BCJ 21 • jealousy

***

"Why didn't you tell me??" Pete whined as Celeste sat on the sofa adjacent to his table. He was supposed to be in a meeting that morning but he decided to move it in the afternoon after hearing Celeste's great news.

"You've been so busy for the past few weeks and I'm darn sure you're gonna be disoriented when you know that Kao's currently working at Peter's school."

Pete frowned. Celeste just knew him too damn well after all these years.

"How's he doing?" he asked nonchalantly while pretending to type on his keyboard.

"Well, I think he's doing good. I saw John Kavine picking him up multiple times already. And they seemed so...sweet."

Pete caught a glimpse of Celeste's grin.

"I know what you're thinking."

"Hey, I'm not making you jealous."

"I am not, okay?" he said with complete emphasis. "Can you just go on with what you have to do."

Celeste just shrugged and stood.

"And by the way. You don't have to pick Peter starting today."

"Why? You're letting Peter go home on his own?"

Pete didn't say a thing but his stares were enough to answer Celeste's query.

***

"Dad?? What are you doing here?" Peter exclaimed as soon as he saw his father by the gate. "I thought Celeste's picking me up?"

"Well, good news, buddy. I'll be sending and picking you up starting today."

"When are you gonna let me drive, Dad? My friends already have their own cars and bikes but here I am getting picked up by my dad like I'm a preschooler," Peter whined as he got inside the car. He waited for his father to follow suit but Pete remained outside.

"Aren't we leaving yet, Dad? I'm starving."

"Sssh. Just wait for a minute. I'm waiting for someone," he replied, his eyes scanning the area.

"Who? Teacher Kao? His husband already picked him up earlier."

Pete froze. "I, I'm not looking for him!"

"Oh, really?"

"Of course! And where did you get the idea that I'm waiting for him? Huh, young man?"

"Your lock screen says it all, Sir."

Pete immediately hid the phone he was holding inside his pocket. He totally forgot to change the lock screen back to a plain one.

"And since when did you start taking pictures of sleeping men? Huh?"

Pete eyesided Peter.

It was taken the day he and Kao were on that plane together.

"Just keep quiet or you'll be starving for the rest of the day," Pete fired back before getting into the car.

***

"What?" Peter asked as they were having dinner.

"What what?"

"Dad, you've been staring at me the whole time."

"Since when?"

"What when?"

"Since when did Kao started teaching at your school?"

"Psssh. Aren't we done with Teacher Kao yet?"

"Just answer me, Peter."

"Three weeks ago."

"Why didn't you bother telling me?"

"Because you didn't ask?"

"How am I supposed to know??"

"Dad, you've been too busy since you got back. You didn't even have time to eat dinner with me these past weeks. I couldn't even believe you're eating at the same table with me tonight. I even have to make sure you're not apparition."

That stunned him. He felt guilty.

"I'm sorry, Peter. I just have to deal with some difficult clients at the company. I'm sorry if I didn't have time to be with you."

"It's fine. I understand."

They both stayed silent for a minute. Only the clanging of their utensils against the plate could be heard.

"By the way Dad, we'll be having a field trip next week. I need you to sign a consent form."

"Okay. No problem. Do you need anything else?"

"Uhm, actually they're looking for parents who would volunteer to accompany us."

"How many days would that be?"

"Three."

"Okay, I'll volunteer."

Peter immediately raised an eyebrow, "You sure? You're not busy or anything?"

"I'll make time for you, okay? To make up for the times I wasn't able to take care of you."

But Peter still had the look of disbelief on his face even after Pete's heartfelt explanation.

"Okay fine. I also wanna see him. Happy?"

Peter giggled. "I know you liked him even way back at the orphanage."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, stop denying it, Dad. You may be with Celeste most of the time but every time your eyes landed on Teacher Kao," Peter paused, "geez if you could only see how your eyes sparkled."

"Psh. It's been years, pal. I don't have feelings for him anymore. And besides he already got a husband."

"Psh. I was just teasing you. His fingers are bare. No ring or whatsoever."

"Just eat your food, Peter. By the way, how's your community service going?"

Peter still got a few days on his community service. He was supposed to be on service for a month but he got several days off since he'd been doing a good job and his attitude had significantly improved.

"Actually, it's been great. I didn't know I'd enjoy it. By the way, we're going to the orphanage where I came from as our last station so I'm quite excited."

"That's a good thing, buddy. Don't worry, I'll join you when you go there."

***

Peter could feel Kao's stares following him as he boarded the bus.

"Good morning, Teacher Kao," Pete grinned before placing his and Peter's things on the overhead storage. "Go on and sit with your friends, buddy."

Peter immediately headed to the back of the bus where his friends were.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm volunteering," he said with a wide grin.

"Your name's not on the list of parent volunteers, Pete."

"Oh, maybe you didn't see the updated one."

