Chapter Text
“Kanina ka pa tingin nang tingin sa phone mo.” Christine didn’t even look up from her coffee when she said it.
Maraiah paused then protested. “Hindi kaya!”
Christine finally glanced at her. “Pangatlong beses mo nang tinitignan ‘yan. Nasa date tayo, love.”
“That’s called multitasking.”
“That’s called waiting for your children to text you.”
Maraiah leaned back. “Bakit ba kasi mga hindi nagte-text eh?”
“Maybe they're busy. Nagpaalam naman sila kanina na baka hindi sila makapag-update agad,” Christine assured her wife. “They're fine, stop worrying at kumain ka na jan.”
“Hindi na talaga sila bata.”
“They will always be our children,” Christine said simply.
That ended the argument faster than anything else could.
The café around them was calm in a way their home rarely was—no overlapping voices, no footsteps running through hallways, no half-finished sentences being shouted from different rooms.
That morning, it was just the two of them. Which had become rare enough to feel unfamiliar. All because Ayeen had an out of school trip in Batangas and Chinee will not be home until the weekend.
Christine stirred her drink slowly. “We should do this more often.”
Maraiah tilted her head. “Do what?”
“You know… Go on dates, spend time na tayong dalawa lang. Parang dati lang.”
That made Maraiah pause.
Then she nodded once. “We used to do that easily. Nung wala pang dalwang bruha.”
Christine chuckled. “I miss you, Ayi. I miss having you like this.”
Silence followed, not heavy, just reflective.
Then Maraiah spoke first. “We didn’t even notice when it started changing.”
“Do you regret it?” Christine asked as she looked at her wife in the eyes, trying to study what her next response would be.
Maraiah shook her head immediately. “No.”
Then softer, “I love our kids, I love our family, and naging madali lahat kasi kasama kita. So no, I don't think there's anything to regret.”
Christine nodded slightly. “Not even when you had to let go of modelling?”
A pause. Then Maraiah added, “Yes, even when it cost us comfort or the dreams we thought our lives would revolve around.”
For a moment, they sat in silence, until Maraiah’s phone lit up.
Then a group call appeared on the screen.
So Maraiah answered, and immediately—
“HELLO, LOVEBIRDS.” Maya’s voice fills the line first as she's squished on the screen, beside Colin.
Colin followed, laughing. “Kayo lang dalawa?”
“Oo, busy yung mga bata eh,” Christine answered with a soft smile. “Edi inaya ko ‘tong mag-date.”
“Wow,” Sace added. “Private life reveal”
“Wala na atang mas private pa sa pamilya niyo, ‘te Ayi” Gwy said.
“Eh paano, strict parents pa naman ang peg,” Shee chimed in. “Kaya ako ang favorite Niyang eh. I'm so fun!”
Christine sighed, but she was already smiling. “Dedma sa'yo, Shee!”
“And correction, ako ang favorite Niyang ng lahat ng mga anak niyo,” Maya said quickly.
“In fairness, pati si Celise hinahanap nga si Maya,” Sace recounts.
“Ano ba ‘yan, ang daya naman ng mga anak niyo!” Shee remarks, then she smiles like she just got an idea just now. “Dahil jan, I will spoil Yve na lang para ako ang favorite Niyang ng anak niyo, Ate Col.”
Colin groaned. “Wag niyo ngang masyadong spino-spoil yung bata.”
“Ito naman, konti lang naman. ‘Di mo rin naman matitiis si Yvie.” Maya said to Colin before giving her a kiss on the cheek.
Across the call, laughter broke out.
Then Sace’s tone softened slightly. “How are the kids anyway?”
Maraiah leaned back in her chair. “Busy.”
Christine nodded. “Adjusting.”
Maya tilted her head."Chinee's in college now, right?”
Maraiah’s expression softened. “Yes.”
“And Ayeen?” Shee asked.
“High school,” Christine replied. “Pero grabe, nagdadalaga na ‘yang inaanak niyo.”
Colin smiled slightly. “Parehong-pareho sila ni Yve.”
Sace laughed. “Nako po, si Ayeen, Yve, at Celise pala yung maeda-edaran ‘no?”
Maya nodded. “Which means they should be bonding more often than they actually do.”
Colin sighed. “Hindi na nga tayo busy, yung mga bata naman yung naging busy.”
“Ang bilis ng panahon,” Christine said with a pout.
“Actually nagtatanong si Yve kung kailan sila pwede magkita ni Celise and Ayeen,” Maya added.
“Talaga? Sinabi niya yun?” Colin snorted as her comment earned a slap from Maya.
“Dapat talaga nagkikiki-kita tayo para nakakapag bonding din yung mga bata eh,” Christine.
Maraiah nodded. “We should fix a group date.”
Shee clapped lightly. “Ok! Niyangs date next weekend. Paguwi agad ni Chinee!”
The conversation drifted into teasing again, easy and familiar, like breathing into old patterns.
Maya’s voice quieted slightly. “We miss you guys.”
Maraiah’s expression softened. “We miss you too.”
Christine nodded. “Palagi naman, kahit ang kukulit niyo.”
A brief silence followed.
Then Milo said, “It’s weird seeing you two like this now, Ate Ayi, Chin.”
Christine tilted her head. “Like what?”
“Settled down, resting, happy…” Milo enumerated. “Not in a boring way, pero in a complete way.”
“Agree, tama ni Milo” Gwy added. “Ang saya niyo tignan magkasama.”
Sace smiled faintly. “Dati magkakasama lang tayo sa Bloom tapos ngayon may kanya-kanya nang pamilya.”
“Grabe ‘no, who would have thought?” Shee said in a nostalgic voice.
That made Christine and Maraiah glance at each other. A shared understanding passed between them without needing explanation because they both knew what it took to get here.
Gwy spoke again, softer now. “Ang ganda nga eh.”
“Parang yung mga anak natin, magaganda.” Sace said which earned a laugh from the girls.
Christine exhaled lightly. “Pero ang dami nating sinakripisyo para makarating dito…”
Maraiah continued, “And when you have children, it multiplies.”
Sace tilted her head. “Totoo, and no one really prepared us for it.”
“Swerte pa nga kami kasi we saw how good you guys were with Chinee,” Maya said with a smile, as if recalling the times when Chinee was the only baby of the group.
Silence followed that, but the call slowly returned to the light teasing after that. The kind of moment that belonged only to them.
Then when they dropped the call to go on with their days, Christine reached for Maraiah’s hand without looking.
“Ang daming nagmamahal sa'tin. Pati sa mga bata,” Christine said.
“Sa tingin ko, they were the reason why the kids understand that loving someone comes at a cost.”
“And they got to choose what their love was spent on. How their love is used.” Christine tightened her hold slightly. “So they spent it on us.”
Maraiah nodded once. “then on the family they found along the way” she added.
Then softer, “on the lives they're starting to build for themselves…”