RDD 23

Chapter 23

"Waaaa!! Mama!! Mama!"

A loud cry from behind us caught our attention. A little girl started crying for unknown reasons. 

"Hm?"

Sophia was the only one who was facing the back and she saw a little baby like her crying.

"Jajjy, she's cwying, she is sad.

"That's right honey."

"She is not behaving at all. Pwathetic."

"..."

I almost choke when I heard what she said. Sophia was smiling as she watched the little baby behind us made a scene. It looked like she was having fun. 

The other passengers looked at the baby, and some of them were irritated. It was still early and hearing a loud irritating cry disturb them. 

The mother apologized to the passengers as she tried to calm her baby. 

As for Sophia, she found it entertaining. 

"Don't worry Jajjy, I'll behave. I want a new fwiend for Aria."

"That's a great sweetheart."

Now that Sophia understood that it was annoying to cry. She promised that she would be a good girl. 

"That's my princess, muah!"

"Jajjy, your beard twickles me!"

I kissed her forehead but Sophia giggled as she pushed me away. I haven't shaved for a month now and my few stubbles grew up on my chin. They prickled Sophia when I kissed her. 

"I'm so proud of you baby, you know how to be a good girl. Once we get to Dagupan, Pangasinan, I will find a beautiful barbie for you."

I'm sure I can find it at the market in the province. I might travel back to 1999 but I'm confident that every city has a market at least. 

'Pangasinan is not a backward place, they have infrastructures too.' 

Hours passed and the sun shines in the sky again. The kids already got tired of looking out of the window. 

'Three hours already passed and we're in Bulacan now... Still far from Pangasinan.'

It was a blessing that we didn't have to use a boat or plane to get to Pangasinan. Plane/boat tickets were expensive and tickets for a family of four would cost thousands. 

Sophia was happily talking to her barbie doll. She didn't care if the other passengers looked at her. Of course, since she was sitting on my lap, I have to join her play. 

And now, I'm talking to 'Aria' too. 

"Jajjy, say hello to pwincess Aria."

"Your Highness, it's a pleasure to meet you."

To make sure that Sophia won't be bored, I did my best to entertain her. 

"Jajjy, pwincess Aria swaid that you are ugly. Pwease don't talk to her with filthy mouth, peasant."

"..."

What can I say? My daughter is really smart! She knows what a peasant means! 

"Baby, where did you learn this 'peasant' word?"

"I heard from the tewevision, Mommy likes watching tewenovela."

She answered me innocently. 

I turned to my wife and she was embarrassed. It seemed that she did not know that Sophia would learn bad things from television.

"I was watching a drama about a poor woman marrying a prince charming. But the rival rich woman appeared and she kept saying that the poor woman is a lowly peasant... Sophia probably learn it from that drama. I will not watch it with her again."

Penelope explained with blushing cheeks. Then, she looked at Sophia. 

"Sweetheart, you can't say that word again."

"Why?"

"Because it's a bad word."

"But the rich lady on the tewevision can say it."

As expected, television is bad for kids. They can learn improper things if we leave them unattended. If they were going to watch TV, then we must stay and advise their watching. Parental guidance is a must. 

"Still, you have to promise Mommy."

"Okay, Mommy."

Sophia didn't understand but she still agree. In her opinion, 'peasant' is not a bad word. The rich lady was just being honest.

"..."

"Roman, are you okay? You look pale."

Suddenly, my wife realized that our son was quiet. But unlike the usually quiet, Roman was pale and he looked weak. 

Penelope touched his forehead to determine his temperature, thankfully, he seemed alright. 

"Do you feel sick, sweetheart?"

She asked worriedly. 

"Mom... My stomach is churning, I feel like I'm gonna throw up what I ate earlier."

"You're having motion sickness?"

"Hm."

Roman nodded. 

Unlike baby Sophia who was used to being gently rocked and shaken by her mother, Roman was not used to the constant shaking of the bus. 

It was explainable since this was his first bus trip in two years. Perhaps his body could not keep up. 

"Bwother, you don't feel good?'

"Hm."

"Why are you pwathetic too?"

Sophia sighed as she realized that she was the only strong one in the family. She was even better than her brother. As expected of Sophia.

"..."

Roman just kept his mouth shut. He was scared that if he spoke, he was going to vomit. 

"I have flavored candy here, you can eat it to adjust your mind."

Penelope was relieved to know that it was not a serious problem. At least it was motion sickness, nothing bad. Everyone can have motion sickness. 

Roman had a fever last week and Penelope was still worried about his health. 

"Thank you, Mom."

He accepted the candy and chewed it while closing his eyes. He was not that weak to succumb to motion sickness, he has to overcome it! Or else Sophia would make fun of him!

Thankfully, the highway road was smooth and there were no potholes, the bus didn't shake strongly. 

Another hour passed and our bus stopped at the terminal in Pampanga. 

"Jajjy? Are we there yet?"

Realizing that the bus stopped, the sleepy Sophia asked me again.

"You can return to sleep baby, we're still not there."

I sighed. Even I was getting bored. My body is full of energy but I can't move around, I can only sit...

"Okay..."

The drowsy Sophia yawned and continued sleeping on my shoulder. 

As for my wife and Roman, they went to the terminal to pee. The bus would stay here and gather passengers for 10 minutes before leaving. I stayed on the bus to make sure that we have seats once the bus left.