He immediately slumped down beside Kao.

"Tss. Move over. I still have to check on the kids," Kao grimaced as he pushed Pete to make way for himself.

"Off you go, Teacher Kao."

***

"Students, please don't go too far and don't go without your pair, okay? We're gonna have dinner in a few minutes so don't wander too much," one of the teachers announced.

They were currently at a beach resort which was a one-hour drive away from the city. They were supposed to be at a camping site but Pete offered to sponsor the venue and reserved the entire resort.

A short program would be held later so the teachers and parent volunteers were busy preparing, well except for Pete.

"Would you care to lend a hand? Everyone's busy except for you, Sir," Kao berated.

Pete just shrugged and followed Kao. Pete quietly followed whatever Kao instructed him to do, from bringing the needed materials to mounting decorations for the program.

"What's wrong with you? You've been awfully silent. Are you okay?" Kao budged Pete later on.

Pete's stoic face then transformed into a grinning one. He figured that he might not be able to get Kao's attention and might just annoy him if he kept his mouth running, so he decided to do the total opposite. And it seemed that his plan worked as he could sense the worried look on Kao's face.

"Oh, you still care about me!" he exclaimed.

"Excuse me? I...you...oh shut up. Just help me with this, okay."

Kao's reaction was enough to put him in such a great mood. He didn't even bother the sweat that were trickling down his face as he helped with the preparations. He was just too happy that he'd volunteer to do things.

***

The short program would take place before the dinner was served. Pete looked around for Kao but he was nowhere in sight. He just assumed he was preparing for the event so he didn't think about it that much.

"Dad! Geez! Thanks for this. I'm having such a great time," Peter exclaimed as he saw his dad.

"Well, I'm glad you're enjoying, buddy. Go ahead. The program's gonna start soon."

Once everything was settled, the program then started but Kao was still nowhere in sight. He was about to leave to look for him but he was called onstage by the host.

"And of course, this wouldn't be possible without the generosity of the following people. Everyone, let's give a hand to the person behind this wonderful accommodation, Mr Ezekiel Pete Ramirez. May we invite you onstage, Mr Ramirez?"

Pete hesitated at first but Peter's cheers were loud enough that he didn't wanna disappoint his son.

"Woohoo! That's my dad right there!"

Pete let out a wide smile and gestured to his son before getting onstage.

"Let us also give a round of applause to another generous person who made this event possible, Mr John Kavine Alvarez! Please be onstage, Mr Alvarez."

Pete grimaced as he heard his name. He didn't really even care if Kavine also sponsored the trip.

All he cared about was the fact that Kao finally appeared. He was about to flash him a smile but eventually froze when he recognized the man standing beside him.

"John Kavine," he muttered deeply under his breath.

He immediately walked down the stage and marched towards Kao whose fingers were still intertwined with Kavine's.

"I think you should go onstage, John Kavine. The host is calling you," he said through gritted teeth while his gaze remained on Kao.

"Nah, I'm fine here. I think you should go back there. You have the greatest contribution on this trip."

"Of course. My son's joining so I must give him the best experience."

"Oh, your son. Then you better be with him then. Kao and I still have a lot of things to talk about. You know, about us."

John Kavine's voice was laced with mockery and that irritated Pete even more. Moreso, as he pulled Kao closer and snaked an arm around his waist.

Pete silently muttered a curse. "Fine. I'll leave you two. Enjoy while you can, lovebirds."

He then turned on his heels and left the area, his ears burning and his hands tightly balled into fists.

***

"What the hell was that, Kao?" Pete was fuming mad as he threw his bag on the couch.

"That was just nothing, Pete. We just bumped into each other. He invited me for dinner and I don't see any reason to turn him down. He's a friend. I don't see anything wrong with that."

"Huh? Dinner? Is that why you couldn't even answer your phone? Because you were too busy having dinner with someone else?! That's bullshit, Kao! You know how I despise that man. He ruined my family, Kao. You know I fucking hate him and yet there you are, treating him like some fucking hero!"

"Will you stop cursing? What's wrong with a friendly dinner, Pete? If you have issues with him, don't drag me along. And for once, Pete, I also wanna eat with someone. I've been going home to this unit, all empty and cold! Had I known I'd be left alone in here, I would have gone home and stayed with my family. I would rather go through the struggles of traveling just to get to work than be here!"

"You know I've got a lot of things to do at the company, Kao. My father's health condition is not good and I have to take over everything."

"But you don't have to totally forget about me, Pete! You barely come home anymore. You even forgot that it's anniversary today!"

Pete froze as the realization hit him. He was so drowned in work that he forgot that supposedly special date.

"Oh fuck. I'm so sorry, Kao. I totally forgot."

"I know. You always do. I'll be staying with my family this week. I need some time off."

"Kao. You don't have to do this."

"Yes, I have to Pete, for my sanity."

***