Rhythm (18 page)

“Seriously.” Colleen is floored by Rhy’s
honesty and her vision.

“Honestly, I always imagine this exact
experience that I am experiencing now. Though it is way more than I
expected,” Rhy explains, her eyes take on a dreamy expression.

“Okay, enough. You’ll gonna make me cry,
young lady.”

“You are crying,” Rhy teases her.

“I’m not. These aren’t tears. These are
water.” She wipes the ‘water’ that are falling from her eyes. “I
drank too much, apparently.”

We all have a deep hearty laugh because of
her wits.

Vanessa, a volunteer, appears from somewhere
and offers to take our picture.

“Thank you for everything, Colleen. You don’t
know how much this means to me.”

“Believe me, I know—because you’ve penetrated
my heart. Thank you, Rhythm.” Then she fixes her gaze at me. “And
thank you, Grant, for being an instrument for me and Rhythm to
meet. You are both blessed to have each other, and I am blessed to
know the both of you. People like you are the main reason why I
keep doing what I’m doing. Thank you. So much.”

“Thank you for your kind words, Colleen. Even
if I haven’t read any of your works, I get to understand better why
you are Rhy’s favorite author. May you be blessed with more wisdom
so that you will be an instrument to inspire more readers. And
husbands.” I smirk at Rhy.

They both laugh.

“Okay. I would really want to spend more time
with you two, but sad to say, time is up.” She pouts then hugs us
both.

“It’s great meeting you, Colleen. Thank you,
thank you, thank you.”

“The pleasure is all mine, lovebirds. See you
on next book signing event. Yes?”

Both of us nod in agreement.

“Next time. Bye, Colleen.”

“Bye, Grarhy.”

I think I heard her call us
Gary.

“What did you say?”

“Grarhy
.
Grant and Rhythm.”

Oh.

Rhy is grenade-happy with the name Colleen
gave us. “I definitely love you to pieces, CoHo!”

“I love you, too, Rhythm.”

We wave our goodbyes until Rhy and I are
outside.

“You are simply the best husband in the whole
wide world, Grant! Thank you!” she declares, shouting at the top of
her lungs.

“You’re welcome, CoHort.” I wink and she hugs
me. Again.

Did I say that I love seeing Rhy happy?

Rhythm

It’s so nice to relive the days when Grant
was still in love with me. Reminiscing our best days gives a smile
to my face and a hope that we can weather this storm.

His surprises, his pet names with me, his
love for our twins, his unconditional love for me . . . he is so
much in love with me.
Was.
I should use words concerning
Grant in past tense now.

I wipe my tears as I see Lola parks her car
in front of our house. It’s a good thing that she decided to live
in Pennsylvania, too. When we graduated, we all moved
here—including Cale, who’s Grant’s childhood friend.

I called Lola the moment Alexa and Will fell
asleep. I need someone to talk to. I need her right now.

“Hey. Where are they?” She’s trying so hard
to appear strong, but I can see the lines on her forehead that only
appears if she’s worried.

“In their room. They’re sleeping.” I don’t
wait for another word from her. I get straight to the point. “Lola,
he’s leaving me. I mean, he already left me. He’s asking for a
divorce—on our wedding anniversary. He’s doing this to me now. Why?
Do you have any idea? Have you had any instinctive feeling that
this will happen?” I continue to question her, even though I know
she’s more clueless than I am. “Lola, I’m dying but trying not
to—for them.”

“Rip . . .” She gapes at me nervously then
changes how she started her sentence. “Rhy, I don’t know anything
about his plan on asking you for a divorce. Like you, I also didn’t
see it coming. You seem . . . happy together. When I look at him,
he has still that look on his face when he was still courting
you—the look that tells the world that you are his, that he loves
you so much, that you are his world, that—”

“Stop. I don’t want to hear what he
was
. It’s only killing me.”

“I’m sorry, Rhy. I don’t know what to
say.”

“It’s ok, L. It’s not your fault that he left
me.” I heave a sigh. “L, what am I going to do? I am twenty-six,
and I’m getting a divorce from the love of my life. What has gotten
into him?”

“You want me to talk with him?”

“You’ll do that?”

