I almost dropped the binoculars from my hand. I was right about my intuition when I saw Tim dressing up to the nines. I just felt it was too inappropriate to be dangling with signature kinds of stuff if your job is to drive for your boss wherever she goes.
I pitied my friend. How would I ever tell her that her boyfriend and her close friend are cheating on her? And I felt sorry for Mr. Kim. But that could be the price for cheating on Maezy on that night at the beach with me. They were already married at that time. I could not blame it on the alcohol because he still had the strength to carry me into the room. But I think his conscience still bothered him because he left. And I was glad he did. If he didn’t, I was so out of my mind that night that I was ready to lose my dignity to him.
The next day, I went to Ara’s house after work. Zed wouldn’t be home until late at night due to his speaking engagement.
“Where’s Tim?” I asked as I sat before a coffee table, waiting for Ara to sit down across from me.
“Out of town. Maezy and Mr. Kim took a vacation somewhere in the north.”
“When did they leave?”
“Early this morning.”
I nodded, but my heart was heavy. My best friend was pregnant, and I didn’t want her to get stressed over Tim’s unfaithfulness.
“By the way, Ar, after Zed and I left the restaurant, you went somewhere else?” I looked up at her from the rim of my cup. Coffee was always a part of our chat wherever we were, but lately, she had to shift to milk due to pregnancy.
Ara gazed back at me, perhaps wondering why I was asking these strange questions. I used to never bother about Tim and whatever his activities were. Besides, Ara and I always had endless topics to chat about, so there's no room for him to be even mentioned in most of our discussions.
“We went home directly with Maezy and Kim. But after that, Maezy and Tim went out to buy some stuff to bring for their outing.”
“What time was that?” I immediately regretted asking this question when I saw Ara pulling her brows together.
“Eleven? For a while, why are you asking?” Ara crossed her arms and leaned on the backrest, her eyes squinting at me.
“Because I saw Mazy's car as they passed by. I was wondering if you also went out with them.”
“Why? Is there something unusual about that?” she laughed, but the crease on her brows suggested she was suspecting of my sudden curiosity.
“No. All I was thinking is that it’s not good for you to sleep late now that you are pregnant.”
Ara sighed and brought her hand unconsciously to her abdomen. She looked down and caressed her bump before she gazed back at me. There was a glint of sadness in her eyes. I thought it was about Tim.
“Yen, I know it would hurt to leave the baby when the time comes. But please promise me that you would still introduce me as his biological mom.”
I stared at her, unblinking for a while. I realized I had greater concern than Tim’s cheating on her. She was already sad about leaving the baby once her work application in the US would be approved. How would she be able to bear it if Tim’s unfaithfulness is added to her emotional load?
"Silly girl. What are you talking about?" I rolled my eyes.
"Can't help it."
“Ar, how about taking a walk?” I invited her.
I knew how lazy she was in getting out of bed, but I was hoping that a bit of fresh air and open surroundings could improve her mood. She would never exchange sleep for anything. If it were not for her need to work, she would have preferred to roll on her bed the whole day.
“Okay, let’s go.”
She changed into a pair of racerback-type tops and jogging pants while I did not mind wearing my jump shorts. We talked about work, the baby, and her plans as we started to walk around. When we reached the subdivision’s park, we looked for a bench and sat down, watching some kids running around.
“Hi, Auntie Ara!” A six-year-old boy called out to us. He slipped from his nanny’s hand and sprinted toward us. Ara also stood up and stretched out her arms to welcome the boy.
“My handsome boy, why are you still out?” Ara asked while pressing the boy to her body.
“Mommy and daddy are out,” the boy replied with shining eyes.
“Who’s your daddy, Jaykee?” asked her nanny, laughing. I got confused, and I glanced at Ara, who also looked at me.
“Nanny Sylvia, what kind of question is that?” Ara threw her a meaningful look.
Before Sylvia could answer, Jaykee’s voice floated out. “It’s daddy James sometimes, then daddy Kim.”
“Soon, there will be daddy Tim,” Sylvia answered while giggling as she moved her eyes from Jaykee then to us. Ara got speechless. I also got awkward—my intuition got more support from her.
After a while, Ara held Jaykee’s arm and pointed the swing not far from us. “Do you want to play there?”
“Yes, auntie,” answered Jaykee, his eyes glowing with excitement.
“Then, go. We’ll watch you from here. Just be careful.”
When Jaykee finally settled himself into the swing and began rocking, Ara turned to Sylvia.
“Sylvia, what is it you are talking about?”
“Ara, Maezy has a crush on Tim a long time ago. So, be careful. Don’t trust so much.”
Ara’s face turned pale, but she still tried to cover up. “Sylvia, it’s never good to talk about people. And you’re already accusing them.”
“Ara, all I’m saying is that you should be careful. Jaykee is already five years old when she left the old man for James. And while she was on a vacation with James, she met Tim and got married to him. Both have money, but they don’t have the youth and energy of Tim.”
“Sylvia…”
“Ara, excuse me. I couldn’t leave Jaykee alone. Maezy is going to lose her financial support from the old man should something bad will happen to the child.” She winked at Ara then ran away from us, giggling.
“Ar, what does she mean? Who is the old man, and who is James?” I asked, my eyes narrowing. I couldn't believe my eyes and ears.
“The old man Sylvia referred to is Jaykee’s father, and James is Maezy’s boyfriend before she met Kim.”
I couldn't forget how Maezy and Ara called Mr. Kim an old man. But then, there's another one.
"How old is he?"
"Sixty plus..."
I got overwhelmed as the pieces of the puzzle started to fit together.
“She left Jaykee’s father for James?” I asked, horrified.
“No, the old man doesn’t know about James, and apparently, he also doesn’t know about Kim.”