Downstairs waiting

Be down soon!

Nat was waiting in the carpark for Aika. Ever since that night, Nat had been picking Aika up from work. If Nat could have it his way, he'd send Aika to work too but having Jamie wake up an hour early everyday wasn't an answer. To make things easier on Nat, Aika had insisted that Nat focus on spending the mornings with Jamie instead of running back and forth.

"Tita Aika!" Jamie called out to the familiar figure when she saw her approach.

"Sorry I'm late...had a last minute meeting." Aika apologised as she opened the back door to greet Jamie with a hug and put her bags on the back seat.

"This girl here was asking me why you weren't there to pick her up...I thought she was the donkey from Shrek." Nat teased his daughter.

"Sorry Jamie, I'll be sure to pick you up tomorrow..." Aika's focus was on Jamie even though she was seated next to Nat in front.

"My turn..." Nat whispered just as Aika turned her head back. Her lips met Nat's perfectly.

"Jamie's watching..." Aika chided Nat.

"I wasn't..." Jamie's reply made Nat and Aika burst out laughing. If anything, Jamie was their biggest supporter.

"Mama and Patty are waiting, let's go." Now that the heightened security measures had been loosened, VP Leni invited Nat and Jamie for dinner.

"You do realise that my hand isn't the gear right?" Aika looked down, Nat was holding her hand tightly while driving.

"I'm a skilled driver." Nat refused to let go. Holding hands was something that they couldn't really do in public so Nat wanted to take the chance whenever he had it.

~

"Telling you not to bring presents isn't going to work at all right?" Aika starred at the bag that Nat held in his hand.

"The last time I went as a guest. This time, I'm going as your partner, I can't go empty-handed?" Nat felt even more nervous than the previous time he'd visited.

"Quick, let's go...I miss lola and tita!" Jamie grabbed Aika's hand and pulled her towards the lift.

"Mama...we're..." Aika opened the door to the condo.

"Hello, sweetheart!" VP Leni didn't even acknowledge her daughter and went straight to Jamie, who ran into the VP's arms.

"Wow, have we all been replaced?" Tricia stood behind her mama and joked.

"I missed you so much, lola Leni!" Jamie said in the most adorable and endearing voice ever.

"Me too. Sorry for making you wait..." VP Leni stood up and greeted Nat, who was waiting anxiously behind Aika.

"Nice to see you again, Ma'am." Nat handed the present to VP Leni.

"No need for presents everytime, Nat. We're family now..." Nat and Aika blushed when VP implicitly acknowledged their relationship.

"It's nothing big, ma'am. One of my colleagues happen to be in Singapore for a trip so I got him to bring back a few things." In the bag were an assortment of sauces, snacks and spreads from Singapore.

"Thank you kuya Nat! I love kaya with bread!" Tricia's eyes widened at the bottles of sweet spread.

"Dinner is ready already. Let's eat." Everyone took their seats at the table and dug in.

"Patty, the food is on the table." Aika caught Tricia starring at her and Nat with every bite.

"Can't help when you and kuya are so in love with each other..." Since Nat was busy caring for Jamie, Aika was putting food on his plate for him and reminding him to eat.

"Trish isn't wrong...why don't I get anything when I cooked?" VP Leni joined in the teasing.

"Here Ma'am, thank you for cooking tonight." Nat politely placed a scoop of meat on VP's serving plate.

"Thank you, Nat." VP smiled at the sweet gesture.

"Ate, we're out of ice-cream." Tricia whispered to Aika while she was clearing the dishes.

"So?" Aika raised her eyebrows.

"Mama and I can take care of Jamie for a good 45 minutes. Go on an extended ice-cream run with your lover boy." Tricia winked at her sister as she pushed Aika towards Nat.

"Careful, babe..." Nat caught Aika before she crashed into him. Aika sent Tricia an almost unnoticeable glare.

"Uh...we've been tasked to get dessert..." Aika's eyes shifted left and right.

"I know...let's go and maximise this opportunity!" Nat grabbed his wallet and stretched out his hand. Aika took Nat's hands amidst the teasing of her mama and Tricia.

"You know, I've been wanting to do this for a while..." Nat confessed softly as he caressed the back of Aika's hand with his thumb.

"Sorry...I..." Aika felt bad that they couldn't be like other couples.

"I don't mean holding your hand, although that's something I want to do all the time. I mean going out to run errands with someone I love and knowing that Jamie is having fun with people who love her..." Nat couldn't remember the last time he felt this happy going to a convenience store.

"I'll be glad to run errands with you more often. If it makes you happy." Aika smiled at Nat.

