That Friday night, Remnants didn't have a gig kasi nga may tugtog sila sa school. They sacrificed one night since pagod din naman sila lahat. From Monday pa lang kasi, tumutugtog na sila sa school sa iba't-ibang activities na ginagawa for the foundation. Medyo nanghihinayang kasi they earn from that din naman. You know, kahit mayayaman sila, they still want to earn and what better way to do it than to do it while doing your favorite thing in the world, diba. They use the money to buy stuff for themselves. As for Alyssa, she saves it. Everything, since they started performing at The Bar and in other resto bars, everything was saved kasi may pang-gastos naman siya from her allowance. And everytime her friends ask why she don't use the money, sasabihin niya lang na she's saving it for something big kahit na siya mismo ay di alam kung ano yun.
"Aga ah." Bungad ni Nicko kay Alyssa.
"Punta kami ni Den kila mommy." Ly just said and smiled.
"Dad told us about your plan yesterday, anong nangyari?" Nicko asked.
"Oo nga. Kayo na ba?" Paulo asked, kakababa niya lang din.
"You bet." Ly said and smiled again.
"Halata nga sa ngiti mo eh." Nicko said. "I'm happy for you, seryoso. Di ako magdadrama pero masaya lang talaga ako for you." He said and ruffled Alyssa's hair.
"Ako, sobrang saya! Finally, wala na yung cold na Alyssa! Whooo, thank God for Dennise!" Sabi naman ni Paulo.
Ly went closer to her kuyas, "Thank you!" She said and hugged them.
"Aba, anong nakain niyo at parang ang sweet niyo sa isa't-isa ngayon?" Tanong ni Nanay Elsa na kakalabas lang galing sa lutuan.
"Kasi, nay, eto pong si Ineng may girlfriend na ulit!" Nicko said and smiled at the older lady.
Binaba naman agad ni Nanay Elsa ang dala niyang kanin at ulam sa lamesa, "Ay naku, talaga ba anak? Naku, siguradong matutuwa ang mommy mo niyan! Wala ng masungit dito sa bahay!"
"Grabe, nay. Di naman po ako masungit ah." Ly said and they shared a hug.
"Parang gusto ko maniwala?" Biglang singit ng daddy nila sa usapan. "Can I join?" He asked and they gave him some space for the group hug.
"Family hug? Yey!" Excited na sabi ni Kian at tumakbo din para sumali sa yakap.
Bigla namang pumasok si Tatay Max na galing sa garden, "Aba, eh dapat ata kasali ako diyan ah!" He said and joined in as well.
And just like what they always do, they put their rights hands together just like a sports team during a huddle.
"One, two, three!" Nicko shouted.
"Valdez!" Sabay-sabay nilang sabi.
Valdez rin kasi talaga sila Nanay Elsa at Tatay Max. Sa katunayan ay kamag-anak pa nga nila. Si Tatay Max ay tiyuhin ng daddy nila Alyssa. Galing silang Batangas at matagal ng sa Maynila nakatira simula nung maging mag-asawa sina Ruel at Lita. Kahit na kamag-anak sila ay gusto pa rin nila na gumagawa dito sa bahay tutal ay wala rin naman silang trabaho. Hindi na nila hinayaan na kumuha pa ng ibang taga-alaga at driver ang pamilya at sila na ang nagpresinta. Pasasalamat na rin daw sa pagtanggap sa kanila rito.
"That felt good." Alyssa said. Since namatay kasi ang mommy nila ay ngayon lang ulit nila nagawa yun. The last time was when her mom was already in the morgue. Mahirap man at sobrang lungkot, they did it one last time for their mom.
"We should do that more often na ulit. I'm sure mommy would love seeing us do that." Sabi naman ng daddy nila.
"She surely would." Paulo said.
