My Only Exception

Chapter 22

It was a weekend and she was home with Cali. Wala silang magawa and she wasn't really in the mood para lumabas. She was slumped on the couch watching the kiddie show Cali was viewing.

"Nanay," he called her.

"Yes?" she answered lazily.

"I'm bored."

She laughed. "Me too."

"Can we go out?"

They were dressed after an hour. They took the car to go to the park. She was thinking of dropping by somewhere bago sila umuwi to kill time. She saw a new restaurant on the way home from work. Maybe they could try it. She pulled over to a vacant spot and went out with Cali.

"Cali, Cali, easy please," she told him. She thought of going to the zoo with him but Cali declined. He was running and pulling his Mom.

"Walk fast!" he said, still pulling her.

"Why are you in such a rush? Are you meeting Shauna?"

"No, Mom. I haven't seen her for a while," he said.

When they got to the park, there were more people than usual. She just shrugged and continued walking. It was summer time, and the weather was good for people to go out and have fun. Cali ran to join the other kids playing. She sat on one side under the tree and watched him from afar.

It was 4 PM.

After an hour or so, Raffy decided to call Cali for them to leave. She promised him that they will go out for dinner and watch a movie together at home with popcorn.

He was sweating and she was drying him with the towel she was holding.

"Nanay, can we have dinner outside?"

"Okay, sure," she agreed. "What do you want?"

"I know a restaurant downtown. Tatay and I saw it when we went out last time. It's near another park and has a fountain near it. Can we go there please?"

"Are you sure? Mom's okay with dining outside but do you like their food?"

"I think I will. Can we go there please?"

"I saw a newly opened restaurant. You want to try that out?"

"Maybe next time. I want to go downtown," he answered. "They offer authentic Chinese cuisine there."

She laughed. "Excuse me, where did you learn that authentic Chinese cuisine language?"

"Tatay taught me that. He pointed it out to me and it sounded interesting. Maybe we could get some noodles."

"What if Mommy wants to get something different?"

Cali just looked at her as if disappointed and worried that he wouldn't get what he wanted.

"Okay, we will get Chinese food and some Chinese memories too on the way," she answered. Napailing na lang sya sa sinagot. Parang may memory card full of files related to Ethan na nagreread sa utak nya while walking. They went back to her car and put the seatbelt on him. Riverwalk, the place that Cali mentioned to her, was an hour drive away from their home and is considered one of the most romantic places in the state. There have been a lot of proposals and happy endings that happened on that place. It was a weekend so she knows it would be a busy place to go to but she wanted to give what Cali wanted.

"Who are you calling?" she asked him. She noticed Cali take his phone out and dial a number. Si Ethan at Seff lang naman ang tinatawagan nito.

"I'm calling Tatay," he answered.