Lemuel became a permanent fixture every lunch time. At kahit na minsan ay hindi naman s'ya nakakalimutang bigyan ng baon ng Mommy n'ya ay sa amin pa rin s'ya sumasabay.
I had a feeling that he's having a crush on Ingrid but I couldn't get myself to get mad because one, he's just a child so it's probably just an innocent admiration; two, they're cousins and he's my half-brother; and three, I couldn't help but praise the kid for his excellent taste in girls.
"So, you and Kuya Aleph are together?" he asked my girlfriend one afternoon. "So you're going to live together and then have children?"
"Yes," Ingrid replied.
"Not before we get married," I butted in. "You have to marry the person you love first before you have children with him or her."
"Oh...I see...so, that's how it goes, huh...?"
"Yes..." I said.
"But Mom and Dad had Kuya Ludwig first before they got married," he confided.
"How would you know that?" Ingrid asked. "Did your Mom or Dad tell you?"
"No, but Kuya Ludwig is nineteen and Mom and Dad had their 17th wedding anniversary this year. 19 is a bigger number than 17 so..."
This child is smart...
"Lemuel, why can't you read?" I asked.
"The letters don't make sense to me," he divulged.
"What do you mean?" my girlfriend pressed.
Lemuel shrugged. "I don't know. They just don't."
"Have you told your Mommy or Daddy about this?" I asked.
"No..."
"Why?" I prodded.
"They always fight. I don't want them to fight more because of me..."
N'ung gabing 'yun nahirapan akong makatulog. Naisip ko kasing may learning disability ang bata at mas lalala 'yun kung hindi kaagad maagapan. I turned my laptop on and read about dyslexia.
"O, why are you up early?" Tita Isabel asked hours later when she found me in the kitchen eating cookies.
"Good morning po, Tita. Maaga po kasi akong nagising."
"Good morning din, Aleph. It's not even five in the morning yet, pwede ka pang matulog nang dalawang oras. Ipagigising na lang kita sa isa sa mga kasambahay mamaya," my girlfriend's mother said before she poured me a glass of cold milk. "Here, have some milk. Oatmeal cookies go well with milk."
"Thank you po," I said before I took a sip. "Hindi na po ako iidlip baka po kasi mahirapan po akong gumising. Magbabasa-basa na lang po muna ako."
She smiled at me. "Ang sipag mong mag-aral, ano? I am so glad you rubbed off on Ingrid kasi 'yang girlfriend mo zero talaga ang study habits n'yan at napupuyat lang 'yan dati sa kanunuod ng K-drama at anime."
"She just needed a little push po, Tita."
"Thank you for being that push, Aleph. You're exactly what my daughter needed."
"You're welcome po..." I shyly smiled.
Nearly three hours later, Ingrid and I were already inside our classroom and I noticed that she wasn't her usual cheerful self.
"Anong problema ng Kisses ko?" I asked giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Wala..." she murmured.
"Meron, eh. Nararamdaman ko. Bakit ayaw mong sabihin sa akin?"
"Kasi ang babaw, eh..."
"Hindi 'yun mababaw if it's making you feel sad like this," I said. "Ano 'yun?"
