CAROLINE’S eyes flew open. She turned to her side and found Lucas sitting at the veranda, talking with somebody on his phone. He turned in her direction and waved his hand.
“That’s just one hour of sleep,” he said, then pointed to his phone. “Hyacinth said that she couldn’t make it today.”
Caroline sat up slowly. She couldn’t figure out what Lucas was saying because her mind was still clouded with her bad dreams. She dreamed about her mother again.
“Are you okay?” Lucas asked, walking towards her. “Did you have a bad dream?”
“Did Hyacinth tell you?” she asked. Based on his expression, it looked like she was right. “Did she tell you about my dreams?”
Lucas shook his head. “She just mentioned to me that you have bad dreams every time…” he trailed off, “…every time you’re losing interest in someone special to you.”
Caroline stood. “It’s not true…” She walked towards the door but stopped just as she was about to open it. “You could live now if you want.”
Caroline went to the main house where Benjamin and the kids were staying. She found Antonette and Anastacia busy on their masterpieces at the bungalow in front of the house. Anastacia was the first to see her. She waved and smiled at her.
“Where have you been?” Anastacia asked, all smiles. “Daddy went inside to look for you, but it’s been an hour, and he hasn’t come back.”
“Maybe Nanay Dolor asked for his help in the kitchen,” Antonette said, not taking her eyes off the sketchpad.
“I took a nap,” she said and looked at the house. “Are they done cooking? I’ll go inside and help them.”
“Wait, Aunt Caroline,” Anastacia hooked her arm to her. “We need your opinion about this…” She showed her the acrylic painting. “Do you think Nanay Dolor will love this?”
Caroline’s mouth fell open as soon as her eyes lay on the painting. “It’s… beautiful.” She took the canvass from Anastacia and looked closely at it. “It’s perfect, Anastacia…”
Anastacia’s masterpiece was a replica of one of Fernando Amorsolo’s famous paintings—The Palay Maiden. Anastacia’s talent for acrylic painting was awe-inspiring. And, Caroline couldn’t find the right words to express her amazement.
“I’m sure Nanay Dolor would love this, Anastacia,” she said, couldn’t take her eyes off the painting.
“It’s not yet done,” Anastacia said, giggling. “Thanks, Aunt Caroline. If not because of you, we wouldn’t be able to do our stress-relieving hobby again.”
“Because of me?” she asked, overwhelmed by what Anastacia had said.
Anastacia nodded. “You bought all these art materials for us.”
“Oh,” she said and chuckled. “It’s nothing.” When Antonette remained silent, she sat beside her and nudged her shoulders. “What’s up?”
Antonette hesitantly looked at her. “I’m not yet done…”
“It’s okay. You have the whole day to finish it,” she said and smiled. “May I see your work in progress?”
Caroline can see that Antonette is hesitating. “I’m not sure if…” she picked up her sketchpad and flipped the pages. “I chose Nanay Dolor’s old photo as a reference.”
Caroline gasped. “Is this Nanay Dolor when she’s younger?”
“She was just seventeen when that photo was taken,” Anastacia said. “And, Nanay Dolor said that it was Lolo Fidel that took that photo. Her smile said it all.”
Caroline doesn’t understand why she felt emotional suddenly. Antonette got all the details correctly, the beautiful smile of a woman in love and her eyes that spoke a thousand words.
“It’s heart-warming to see art like this. It was as if she’s speaking to me… saying that love is the best thing in the world,” she said softly. “Antonette, it’s beautiful…”
“You must see the first sketch that she did—”
“Maybe later,” Antonette cut off and glared at her sister. “Let’s continue working on these in our room. Nanay Dolor might see us; it will spoil the surprise.”
“Antonette’s right. You have to keep this a secret until Nanay Dolor’s celebration,” Caroline agreed and helped them carry their art materials to their room.
“Aunt Caroline, you can go to the kitchen now and helped Nanay Dolor and Aunt Nikki. We’re fine here. Thanks for your help,” Antonette said and ushered her to the door. “See you at the party.”
Caroline’s brows furrowed as soon as the door closed in front of her face. It was as if the twins were hiding something from her. Before the negativity could cloud her thoughts, Caroline ditched them. She won’t let her nightmares eat her again… Not now that Antonette was just starting to open herself to her.
Caroline went to the kitchen. She found Nanay Dolor and Benjamin’s sister, Nikki, busy preparing different Filipino cuisines on the table. There were also two women helping them; both smiled upon seeing her enter the kitchen.
“I don’t know if I can be a help…” she said shyly. “But, I’m not familiar with all those dishes.”
Nanay Dolor laughed. “Those were Bohol’s cuisines. And, it’s okay, we’re almost done.”
“Ate Caroline, have you seen Kuya Benjamin? I thought he’s going to make cocktail drinks,” Nikki asked her. “I saw him entered the house a while ago; I thought he’d join us here.”
“I saw Benjamin went to the basement.” The woman wearing an oversized sundress said. “I thought he’s going to get wine for the beverage, but he hasn’t come back.”
“I’ll call him,” said the woman wearing a skimpy red dress. Caroline noticed that her lips were dryly painted by some cheap matte lipstick that looked inappropriate for what she was doing in the kitchen. She removed her apron, revealing her cleavage. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
Without a second thought, the woman walked out of the kitchen. Nanay Dolor, Nikki, and the woman were left with a knotted forehead.
“She has a big crush on Benjamin.” The woman in sundress said. “She prepared for this moment.”
Caroline laughed. “Well, should I ruin her plan?”
***