The Young and the Beautiful

Chapter 34

I went on a weekend trip with Andres, Victoria and the kids to his beach house. It was my third summer on that beach house. It was huge enough to accommodate our growing families.

Olivia, and the boys were learning how to ride horses. We had two polo ponies. They were brown thoroughbred horses with shiny coats. The four kids loved them.

That morning, after eating a quite delicious and heavy Filipino breakfast, we all went to the marina and sailed with the kids. I brought my fishing rod in case we see something good to catch. I was wearing a pale blue linen shirt and chino shorts, and my favorite tortoiseshell wayfarers. Victoria joined and made sure that her two kids and my Charlie were wearing their life vests and were at her sight at all times. We left Bela with a nanny at home because she's still too small to be with us.

We stopped the boat when we were far enough from the marina and started to settle down. I brought a cooler with some beers, juices for the kids. Andres and I thought our sons how to fish but nothing is taking the bait. I removed my shirt and let the sun roast my skin until I saw the rod moving. I called the kids and showed them how to catch a fish. We waited for half an hour for this. They were all amazed when I caught it. It was a huge one roughly over 4lbs. I stored it in a bin. It would be our lunch later.

"Pápa, uncle Andres! The fish looks huge! I can't wait to eat it!" Charlie said.

"Yes Charlito! It tastes delicious too! We'll eat it later for lunch!" I replied.

Andres took my camera and got a picture of me and the two boys while holding the fish. Then Olivia started to cry when she saw the fish gasping for breath.

"Mama mama, Pápa and uncle Pancho are killing that fish! We must send it back to the sea!" She said. We adults were shocked to hear Olivia's reaction. Now Charlie and Andy were crying too. Oh god, what a disaster.

We went back to our home immediately to calmed the kids down. The three of us were still laughing at what happened. The kids were playing with the horses again that afternoon. So Andres and I went boating again then we docked on our usual spot to go fishing.

"It's my first time not to see you with Camila on a weekend." Andres said as he handed me a bottle of beer.

"Yes I know. She's working this weekend. She's in Bacolod for her clients. She's making it big as an art dealer there." I replied.

We sat on the edge of the boat, with our legs hanging to the sea.

"Oh that's good. I want to talk to you about something. I just don't know how to open it up." He said. He drank some more beer and looked at me. It looked like he knows about me and Natalia. He took a deep breath and finally talked to me.

"Pancho, whatever it is you're doing with that actress, I know it. You know you can't hide it from me." He said. How did he know?

"I saw you in that hotel. It's a good thing Victoria and Olivia didn't see you. We met some friends for dinner. I followed you and saw you went inside her suite. You're wise to change your name to Laurence Carter."

"As a man I will say that you got a good catch, and say that you're the man! A twenty-year old starlet? She's sexy and pretty. Who wouldn't want her?" He said.

"But as your brother, I wouldn't advise you to continue your affair with her. It will not do any good. Have you seen how Charlie and Bela looked today? They looked so happy! Don't ruin that. Do the right thing, Pancho. I know you're smart." He added as he rubbed my shoulder to reassure me that it's not too late to fix what I did. He really knew me, and he knew that I had a problem.

I went to sleep beside my children that night thinking of what have I done. I don't want to ruin what I have right now.

I woke the kids up a little early the next morning to make them watch the sunrise with me. So we went to the beach, still wearing our pajamas and had a cup of hot chocolate there. I brought our blanket and wrapped ourselves under it as we sat on the sand.

"What are we doing here Pápa?" Charlie said, still being half asleep.

"Yes Pápa. I'm still sleepy." Bela said.

"We're watching the beautiful sunrise here. In a few minutes you will see the sun right there." I said, then pointed towards the beach.

"But right now, look up. Look at the stars. They're all pretty right?" I added. The kids looked up and were so amazed by the stars. There were no clouds that early morning so they saw everything clearly.

Fifteen minutes later, the sun finally rose. The kids were looking at it as it started to say hello. Charlie and Bela were drinking their hot chocolate as we see it. They were both in awe. After watching it rise, we went back home just in time for breakfast that the maids prepared for us. I know that our parents will faint when they see us having breakfast in our pajamas and without even combing our hair.

At around eight, the four kids went to the stable and showed the kids how we rode. Charlie and Andy even though he's just a young boy, enjoyed seeing us ride our horses. Andy was clapping his hands when Andres sprinted. We rode around the ranch and started practicing polo. Victoria went to the beach for her solo time there, so the kids were left with us and two nannies.

I practiced my swing, and hooking skills as Vera ran fast. I still got my polo skills with me despite of not playing in a very long time. I looked at my children who were with their nanny and both so happy to see me play, then I remembered what I just did. I didn't notice that Vera is running faster and I lost control of her. 

I heard Andres shouted at me, but it's too late. I fell down from Vera and I saw her running around the ranch. I saw Andres running towards me screaming my name and said that I shouldn't close my eyes. The kids started to cry and one of the nannies ran to our house to call for help. I'm conscious and can feel my legs, but my back hurts from the fall. 

I was brought to a hospital in Manila. I saw how organized Andres was when he gathered everything that we brought here and gathered up the kids before leaving. My two children were with him and the four kids were crying when they saw me full of blood.