Four

Miggy's POV

Uncle Rick's expression was filled with surprise. But I have a strong suspicion that he was aware of the occurrence.

"Uncle?"

He took a big breath and then cleared his throat, as if something was obstructing him.

"I don't believe it's a good time for us to discuss this matter now, especially regarding what happened to your father; let's talk about it later after we've fixed it for your father; I honestly expect that you'll ask me about this topic, so you can trust me on this. I can tell you just what I know."

Even though he didn't directly say what I wanted to hear from him, I wasn't disappointed because I knew Uncle Rick wouldn't let me down. I know Daddy tells him more than his brother, Uncle Manuel.

I heard Meynard announce that mom and Carla had arrived, but she immediately raced to the entrance inside the Heritage office, so we never saw each other again. As time passed, more and more individuals came to express and let our family feel their condolences.

"Nard, go home first so you can relax; we'll meet at the condo tomorrow."

When I noticed him struggling with tiredness while sitting on one side, I know he was exhausted all day with the amount of work he did, from the office to the hospital and even here now.

"Could you please take my car? Be cautious when driving. Don't worry; I'll just ask Mommy's driver to send me to my condo later," I explained. I told him first since I knew he'd be the one to do it based on the way he looked at me. After rising, he could only nod and ultimately leave.

"Uncle, won't you and aunt go home first?" I asked Uncle Manuel as I was caught looking at the enormous image of Daddy being positioned by Heritage Park personnel, close to Daddy's coffin that they had just placed. It's midnight, but there are still a lot of people waiting for the ceremony to conclude.

"It's too late. I'm okay. Then many more people," he said quietly, sighed.

I sat down gently next to my uncle and then observed the staff who were busy arranging the photo and flowers for dad. I wasn't shocked when a few people approached to gaze at Dad's coffin, while my uncle and I sat solemnly staring at the folks in front of us.

I felt it tap and squeeze my right leg, then I looked at him to see what he meant. He looked at me and then to our left. When I saw Aunt Beth's mother embrace Uncle Manuel's wife, I realized what he meant. I instantly got to my feet and approached my mother and aunt Beth.

"Mom!" I exclaimed. While Aunt Beth was still comforting her, she gave me a quick glance. When she realized I was approaching, she stepped away from her embracing aunt and started to step towards me.

As my mother and I embraced, I could hear Mommy weeping even more.

"Shhh... hush mom, you need to relax first," I reassured her.

"Daddy will not be pleased to see you like that, and he still does not want you to disregard it."

While we were still hugging, I could feel her shaking.

"Mom, what you do to yourself is not healthy for you. I know you're hurting from the loss of Daddy, and I'm also hurting, Mom, but we need to be strong. Because daddy will not like it if we don't take care of ourselves, especially you mom," I added as I gently rubbed his back.

I'm not sure how I was able to speak those words while still struggling to understand what had transpired. especially after my most recent talk with my father. Many things disturb my thoughts, but I try to ignore them since I could possibly lose my mind, which I won't let happen because I still have a strong attachment to mom.

The days went very swiftly. We were at church now, waiting for the mass to begin before taking Daddy to his final destination. Many people came to express their condolences to our family, from inside the show business and even our family's friends from outside the said industry. My father's and uncle Manuel's youngest brother had also attended the previous two nights, but he was alone because they couldn't organize a short journey home. Uncle Greg was his name. He was the youngest of the three brothers. He has two children who have their own families and live in the United States, although in separate states. After the mass for daddy's remains concluded, we just took a walk to the mausoleum of my grandparents, their parents, and daddy, since they would all be buried there. The chapel where the service was being held is just close to where we will be delivering it to him. As we went, I hugged mommy. Mommy was dressed in a white three-fourth sleeve long dress, while I was dressed in black trousers and a white button-down polo that I had folded with a three-fourth sleeve earlier in preparation for the mass. Aunt Beth donned a black skirt and a white top, while Uncle Manuel and Uncle Greg wore white button-down polo shirts. Meynard was accompanied by members of his family who used to work for our family, including his mother, nanny Soleng, and Mang Carding, who used to be daddy's driver but had to stop due to rheumatism.