"Thank you." Nat kissed the back of Aika's hand as they got off the lift.

"Let's head to the store last...we have a good 30 minutes to ourselves." Aika pulled Nat towards the garden within the estate.

"You know, sometimes I ask myself if I'm dreaming?" Nat stopped walking and turned to face Aika. It was dark outside but the dim lamp a distance away was enough light.

"Why would you think that way?" Aika gently led Nat to sit on a bench.

"I came here without a plan or goal in mind but fast forward a few months, I'm here with you, the happiest I've ever been in ages. It's like I've suddenly found a purpose, a goal and a graspable future to work towards, all which seems too good to be true for someone like me..." Nat could express how much Aika changed everything for him.

"Nathaniel Lee, what did we say about putting yourself down?" Aika furrowed her eyebrows at the phrase. She didn't like it when Nat felt like he deserve anything good.

"Right...my bad." Nat caught himself. Aika leaned her head on Nat's shoulder and they sat their in silence for a while, enjoying each other's presence.

~

"Lola Leni, tita Tricia, can I ask you something?" Jamie looked at the two older women. They were on the couch watching cartoons.

"Go ahead, sweetie." VP Leni turned off the TV.

"Where's tita's papa? I haven't seen him before..." Both Tricia and VP Leni didn't expect the question.

"Come here..." Tricia lifted Jamie onto her lap.

"My papa, lolo Jesse, went to heaven nine years ago...do you know that that means?" Tricia wasn't sure if Nat had talked to Jamie about the concept of death.

"It means that you cannot see them anymore right? Do you miss him?" VP Leni nodded. She reached to grab one of the family pictures on the console and showed it to Jamie.

"This is lolo Jesse. He may not be here with us, but he lives in here." VP Leni placed her hand on her heart.

"Daddy said that when people go to heaven, they become stars in the sky that shine and protect us. That means Lolo Jesse is one of those stars in the sky, smiling at lola Leni, tita Aika, Tricia and Jillian!" Jamie pointed out of the window towards the night sky, it so happened that the stars were exceptionally bright.

"That's right. People you love will always stay inside here, closest to you." Tricia gently patted her own heart.

Aika had told her family about Nat's situation, with his permission of course, and it hurt their hearts to hear that Nat grew up without his mother and so did Jamie for the last 4 years...

"Lola, tita...Can you miss someone that you've never met?" Tricia and VP Leni didn't know how to answer Jamie.

"Is there someone you miss? Or want to miss?" Tricia asked carefully, hoping she didn't touch on something she wasn't supposed to.

"My mummy...All my friends say that they miss their mummies when they are at school. I want to say that too but how do I miss someone I've never met?" VP Leni and Tricia's hearts shattered at Jamie's heart-wrenching confession. They pulled her into a tight hug and kissed her head.

"I'm not sure if Trish and I have the answer for you, sweetheart...but if there is something we can promise you, it's that we will miss you when we don't see you." Jamie looked up.

"Do you think mummy misses me too?" Tricia and VP Leni were stumped for a second time.

"I would if I was her..." VP Leni wiped the stray tear from Jamie's cheek.

~

"Salamat, po." Nat and Aika thanked the owner of the convenience store as they walked out with a full bag of ice-cream.

"Stretch out your hand..." Looking suspiciously at Nat, Aika did as instructed.

"What is this?" Aika looked at what Nat had put on her hand. It was a candy ring that she'd seen in the store earlier.

"I know it's too early but this is my heart. It's not to pressure you or anything but I hope that one day, I'll be able to put on a real ring on your finger." Nat was embarrassed at the childish toy but he was genuine.

"So do I eat it?" Aika joked but she was touched at Nat's gesture.

"Ok, I'm embarrassed. Let's go back quick..." Nat blinked quickly as Aika giggled at how cute he was.

"Ice-cream delivery!" Aika called us she pushed open the door.

"Tita Aika! Daddy!" Jamie ran towards the two, obvious that she cried.

"Princess, what happened?" Nat picked Jamie up. Aika looked at her mama and Tricia in confusion.

"We didn't do anything, I swear!" Tricia raised her hands in defence when Aika narrowed her eyes at her.

"Princess, how about you have some ice-cream with Tricia first?" Nat decided to distract Jamie's attention while he figured what had happened.

"Sorry Nat, Jamie had asked about her mother. We tried our best but..." VP Leni, Aika and Nat were in the kitchen.

"May I ask what she said?" Nat sighed when he heard what VP Leni said.

"She asked whether her mummy missed her and if she could miss someone who she'd never met..." Nat felt his heart drop a second time.

