Part 49: link


WEDNESDAY

    Arthur walks through the aklatan doors in just enough time to see Vivian sprint from behind the counter into the children’s area. He laughs at her childish behavior, but he doesn’t want to deal with her, either.
    “Hey, Arthur,” Autumn greets him. “How was work? I heard about Luigi’s. Bummer.”
    “They’ll be back up and running in no time.”
    “Hope so. Gwen’s around… somewhere. Not sure at the moment.” She looks around, peering towards the shelves.
    “I’ll find her.”
    “I’m sure you will,” she says with a smirk.
    Arthur heads toward the main aklatan just as Gwen comes around a corner and into view a distance away. She spots him and waves, then holds up one finger, indicating she’ll be there in a minute. He spins on his heels and heads back to the lobby to wait, leaning against the counter on his elbows.
    “I am so hungry,” Gwen says, walking directly to Arthur for a kiss, which he happily gives.
    “Where would you like to go?” he asks, resting his hands on her hips, thumbs absentmindedly stroking the line of her waist.
    “I don’t care. Just so long as I get some food.”
    “I saw one of those pagkain trucks that have been around lately over sa pamamagitan ng the park on my way here. We could get something there and eat in the park. It’s really nice outside.”
    “Sounds lovely,” she says, halik him once madami before pulling him out the door.

    “How’s your sandwich?” Arthur asks, taking a bite of his own. They found an open picnic mesa at the park and are watching the children play at the playground.
    “Very good. Yours?” Gwen has egg salad on a croissant. Arthur has a toasted ham and swiss, and they each have a packet of crisps and a drink.
    “Needs madami cheese,” he peers into it, lifting the tuktok slice of tinapay slightly. “Of course, I generally want madami cheese.”
    Gwen laughs. He tells her all about the apoy Monday night. She tells him that she took the litrato in to get fixed up and framed, and that they promised that the litrato would be better than new when they were finished.
    Arthur is pleased sa pamamagitan ng this news, and Gwen smiles. What he doesn’t know is that I ordered a segundo one for him to have as well.
    “What are you grinning at over there?”
    “Hmm? Nothing. I’m just happy. Enjoying my lunch with the man I love.”
    “For a minuto it looked like you were up to something. You had that look about you.”
    “I am a picture of innocence.” She bats her eyelashes at him.
    “I don’t believe that for a minute.”
    “Oh—how did Leon fare in your absence?” she deftly changes the subject.
    “Really well. Wayne couldn’t even think of any rude remarks.” He sighs. “Now I’ll have to write a recommendation for him to the superintendent. I hate paperwork.”
    “You’ll live.”
    “Would you write it for me?” he asks, jokingly. Sort of.
    “Hell no.”
    Arthur guffaws at this, and Gwen smirks.
    “I will proofread it for you, though.”
    “You are too kind,” he nods his head to her respectfully. “Wow, you were hungry.” She almost never finishes a meal.
    “Told you so,” she says, popping the last crisp into her mouth with a crunch. “You ready for hapunan with your father?”
    He sighs. “Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess,” he says, standing to throw their wrappers into a nearby trash bin.

