MY DAUGHTER WANTS TO HAVE A DADDY.

Chapter 2.

"I'll send you to school, baby." I said while brushing her wet hair. "I'll go to the mall this day dahil need na ng shop ng bagong motorbike so mapapadaan ako sa school. Also, I haven't sent you to school last whole week. Anyway, do you want to meet our new delivery boy tomorrow?"

"Who's him po, mommy?"

Yesterday, naghire ako ng bagong delivery boy since merong nadagdag na trabaho si Japy because of financial problems and he can't make it all the time.

"We'll welcome him tomorrow at the shop. It's becoming late, we have to go." pinagpag ko ang bestida kong bulaklak ang design at inayos ang pagkakatali ng buhok niya. Dinampot ko na rin ang bag niya at kinuha ang susi ng kotse.

Pagkarating sa kotse, agad siyang nagsuot ng seatbelt sa backseat, good girl.

Sampung minuto lang ang tinagal bago kami makarating sa school. It's a private school, gustuhin ko mang sa public siya pag-aralin, nag aalala pa rin kasi ako sa kaligtasan niya.

"Here na lang si mommy, pumasok ka na." there's a hesitation in her eyes when I said that. "Bakit, baby?"

"I want to show something to you, mommy. Nasa room po, come with me please?" she cutey pleaded.

I sighed.

"Okay, mabilis lang ha?" tumango naman siya bago hinila ang kamay ko. "Why so excited?" ngiting-ngiti kasi siya and I can't help but to giggle.

Pumasok kami sa room niya, sa katunayan ay wala ang teacher. It's still not late though.

Hinila niya ako sa gilid, sa bulletin board kung saan nakapaskil ang arts nila. Nilibot ko ang tingin, ako lang ata ang magulang na pumasok dahil puro bata na ang narito.

"Mommy, look at my drawing!" nabalik ang tingin ko sa kaniya. She's holding a paper with a drawing of us-with a guy? "This is me," turo niya sa batang drawing. "this is you po," turo niya naman sa babaeng mahaba ang buhok. Exactly look like me. "And this is daddy, but I don't have a daddy. Sir said complete family so I drew a daddy even I don't have a daddy. Where's daddy, mommy?"

Omygad. This is it. The moment she'll ask for her daddy.

"E-Eyra, uhm, daddy is gone." I lied. It's my first lie to her. Nakaramdam agad ako ng guilt. Farrah, is this right?

"But, can't I have another daddy?" my eyes widened.

Oh, no. I've never been interested to men ever since I graduated high school. Hindi naman pwedeng pinanganak akong ayoko sa mga lalaki, it's just nawalan ako ng interes sa kanila matapos ang rejection na natamasa ko sa ultimate crush ko noon.

Matapos niyon, hindi na ako nagkagusto. Nag-aral na lang ako at tinuon sa ibang bagay ang atensyon. Marami ang nanligaw sa akin but I all turned them down. Great, just great timing.

"Ehm, good morning parent," someone coughed. Agad akong lumingon. "Oh, you." ngumisi siya.

"Good morning, sir Ryle!" Eyra waved her tiny hand to him.

He's the man the other day. Anong meron? Akala ko si ma'am Ivy ang dapat na narito. Oh, oo nga pala, hindi ko nahatid si Eyra ng isang linggo.

"Good morning, angel. And good morning to you, miss." I didn't smiled.

"Where's ma'am Ivy?" taas kilay kong tanong. "Uhm, who are you anyway?" tumawa siya na parang may nakakatawa sa sinabi ko.

"Ang bilis mo naman, I'm Dain Ryle. If you're interested to me, you can ask for my number." lumalim ang mata ko at umatras.

"Huh? Anong sinasabi mo? I'm just asking, I'm not interested to you. Sorry, you've got the wrong signal." he looked amazed and chuckled.

"Kidding. Ma'am Ivy retired. And as a replacement, me, the new teacher of kindergarten. Ryle on your service, ma'am." he then winked. I rolled my eyes.

"Okay." I shortly replied before turning to Eyra who's giggling. "I got to go, baby. Sunduin ka na lang ni mommy mamaya. Don't talk to strangers, okay?" I kissed her forehead. "Okay then, sir. Please look and teach my daughter well." pumeke ako ng ngiti sa lalaking hindi matanggal ang ngisi sa labi.