Carla, Mommy's personal assistant, was on the other side of us. She hasn't left us since the night that daddy was brought to the hospital. Her relatives sympathized with us as well. Alice, on the other hand, did not miss visiting my dad's wake with her family. I haven't been able to approach and speak with everyone, but I have been able to thank everyone who sympathized with us last night when we delivered a eulogy for dad. Uncle Rick and his family, of course, accompany mom and me every night. But we never had another chance to talk, and if there was something, I opted not to focus on it initially. We'll talk after we finish organizing daddy's last times with us, just like he said the night we chatted. A number of my high school and college pals, as well as coworkers, joined us as well.

Daddy was not placed inside the tomb immediately when we arrived inside the mausoleum. He was momentarily placed on the stand because he wanted to take one more look. A tent was built to shade a few of us, and plastic seats were placed in front of his casket. Because no one could enter the mausoleum but it was exclusive for our family, I sat with my two elbows on my thighs and both hands on my face after we seated. Mommy had been crying uncontrollably since the beginning of mass. So, I'm not sure who approaches daddy's casket to take one final glimpse at him.

"Bro," Meynard, who was seated next to me, murmured quietly.

"Huh?" I said, turning to face him, although I was still hunched over.

"Here's the woman you struck; I felt terrible for her; I saw her earlier, but she didn't come near us," he whispers to me.

"Seriously? Is she okay? I haven't talked to him since I took her to the hospital. Maybe she needs something, so go talk to her later. Just ask her what else she needs and don't hesitate to give it to her when it comes to her medications and other needs because she was bothered for a few days by what happened to her, which I know is my fault," I explained.

"All fine, bro," he continued.

 "I'll approach her later after you've entered the mausoleum," he added.

I reverted to my previous position, leaning down and placed both hands on my face. Some nights I feel like my head is about to burst for thinking of some things too much and I don't know what I should actually do and feel about it? My chest was tight and heavy, and I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. I want to weep, yet I'm unable to do so. I'm having difficulty. I couldn't sleep either since the night we waited for daddy's remains to be prepared. I just returned home to my unit to shower and change. I attempted to sleep at first, but I couldn't because I could vividly picture the scene where my father and I were shouting at each other.

I silently apologized to my dad for the words I had said to him, even though I knew it was too late, just in case I might lighten the load I was carrying. But it's still not like that, so I'm agitated. I'm at a loss for words. I haven't told Meynard yet since he's done a lot of errands for me these last few days because I didn't go to work, so he did the majority of what I should have done.

I'm not sure how long I stayed in that position. Everything I was thinking was cut short when I felt someone touch me on the shoulder, and I was pulled back to the present.

"Let's go," uncle Manuel said, while looking up to see what was ahead of us. I just realized that it's daddy's casket, which had been placed there earlier, had vanished. Uncle Manuel helped me to my feet as I slowly stood up. As we entered the mausoleum, he hugged me. Many more people were present, but they were dispersed outside the mausoleum since only family members were permitted to enter.

"Uncle, I can't seem to get in," I told him hesitantly.

"Don't worry, son; I'll be right there with you," he assured me.

"I'm sorry, uncle. You take care of mom inside," I was going to say when he grabbed my shoulders and turned me to face him.

"Miggy, you have to face the reality in order to accept it; this is the first step you must take in order to move forward," he remarked quietly that it was enough for the two of us to understand each other while we chatted.

"It will be even harder for you if you don't face it now; you have to understand that everyone has a reason why this has happened now. Yes, I understand we were all surprised by Gabriel's sudden absence; we were not all prepared, but if we think about it, none of us knows how long we will stay with our loved ones here on earth," he continued.

"Miggy, remember you are not the only one left by a father; there are even some who are younger than you. You are still lucky because you had the opportunity to be with him for quite a while, even if it hasn't been that long. Believe me, we need to see him one last time, and that time it will help us to accept that is really left us, so that our minds will understand that it is the last but he will never be lost in our hearts and minds, he will remain dear to us, we will cherish the memories he left for each one of us," then he led me back into the mausoleum and he did not let me speak again.

The weeping inside got more intense as time passed, especially mommy's crying, who was now clutching Aunt Beth. I'm not sure why I can't weep, even though I've heard so much that I'd rather cry but there's no more tears to fall down right from my eyes.

I truly feel very heavy with my chest, but I'm not sure how to get rid of it. I haven't cried much since that night I found out about my dad, and it hasn't happened after that.

After a few minutes, Daddy's coffin was eventually placed into the mausoleum's tomb. Even now, as the closure of Daddy's tomb is being finalized, we are seated next to one another. Mommy was still comforted by Aunt Beth when they were sitting side by side.

