a lot books were lined. He screened the selection. Unfortunately, they were all romance novels.

Gerald shook his head in dismay.

As he head back to the bed, something caught his eye. IT was a small picture frame lying on top of the dresser.

It was a picture of Agot`s daughter Kim.

Gerald gently assessed the soft features of the girl in the photograph. One word best describes her...ENTRANCING. Her eyes and nose were perfect. Her face was gently sculpted and her lips were exquisite. The girl was smiling so purely and innocently and she was as beautiful as an angel. Even in the photograph, her beauty commands presence. One look at her and she had captured his imagination. Gerald found his mouth gaping and his heart thudded strangely in his chest. He was astounded at how a simple photograph could elicit that kind of varied emotions from him. The strength of the attraction he was feeling for the girl in the picture really surprised him. He never felt anything remotely close to this.

She was the most beautiful girl he has ever seen in his life.

It took a long time for Gerald to take his gaze away from that picture. In fact, he carried her image in his mind as he sleeps.

Contrary to what he had anticipated earlier, it did not take long for him to fall asleep. He smiled as he willed himself to dream of her.

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March 29, 2009