From A Distance

November

Richard woke up instantly feeling hungry. He also felt tired because he had to pick Maine up from the cemetery in the middle of the night. He washed his face, brushed his teeth, got changed, and went over to the Mendozas' house.

As soon as he stepped in, he immediately felt a bright atmosphere. Was it the curtains suddenly being opened? Maybe the house was recently cleaned? Or maybe, it was the smell of crispy bacon coming from the kitchen. His stomach continued to grumble at the tantalising aroma, so he makes his way over there as fast as he can.

♪"Kumukutikutitap, bumibusibusilak. Ganiyan ang indak ng mga bumbilya."♪

Odd, there were Christmas songs suddenly playing in the house. He found it very strange, as he actually forgot that it was December, since the house always felt so grim. Soon enough, as he peeked through the kitchen, he saw Maine and Mr. Mendoza singing into tongs and wooden spoons.

♪"Kikindat-kindat, kukurap-kurap. Pinaglalaruan ng inyong mga mata."♪

They were bursting in laughter. Finally, Richard thought. It was such a refreshing sight.

"RJ!" Maine blurts, running up to him.

She gave him a quick hug, still holding on to the wooden spoon.

"Richard, iho! Come join us for breakfast. We made scrambled eggs, bacon, and there's also some sinangag!"

"Sure thing, Mr. Mendoza," he gladly agreed.

It was Friday, which is usually a wok day for Mr. Mendoza. It's also one of his critical days since he has to finish things up before the weekend. So, Richard wonders why he is still in his pajamas, looking as if he hasn't got any plans to go to work.

"Uh Sir, don't you have meetings today?"

"Meetings? Who needs meetings? I cancelled them all! They weren't that important anyways, well at least they're not as important as my little girl," he says as he pinches Maine's cheek.

"Daaad," Maine protests.

"O, fine, fine, you're not little anymore."

He looks over to Richard, covers the side of his mouth with his hand and mouths, "she still is".

"I saw that!"

-

"Nga pala Richard, were holding a Christmas party tomorrow. It'll be a simple get together with some family, and close friends. But I'd just like to ask you for a favor."

"Ano po 'yon Sir?"

"Could you help us out with decorating?"

"Po?"

"RJ, were planning on holding it kasi here sa bahay. Kasi nga it's tomorrow, so we don't have time to hire anyone. So, we thought to just do the decorating ourselves. It'll be fun, bonding time with everyone in the house kumbaga."

"Pati si Mang Samuel, yung masungit niyong guard mag-dedecorate din?"

"He didn't have a choice iho, since I'm the one who forced him to join."

"Ano, RJ? Dali na, sali ka na please," Maine begs as she clasps her hands together and bats her eyes at him.

Richard knows full well that he can't resist Maine. Soon enough, he found himself carrying multiple bags, containing Christmas decorations. Now, they're currently picking out a Christmas tree since they realised that the one they had at home already collected so much dust and was practically falling apart.