Because I hadn't seen Meynard and Carla inside yet, I figured they were still outside waiting for us. Even though daddy's best buddy, uncle Rick, was outside, we have some other close family friends with us inside the mausoleum.

After some time, the people gradually dispersed. But there were a few people who remained, namely our families and a few close friends. When I peered outside, I was going to stand up from where I had been seated next to Uncle Manuel. Carla was standing at the mausoleum's door, talking to someone on her phone. I noticed Meynard talking to a woman not far away. They were having a serious conversation, but I couldn't see the woman's face since her back was all I could see from where I was standing. Uncle Rick and his wife were walking over to where we were.

"Son," he remarked as he noticed me staring at them as they approached. I got to my feet right away to welcome the pair.

"Thank you very much for coming, uncle and aunt."

"Son this is nothing; it's nothing compared to the ones your daddy and I had together," he added. While my aunt discreetly caressed and rubbed my back, she left my uncle and me conversing and walked to my mother, who was looking blankly at my father's grave.

"Uncle," I said, referring to He didn't let me finish what I was going to say and he spoke immediately.

"Just give me a call when we can discuss that matter. I'm only here to assist you with everything you need for as long as I can," uncle said.

"I appreciate it."

"Elena and I won't be staying for long since we still have a long way to go," he explained. I simply nodded to him before he left me to go to my mommy.

As I stood where my uncle had left me, I noticed that the woman I had struck was the one Meynard was talking to since she was leaning sideways, so I glanced at her. I was about to approach them when I noticed she was walking away hurriedly. She was a few meters away, and I knew I couldn't get up to her since she was traveling quickly.

As soon as I come near Meynard,

"Bro, that was Nimfa I'm speaking with and she is extending her condolences to you, and she is extremely thankful for the assistance you provided her during her treatment," he explained.

"That's why I came here to talk to her, but I couldn't approach her since she seemed to be in a rush to go," I told him.

"She explained that her daughter called and was looking for her because she had not said she had left home."

"Oh, okay."

By the way, I said hesitantly, "I'm not sure whether I'll be able to go back to work tomorrow."

"Bro, the management understands you. Please don't come in yet; I'll just take care of what needs to be done; I'll call you or come to you after I'm at the office so I can report to you. You need to rest first. I know you've been lacking sleep these past few days," he explained.

"Eh, my brain is confused. I also have trouble sleeping. I don't know what I'm going to do right now? Where or how to start with what I'm supposed to do?" I looked up at the sky after saying that and took a deep breath.

"Bro, there is no problem without a solution, and there is no difficulty you can't go beyond. I know you, bro. I know you can manage all that. I'm just here. Simply tell me what I can help you with. I'm always ready to assist you," he said.

"I don't know, Nard? Right now, the weight of what I bear is a mixture of guilt, remorse, sorrow, fear, and anger with myself; since I didn't listen to Daddy well, I let my feelings swallow me whole during those times," I admitted regretfully.

"I don't think Sir G was angry or upset with you; I know he is broad-minded, so I know he understands why you acted that way," he comforted.

"Even though I knew I had hurt him with what I said and I knew I couldn't take it back, I'm really sorry because I didn't realize it was the last chance we talked, and then he heard me like that," I was swept away by a strong wind after I spoke.

"It's good that you're here, so I can talk about these things. I don't know what I'd do without you, Nard. Because, as you know, only you can express how I felt. Especially in this case, mommy doesn't know what really happened before what happened to daddy," I continued, turning my back on the mausoleum, so I don't know who else was here to attend my father's funeral.

"I'm afraid Mommy will find out about the last thing Daddy and I talked about; I don't know what her reaction will be. I know Mommy is having a hard time right now, so as much as possible I don't stay close to her lately because I feel more guilty. I just hope my plan to find Daddy's daughter won't reach her. Even if it hurts me, I will do it because that's what he wanted to do."

"Bro, you think you can possibly find them with that card? Oh, of course, I had that I hid. It's a good thing I went there right away since the shattered glass on his table was still there because they'd been busy with Sir G, so you can be sure no one noticed that I went in there to get that card. When I got there, almost all the employees were downstairs, so when I went up, no one noticed me," he said. Because I told him to go to my dad's office. I also told Carla that we were also in the hospital that night for the woman who was hit by my car.

"Thank you then. Make sure no one else can see it, and no one else would know if it isn't just us. I don't want to get too close to mommy right now; I need to do what I need to do for daddy first."