The Serrano Family Saga

A Mother's Love

ASC Group Main Office

It is one of those not-so-busy days of the COO of the Almeida-Serrano Casino Group. He already finished all of his meetings and now has nothing to do. If he comes home, he will be bored to death. Emma is still in school and Camila refuses to come home ahead of her employees. As her faithful partner, Fabio always waits for her and they go home together. Fabio picks up Emma, brings her home, and goes back to his office, but it is still 12 NN and he will have to wait until 3PM.

The COO sits in his swivel chair, staring into space. In a week's time, it will be Mother's Day. Fabio is thinking of ways to celebrate the special occasion with his family. Now that they had legally adopted Emma, they can finally call themselves parents to the little girl. On Mother's Day, families thank their mothers for their sacrifices. Like them, Fabio wants to thank Camila for so many things. He wants to thank her for saving him from his past to become who he is now. He wants to thank her for giving him a chance to prove to her his love and devotion. He wants to thank her for giving him his daughter. Their daughter has brought so much happiness to their once empty home. If she had not brought her home, he could not imagine what their lives would be.

Should he buy her a gift, an expensive jewelry? Camila is not really a fan of expensive gifts. Should he reserve a dinner for them in their favorite restaurant? He already did that for her on several occasions. Should he buy her bouquets of flowers? That's too cliche. He is seriously running out of ideas. He looks at the wall and sees a picture of him, Camila, and Emma. Emma! Right! He should ask Emma! She might have better ideas! He should consult her later when he comes home.

Serrano Mansion

Fabio volunteers to tuck Emma to bed, something that her yaya usually does. Fabio reads "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." Emma is into magic stories these days and she might finish the whole series soon. Emma laughs while her Papa changes his voice while reading the dialogue of different characters. Sometimes, he acts out several parts, eliciting giggles from the little girl. Emma begins to yawn, a signal that she might fall asleep anytime soon. Fabio closes the book after reading the last line of the chapter. He placed the book on the bookshelf and went back to sit on her bed.

"Emma, malapit na ang Mother's Day. Naisip ko na sana may gagawin tayo para sa Mama mo. Marami akong naisip na gawin eh, pero parang wala namang maganda dun sa mga naisip ko."

"Bakit? Ano ba ang mga naisip mo Papa?" Emma asks her Papa curiously. Growing up, she never celebrated the occasion. Thus, she has no idea how important it is until today. Their teacher instructed them to bring art supplies on Friday to make greeting cards for their mothers.

"Naisip ko na bilhan siya ng regalo, ng mga bulaklak, at magpa reserve sa favorite restaurant namin. Pero gusto ko gumawa ng bago. Yung ma appreciate niya talaga. May naiisip ka ba na gagawin para sa Mama mo?"

"Sabi ng teacher namin, magdala daw kami ng mga art supplies sa Friday para gumawa ng card. Kaya, yun lang din naisip ko na gawin Papa."

"Teka, parang magandang idea yan. Gumawa tayo ng card para sa Mama mo. Di na natin kailangan bumili."

"Papa, ako ang gagawa sa card. Ikaw, ano gagawin mo, card din? Nangongopya ka naman Papa eh." Fabio laughs at that. Emma is really adorable when she is whines.

"Sige na nga, hindi nalang card ang gagawin ko. Pero pag-iisipan pa natin kung ano yung gagawin natin. Dapat mapasaya natin ang Mama mo sa araw na yun. Oh siya, matulog ka na at maaga ka pa magigising bukas." Fabio smiles at her sweetly. Emma hugs Fabio and tells him, "I love you Papa." Fabio can't put into words how happy he is at that moment. He could only utter, "I love you too Anak."