The Choices We Make

Chapter 7

DJ

“You have a son?” Robert, DJ’s manager, gasped at the revelation. “You sure this is not a farfetched lie so you could request for an extended leave?”

As soon as he was sure that both Yanna and Jaydee were asleep, DJ stepped out of the suite to give his manager a call and request for paternity leave. He had expected the reaction. Afterall, he himself, had not yet recovered from the sudden turn of events. But he wasn’t complaining.

“Are you sure it’s yours? I mean, you haven’t seen your girlfriend for the last, what? Eight months? You aren’t taking responsibility for someone else’s kid, are you?” Robert pressed, still in denial.

If the comment came from somebody else, DJ would have bristled. But he and Bob had history, sticking together in the same company for years. They were a good example of colleagues becoming good friends. Needless to say they both had confided in each other countless times over a can of beer or two.

“It’s mine. He’s got my nose, boss.” And his deep-set eyes, apparently, as Yanna had observed in the few moments Jaydee was awake and wasn’t wailing. He was practically DJ’s mini-me. “I’ll send a copy of the certificate of live birth as soon as it’s available.”

“Okay. This better be legit and not one from Recto. When are you all moving back to Tarlac?”

The question was valid. Even so, DJ didn’t have an immediate answer to that knowing it was the reason why his relationship with Yanna was in limbo for eight months. Still in limbo because they hadn’t talked about it considering how things went. They hadn’t even gotten around what went wrong the last time, too. Talking about their relationship status was the last thing on their plate right now. 

“I...we haven’t crossed that bridge yet, boss,” he sighed, scratching his nape and realizing he hasn’t taken a bath for almost two days. “Hopefully we iron things out before my paternity leave is over.”

Robert exhaled deeply. “You’ve got fifteen days, DJ. We’ll try to handle whatever we can. But as early as now, I’m going to apologize if we keep reaching out to you while you’re on leave. You’re the only expert in the statutory benefits.”

Which was nothing new. When did his phone remain silent while he was on leave anyway? A few years back, he would have taken it as a compliment because that made him an indispensable asset of the company. Now though? He felt shackled to the job without room to rest. 

DJ ran his hand over his unruly hair. “Yeah, I understand.” To psyche himself up, he was just grateful he had a stable source of income.

The other challenge he had now was a space to temporarily live in. He couldn’t impose on Kyle who had agreed with Rhea to cut their vacation short upon learning that Yanna had given birth ahead of the expected due date. It seemed over-the-top if he asked to keep using Kyle’s couch until the end of his paternity leave.

Perhaps Kyle knew a unit in the same building that was available for temporary rent.

Or. 

Or he could ask Yanna if he could stay in her couch, a small voice in his head said. Hoped was more like it.

Then again, he wasn’t sure if they were officially back together, together. Or just fulfilling the duties as parents to baby Jaydee. He didn’t want to add to the stress by asking her such a trivial question, especially now that Yanna had to focus on the newborn and her own recovery.

“What are you thinking?” 

DJ jerked at hearing Yanna’s raspy voice. “Hey, do you need anything?” He fussed about the table where the food tray remained untouched. In spite of the flurry of activities that happened, he didn’t feel hungry and was solely relying on adrenaline rush.