“Of course. I will do anything for you. Where
do you think he is now?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. I have no idea. My
mind is not functioning right, L. I am going to go crazy.”

“No, you won’t. Just think about your two
little angels. What will happen to them if their mommy is
crazy?”

“You’re right. I am being selfish thinking my
own feelings. I tend to forget I have to think about them, too.” I
rest my head in my hands.

“Will you be fine here? Alone? I’m going to
have a Hunt Grant mission.” She winks.

“Yes, I will be fine, Lola. Please convince
him to talk with me. Please make him come back.” I am practically
begging my best friend, and she practically pities me.

“I will try my very best, Rhy. I will.” She
hugs me and kisses my forehead then leaves.

---

I run as fast as I can to reach the room of
the twins. Will’s crying uncontrollably. He rarely cries because he
always says that he’s already a big boy, so I wonder what is it
about.

It’s been three weeks since the Hunt Grant
mission, and up until now, I haven’t heard from him. Lola returned
to me defeatedly that day, saying she tried her best to locate him
but to no avail.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” I carry Will and check
his temperature. He has a fever.

“I want Daddy.” He sobs.

“Okay, Daddy will be here in a while. I’ll
tell him Super Will does not feel super right now.” I try to
control my tears as I tell him what I know is a lie.
Daddy will
be here? I can’t even locate him!

I decide to hold it together. I have to bring
Will to the hospital.

“Hey, L. Will has a fever, and I need to
bring him to the hospital. Will you please meet me there? Alexa
needs some company.” I hide the frustrations I feel. I have a
husband, but I’m calling my best friend about my kids. How pathetic
is that?

“Be there in 10,” Lola assures me.

“Thanks, L.”

“No problem.”

Grant

I rush to the hospital once I learned about
Will.

I knock twice and let myself in. I see Rhy
asleep beside Will, holding his hand. She stirs from the sound of
my footsteps but doesn’t wake up.

I look at Will. He wakes up and almost jumps
out of bed when he sees me. “Daddy!”

The sudden movement and the voice of Will
full of excitement cause Rip to be fully awake.

“Hey,” I greet her casually.

She doesn’t glance my way. “I’ll be
outside.”

I nod.

When we’re alone, I grab the opportunity to
apologize to him. “I’m sorry, buddy. Daddy’s been away for a
while.”

“Did Mommy tell you that Super Will is not
feeling super?” he speaks straight as if he’s not a four-year old.
Both he and Alexa are the same. They exude maturity even at their
young age.

I don’t want to lie to him, so I avoid any
lies that may come from my mouth. “You don’t? What about now, are
you feeling your super powers coming back?”

He furrows his brows as if in a deep thought.
“I think you made it come back, Daddy.”

“Oh, yeah?”

He nods.

There’s a knock and Alexa emerges.

“Daddy!” Her enthusiasm vies with Will’s.

“Hello there. How’s my princess?”

“Sad,” she says it matter-of-factly.

“Why is that?”

“Mommy cries, Will’s sick, and Daddy’s not
home always.”

What is wrong with me? I’m causing my two
angels stress and pain.

“I’m sorry, Alexa and Will. Daddy’s been busy
with some things. Will you both forgive Daddy?”

When they look at each other like this, it’s
as if they’re talking with their eyes. And most likely, they
already know what the other is thinking.

“Yes, Daddy! We forgive you,” they tell me in
unanimity.

I kiss and hug them both.
Hmm . . . I miss
them so much.

Rhythm

I’m at the waiting area when Alexa grabs my
hand.

“What is it, honey?”

“Let’s go to Daddy and Will. They’re waiting
for us.”

I don’t want to be in the same room as Grant,
but I also don’t want to explain to our kids why, so I comply.

“Daddy, tell Mommy about it.” Alexa lifts her
eyebrows several times as if the ‘it’ she’s talking about is some
secret.

“Oh, right.” He awkwardly looks at me. “I
told them that once Will is good to go, we’ll go to
Disneyland.”

My mouth goes slack. “Are you kidding
me?”

He shrugs.

“He’s not, Mommy. Right, Daddy?” Will’s
excitement is killing me.

“Right.” Grant beams.

I push the button, a signal for the nurse to
come in.

“Yes, Mrs. Peterson, what can I do for
you?”

