Thorne III
His plan of going back to Boracay after he read the article about 'How to be a good husband for a pregnant wife' never happened. His mother came that day after they spoke on the phone and gave him the bunch of invitations he needed to attend to.
Days, weeks, and months have passed, and his engagements to the business parties never stop. He needs it to have more clients and business partners. And in addition, they are busy preparing for his grandpa's 105th birthday for next month. He is thinking about what to buy for his grandpa.
He suddenly realized about his present.
"Oh shit! It's already eight months. Argh." He punches the top of his desk.
"Kristine, book my ticket to the Philippines now. Connecting flight to Boracay. It's urgent," he told his personal assistant.
How did he forget it? He planned it from the beginning.
It's all because of his mother, who gave him so many engagements. They put all the work on his shoulders; that's why he forgot what was important.
He forgets it totally because of his busyness in his business.
"Flight to the Philippines within 2 hours. Can you make it?" His P.A. asked.
"I will take it. Print it now," he said, putting all his things in his briefcase. He doesn't need to pack any clothes. He has to be there as soon as possible.
"Here," said the P.A. giving him the itinerary.
"Thanks. If there's any problem, call me. I'll be in touch," he said and stormed out of his office. Pressing the lift button.
"Call me a taxi," he asked the security.
After a while, the taxi arrived.
"LaGuardia," he told the driver.
He was running and walking when he arrived at the airport. He goes straight to the VIP section to get his boarding pass and walks straight to the boarding gate. He might be the only late passenger because when he arrived, it was only him, and the moment he entered, they closed the gate.
He is panting and sweating when he entered the plane. He took out his suit and his necktie and opened some few buttons of his shirt. He hated himself for being so irresponsible. He prioritized his business over his own child. He failed.
After a tiring eighteen hours on a plane, plus another almost one hour of connecting flight, now he's seated in the van going to Boracay. He forgot to tell Kristine that there's a flight to Caticlan airport. Now he needs to take a van to go to Caticlan because the connecting flight that was booked by his PA lands in Kalibo Airport.
Another two hours of travel by van to Caticlan port. So exhausting.
He contacted the nephew of Nanay Sol to see if he could fetch him at the port in two hours.
It's a luck that there's a van waiting for passengers bound to Boracay. He makes a deal to pay for all the empty seats; just drive him quickly to Boracay. The man agreed, so now there is only one passenger riding with him.
After over an hour on the road.
He just left his ID and some cash as payment for the terminal fee.
"I'll come back to get it; it's an emergency that I really have to cross to the island ASAP," he told the one in charge of the terminal.
"Sir, bring your ID with you! I'm afraid that it might get lost," the woman replied.
He quickly ran outside and scanned the area where Nanay Sol's nephew is waiting.
When he found him, he quickly jumped in the boat.
The man quickly maneuvered the boat so that they could cross the ocean to Boracay Island. He wanted to reach the shore as fast as possible. When the boat reached the shore, he jumped to the waiting multicab.
"Can you go now? I'll pay for the vacant seats," he told the driver.
The multi-cab drove off and stopped in front of the road in front of the staircases up to the villa. He pulls out a thousand peso note and gives it to the driver.
"Sir, I don't have a change for this," the driver said.
"Keep it. Thanks!" He said and ran up the stairs.
He stops at the entrance when he sees her watching TV. He watches her back. She is watching some news, and her attention is so focused on the news. She didn't notice him.
"See that baby? That's your daddy, and look at that;Â seems that he finally found your mommy. Isn't she beautiful? Be nice to your daddy and mommy, okay?" He heard her saying.
He could see from the huge plasma TV the news she is watching. It's him with the beautiful daughter of his new business partner. Ayinah's right; she's beautiful. But being his child's mommy? He doubts it.
"Don't you agree with that beautiful lady, baby? I wish that she would love you, baby, as much as I do. If only I could have you. But you knew that we are not bound to be together. Just remember this, baby: though we will not be together, you will always be here in my heart and in my mind. I will always pray for you. I will always love you. Because you know what? We will be together one day too. In heaven."
He heard her talking to the unborn child. He heard it clearly what she was saying, and every word pierces his heart.
"Well, it's our nap time, little one. Hope you will let me sleep this time; you were so restless last night, so let's sleep together this afternoon."
She said, standing up, to switch off the TV.
"Ouch!"
He saw her wincing.
"Ayinah, are you okay?" He runs to her side.
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. When did you arrive? Nanay Sol never mentioned that you were coming." She said, rubbing her big stomach.
He missed how it grows.
"Just now. I never tell her I'm coming," he said.
"Oh, where's your luggage?" she asked, looking behind him.
"I don't have it," he replied.
"Ouch!" She winced again.
She grabs his hand and places it on her tummy.
"Feel that?" She asked, looking at him.
"Yeah, it's like feet," he said, looking at her.
"I think this little one welcomed you," she said, smiling at him.
She became more beautiful, he thought.
"I'll go take a nap first; we didn't sleep last night," she said, walking to her room.
He followed her to her room. She sits on the bed. The framed pictures on the wall caught his attention. He moved closer to it. They are lined up like stairs on the wall. Eight framed pictures of her during her pregnancy. There are two empty frames, the ninth and the big one on the right.
"I just like to see how I look each month," she said.
"It's beautiful. Who took them?" He asked.
"Andreas, he is back in Italy right now. He will be back on my ninth month. He promised that he doesn't want to miss welcoming this little one, or he can't fill the two empty frames." She replied smiling.
He felt an unknown feeling in his chest when she mentioned a man's name. Who is he?
"Andreas?" he said.
"Yes, my best friend. He is the one who walked with me every day. That man is so funny; he even went with me to my lessons for giving birth. and even to my doctor's appointment," she said humorously.
It's a huge kick in his ego; other men have done the job that was supposed to be his.
"That's good that you found a friend here," he said.
"I'll see you later. I will just take a nap," she said and lay down.
He watched her as she closed her eyes. She must be very sleepy that she fell asleep quickly. The dress she is wearing shows her belly. He bent down and kissed it. He is shocked when the baby kicks his lips. Is his child angry at him? Is this what his grandfather told him? That unborn child knows who loves and cares for them.
He stands up and leaves her room. What has he done?
There's no way to bring back those months that he has lost.