"Mommy, I'm kinikilig po." I narrowed my eyes at Eyra, confused. "Maybe sir Ryle can make a good daddy to me, you look good together." my eyes stayed at her.

Hindi ako makapagsalita, where did she learned those things?!

"Eyra, what are you talking about? Go sit there already. Learn the lessons, I will punish Stella for teaching you those things." sinunod niya naman ako pero nanatili ang ngiti sa mukha niya.

I unconsciously looked at the teacher and damn, he's covering his mouth to stop the urge of laughing! Tumingin siya sa akin kaya agad na sumingkit ang mata ko sa kaniya.

"Hello, Bambe? Yes, papunta na ako sa shop. Why? What happened?" ipinarada ko muna sa tabi ang kotse dahil balisa ang boses ni Bambe sa kabilang linya.

"A-Ate, si Japy, a-ate si Japy, naaksidente."

"Ano?! Wait, I'm on the way. Did you call the ambulance?"

"Hindi pa. Nag-overtake daw siya tapos nabangga ng kotse ng isang doktor. Nandito kami sa main highway, ate. Chini-check pa ng doctor ang parte na napuruhan. Ate, nagmamadali kasi siya kanina. H-Hindi ko napigilan, sorry ate. Sorry," nanginginig ang boses at naiiyak na paliwanag niya.

"It's not your fault, Bambe. Parating na ako." then I hung the phone. Malapit na ako sa highway na tinutukoy niya. It's traffic kaya sa gilid ako tumigil. Tinakbo ko ang mga hindi umuusad na sasakyan papunta kina Bambe. Nailagay na sa ambulansya si Japy nang makalapit ako.

"A-Ate, s-sorry." inalo ko siya agad.

"Shush, he's gonna be okay. Don't blame yourself, okay?" nakita ko agad ang lalaking sinasabi niyang doktor. And to my surprise, he's familiar. "Stephan?"

Nangunot ang kaniyang noo pero agad ding umaliwalas. "Celestine? Oh, what a coincidence. Is that your worker? I am sorry."

"It's okay. No one is at fault. See you at the hospital, we're blocking the way." sabay kaming natawa nang makita ang kumpol ng sasakyan. Tumakbo kami ni Bambe papunta sa sasakyan ko. She got her bicycle.

"You go first at the shop. Sign the paper once the delivered motorbike come. Ako na ang bahala kay Japy. Don't stress yourself about what happened." tumango siya bago magpaalam.

"How's his injury? May napuruhan ba?" tanong ko mismo kay Stephan dahil sa kanila ang hospital at siya din ang nag asikaso kay Japy.

"Nothing worst. Nabalibag man ang katawan niya, walang bali sa likod ang nakita sa x-ray. Ang meron lang ay bali sa daliri. It will take a month for his fingers to automatically locate in their proper locations. Pero may sakit pa rin sa kalamnan at katawan kaya kailangan niya ng pahinga. Don't worry about the payment, I'll let him stay here until he recover since ako ang nakabunggo." I smiled a little.

"Sorry. He maybe took over because he got something to do more important. Thank you for the help, Stephan. Siguro ako muna ang kakausap sa pamilya niya." he nodded.

"Anyway, how are you? Nawala ako ng limang taon and look at you now, lady-ing lady. You've got a boyfriend?" tumawa ako habang naglalakad kami patungo sa upuan.

"I'm not interested to men, you know that. But I've got a daughter." his brows arched.

"Adopted?" I was thinking twice if I would tell him the truth or not. Pero naalala kong siya si Stephan, ang naging kuya ko. I can trust him.

"No, exactly. She's my bestfriend's daughter. But she died on labor so I took responsibility. We promised each other that once that the baby came out, we'll be her parents but we can't be sure of what will happen as the days pass by. The moment that the baby came out was the exact time she passed away." he felt sorry.

"It must be Farrah. I'm sorry for the loss, Celestine. And I am not here that time you needed someone." I smiled bitterly.

"It's okay. I'm fine now. And as a promise, I will take care of my daughter, our daughter until my last breath."

"Yeah, but if you need some help, I'm now back. You can always lean on me whenever you needed. Because I'm still your Stephan, Celestine." I smiled widely.

"Thank you, kuya."

---
Astrid Manunulat