“Uhm . . . I know it’s not part of your job,
but kindly watch our kids for a while. We’ll just talk outside. 10
minutes, tops.”

“Sure,” she agrees with politeness.

I calm myself before I speak. “What was that
all about?”

“I’m making it up to them, Rhy. Please don’t
make this big of a deal.”

“You left us. You are asking for a divorce.
And you think that by bringing them to the freaking Disneyland is
the right way of making it up to them?” I can’t control it. I
thought I can, but I’m absolutely wrong. He’s a madman if he thinks
this way.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking straight. I
missed them so much that it just popped in my head to bring them
someplace nice.”

“If you really miss them like you say you do,
you only have to go home and spend time with them. Not abandon
them. What is wrong with you, anyway? I don’t understand you
anymore.”

“Oh, there you are. We’ve been on a Hunt
Grant mission for a while now.” Lola arrives just in time to break
the tension.

Grant peeps at us and sighs in defeat. “I
better go.”

“Fine, go. That’s what you do best,
anyway.”

“You don’t understand, Rhy.”

“You always say that, but you’re not making
an effort to make me understand.”

He looks at me in remorse and backs away.

“Did you see that? He just walks away when
confronted.” I shake my head.

“Rhy, give him time. He’ll come around.”

“I don’t know, L. I don’t know.”

---

For the sake of the twins, I’m doing whatever
it takes to work out our marriage. I won’t give up just because he
did.

I’m calling Grant a few times, which
translates to eighty plus times.

He’s not answering.

I decide to wait for him at his parents’ home
where he is apparently staying since the day he asked for a
divorce, though I’m at the car waiting like I’m some investigator.
I don’t want to go inside. I’m not sure if my presence is
welcome.

I lose track of time. It’s already almost
eight in the evening, and if not for Mama’s call, I will not
notice.

“Honey, where are you? The twins are waiting
for you.” Her voice is hoarse as if she’s been crying.

“Have you been crying, Mama?”

“No, Rhythm. I’m just worried. You seem . . .
different this past few days. You’re always leaving the house early
and going home late. You’re barely home, and don’t tell me it’s
work because I know that you’ve quit your career.”

I exhale. “Mama, sorry if I make you worry.
I’m fine. I’m just . . . trying to get my husband back.”

“Rhythm, I understand, but please come home
and talk with me. Okay?”

“Okay, I’m on my way.”

“Love you, honey.”

“Love you, too, Mama.”

---

“Hey. How’re the twins?”

“They got tired waiting for you, to be
honest. They’re asleep now.”

“Sorry, Mama. And thank you.”

Mama hugs me tight. “You ready to talk about
it?”

I nod. “Am I doing this right, Mama? I know
what he wants, but I couldn’t just give him that, could I?”

“Honey, you are expected to fight for the
people you love—for the man you love, especially for your marriage.
It doesn’t mean that when he stops fighting, you stop, too.
Remember that there’s always hope . . . until you believe that
there isn’t, so keep hoping for your marriage to survive this test.
Keep hoping for your husband to communicate with you what went
wrong in your marriage so you could both work it out. Keep the hope
up, Rhythm.”

“I will, Mama. That’s why I need your help,”
I say, full of hope.

“What’s your plan, dear?”

“Grant isn’t answering my calls. Every time I
wait for him outside his parents’ house or outside his office, he
doesn’t pass by. I bet he’s avoiding me, so maybe you could call
Sam and ask a little bit of help? I don’t want to call because he
might be the one to answer it.”

“Sure. What do you want me to ask her?”

“His itineraries for the day, something like
that.”

“Okay. Dial it for me, will you?”

“You’ll call now?” Someone’s excited,
huh.

“Do you prefer tomorrow morning?”

I think for a while and weigh the pros and
cons. “Yup. Tomorrow morning sounds better.”

“Okay, honey. I’ll be here early
tomorrow.”

“Mama . . . can you stay? I kind of miss
you.”

“Sure, I’ll be glad to.”

“Thank you, Mama.”

“You’re welcome, honey.”

---

“Yeah, she’s here,” Mama looks at me.

She covers the mouthpiece and whispers, “Sam
would like to talk with you,” and hands me the phone.