"What were your replies?" VP Leni took a long breath before answering.

"We said that we didn't know...but we know for sure that we would miss her if we didn't see her. We didn't want to give her any false hope..." Nat resisted the sour feeling in his heart and held back a tear.

"Thank you, Ma'am. To be honest with you, I never knew how to answer Jamie whenever she brought up her mother..." VP Leni gave Nat a hug of comfort.

"I understand what it's like. It was tough with Jill and I imagine it's even tougher with Jamie being this small. Don't beat yourself up too much and do what do you think is best for Jamie, and yourself." Nat nodded.

"Mama's right. We'll be here for you if you ever need help." Aika placed a hand on Nat's back.

"Thank you so much..." Nat regained his composure and the three headed back out.

"I think we have a bigger problem..." Aika raised an eyebrow as Jamie was currently bouncing excitedly on a gym ball with Tricia. It was 8pm at night, 30 minutes before Jamie's bedtime...

~

"Princess, it's time for us to say goodbye...it's way past your usual bedtime." The Robredos had offered for the two to stay and Nat had been praying for the sugar rush to dissipate quick but Tricia had already raised the white flag.

"Sorry kuya...I'm at my limit..." Tricia flopped onto the sofa.

"Princess, you really have to sleep soon..." Nat tried convincing Jamie with a warm cup of milk that VP Leni had offered.

"I don't want to...tita Aika, play with me!" Jamie ran into Aika's arms in order to escape from her father.

"I have a new game but I'm not sure if you'll be up for it?" Aika sent Nat a wink.

"What is it! I wanna play!" Jamie bounced in Aika's arms.

"It's called Who Sleeps First. Daddy and I are really good at this game, I wonder if you would be good too?" Jamie's eyes lit up.

"I'm really good at falling asleep quickly! I can show you!" Jamie crossed her hands smugly.

"Really? How about we go up to my room and you can show me how fast you are?" Aika carried the girl up the stairs after giving VP Leni gave her a nod.

"Sorry about this, Ma'am...I'll head back with Jamie once she falls asleep." Nat was left downstairs with Tricia and VP Leni.

"No worries, Nat. If it gets too late, you're more than welcome to stay over. Don't want to disturb Jamie's sleep..." VP Leni offered kindly.

"Our couch is big enough, kuya...either that or ate's room is big enough for one more person..." Tricia called out and ran upstairs before her mother could chide her.

"Thank you so much but I wouldn't want to impose anymore. No worries about Jamie, she's a deep sleeper." Nat was grateful for the offer but to do so when it was only his second time at the Robredos would be taking things too quickly.

"Has the game started?" Nat whispered as he peeked into Aika's room. Jamie was lying on the bed with Aika beside her.

"Daddy, shhhh...I can't sleep if you talk to me." Jamie shushed Nat. Nat had to stop himself from laughing.

"Ok sorry...I'll be the judge of who falls asleep first so don't mind me and go ahead." Nat covered Jamie with the blanket as he exchanged looks with Aika. Jamie shut her eyes tight in an obvious attempt to fall asleep.

15 minutes later, Nat noticed that Jamie's face had relaxed and her breaths had gotten softer and slower. She had finally fallen asleep...

"Babe..." Nat called out to Aika, only to realise that she had dozed off as well. Smiling, Nat shifted over to Aika's side and knelt next to her.

He studied Aika slowly, tracing her beautiful facial features from top to bottom. He brushed Aika's hair to the side gently and bent over to give a her light kiss on the lips. Nat sat next to Aika and admired her for a good 5 minutes.

Looking at his watch, Nat decided that it was time for them to leave. Scribbling a quick note on a post-it, Nat left it on Aika's table. Picking Jamie up carefully, he balanced her on his body before covering the blanket back on Aika and tiptoed out of the room.

At the bottom of the steps, he had bumped into Tricia, who came down to grab a cup of water.

"See you soon, kuya." Tricia whispered as she helped Nat with his belongings.

"Thanks for tonight, Tricia. Please help me thank Ma'amas well." Nat nodded gratefully as he left the condo.

~

Hey, just wanted to say that Jamie and I have reached home. I didn't want to wake you up since you looked tired.

I left a note on your table. Thanks for tonight.

Love you ❤

Aika had woken up in the middle of the night and read Nat's messages. She reached over to her table and found the sticky note that Nat had written.

Sometimes it feels like I'm living in a dream when I'm with you. But even if I ever wake up from this dream, I'd still thank God for giving me the chance to love someone as beautiful as you.

A/N:

🙃