"Sigarilyas at patis"
I cringed at Gian's lyrics of Philippine's bahay kubo song, as far as I know there is no patis in its lyrics.
We're currently in the Hayashi-Salvador's guest room, it's past five o'clock. I decided to hid Gian in the room from their grandfather that might come home suddenly which I'm really afraid of.
"It's sigarilyas and mani. Sing it again, baby."
"Sigariyas at bati." He sang it again but the lyrics's still wrong. He's lying on his chest in the bed while his short legs were lifted and he is swaying it slowly while holding his favorite dinosaur toy as if he makes it danced while he sings Bahay Kubo.
"Si.." I guided him word by word.
"Si"
"Ga..."
"Ka"
"No, no. Say, siga..." I repeated it in slow pronounciation. "Si... Ga"
I teached Gian its lyrics in word by word, I should have started teaching him the Abacada.
"Sigaril...Ril"
"Shigalil" He almost copied me.
He really sometimes can't pronounce the letter R properly.
"Sigaril... Yas"
"Sigariyas"
"No, Sigaril... Yas"
"Sigaliyas"
"Hahaha still wrong, baby."
"Max! Dusty! Don't run!" I heard Diane's loud voice scolding their two huge dogs.
The door and the window of their guest room was half open so I could hear the noise from outside. Diane must have just arrived, I also heard honking her car.
"Let's go, baby. Aunt Diane is here"
"Aunt, aunt!"
He stood up quickly but still didn't let go of his dinosaur and came to me. I carried him and went out of the guest room to greet Diane who had just stepped inside their mansion.
"Baby Mark!" We were just in the middle of their grand staircase when Diane shouted Gian's name.
Because of that, Gian removed him hand's wrapping my neck and slightly moved him body to make me let him down from carrying him and he easily went down the stairs alone, I followed and supported him. He was holding onto the railings while he sat down in stair's steps so he could step down.
"Wwow! You've learned coming down the stairs alone!"
"Hello!" Gian greeted her after he completely got off the stairs.
Diane squatted to equal her height with Gian and Gian quickly gave his aunt a kiss on her cheek.
"Here's your things, Gill. I've added some more clothes, I just have a hunch that you might need some more."
I took the bag that she was holding, which was filled with Gian and I's clothes and hang it on my arm.
"Thank you. I was thinking about how I would pick up Gian from his school. I realized I've made a bad decision."
"That's what I was thinking too, but since you already said yes to mom, you can't take it back. So, I thought I'll take care of picking up Gian."
Diane's situation will be very difficult if she is the one to pick him up, she has an early work until afternoon. She'll be driving back and forth from Las Pinas to Cavite. Diane's work is in Cavite and they live in Las Piñas where Gian studies.
"And mom also told me through text that you will be my brother's temporary secretary, right?" She asked as she carried Gian and they're slowly swaying in front of me.
"Yes, he said I can start tomorrow."
"It's really a right decision that I took your skirt, I'll lend you my coat. I have some that I haven't used yet"
"No, it's okay even if I don't wear a coat."
"Even if you are a temporary secretary, your attire should still be formal, babe."
"Can we talk upstairs now? I'm afraid your grandfather suddenly arrive." I said in a low and almost in a whisper to Diane who also agreed so Gian and I went back upstairs and went straight to Diane's room.
"Wait, baby Marc." She put down Gian on her bed and he just sat there quietly, I sat next to him on the bed.
"As long as I can still remember, here is your coat."
She immediately ran to her walk-in closet which is just right opposite of her own bathroom here in her room and when Diane came out, she was holding a three blazer coats and they're still in a hanger with plastics which means they are unused.
"I have three coats that are not still being used. Those are yours now, babe!"
"Are you sure? It's a lot, Diane."
"Yes, I'm serious and that's just three coats, I have more in my closet so you don't have to worry."
She laughed when she saw my reaction to just what she said, I rolled my eyes at her and wrinkled my nose. After she's laughing, she pinched the tip of my nose.
"Ouch! It might become even more pointy if you pinch it like that."
"Hah! You're so arrogant, let me see your pointy nose?!"
"Nevermind, you might get jealous." I laughed and stick my tongue out at her.
"Hahahahaha! You're so childish, Gill."
"Mama's not a childish, right, baby Gian?"
"Hahahaha" He laughed at my question that I'm pretty sure he didn't understand what I just asked him.
"Look, he's just laughing at you. Hahahahaha!"
I threw her own pillow directly to her face which she caught and hugged it awhile before returning the pillow to the bed and she left to go straight to her room's bathroom. She informed me she'll wash her body and so I told her we'll take a bath too.
Since their guest room does not have its own bathroom, Gian and I used the restroom that is also on the second floor but it is at the end of the hallway and is quite close to the their grand stairs.
Gian and I soaked first in their bath tub, he played with his dinosaur in the water while I put a shampoo on his hair.
"Rawr, rawr! Boogsh!" Gian giving a sound effects while playing his dinosaur in the water. "Boom, boom!"
"Baby, close your eyes for a moment."
He closed his eyes and I immediately rinsed his hair with shampoo, fortunately they has a heater so it's fine even if Gian and I took a bath late at in the afternoon, we wouldn't get cold because I used warm water for our bath.
After we finished rinsing, I quickly wiped Gian and wrapped the towel around him while I got dressed first and then wrapped my hair with a small towel. I'm not in my own house so I can walk down the hallway with only a tapestry on.
When we came out of the bathroom, Ash was right on the last step of their stairs and he turned his gaze to us when Gian called him.
There was a visible of tiredness on his face but when he saw Gian, it's like a magic that his face brightened and the trace of being tired disappeared. I smiled in my thought thinking Gian is able to give some strength to his dad.
"Hello, little buddy."
I was carrying Gian with a towel wrapped around him and he wasn't wearing any clothes inside, I didn't let him walk on his own because he might get tripped by the towel he was using.
"the towel's wet"
Even though I warned him, he continued to take Gian from me and carried him. They left me in front of the bathroom and Ash walked towards his own room, his room was just at the opposite of the guest room that Gian and I used.
"Wait, Ash!"
He has already entered his room and he didn't listen to me when I called his name. I ran into the guest room and took Gian's clothes that were lying on the bed and went to the opposite door where Ash entered earlier, I knocked on it.
I knocked six times before he finally opened the door. Sine he opened the door widely, I saw Gian behind him sitting on his bed with the towel still wrapped around him.
"I'll borrow him for a while" He said while loosening his neck tie.
"Here are Gian's clothes. Please wipe him thoroughly, too?"
"I will."
"Baby, don't be a stubborn to your papa, okay?" He didn't answer but he scratched his nose, even though it was difficult for him, he still continued to scratch it. Gian's hand was under the towel, so he scratched his nose with the towel.
Ash took the clothes that I handed to him and closed the door of his room again.
I didn't felt nervous because I know that Gian is safe with Ash, it's also obvious to Ash that he's eager for the child, he probably remembers his son with Hannah.
If only he knew that he had been with his son for a long time now, that annoying guy--- Ash would surely be happy, Hannah was the only thing missing to make them a complete family.
I just went back to the guest room and put Gian and I's laundry together and then faced the small wall mirror in the room to fix myself.