You Can Join My Family

As Selina and Jason enjoyed their time alone, Bryan brought Celinda to his old house where he, Selina and Katrina used to live. Standing outside the warm autumn colored house, his hands balled to a small fist. Celinda reached out to hold his hand as they went past the gates and walked in through the back door.

The loud creak from the door screeched into their ears. Unwashed dishes, dirt stains and dust layered ranging from the kitchen to the staircase by the entrance. Sighing deeply, Bryan rubbed the back of her hand and led her up to his room.

After witnessing Katrina's death, a part of him felt relieved because Katrina's schemes could come to a definite stop. Childhood memories pictured vividly as he recalled laughter, smiles and many incidents. Growing up, he had always tried making Katrina change the way she treated Selina. Unfortunately, she still ended up mistreating her.

Turning the cold golden knob to the right, he gave the door a small push to access his room. It's been months since he had last visited. Now, he was back to take albums he had forgotten to retrieve when he last came.

From the inside of his closet, he grabbed a travel bag and tossed it onto his bed. Celinda watched from the side as he gathered items he valued from his room. From trophies to picture albums, he carefully placed them into the bag.

When he reached up to grab the last trophy on the top shelf, a photo album dropped from above. Curiously, she picked the burgundy album up and handed it to him. From one look, she could tell from his expression how important the album was to him.

"Here, this is important right?" She asked as she lifted the album in her hands.

He released a heavy sigh as if the album was an unspeakable item. Taking her hand, he unfolded the blanket on his bed and patted on the clean bed sheet underneath it. "Come here. Let me show you some pictures of my childhood."

Nodding to his request, she immediately took up the empty seat by his side. She watched him flip open pages of the album and listened to his interesting stories attentively. Some were funny while others were him being a naughty child.

Finally, they've reached the end of the album. Between the protective plastic pages was an old photo in black and white colors. The picture showed a fairly young man standing straight with a child in his arms. He was smiling amiably, looking extremely joyful.

Gliding his thumb across the smooth plastic, he introduced the man in the picture to her. "This man is my father, and I am the child he was holding when this picture was taken. When I heard his voice the first time during my investigation about my mom's past, I actually wished I wouldn't find any dirt related to her."

"Unluckily, I found out many things she did in the past. Since I was young, I've always wondered what type of person my dad was. But when I actually found him, we were practically strangers. I only spoke to him one time, and that was mainly about my mother's misdeeds."

Sensing the heightened negativity coming from his tone, she began rubbing his back. "Nobody knew how nervous I felt when I walked into the cafe and looked around to find my father. After nearly twenty years of separation, I've reunited with him. But, it was all my wishful thinking. Having a reunion with him and making up for the past decades were only one-sided thoughts."

"Only one-sided?" Shocked by his words, she questioned to make sure she didn't hear it wrong. His lopsided smile followed by his slight nod confirmed her worries. She grew up in a loving family where she was close to everyone. Just imagining how heartbroken he must be feeling on the inside, her heart ached for him.

"After telling me what my mom did and provided undeniable proof to me, he told me he only wanted to testify against my mother. He said after he had clarified everything, he wants to avoid seeing me again in the future. My father doesn't hate me, but he already had another family. He was dating a woman who gave birth to two daughters for him. To minimize the effects of his past on his current life, he wanted to cut out his first marriage mess."

Angling his head sideways, he caught a glimpse of her sympathizing look. Patting her head gently, he smiled. "Although I was reluctant, I still agreed to his request. Throughout our talk, he apologized continuously and tried learning more about me. Honestly speaking, the one day I spent with him as father and son was enough. I wouldn't want to affect his current life. Besides, I'm an adult now. I have my own priorities, and he does too. Everything is no longer the same."

Her eyes soaked in tears as he finished speaking. He chuckled, "Don't be like this. Aren't you supposed to be comforting me? It's reversed now." His palms covered her wet cheeks and wiped away wet trails.

Cupping her hands on top of his, she looked into his eyes. "But you're sad. My heart aches for you."

As another drip of tears fell, he pulled her in his embrace. "It's alright. I'm already used to not having a father. I've also given up on my mother long ago when she betrayed my trust and protected Shirley. It really doesn't hurt as much as you think it does."

She sat up abruptly and hopped off the bed. Taking a step forward, she stood between his parted legs and caressed his cheeks. She took her time gazing into his gentle eyes lovingly. "You can join my family! You don't need your mother or father. I'll always be here for you. Whether you want to laugh goofily or cry hysterically, I'll be there to accompany you. If you ever want a family, you can join mine and call my parents as your own."

"Pffft…" Bryan let out a laugh even though she was having a serious conversation with him. She pouted at his joking manner and slapped his shoulder lightly.

"What? I mean it!" She placed her hands on her hips like a boss.

"Celinda.." He called out her name softly.

"Hmm?" Hearing him whisper her name almost made her cheeks flush.

"Thank you. But…" He purposely left a short pause between his words to tease her.

"But what?" She asked impatiently as she held his shoulders nervously.

"But times like these where proposals are announced, it should be the man who says it. You took all my lines. What else is there for me to say?" He clipped her small nose between his index and middle finger lightly.

"Huh? Proposal? When did I…." Her lips parted when she realized she indirectly asked him to marry her! How embarrassing!!

She hid her face behind her palms while he laughed at her innocent suggestion. After calming down his laughs, he separated her hands to prevent her from hiding from him.

"All jokes aside, I really don't feel much hard feeling from this incident. It is kind of expected and I've had my heart ready for the rejection. If I tell you I'm not disappointed then, that will be a lie. At the end, I did have some type of anticipation, but it is what it is. Do you want to know what my biggest goal in life is for now?"

He tucked a strand of hair to the back of her ears and slid his hands down her arm until it reached her palms. Squeezing her palms in his, he replied to her confused expression.

"I want to build my own family. I want to have a wife and children in the future. I want to give my family everything I've had and never had. Everything that I did not have as a child, I will provide for my children. Of course, this refers to the good things only. As for things that I already have, well, whatever belongs to me will eventually be theirs. What I really want the most is to marry the woman I love and spend the rest of my life with her."

He raised his head and gazed affectionately into her eyes to convey his genuine emotions. He wanted to let her know how serious he was with their relationship and where he wants them to be in many years from now.

"Y..You.." She stuttered at the sudden speech he made. His speech moved her to the extent where she almost screamed yes before he even asked for her hands in marriage.

Smiling, his hand reached the back of her head and closed the gap between her lips and his. From clumsy pecks to deep kiss with her, they drowned in each other's sweet taste. He parted his lips from hers and looked at her again.

"And the woman I plan to share the rest of my life with is you, Celinda. This won't count as a proposal. Like I said, until you figure out when we first met...that is when I could tell you my one year's plan. Actually, it would be significantly shorter than a year when you figure it out."

At this moment, Celinda didn't know whether she wanted to laugh or cry. If she could barely remember her meal from two nights ago, how could she recall when they've first met? Aside from this, she wouldn't have known if he hadn't told her about it! Now, he was seriously testing her memories.

She wondered how many sleepless nights she will suffer from trying to recover her memories.