We left right after eating some cake.
You see, today is my birthday, as well as my Kuya Jonathan's 10th death anniversary.
He did it in purpose. He held on until my birthday came, because he knew I'd be sad if he wasn't there to celebrate with me. That's also the reason why we celebrate my birthday together every year.
It's because he made Louie promise to celebrate my birthdays with me from then on, and for me to look after his family like the way he used to look after me – his annoying husband included.
That was his way of ensuring that the five of us would still live as a family even without him around.
That I won't just slip away and disappear.
Well, his plan was a success. I mean, how could I possibly leave my lovely Bebe Meme in the care of his useless husband?
In fact, I was the one who had to stay up every night to look after the infant Meme, while their emo father laid catatonic in his room, grieving his mate's death.
It was only a year later, on my next birthday and Kuya Jonas's 1st death anniversary, that he decided to move on. Just when I was about to send him to a mental institution and raise the kids as my own! Why, I even bought my current house so we can have a brand new start.
I woke up on my 18th birthday with the smell of something burning in the air. I hurriedly took the kids down with me and saw their father in the kitchen, burning eggs on the gas stove.
After an awkward silence, he apologized for being an asshole and thanked me for looking after them for a year.
We still end up bickering each day, though, so I decided to move out two years later.
"Uncle, let's light some candles for Papa Jonas," Bebe Meme suggested when the thanksgiving mass ended.
I handed her some money which she dropped in a donation box and took three pink candles from a container.
"I'm gonna light three candles to say `I love you' to Papa Jonas in heaven!" said my little angel.
I took a candle myself and lit it for the alpha who decided to set him free.
"Aren't you done yet?" Nat-Nat asked impatiently.
"Wait, Ate Blessing is still praying!" said Meme with a pout.
"I'm done now," replied her sister who stood up from the pew, holding a bouquet of flowers. "Pa, let's go?" she called to her father who has been staring at the candle he lit for about ten minutes now.
"Let's go."
The memorial parks' private chapel was just a stone throw away from Kuya Jonas' lot. It's easy to locate since it's next to the road and has a pine tree to one side. I helped Louie fix the tent we brought and placed a thick blanket beneath it for us to sit on.
We spent the rest of the afternoon telling the kids stories about Kuya Jonas, though I can't help but bicker with Louie every once in a while. We stayed there until the sun began to set, then packed our things and headed back home.
"Tito Eric, are you gonna spend the night at home?" Meme asked as she sat beside me on the backseat, her arms around my arm.
"Ah, if only I could," I pouted sadly. "Unfortunately, we've been very busy at work lately, since Tito just released a new omega suppressant."
"That's right, Tito Eric," Bless said with a gasp, "We saw you on TV! You looked so handsome in a suit!"
"Yes, Tito, can you tell me who that handsome foreigner was? I bet he's an omega!"
I ignored Nat-Nat's remarks.
"Don't worry, Bebe, I promise to celebrate your birthday with you next month. Where do you wanna go? We can visit Baguio, or Puerto Gallera, or even Hong Kong."
"What about Papa Luoie?" my Bebe asked, "He's also busy with work..."
"He can just go to hel– "
"Ehem." Louie cleared his throat.
"He can go with us if he likes," I corrected myself.
"I'll try to free my schedule."
"Tsk."
"I heard that."
"I meant for you to hear it."
"Tito?" My Bebe Meme pouted at me and stared up at me with her big, brown, puppy dog eyes.
"Okay, Bebe Meme, for you, love, anything!" I picked her up and hugged her while spinning in place.
"You two better stop it before you swap faces!" her brother teased us.
"Fine by me!" Meme replied. "We look so much like each other anyway."
I decided to stay longer to make it up to my Bebe Meme. I tucked her in bed and told her stories about her Papa Jonas until she fell asleep.
I went down to the kitchen after that and saw Louie sitting on the counter with a can of beer in hand.
"Are the kids asleep?" he asked, handing me a can.
"Yeah." I opened it and took a long sip.
"So... how's life?" he asked, his gaze away from me.
