Breaking Vows • LT

9 || Confessions

Louis wasn't fond of vanilla ice cream. He was more of the Rocky Road type. Give him chili ice cream and he'll probably devour it in a heartbeat. Still, he ate his cone with much enthusiasm. It was a comforting distraction from the hellish heat outside the ice cream parlour.

The caregivers, Manang Mila, and Mang Boy, were also grateful for the change in their usual route to the church. Turns out, he wasn't the only one who felt like dying when the sun was shining directly over the orphanage.

"ANG INIIIIIIIIT!!!" one of the resident adults would yell, as if someone was strangling her, and Louis found it peculiar because the phrase had been hollered at least four times that day. Faith, thankfully, had seen his perplexed expression after hearing the outcry.

"Anginit," Faith repeated. "They're complaining about the heat." Wiping the sweat from her brow, she yawned. "The weather isn't usually this hot, but I think it's because you're here." When his eyes widened in response, she just laughed and went on her merry way.

Pushing that embarrassing moment away from his thoughts, Louis watched the kids eating beside him, and he knew they were really plainly happy to get free ice cream on a Sunday regardless of the weather. Maybe they should drive here at least once a month?

Remembering the road trip here, however, Louis inwardly cringed and thought otherwise. He had tried to push the disaster that was his manhood far back in his head - to think he had to take refuge under a child's innocent bag! That was, no doubt, one of the worst lows of his life.

If only she weren't so... herself, Louis thought, sneaking a glance at the offender, who was busy telling the kids knock-knock jokes that involved accidental starfishes. He disliked that he found all her attempts at humour hilarious - even if she said some of them in Filipino. It didn't get lost on him that she was teaching him the language better than the other residents ever did, so he was getting better at it (or that's what he'd like to think)... Yet another reason to like and not like her. It was so confusing. 

When everyone's craving for something cold and sweet was quenched, and a big round of "Thank you, Ate Faith!" to their generous host, Louis joined the kids at the back of the bus to avoid sitting beside her again. Thankfully, she had stayed behind to pay for the bill. Liam still took his place up front, seemingly deep in thought the entire time. Even if his friend made small talk with Faith, he ignored Louis for the remaining part of their trip.

Something about that left an unsettling feeling in Louis' stomach, and it wasn't the ice cream.

_ _ _ _ _ _

When they got to the old church, Faith did not sit in for mass, but went to assist the younger batch of children in the Sunday school area. Kids aged over 7 were allowed to sit in the service with the adults. However, they were being hard-headed; they slid left and right on the wooden seats, giggling and laughing when their friends fell off or sat on the knee rests.

Marching to the little rascals, Louis crossed his arms across his chest as he sat with them, and with a strict, knowing glare (thanks to his former 'I'll kill you with just one look' days), the kids immediately sat up straight and tried to behave. One of them still couldn't resist giggling though, Louis noticed, that he couldn't help but chuckle. Seems like The Tommo wasn't as frightening as he used to be.

When Father Ignacio started preaching about the perils of giving in to temptation, Louis just knew Liam was going to talk to him after the service. True enough, when Manang Mila had given the kids the go signal to have fun in the playground at the church backyard, Liam had discretely pulled him aside to talk.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't see what I saw earlier," Liam began.

Louis reddened. Did Liam really see what happened to him on the bus? He wanted to say he can explain, but really, did he want to? Could he actually tell his friend that he had a raging hard-on because of Faith's female parts? A small part of him didn't like the thought of Liam thinking about Faith like that.