60 - Marianne
The next day, Jack was finally discharged and we headed home to the condo where Jonah, Gio, and of course, my very cute daughter Amy were waiting. As soon as I saw her, I quickly picked her up and hugged her tightly.
I missed my daughter so much and I also felt that she missed me as the entire afternoon that day, she slept on my shoulder and cried whenever I would try to place her back in her crib.
"Mars, how about you put Amy down first?” Jonah suggested while drinking coffee.
Jack had excused himself earlier, telling all of us that he needed to do something quickly in the office. I told him he needed to take things slow first as he had only been discharged from the hospital but he just wouldn’t budge, saying it had something to do with his boss and his position too. Worried he might lose his job, I let him go but only with the condition that he would be home immediately. Because of that, I was left here with Amy, Jonah, and Gio.
"Shh," I replied to Jonah.
She took a sip from her coffee and suddenly asked me again, “Okay, you need to be honest. How many times do you and Jack do it?”
My eyes widened and immediately turned to the living room where Gio was currently on the couch sleeping. Earlier, he had played with Amy which left him tired. Naturally, I suggested he rest which he did.
“He won’t wake up, he’s a deep sleeper,” Jonah casually said before taking another sip from her coffee.
I couldn’t help but stare at her with wide eyes. Then I sighed as I lowered Amy down into her crib. She made a soft yawn and went on to sleep soundly.
"What kind of question is that?" I asked Jonah in a whisper the moment I turned to face her.
Jonah shrugged and casually said, "Nothing. It’s just that Jack has been smiling a lot lately. I could tell he was happy and content. You, on the other hand, are glowing. So, it’s about that kind of activity…. Am I right?” She teased.
I laughed a little at what I heard, it looks like Jonah sees a different Jack. Because in my opinion, my son Jack is far from 'content' especially when it comes to bed activities. He wasn’t even satisfied with doing it only once at night.
Still, Jonah had always had the weirdest and craziest questions. "You're really crazy," I laughed and told her while shaking my head.
"What? Tell me,” she laughed along, smiling as we talked. “At this rate, Amy might even have a new sibling coming soon, ha ha,” Jonah joked.
Which immediately made me silent.
Jonah seemed to notice quickly. Her eyes widened as she moved closer to me, “Hey, don’t tell me… You’re pregnant?”
I looked at the side and slowly nodded with a sigh. I knew I had nothing more to hide from Jonah anyway. In addition, she might get angry and sulk again if I kept this thing to myself again.
"Oh my gosh, mars! Seriously, Amy isn’t even two years old yet! Wow, Jack… Jack’s a hell of a one-shooter,” She commented, then gasped again as she looked at me with wide eyes, “Wait, does this mean… you’re not using protection…?” Jonah asked again as if we were high school teenagers again.
Rather than feeling offended or awkward, I felt relieved at how casually she was treating it. Naturally, I shook my head. Then was a little bit embarrassed as I further admitted, “H-He doesn’t want to…”
As expected, Jonah teased me about it and was endlessly asking more like a teenager. I laughed at her antics and because our voices were getting louder and louder, Gio suddenly woke up.
He stood up and scratched his head as he turned to look at us while yawning, "Auntie, where’s Aki? Is he home yet?"
He had been waiting for Jack’s arrival as Jack promised that he would give Gio his limited edition t-shirt with a signature of a well-known basketball player that they both had been idolizing since they were kids.
I glanced at the clock and replied to Gio, “Hmm, he’s probably still in the office. Wait for about an hour more. I’m sure he’ll be here. Why don’t you continue watching the series you were watching earlier?”
“Hmm, okay,” Gio nodded as he went to the other side of the couch and grabbed the remote to watch TV.
When I turned to Jonah, I found she was looking at Gio and emitting a sigh. It suddenly reminded me of that one time I talked to her about my issue with Jack… She also mentioned something had strange happened before, between her and her son… Adopted son, that was.
"Jonah... Was he the one you were referring to before?" I asked her softly.
She let out a sigh and looked at me with a sigh. “Yeah, he is.”
Now I knew why Jonah was so careful in dealing with her own issue. She said Gio wasn’t mature enough like Jack was. He was really mischievous and easily tempted. Naturally, Jonah didn’t want to continue what happened between them in fear that Gio would do something else she wasn’t prepared for... She said she only helped him once and that deed cannot be done again. Even when they weren’t truly blood-related, Jonah didn’t want to push it for so many reasons.
I prefer not to interfere in their issue to give them privacy. I just thought that if she ever would need my help, I would be here to lend my shoulder.
Soon, Jonah and I started to prepare dinner. After a while, Jack arrived as well.
I greeted him as he greeted Jonah and Gio before quickly heading to the bedroom to change his clothes. The bandage around his wound was still there, suggested by the doctor to keep it and change it twice a day for a few more days until it healed.
“Ahh, so many things to do,” Jack uttered with evident exhaustion in his voice as I went in to help him. He started to talk about what happened in the office. Because he had been lost for a long time, he said the boss had given him more assignments to do. It had piled up, to say the least.
With a huff, he sat on the bed and pulled me to him, hugging my waist.
My heart melted as I stroked Jack’s head for a moment before I asked him, “Dinner’s ready. Do you want to eat or rest for a while?”
“Hmm… I had a good whiff of it earlier… But, I think I’ll just eat this,” he joked as he hugged me tighter and buried his head on my stomach.
I chuckled and told him Jonah and Gio were already waiting outside.
“Fine, fine,” he replied, finally as he said he wanted to check Amy too.
Smiling, we went back to the kitchen and ate dinner with Jonah and Gio. A while later, Jack was already picking Amy up and giving her a kiss while saying, “Daddy is here. Did you wait for me? Who’s the brightest, cutest girl in the world? That’s it, that’s it, it is you.”
I smiled at the sight, my chest feeling all the warmth that the world possibly could ever give me.
No matter how many bad things happened to us, I could still say that somehow, I was glad they didn’t separate us, that they only led us to now – to this situation where we were all together gathered with warm looks on our faces. With Jack, Amy, and me, and even the people who loved and accepted us unconditionally. Always.
While looking at Jack and Amy smiling at each other, I couldn’t help but finally realize the truth that was hiding in my heart.
I wasn’t alone anymore. I was loved, and I had a family that I loved and loved me back with the same amount, if not more. And I needed them more than I ever felt I did before.
When Jonah and Gio left, Jack kissed me immediately on the lips. Chasing our breaths, we took off our clothes and slowly savored each other.