Her Best Friend's Birthmark

3. Family

"What were you thinking, young man?!" Mrs. De Dios's voice whipped like thunder. "Why didn't you call us right away? If Lyra here didn't inform us, we wouldn't have known immediately what happened. Why were you not being careful?!"

"Slow down, Ma, one question at a time," Cairo held his palms up. He then shot Lyra a we-have-to-talk-later look.

Fighting down an urge to laugh at him and trying to look apologetic instead, Lyra shrugged her shoulders a bit.

"First of all, Ma, it was not me who was not careful. It was the car driver," Cairo explained to his mother. "I got hit-and-ran."

"You should have known better not to get hit by a car!" Mrs. De Dios exclaimed.

"All right, fine, I was not being careful," Cairo gave up making his point. "Then, I was distraught and got distracted by my head injury that I thought of going to the hospital right away."

"Without informing us?!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry Ma, okay, a lot of things just happened and it slipped my mind. The first thing I thought of was getting fixed here," Cairo explained as he referred to the hospital but all the while was peering again at his left wrist.

"It's good that Lyra here called us and told what happened; otherwise, how could we have known you've been hit and you've gone here?" his mother lamented still.

"I'm glad she did too," Cairo gave Lyra a sidelong glance that meant "thank you, but we have to talk later when they're gone."

Lyra just beamed while smiling at him teasingly and said, "You're welcome, Cai."

"Oh, thank you again for informing us Lyra," Cairo's mother said appreciatively. "It's good that you called because somebody forgets to..." she almost reached for Cairo's ear to turn it but remembered he was injured.

"Oh, please, don't," Cairo sighed.

"Anyway, how are you feeling now?" Mrs. De Dios mellowed down.

"Now I'm glad you asked. I thought you wouldn't stop chastising me," Cairo grumbled.

"That's because you weren't being careful. And sensible enough to call!" his mother started again.

"All right, all right, I'm fine. I feel better now. They've treated my wounds and injuries. The Citi scan and X-ray results will be out in three days. I'm to stay here po," Cairo explained.

"Oh my poor boy," his mom cried.

"Ma, don't cry, I'm okay, I'm fine," Cairo told her.

"Here, Tita Luz," Lyra handed tissue to Cairo's mom.

"Oh my sweet child, thank you," said the mother as she got the tissue then hugged Lyra slightly.

"You're father is still at work, he'll come here afterwards."

Cairo nodded.

***

Mrs. Luz De Dios made sure that Cairo was really fine. She talked to him, and then with his doctor.

Afterwards, she left Cairo and Lyra in the ward so she can pay part of the hospital bill already.

"Uh hum," Cairo cleared his throat to break the silence.

"Yes, patient De Dios?" Lyra teased him.

Cairo made a face at her.

Then he asked, "Why did you have to call them? Couldn't you wait for me to call them first?"