"Anong ibig n'yo pong sabihin, Attorney?"
"Tito Ireneo," Atty. Samonte told me. "Ayaw kitang piliting tawagin akong Tito when you seem more comfortable with calling my Sir or Attorney. But I think Sir and Attorney are rather impersonal considering our kind of relationship."
He smiled. "In ten years magiging Daddy na 'yan. But if things are going to be left with Ingrid, baka in three years lang, father-in-law mo na ako."
I laughed despite myself.
"Pinapagaan ko lang ang loob mo, Aleph. I knew you were affected with what happened last night at kahit pilitin mo mang itago ay hindi naman kami manhid at naramdaman namin ng Tita Isabel mo."
He patted my shoulder. "At okay lang 'yun, Aleph, you do not have to hide your pain. Tayo pa ba, hindi ba't pamilya na ang turing natin sa isa't isa?"
What he said lifted my mood but then I remembered what he had divulged about my parents' affair.
"Sir—Tito, paano pong kayo 'yung keeper ng secret ng mga magulang ko? Ibig po bang sabihin ay may alam po kayo tungkol sa...extramarital affair po nila?"
Ingrid's father nodded before he sighed. "Oo dahil nahuli ko silang magkasama noon. I was at Shangri La Makati for a business meeting when I saw your parents. Noong una, hindi ko pinag-isipan ng masama or maybe I was just in denial about the scandalous possibility. Your Dad being my youngest sister's husband and your Mom being my closest cousin's wife, parang hindi ko magawang isiping may ginagawa silang hindi maganda considering how tightly-knit our family is. Kaya hinayaan ko lang, I didn't even confront either of them. Hanggang sa may mga bali-balita nang kumalat."
He chuckled. "You will never realize just how small a world this is until you hear something about your family from someone who's not supposed to be privy to your family's affairs. In my case, it was from a classmate who's a friend of a friend of your father's."
Ibinaba ko ang tingin ko. Hindi ko alam kung bakit nakaramdam ako ng hiya. Dahil siguro mga magulang ko ang gumawa ng mga kahihiyang 'yun at ako ang bunga n'un.
"It took me weeks before I had the courage to confront your mother. Hindi ko magawang tanungin ang ama mo dahil asawa s'ya ng kapatid ko and being the protective eldest brother, I was afraid I might end up killing him. So, I asked your Mom."
"Inamin po ba n'ya?"
"Noong una ay hindi. In fact ay nagalit s'ya. She accused me of trying to ruin her family. Ang sabi pa n'ya ay kalalaki ko raw na tao ay nagpapaniwala ako sa tsismis. To be honest with you, and I hope you're not going to take offense, I never really liked your mother. Hindi ko alam kung bakit kahit n'ung unang pagpakilala pa lang sa akin ni Rainier d'un sa Mommy mo ay hindi na palagay ang loob ko sa kanya. But I never told Rainier about this kasi siyempre alam kong mahal n'ya 'yung babae. And because of that confrontation with your mother, I liked her even less."
"I know what you went through, Aleph," he added. "And even if the story I heard about you was an abridged version ay nararamdaman ko kung anong klaseng hirap ang pinagdaanan mo. Alam kong hindi ka nagkulang sa pag-aalaga at sa pagmamahal. But I can't imagine the emotional trauma that you must have felt not living with your parents..."
"I had questions po while I was growing up. But my Yaya Lucille made sure that she answered those questions as honestly as she could..."
"You're lucky that you're raised by a great woman."
"I am po..."
"On to my story. Since your mother denied it, I convinced myself that nothing was up – na walang-kabuluhang tsismis lang ang lahat because why would Mattie and Gilbert hurt their families? Until your mother became pregnant with you."