    “Can I help you?” the maitre d’ looks down his nose at Arthur as he walks in.
    What’s his problem? I’m wearing a amerikana and tie.
    “Yes, I’m meeting my father. Uther Pendragon.”
    “Oh! Yes, he’s in the lounge. He’s expecting you, sir.”
    “Thank you.” Arthur walks towards the lounge, rolling his eyes. Sir. Only after he found out who my dad was. Snob.
    He spots Uther sitting in a leather chair sa pamamagitan ng a window, Martini in hand.
    “You got here extra early on purpose,” Arthur says, sitting across from him.
    “I always come early for a drink before dinner,” Uther says innocently. “I got you a pint,” he points to a serbesa sitting on the table.
    “Thanks.”
    Uther notices the box Arthur has brought along. “Ah. So that’s it.”
    “Yep.”
    “Mr. Pendragon? Your mesa is ready.” The waiter takes their drinks on his tray and leads them to Uther’s table.
    They sit, and the waiter sets their drinks on the table. “Can I interest you in a starter this evening? We have a lovely hipon kaktel tonight.”
    “Sounds lovely, but—” he glances at Arthur, who is looking at him with raised eyebrows, “I think we’ll pass on the shrimp.”
    “Very good, sir.” The waiter opens the menus in front of them and leaves.
    Uther barely glances at his, since he knows it well. Arthur takes his time, knowing full well that his father is glaring at him on the other side of the menu.
    “You had to know this was coming at some point, Father.”
    “I was hoping not.”
    Arthur puts his menu down. “I want to know about Mother. And I want you to tell me. It’s time for you to stop hiding behind your grief. It’s been twenty-five years.”
    Uther sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “This is not fair, Arthur. Ambushing me. Here.”
    “Fair? You really want to talk about what is and isn’t fair?”
    “Arthur—”
    The waiter comes and takes their order. Uther has the roast duck; Arthur orders the prime rib. Hey, he’s buying, why not?
    Arthur beats Uther to the punch. “What’s unfair is you keeping my mother hidden from me for my entire life. I deserve to know. And this,” he pushes the box across the mesa to his father, “just goes to prove that you haven’t shut her memory away completely.”
    Uther gingerly opens the box.
    “I didn’t read the letters.”
    Uther picks up the first litrato from the stack and looks at it.
    “Father. Please. You’ve denied me this my whole life. It’s… it’s selfish of you to keep her locked away along with your heart.”
    “I haven’t locked my puso away,” Uther says, finally speaking again.
    “Could have fooled me. Do you know how hard it was for me growing up? Honestly, Father, do you think Mum would have approved of the upbringing you gave me?”
    “Approved? Hard? I gave you everything! You had anything a boy could have wanted!”
    “Just things, Father. I didn’t need things. I needed to know that my father loved me. I needed to know that… that you didn’t wish that I had… died with her. Or instead of her.”
    “How could you say such a thing?” Uther leans forward, whispering harshly. “You have always been my priority!”
    Arthur stares. Really? “You could have mentioned that before now,” he says quietly.
    “Look, Father. I know you pag-ibig me. I know that now. Now that I’m an adult. But as a child, all I knew was what I saw; what I heard. I saw other children with their parents. How they acted with each other. It didn’t look like what I saw in my own house. I heard how Merlin’s mother talked to him, how she treated him. I wanted that. I craved that. No amount of bicycles or footballs or model cars or fencing lessons can make up for what I was missing.”
    “I know you’re not a demonstrative man, Father. I never expected you to usa all over me or anything ridiculous like that. But a few kind words now and then would have gone a long way. A long way. To hear you tell me that you pag-ibig me, that you’re proud of me…” he breaks off and quickly reaches for his drink.
    Arthur clears his throat and continues. “That’s what closing off your puso does. It hurts other people. And it’s always the people to whom you are closest.”
    Uther stares at his son for a few moments that feel like an eternity. “You’re so like her,” he finally says quietly, looking back down at the picture in his hand. “Every time I look at you, I see her. You have her eyes, her smile. Her blonde hair.” He looks up from the litrato to Arthur. “And it hurts. Even today. As much as I try to lock her memory away, you are a living, breathing reminder of who she was.”
    “You should embrace her memory instead of locking it away,” Arthur tells him.
    “I’m beginning to realize that.” He picks up the rest of the stack of mga litrato and flips through them. He smiles at a few of them. Then he sees the newspaper clipping and lifts it out.
    “Did you read this?”
    Arthur nods, and Uther places it back in the box without even unfolding it.
    “She didn’t need to work. I didn’t want her to work. She was going to quit when you were born. A compromise. She loved her job; loved helping people. You get that trait from her.”
    “Certainly didn’t come from you,” Arthur teases, chuckling.
    Much to his surprise, his father smiles. “Heh. You’re probably right. I begged her to quit when she became pregnant with you, thinking that would be a good reason. She wasn’t having any of it. Headstrong, she was. Another trait you inherited.”
    “Oh, now, don’t sell yourself short, Father. You’re certainly not lacking in the stubbornness department, either.”
    “True. I did get her to promise me that she would stay tahanan once you were born.” He sighs. “She only had two madami weeks.”
    Their pagkain arrives. Uther carefully puts the mga litrato back in the box, closing it and setting it aside. He orders another drink.
    “Arthur? Another?”
    “Just water, please. I don’t have the luxury of a driver, you know.”
    They eat in silence for a few minutes, both thinking about what the other has said.
    “I’m not trying to upset you, Father. Just so you know.”
    “I know that.”
    “This was Guinevere’s idea,” he tries, thinking it might be a trump card.
    “Oh?” he raises his eyebrows. “I should have guessed.” He smiles.
    “She was impressed sa pamamagitan ng how handsome you were in the pictures.”
    “Now you’re just flattering me.”
    “Why on earth would I do that?” Arthur rolls his eyes. “Honest, though. She sinabi the way you were looking at Mum in some of those pictures is exactly how I look at her,” Arthur studies his plate, a bit embarrassed at the turn the conversation has made.
    “That doesn’t surprise me.” Uther is nonplussed. “You’re completely nuts over her. Just like I was over your mother.”
    Arthur just grins. “Yeah.”
    “So what would you like to know?” Uther sighs.
    “What? Um, I guess I didn’t come prepared with a list. I… I guess I just want you to be madami open to discussing her. If I should have a question. If there should be something I want to know about. I don’t want her to be taboo anymore. Take some of those mga litrato you have stashed around the house out of hiding and put them up, for Pete’s sake. Stop hiding her.”
    “I didn’t burn everything of hers. But you probably know that, don’t you?”
    “Of course I do. I’ve seen enough evidence of that,” he smiles.
    “Leah’s going to think I’ve Nawawala my mind.”
    “Nah, she’s going to think you’ve gotten it back.”
    Arthur sets his fork down. “Okay, this is my final argument and then I’ll let it go for the evening. Gwen and I are getting married. We do want to have children. Make amends to me through them. ipakita them the pag-ibig that you were unable to ipakita me and all is forgiven. Deal?”
    “Deal.” He reaches pasulong and the two men shake hands. “When did you get to be so smart?” he asks.
    “I’ve always been smart, Father. You just never noticed before,” he says, but the bitterness is gone from his voice.

