"I DON'T think it's wise to stay there for good, honey," Daniel said nonchalantly to his wife Jasmin. She wanted to migrate to Australia because her family lives there, but he didn't want the idea. He'd rather stay here in the Philippines for personal reasons.
"There's no reason for us to stay here, hon. I told you, we need to leave as soon as possible—"
"But why? Are you avoiding anyone here? Are you running away for some reason?"
Jasmin's brows furrowed so he looked away from her. "Don't dare talk to me that way, Daniel." It took her a few seconds before she continued. "I just want to be with you, for us to have some time alone with each other," she added.
He shook his head. "If that's your only reason, you have nothing to worry about. I'll always be here for you. We're married, right?"
She reached for his face and planted a light kiss on his lips. "I love you, Daniel and don't forget that you love me too. That's the reason why we got married."
Daniel stared at her intently, and then kissed her on the top of head. "I never doubted your words, honey. Not even once. "
"Then why couldn't you grant my only dream to live in Australia? I badly miss my family. "
"We can go there any time to visit, but we don't need to settle down. I need to stay here and you know why. "
His wife's eyes became evasive. Just like before, she was sulking again. She'd always act like that every time she did not agree with his opinions. He fondly caressed her back.
"Okay. Give me a month, honey. Just a month and then I'm ready to go with you. "
Jasmin's face lit up. "Are you sure?"
He nodded.
"Is that a promise?"
His forehead creased. A particular scene suddenly crossed his mind but he couldn't figure what it was.
'A promise?'
"Honey, is that a promise?" Jasmin asked impatiently.
He was forced to nod. Excitement flashed across the woman's face. She tip-toed, then kissed him.
DANIEL glared at his wristwatch. Jasmin said her friends visited their house just to have dinner with them. But it had been two hours and they're still there, comfortably chatting with his wife. The day seemed to be very long to him. He was dead tired and all he wanted was to go straight to bed.
"You really look good together, guys! I couldn't help being envious," said Stela, the most talkative among her four female friends.
Jasmin touched his hand that was resting on his thigh. "We love each other so much and I think that is the most important. Right, honey?"
He nodded while smiling. Maybe, that was enough for a gesture of approval.
"Oh, I'm really jealous!" Stela exclaimed and then turned to the woman next to her. "Just like Maita here. She's very much married, and so is Anne. It seems that I'm the only one here who doesn't have a love life, huh!"
"Yeah, I have a love life but never had a child of my own! So, where's the luck?" Maita replied. She was actually taking care of her two nieces since their mother, her sister, was always out of the country. "Oops, sorry, guys!" She looked at Daniel and Jasmin after realizing what she just said. "Sorry, it wasn't for you. I'm talking about myself here. I've been married to Jimmy for six years but see, we still don't have a child until now!"
"It's all right. We don't really mind," Daniel said but his irritation was obvious in his voice.
"Actually, I do."
Everybody looked at Jasmin. Now she was seriously staring at him. But what she said next surprised him.
"I'm sorry, Honey, but I want to have a child like Anne. Look at her, she's very much happy with her kids. I also want to be a mother like her. "
From out of nowhere, Daniel felt warmth in his heart. He didn't know why he suddenly felt that kind of emotion. A particular scene crossed his mind. There was a pregnant woman sitting on the chair and he was gently caressing her baby bump. It wasn't clear, but what Jasmin said had brought a strange feeling to him.
"Honey, are you all right?" Jasmin asked.
Daniel just nodded when he saw everyone was now looking at him. He realized that he lost himself for a while. "I'm fine."
"He surely just wants to have a child like you, Jasmin."
"Well, of course. Maybe we're gonna visit our doctor one of these days, right honey?"
For the nth time, Daniel nodded again. He was now starting to feel a little dizziness.
"But just in case, how many kids do you want to have, guys?" Anne curiously asked.
"Two. I want two children. A boy and a girl are fine with me. How about you, honey?"
Daniel felt Jasmin squeeze his arm. He immediately understood what she meant so he tried to focus. It's good that she answered the question, herself.
But again, a particular scene entered his mind. He closed his eyes and tried to remember the things that were trying to penetrate in his memory. Everything was blurry but the feelings seemed real.
'I'll be happy if we'll have five children, my love.'
Whose voice was that?
He automatically raised his one hand to caress the corners of his forehead, and then shook his head slowly. That trace of memory made his head ache.
These days, there were scenes that would suddenly flash his mind. Scenes that he couldn't clearly remember when it happened. He couldn't even recognize who those people were.
'I'll be happy if we'll have five children, my love.'
Was that Jasmin's?
Without thinking twice, he turned to Jasmin and seriously asked her. "You only want two children? Are you sure?"
A sudden crease was formed on her forehead before she replied. "Yes, why? How many children do you expect me to want?"
"I was actually expecting you would say five," he said, trying to put Jasmin's face on the woman in his mind.
But Jasmin gasped as if what he said was ridiculous. "Five?! I'm not crazy to have five children, huh!"
Her response truly confused him. For sure, she had mentioned she wanted to have five children before. Maybe she just forgot that. It was very clear in his mind that she did. Or did she really?
"I just want to have children, honey, but they don't need to be five. You're really messing with me, huh!"
Good thing that he didn't have to answer what Jasmin said because the topic was immediately focused on Anne.