Splendiferous (Legazpi #1)

Forty-nine

49.

A couple of minutes passed and Xavier already fell asleep, malamang ay dahil ito sa pagod niya kakaiyak kanina. In those minutes, wala man lang nagsalita sa aming dalawa ni Xerxes. Ni hindi ko nga ito tinatapunan ng tingin. Tanging tunog lamang ng sa aircon ang maririnig na ingay dito sa loob ng kwarto.

"I'd like to be with him on his birthday," he suddenly spoke after a long silence. "What are the things that he like for a gift?"

"Stethoscopes. But he already has a lot of toys like that kaya ayaw na niya noon," I replied without even giving him a look. "Toy guns would do. Ayaw niya ng umiilaw-ilaw lang ang dulo noon o kaya natunog lang. Gusto niya parating may nalabas na parang bala."

"Guns.." From my peripheral vision, I could see a ghost of smile on his lips.

Ngayon ko lang naaala na may baril nga pala itong pag-aari na siyang bigay ni Rave dahil may-ari sila ng kumpanya ng mga armas at natuto na kaagad siya gumamit noong teenager pa lang siya para sa pangdepensa. Nakasanayan na niya iyon kaya parati na niyang inaalagaan ang kanyang baril kahit na matagal nang nakakulong si Bronze.

Actually, nahahalata ko ang baril niya sa gilid niya. Nakakipkip iyon sa kanyang fitted jeans kung saan nakatuck-in ang kanyang dark red na dress shirt. Tanging ang kanyang puting lab gown ang tuluyang nakakapagtakip ng baril para hindi iyon masyadong halata.

"Tell me every detail about him, I want to know him more," pahiwatig niya.

"Kung anong mga gusto at ayaw mo, iyon rin ang kanya," I blankly stated. "Pinagkaiba niyo lang, hindi siya mahilig sa melokoton. He's allergic to peaches."

"How about his attitude and mannerisms?" he curiously asked.

"Rude when someone touches his hair or when someone calls him cute," I paused before giving him a quick glance. "He's also clingy."

Ibinalik ko kaagad kay Xavier ang aking paningin bago pa man ako matignan ni Xerxes. I only looked at him from my peripheral view so that he won't notice. He was pursing his lips, trying to hide a smile from breaking out. I know inside him, he's happy to know that Xavier turned out to be like him in and out.

Huwag lang sanang lalaki si Xavier na babaero.

"Favorite color, apple green." Isa rin iyon sa pagkakaiba niyo, I want to add it but I chose not to dahil baka isipin nito na pati mga kagustuhan niya noon ay tanda ko pa. Xerxes' favorite before was black. Kamalayan ko kung anong gusto na niya ngayon.

"Uh-huh," he uttered. I took that as a signal to continue telling informations about Xavier.

"Favorite food, vegetable pizza. Drink, fruit juice, gawa mismo sa prutas at hindi artificial flavors. Cartoon, Green Lantern because it's green…" I continued enumerating every favorites of Xavier and also some of the smallest details about him. "Birthday, July 1 like what I just said earlier. He got baptized, September…" I trailed off. "13."

Sinadya ko noong ipabinyag si Xavier sa araw ng kaarawan ni Xerxes. Iyon ay dahil dati kasi, I still have some feelings for him and I wanted Xavier's christening date will be one of the things that'll remind not only me, but also Xavier, of his father.

"Was it hard?" he asked. "Giving birth to him?"

"Walang buntis ang nadadalian," pabalang kong saad. "Doktor ka, alam mo na dapat iyon kahit hindi ka OB-Gyne."