DANIEL and Jasmin were both saddened when they heard what Dr. Regala had just said. The result was very clear. They were not capable of having a child.
"Doc, are you sure? Maybe, we could conduct another test?"
Daniel helped Jasmin for support because she seemed weakening and might fell to the ground any moment while listening to the doctor.
"I'm afraid the results are very clear, Mr. and Mrs. Raymundo. But you can always ask for other specialists' opinions, of course."
"But Doc, is there really no other way?" Jasmin cried, so he rubbed her back to console her.
"According to the results of our series of tests, you are both healthy and that's the good news here. That means, there's still a way for you to have a child. "
"Please spill it out, Doc," he asked.
"I think surrogacy is an option, though we still need to wait for all the results of the tests. With that option, all you have to do is find a surrogate mother that you know will be a perfect choice. That way, we can be assured that your child will be safe for nine months. "
He and his wife looked at each other. What the doctor said was not actually surprising. Many people are already doing that but he didn't expect that the day would come and he would be in the same situation. He shook his head several times while listening to Dr. Regala.
"ARE YOU sure of your decision, Berna?"
Bernadette let a few seconds pass in silence before she nodded at Roxanne's question. She called her friend after working hours and told her the decision that she had been thinking about for two consecutive nights. Andrew badly needed help and no one else could help him but his mother. It's time to decide for Andrew's sake.
"I know it's so stupid of me to ask but how about you? What if you find the right man to marry? You will probably have a prob—"
"You think I can still be happy despite what happened in my life, Roxanne? Do you seriously believe that I will be able to get married?"
Roxanne shook her head at what she said. "Oh, dear, don't think that way. You're still very young and I'm sure there's still somebody out there that is meant for you. "
She shook her head violently. "I don't think about that anymore. All I want now is to secure Andrew's good health and recovery, Roxanne. He's my only source of strength to live and I need to do everything for him. "
"So, you're already firm with your decision?"
She nodded softly.
"All right. I will talk to Esme tomorrow at the earliest possible time. I will ask her if she has a client now. You'd surely have a lucky client because you're a decent woman. "
Bernadette tried to smile even though there was still doubt in her heart. What was important for her was there would be a chance now that her son will undergo surgery as soon as possible.
DANIEL didn't know how he would feel at that moment. He had just finished talking to Jasmin. She would like to consider surrogacy and though he was swayed, somehow, it was not a surprise to him anymore. He knew how his wife had been longing for a child. She was very vocal about it ever since.
At first, Daniel thought Jasmin could wait until his memory came back. Now he doubted his wife was still willing to wait. She'd tell him almost every day that she wanted to have a child. But he noticed that she became more persistent just a few days before they flew to Manila. That was the reason why he could not refuse what she wanted to happen. He did not say a word when she said her decision to look for a surrogate mother.
"Anything wrong, honey?"
Daniel turned to the door. Jasmin was there and watching him. He tried to smile at her. "Nothing..."
She gracefully walked towards him and sat in his lap. "Do you still have a change of mind about our decision to have a child?"
He felt the urge to tell her that it was not a mutual decision but hers alone. She didn't even ask his opinion, but who was he to refuse? He couldn't even remember the small details of himself, so how could he oppose the only person he knew in his life and who always reminded him of the things about him?
"No. I'm just thinking about our business in Davao. Can Tony handle that alone?"
Daniel was referring to Tony, Jasmin's trusted person in everything. He was also with them when they visited his parents for the first time. He didn't ask Jasmin about him, or who this man was in their lives because he had no choice but to trust.
"Tony is a great man. He can manage everything even if we don't return to Davao for a year or two," Jasmin said with a smile.
"But of course. You've known him for a couple of years already, right?"
"Yeah, a decade to be exact. He's a good friend of yours as well, honey."
He nodded despite the protest. The truth was, he didn't feel even a single familiarity every time he talked to Tony. He could not even believe when Jasmin told him that they regularly go out of town. If that was true, then maybe he had just enough patience. Tony was a hot-headed person, not to mention that he was arrogant.
"Don't waste your time thinking about what we left in Davao. Tony can take care of it, okay."
Just for the sake of ending their discussion, Tony just kept silent.
HE HAD just finished taking a bath and found his wife inside the room. She was also drying her hair with a towel.
"You said you will only get up from the water when the sun's up? It has just started to shine, honey," he said.
Earlier, Jasmin told him she would take a dip in the swimming pool of the villa. He just refused to come with her when she invited him. He couldn't understand but the water had a bad effect on him. Jasmin said it was just normal for him to feel that way because the plane crashed into the water when the accident happened. So that explained his intense fear of the water.
"Yeah, but Prucing told me that Mom was on the phone so I decided to come up here to talk to her."
"What's up with your mom?" He sat down next to his wife and gently massaged her back.
"Your hands are great, honey," she murmured. "By the way, mom is doing good. She just asked how we are doing here."
"Does she know why we're here in Manila?"
Daniel stopped for a moment when Jasmin turned to him.
"Yes. Mom and I don't keep secrets from each other and you know that."
He shrugged. He met Jasmin's parents only once. He wondered at the indifference they had shown him during their one-week stay in the country. When his wife said that her parents didn't like him ever since, he didn't ask anything. That was probably the reason why they hardly talk to him. He felt he did not exist in the world whenever his in-laws were there.
Jasmin was about to speak when the phone rang on the bedside table. Without haste, she turned to the phone and answered the call.