"Still breathing. And you? When are you gonna kick the bucket so I could get full custody of the kids?"
Louie chuckled and shrugged.
"After all these years, are you still that angry with me?" said he.
"It motivates me to stay alive. After all, the kids don't have anyone left but us."
"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I plan to live to a hundred and five. I still have to name Mercy's great, great, grand kids, you know."
I chuckle and took another sip.
"Blessing's all grown up now, huh? What year will she be in this coming school year?"
"She'll be in her second year in nursing school. And Nathan's starting Senior High."
"Time really flies.."
"Yeah, I still remember you running after your brother like it was just yesterday. You keep trying to kick my shins whenever you see me!" he laughed.
"Then you would grab my head and push me back and annoy me whenever Kuya isn't looking!" I glared at him.
"That's because you were such a brat back then!"
"That's because you always take my brother away!"
"That's because we can only play after classes, yet you insist on tagging along and hogging all his attention!"
"We go home together, what did you expect! You're the one who kept tugging at his conscience, saying how lonely you are, having no one waiting for you back home but a couple of maids!"
"Well, who was it who loves to eat all the snacks and play with my toys all day?" he huffed.
"I never asked you to!"
"Yet you loved them just the same."
"Did I have a choice? Especially after you bit my brother and took him against his will?!"
The two of us glared angrily at each other.
That last comment was unasked for, and I knew it.
I saw the hurt look in his dark eyes and looked away in shame.
We sat there for a while in silence, until he decided to speak up again.
"You... You really look a lot like your brother," he mumbled. "It was fun to watch you playing with the kids earlier... it kinda felt like Jonas was back with us again..."
"I am not my brother."
"Thank goodness!" he said sarcastically. "Don't worry, I'm reminded of that every time you glare at me and open that foul mouth of yours."
The both of us felt a chill of disgust.
"Why don't you just move back in?" he asked me. "The kids miss you. You see it every time you come by. Besides, Nathan needs someone to discipline him..."
"That's your job."
"You know how bad I am at disciplining my kids. That's your forte."
"Haah... I won't be surprised if one of these days, you end up defending your own son in court," I shook my head in dismay.
"Didn't I just do that lately? When he got caught up in an assault case?" he sighed. "Sometimes I wonder who that kid goes after..."
"You sure about that?" I asked flatly.
Louie laughed out loud.
"Hey, I might have been a bit naughty when we were kids, but I could proudly say that I was never that bad, and I am definitely not a gigolo."
Well, he does have a point. In fact, `till now, he still can't forget about my brother.
"So, what do you think?" he asked again. "Let bygones be bygones, and move back in."
"No thanks," I replied. "Actually, I have a boarder back home. We're working on something together."
"For real?" he looked shocked. "Is this the same person who forced you to clean yourself? I thought you would be scared of mirrors forever!" he insulted me.
"I am not scared of mirrors, you moron!" I retorted.
I gust really miss my Kuya Jonas.
"Good for you then, I did notice that you're getting fitter these days. You're not as thin as before, and the dark circles around your eyes are barely there anymore. Ever your lips look shiny."
"Ugh... stop looking at me!"
I rose from the table and frowned at him.
"Anyway, I need to go. My boarder must be starting to miss me."
"Let me take you – "
"You just drank, idiot." I stopped him from standing up. "I already called GrabMe for a ride."
"Take care, then," he raised his can to me. "Close the gate on your way out."
I left Louie in the kitchen and made my way out of the house. As I got to their living room, I look up once more and see the portrait of my brother on his wedding day.
'Hmph. If only Louie wasn't there!' I thought with a pout.
I look around the room and saw a side table full of framed pictures. One was a solo of Kuya Jonas, smiling brightly at me. He looked so much like Meme in the pic that I couldn't help but sigh!
I took down the big wedding picture in the middle of the wall and placed it on the side, then placed my brother's solo pic in its place.
Perfect!
I left the place with a big smile on my face, carrying my new mug, and leaving with the satisfying feeling that I got one over my annoying brother-in-law.