RDD 36

Chapter 36




After their cousins left, I found Roman smirking. It seemed that bragging about his toys was worth it. 


I'm proud to see Roman giving toys to his cousins, it took a lot of guts to do that. For young kids, there were no important things other than their toys. For Roman to give his toys showed his maturity. At least he was mature enough to share his blessings. 


'I remember that time when I fought my brother because he touched my Nintendo Game & Watch. I was a selfish kid and I never like sharing my toys. I love showing them to poor kids but I would wrestle if they even touch them... Yes, I was a spoiled brat. What can I say? I was born into a rich family.'


Recalling that time, I suddenly missed my parents. I wonder if Father still hates me. We ran away because my parents didn't support our relationship. 


I sighed. I miss them so much. 


"Jajjy? Are ywou okay? Sophia has chwocolate chip here!"


Someone pulled my pants. I looked down and I realized that Sophia was looking at me with her innocent eyes. I chuckled as I carried her up. 


"Don't worry baby, Daddy's alright."


"Then you don't want chocolate?" Her blue eyes were shining, unblemished and young. 


"If you're going to give me one, then I will eat it."


"Here Jajjy." She smiled and gave me her chocolate chip. 


To be honest, her hands were a bit dirty. Even the chocolate chip had a bite mark and some saliva. Anyway, I ate it happily. 


"Jajjy, when will Mommy come? I miss her."


"Sweetheart, you just didn't see your Mom for an hour and you already miss her?"


"Yes, I love Mommy. I love her more than you."


"..." I shook my head and chuckled. I touched her nose and she looked at me very cutely. 


"That's right baby, you should love your Mommy. Love her more than me."


"Yes." She nodded seriously. 


While Sophia and I were having a deep conversation, Roman dipped his chocolate chip into the fresh milk. 


She turned around and found her brother doing something magnificent. As a kid, once she found something new, her curiosity would light up. Now, she wanted to do what her brother was doing. 


"Jajjy? Can I have mwilk?" Her expression was dangerously adorable. 


"Of course sweetheart, you can have it."


Corazon and Alberto owned a few cows and two of them were lactating right now. They boiled a liter of milk for us. There was still enough for my daughter to 'play' with. 


"Here sweetheart."


"Yay!"


She was happy when I gave her a glass of milk. I already added sugar just to make sure that Sophia would like it. 


"Bwother! Look!"


She yelled and dunk the chocolate chip into the milk... It splashed around and the glass almost fall. Thankfully, only a small amount of milk splashed. Still, my daughter was really playing with her food. 


The way she ate the chip was untidy. The soggy chip already melted with the milk and what she ate was just a small amount. Her face was dirty.


I sat down and wiped her face and mouth. I wonder how Penelope kept Sophia clean. Because in my opinion, Sophia was a reckless child that would not hesitate to slide on the dirty floor. 


"Bwother?"


"Sophia, this is how you do it."


Roman sat next to her and taught her how to dip it right. 


'It's unfortunate that we don't have a camera, I want to take a picture of my kids...'


It's decided, I will buy a camera. I don't want to forget these little moments when my children were bonding. 


As a parent, I'm afraid to see my kids growing up. Because I knew that they would lose interest in an old man like me. 


'I can testify. I was one of those who forgot my parents. I literally ran away from them.'


So kids, please stay young longer. Dad wants to pamper and spoil you. 


I unknowingly smiled as I watched them eat. Just like what happened earlier, Sophia's face was dirty again. 


So as his father, I wiped her face again. 


"Brother-in-law, I cooked sweet potatoes. Perhaps you guys want to eat?"


Suddenly, someone called me. I stood up and opened the door. I saw a teenager holding a plate of steaming hot sweet potatoes. 


This young man, I think I saw him last night. What was his name again? 


"Thank you... Wait, what did you call me? You called me Brother-in-law?"


"Yes, is something wrong?" He tilted his head. 


"No..."


I realized that this young man was actually Penelope's brother. 


"I'm just shocked that you look young."


"Oh, I'm the youngest child. I'm 17 years old right now. Father and Mother asked me to stay in the house and watched the house."


"I see."


Just like I said, I didn't know all of Penelope's siblings. I thought this guy was Penelope's nephew. I was damn wrong, he was her brother.


"I'm Santiago. We never had a proper greeting. Last night was a bit..." He laughed awkwardly. 


"You don't have to worry Santiago. We're old enough to understand."


"Sorry about Sister Señorita. She is always on her red day, you see. She is always irritated."


We both laughed at that. 


"Thanks for the sweet potatoes."


"We have a lot of sweet potatoes here. To be honest, I'm getting tired of them."


"What about the other kids?"


"I already gave them so you don't have to worry. Then, see you later. Father and Mother decided to kill the goats tomorrow."


"For the Christmas Eve?"


"That's right."


Santiago left after giving us sweet potatoes. I touched them it was still hot.


The two kids were interested to eat the sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes were pricy in the city and we only eat them rarely. 


"Let's cool the sweet potatoes first before eating them, okay?"


"Yes!"


The two nodded their heads. They looked at the steam that escaped from the sweet potatoes. They understood that eating it hot might hurt them.