Maginoong Medyo Bastos

Chapter Twenty-One

"May hinihintay pa ba tayo?" tanong ng campaign manager nila. May ilang oras pa naman bago mag-board ang flight pa-Cebu. Medyo napaaga rin ang pagpunta nila sa airport. Mahirap na at baka ma-late pa sila sa flight. Everything was already scheduled, even the possible errors.

Vannessa finally went back to her senses the moment she heard that, and quickly looked around. She had been way too consumed with worry. Ni hindi nga niya napansing ilang minuto na siyang nakatingin sa kanyang cellphone, nag-aabang ng text, ng reply, kahit ano. "Sino hinahanap mo, bakla?" tanong ni Lee sa kanya, pansin ang kanyang pagiging balisa.

She didn't answer his question, and just continued looking around. It had already been almost three hours since she received the last message from Jax saying that they were already on the move. Alam niyang ito 'yong nagmamaneho kasi hindi naman sila pwedeng mag-commute lang, lalo na't kasama nito ang kapatid.

She even offered their family van and family driver since it was more spacious, and having a driver meant that Jax wouldn't be as exhausted. Tinanggihan ng lalaki 'yong offer niya na 'yon.

Siguro naman ay walang masamang nangyari sa kanila, 'no? Hindi lang talaga siguro nakapag-reply si Jax sa kanya kasi busy ito sa pagmamaneho. Maybe she really was being too paranoid. She gathered a deep breath. Vannessa was not deeply religious, but she couldn't help but pray to God to keep them safe.

"Kanina ka pa ha. I really feel like you're hiding something from—"

Bago pa man natapos ni Lee ang sinasabi ay kaagad siyang napatayo nang makita ang matagal nang hinahanap. Jax was just wearing his casual clothes while Bee beside him was wearing a green sundress and a face mask. Lumiwanag ang mga mata nito nang makita siya at kaagad ding kumaway-kaway sa kanya. Sinuklian din niya ito ng kaway at marahang yakap. "Hi," she told Jax who looked tired, but still managed to give her a sincere smile.

Hindi rin akalain ni Vannessa na kasama nito si Tita Irish kaya kaagad siyang nagmano rito. "Buti po nakarating kayo nang safe," aniya.

Ramdam niya ang mga tinging ipinukol ng mga kasamahan nila. After all, even her wouldn't believe that she was suddenly close to Jax's family.

Ngumiti si Tita Irish bago hinagod ang buhok niya. "Nice seeing you again, hija. Oh siya, mauna na ako. Si Bee, huwag ninyong iwawala sa tingin ninyo, ha? Lahat ng kailangan niya, kompleto andiyan. Kapag may nangyari, tawagan ninyo kaagad ako—" Nakita ni Vannessa ang mga namumuong luha sa gilid ng mga mata ng babae kaya kaagad niya itong niyakap nang marahan.

"Kami na po ang bahala, Tita. Wala po kayong dapat na ipag-alala," aniya. "May masasakyan po ba kayo pauwi po? I can call our driver po—"

"Naku, ayos lang, Van. Nandiyan naman si Axel. Nakisuyo si Jax."

Alam niyang pinipigilan lang nitong maiyak, lalong-lalo na't nakatingin sa kanila si Bee. When they told her what they planned on doing for Bee, the woman didn't even hesitate even when Jax and Vannessa knew that she was worried something bad was gonna happen to her daughter.

However, all of them also knew that the best thing that they could do for Bee was to give her everything that she wanted. Vannessa didn't like thinking about the reason why. She just liked to think that the girl was with them just because. She just wanted them to enjoy.

Nang makaalis ang Tita Irish niya ay kaagad din niyang pinaupo si Bee sa bakanteng upuan. Parang nabawasan ang bigat na nararamdaman niya sa dibdib niya ngayong nandoon na ang dalawa.

Inaliw at kinausap naman kaagad ng iba pa nilang mga kasama si Bee habang si Vannessa naman ay napalingon sa gawi ni Jax na may kaonting ngiti sa labi habang pinagmamasdan ang kapatid na nakikipag-usap. Nang mapansin nitong nakatingin siya ay bahagya itong nagtaas ng kilay at lumapit sa kanya. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to reply to your messages. Pinag-alala ba kita?" tanong nito.