Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Hi, ma—"

"Aiya! Show me my daughter-in-law! I'm sick of seeing your face!" she immediately demanded, Adler had no choice but to leave the kitchen and show his fiancée who was quaking in coldness in the living room while gripping the thick towel around her shoulders using her gelid hands.

"Hey." He lightly tapped her shoulder, and she instantly turned her head in response. He handed her his phone and mouthed. "It's my mom, she said she wants to talk to you."

"Oh." she lightly gasped. "Okay, okay," she whispered before taking the phone from his large, veiny hands and gently placed it on the stents attached to the coffee table.

"Hello, Tita," she greeted with a small smile on her face.

"Oh my! Carylle, dear. It's so good to see you agai—" his mother's jolly greeting was soon cut off and Adler saw how her eyeballs almost jumped off her eye sockets because of how they widened. "Oh my! You look like a total mess! I should have insisted on accompanying you to my stupid son's house," his mother then began grumbling about how much of a disappointment he was and asked how discouraged his fiancée— Carylle could be.

"And you!" his mother remarked, pertaining to her son. "You make coffee for my Carylle! Look at my poor daughter, pale and shivering out in the cold! Ah! I wish I should have given birth to a slab of barbeque instead of a son like you!"

Adler could only hang his head low and turn on his back to head to the pantry and make coffee for his guest and soon-to-be cohabitant, thinking his mother loves her future daughter-in-law more than how she loves her very own son. Even though he was in the pantry, busy mixing coffee and cream, he could still hear his mother's conversation with his fiancée, babbling about her regret of not coming with the latter to his house. He indulged himself listening to every flare of insults spouted by his mother, like a machinegun in war, a rapper spitting bars. He thought his fiancée would complain as it was her very right but to his surprise, she only gave out a small, heart giggle.

"I'm very grateful for your concern, Tita, but I didn't wait for long. It's okay. I was persistent in coming on my own as I didn't want to bother you, I didn't check today's weather too. I came on a bad time, please don't blame him."

He felt guilt crawling over from his leg to his chest once again. He immediately shook his head to rub the feeling off and hastily finished making the coffee to return back to the living room and finally help his wife-to-be get warm. He hoped she won't get colds because his mother might go berserk, and it'll make him feel more guilty. But if she does, he'll take responsibility and earnestly take care of her, and take all his mother's nagging.

"Here." He lightly placed the mug of searing, frothing coffee on the table, just beside the stents holding his phone. He looked at her and noticed that she wasn't shivering anymore, which made him feel relieved.

"Ah, there you are!" he heard his mother's voice called but he ignored it.

"Thank you," she said in a small voice and picked up the mug, slowly taking a small sip. The color of her cheeks and lips then slightly rose into a shade of pink.

"Do you feel better, my dear?" his mother asked, and his fiancée only nodded in reply then she turned her attention back to her disconcerting son. "Listen here, my stupid son. Mama did no—"

"Honey!" Adler heard his father's voice call for his mother, she turned her head behind her for a second then faced the screen again. "Oh my! Look at the time. I need to go!"

Meanwhile, Adler's mood turned sour. "Yeah, I think you should go, mama," he told her bitterly.

"Yes, Tita. Take care of yourself and have a good day," his fiancée picked up the phone from the stents and also bid her goodbye then handed it back to him which he gladly took.

"And you, Adler. You take care of Carylle, all right?" his mother's face got closer to the screen with one of her brows arching heavenwards and her eyes turning wide once again, warning him. Adler held himself back from laughing, recalling when was the last time she warned him by just widening her eyes at him. He remembered back when he was a kid, the moment he sees her doing it, a shiver would run down his spine, and he'd straight-up behave. But now that he's an adult, he's no longer afraid of it.

"Yes, mama. Please take care," he said before ending the call. "I'm sorry that you had to witness that," he said, immediately opening a conversation as he knew that a reign of silence would take over between the two of them if he won't take the initiative.

"I'm sorry too. It seems that you were sleeping soundly until I came. I should have come later."

He scratched his head, blinking his eyelids that were suddenly getting heavy. "It's fine. I'm actually the one who's at fault here since I didn't check the message and even prepared to welcome you," he said then extended his hand as if he was going to guide her. "Let me take you to your room."

The woman shook her head while standing up. Adler thought that every move she makes ends up looking oh-so graceful, even just simply standing up from her seat. "Oh no, that's okay. I came on a Sunday, so it's expected that you'd be tired," she said, holding on to her baggage's handles.

"Let me help you with that," he offered, coming closer to her to fetch the luggage beside her.

"But is that okay?" she asked, looking at him with hesitant eyes.

"What do you mean?"