D E N V E R
"I secretly prayed it was true," I whispered without thinking.
My heart started beating like crazy.
Why am I telling her this?
Why can't I just shut my mouth?
"But I guess, it all worked out in our favor," I added. "I'm happy. You're happy. We're all happy,"
Are we?
"Right?" tanong ko pa.
Nagtama ang mga mata namin at nakita ko ang dahan-dahan niyang pagtango.
"Right," sagot niya.
Umiwas ako ng tingin sa kaniya at itinuon na lang ang atensyon kay Julia.
Kung si Josh ay kamukhang-kamukha ni Jolo, itong bunso naman nila ay nakuha ang lahat kay Sasha.
Masaya ako sa estado ng buhay ng kaibigan kong iyon.
Masaya rin ako na kahit dati ay mag-isa lang siya, ngayon ay mayroon na siyang Sasha, Josh, at Julia.
"I should..." bulong ni Mads. "I should get back to my room. Baka bumalik na rin naman iyong kuryente."
"How's your hip?"
"Uhm. Okay lang. Nagko-cold compress ako."
I nodded at her. "Bukas daw, hot compress naman sabi ni Bryan."
Tumayo siya mula sa higaan at saka binuksan ang flashlight ng cellphone niya para makakita sa dilim.
"T-Thanks," bulong niya. "Good night, D."
I just watched her walk away.
"Good night."
***
I woke up to my phone's alarm and it took me a moment to figure out where I am and why I have a baby next to me.
The fan was still turned off and it was still pouring heavily outside.
I looked at my phone's screen one more time.
No signal.
I'm supposed to pick up Nami today, but I bet the roads are still closed for travel.
It's eight in the morning and Julia is still fast asleep. For a second, I was worried that she was no longer breathing, so I put a finger below her nose to confirm.
I let out a sigh of relief when I felt air coming out of her tiny mouth.
Jolo would kill me if she so much as catches a cold.
I got up and sat on the bed, contemplating for a few minutes when I heard five soft knocks on the door.
I don't know if she's aware, but Madeline always knocks five times.
"Gising ka na?" I heard her ask. "Gumawa akong grilled cheese."
Madeline can only cook three things. Fried eggs, fried hotdogs, and grilled cheese. Although you don't technically "cook" grilled cheese, so I guess she can only cook two. Unless you count the different number of ways you could cook eggs — sunny side up, scrambled, semi-scrambled, sunny side up with a runny yolk...
