Arianna turned to look at Yago beside her. They were both sitting on the edge of the bed with a half a meter distance between them. Arianna was already fully clothed while Yago only managed to put on a robe and has been staring into space, sitting like Rodin's 'the thinker' statue for quite a while now.
Arianna sighed. She didn't expect Yago's reaction to be like this. It was as if Albee being his son was such a big problem. "You don't look very happy with the news. Well, you don't have to dwell on it. You can just forgetabout everything I said." she said after watching him for some time. "My son said he doesn't need a father anyway." she added before standing up and walking away, ready to leave.
That comment woke Yago out of his daze. He quickly stood up and hugged Arianna from behind just when she was about to open the door. "I'm sorry. It's not like that." he mumbled as he held her close. "I don't dislike him. He's our child! But it's just too overwhelming and I don't know how to feel about this. It's so sudden..."
"You've never really thought he could be yours, did you? You thought it was really likely that I was with someone else. Are you still the same Yago?"
When Yago heard Arianna's voice crack up, he suddenly felt as if his heart was being crushed. He didn't want to seem difficult and unreasonable. But this was something he didn't see coming.
"I'm really sorry. It's my fault. I was stupid. Please give me a little more time to process this. I... " Yago halted his words as he became a little more emotional. "The truth is... I don't know how to become a father to him."
Arianna turned around and looked at his face. What was he afraid of? He looked pale and anxious.
"I was abandoned by my father when I was six. I didn't know how it feels to have a father. What if I fail? How do I interact with him? I've never been around a little boy his age. It's stupid but I'm scared." Yago voiced her concerns with faltering voice. This was his taboo. This was his weakness acquired the moment his own father let go of him.
Arianna lowered her head. She didn't think Yago felt this way about his father. He had always been tough and made it seem like he's alright. She thought he didn't care about his past anymore, but it looks like the pain was deeply embedded into her heart.
"Please don't tell Albee I already know the truth." he pleaded. He cupped her face and then pulled her into his arms again. "I promise I'll work on my personal issues. Just give me some more time." he added.
Arianna didn't say anything anymore. She just nodded and put her arms around his waist. Yago didn't grow up with a father, but they shared a mother once. She also didn't want Albee to grow up with the same sentiments as him. She wanted a family; a happy family.
***
"Hey! What took you so long?" Roy asked with a knowing smile. The dinner already started ten minutes ago and Arianna and Yago only appeared just now. "So busy,huh?"
Everyone sitting at the table all turned to the couple at once upon hearing Roy's remark. But Yago didn't reply to Roy and immediately pulled a chair for Arianna before occupying the seat beside her. "Sorry we're late." Arianna uttered in her usual cold expression.
Roy glanced at Arianna and then to Yago. They didn't seem to be in a good mood. He thought they were delayed because of something exciting, but turns out they were fighting? "Ehm.... Have you ever been to a Valentines day together?"
Arianna and Yago both turned to Roy at the same time. Then they exchanged look. Honestly, they've never been to a Valentine's date together. And isn't it almost Valentine's now? Yago wondered what to give Arianna on that day, but suddenly, he remembered something that happened years ago.
"Speaking of Valentine's day. I remember seeing a post of you girls on social media a few years back... Something about dating on a restaurant?.. Let's try that this year!" Yago told Arianna out of the blue.
Arabella froze while Roy turned to her after being reminded of that day. But Arianna stayed calm as she looked back at Yago.
"I don't remember much about that day because I was blind. Was my date handsome?", she asked nonchalantly, emphasizing that she didn't feel guilty at all. "So yeah... Let's do something like that. Are we gonna bring the kids?" she added.
Yago paused for a while. Yes. Arianna was blind at that time and even though what they did was something dangerous, it's all in the past so why not just forget about it? "About the kids, I'll think of something." Yago answered.
Across the table, Roy had stopped eating and just stared at Belle who was munching on her food. She didn't want to discuss about that social media post but by the way Roy kept staring at her, it seemed it's very unlikely to dodge the issue. She didn't want to meet his eyes though so she just pretended not to care and just focus on her meal.
"Belle, I want ask you something..." Roy leaned closer to her ear and whispered. "About Bijou..."
Both women looked at Roy at the same time. Even the kids were gazing at him at the mention of that name. Albee who was sitting beside Aaliyah glared at Roy as he drop his cutlery.
"Roy, I don't allow you to call my mother like that. It's too intimate." Albee protested. Roy was baffled though. When did he mention his mum?
"Yes, dad. I don't allow it too!" Aaliyah echoed and then turned to Albee. "But you shouldn't call him Roy. He's my daddy so call him uncle." she mumbled.
Albee looked at Aaliyah's face for a while before nodding. "Alright. I'll call him uncle." he replied. Only the kids heard what they whisper to each other though.
Watching how Roy was glaring at his son, Arianna cleared her throat. She then began explaining when Roy finally turned to her. "I'm sorry Roy. Albee has been very protective of me since he was little. He didn't mean to sound disrespectful, it's just that... Calling me that or any petname is a bit intimate don't you think?"
Roy blinked a few times unable to comprehend what they all were talking about until Yago started laughing. They all turned to him as if he has gone nuts. "I'm sorry." he said to Arianna. "I just found it funny that Belle gave you such a weird petname. She really hated you!" he jested. He finally get it. So the Bijou on Belle's post that year was Arianna? That's insane. He thought it was her date's surname or something.
"Of course not! I call her Bijou because she's precious to me!" Belle refuted with a frown. Arianna however started laughing too.
"Really? I thought you were cursing me when you gave me that nickname." Arianna chimed.
Roy stared at the group of people with a frown. So Bijou was Arianna? And he has been sulking all these years because of a non-existent man? He's really pissed off. He tightened his grip on his cutlery as he vent his frustration at the poor thing.
Arabella noticed his silence and leaned closer for a kiss. "Stop thinking about that, alright?", she whispered. "We only had dinner with them. I only met with them to provoke you because I thought you don't want me anymore." she said coquettishly.
Roy's expression eased up. Belle rarely acted coy in front of him and it made him feel good. "Of course I want you. I will always want you." he answered before kissing her back.
Arianna looked away feeling awkward. She glanced at his son and was relieved to find him not looking at the love-stricken couple's display of dog food. Aaliyah on the other hand only glanced for a second before turning to Albee. "What are they doing?" she whispered.
"It's called flirting. It's something weird that adults enjoy doing. Just ignore them." Albee explained to her.
Aaliyah nodded. "Is that so... Alright, I'll listen to you! But what is Valentine's date?" she asked next.
"It's an activity that a boy and a girl do during February fourteen. They can watch a movie, or eat outside: in a restaurant or food stalls; usually, whatever suits the girl's taste. It could be anything fun." he said.
Aaliyah thought for a while. "Anything fun? Let's go on a date too!" she exclaimed.
Albee turned to Aaliyah and saw her excited face. He couldn't help but smile seeing how silly she was. "Alright! I'll go on a date with you. What do you wanna do? Where do you wanna go?"
"I wanna go on a picnic!" she blurted out.
Albee chuckled. When they were still in Levis, they used to go on a picnic every weekend. He gathered Aaliyah must be missing those times. With that in mind, Albee stood up and turned to Roy Vander before saying out loud:
"Uncle, I want to ask for your permission. I want to take Aaliyah out on a date!"
The women giggled. Yago was amazed and gave Albee a thumbs up. Roy however wasn't amused. The corner of his lips twitched in annoyance. The kid was obviously doing it on purpose!
"Don't call me uncle!" he said through gritted teeth. The boy was really out to annoy him!