    They finish their hapunan pleasantly enough, with Arthur telling his father about the various misadventures he and Gwen had in the Cotswolds, including his encounter with Sophia and the consequences that followed. Uther laughs at Arthur’s misfortune and lauds Gwen for her feistiness.
    Arthur walks his father to his waiting car. Uther turns to him, a strange look on his face.
    He clears his throat. “I was going to tell you this closer to the wedding, but now feels like a good time.”
    “What’s that?” Arthur asks, curious.
    “I’m giving you the house. You and Gwen.”
    “Father, I…”
    “No, I’ve decided.”
    “I… I don’t know what to say. Thank you. I’ll need to talk it over with Guinevere before we officially say yes, but I don’t think she’ll have an issue.”
    Uther raises an eyebrow, noting the slight look of concern on his son’s face. “You got in trouble, didn’t you? About having the wedding there.”
    “Little bit,” Arthur says sheepishly, and Uther laughs. “She called the three of us Neanderthals and accused us of hijacking the wedding.”
    Uther laughs even harder at this. “I knew I liked her.”
    “Where are you going to live?” Not with us.
    “I’ve purchased a penthouse in the city. I’ve seen Tom’s; it’s amazing.”
    “When did you see Tom’s house?” Arthur is surprised. They’ve been seeing each other socially?
    “We played golf a few weeks nakaraan and he had me up for drinks after. I bought a place three buildings down from him, still under renovation. That way I can have them customize it to my specifications.”
    “Oh, please, father, you’d have that done even if it was complete.”
    “True. You’ll be able to ilipat in November first. Provided Gwen approves, of course,” he smiles.
    “Thank you. This is brilliant. Really.”
    “Call it a wedding gift.”
    Arthur smiles. “Don’t think that exempts you from buying us something fantastic.”
    Uther laughs at this, a genuine laugh that makes Arthur’s puso feel good.
    “It’s late. Go tahanan to Gwen,” Uther says, putting his hand on Arthur’s shoulder.
    “Good night, Father.” Arthur turns to leave, but suddenly Uther’s grip on his shoulder tightens, and he pulls his son to him for a tight hug.
    “Your mother might not approve of how I raised you, but she would definitely approve of how you’ve turned out,” Uther says quietly into Arthur’s ear. “I am proud of you, son.”

Part 51: link