Twelve

ARIANNA was pulled back to the present by Tommy's voice calling her name.
Her eyes focused on her brother as she felt her cheeks getting warm, silently thanking him for recalling her at that moment.
"Ate, can we give this watermelon at his price?"
"Ah, oh, oh. How much do you want?" she asked the patron with a smile, in a haggling mode, and was able to sell the watermelon at a higher price than was being asked.
That was the end of it, and they were able to return home with enough time to cook lunch.
During lunch, both of them acted like before, especially after their mother expressed relief that Tommy was again helping his sister sell garden produce in the morning.
"I will start helping tend the garden again. I was listening to the radio this morning and found this program with a doctor and his nurse wife on it. The sun's rays and exercise should be able to help make me stronger," she enthusiastically said.
"Ay, Ma!" Tommy protested promptly. "You don't have to. You can sit on a sitter, though. We wouldn't want you to over-exert yourself."
"Tst. No. Sitting is not even exercise. A few bending here and there will do. I will not do more than necessary."
"You tend to forget because you like gardening too much. Where did you think we got out green thumbs from?" Arianna asked. "But you were right," she added as soon as she saw on their mother's face that she was feeling sad for not doing anything. "We will be watching, and make sure when we say you should sit down, you must sit down. Agreed?"
"Oh, she will. I'll carry her to the sitter," Tommy said in a sotto voice much like their father's when he was alive and being bossy about their mother's health that they all laughed.
"I can't decide on anything for myself these days," their mother was grumbling, though she was smiling.
"When you're stronger, Mama, we can bring you to the beach in the morning. You can have the benefit of the first morning's rays there, and fresh sea air!" Tommy promised.
"You can't bring me there in a tri-bike, iho," she protested, but her eyes said she missed the sea.
"I can drive a motorbike. My friend taught me."
"When?" she asked before she could stop herself.
His head dived to his plate. "Uh, the last few days when I have nothing to do at work."
"You can't drive anywhere with anything yet, Tommy, except a bike. You know that. You need a license and you are not old enough to have that," their mother reminded him worriedly.
But Arianna was curious about something else.
She still hadn't asked her brother where he'd stayed when he went missing. She was thinking it would be this friend.
A friend with a motorcycle, which meant he would be old enough to acquire one, or even old enough to have a job and buy one.
If he was a male, what kind of work was he doing?
She hoped her brother had not been with kids who were bad influences.
She must ask him more when she got him alone. He ducked his head in such a way that got her concerned.
He was not trying to hide something from her because it was something bad, wasn't he?
"Why are you two suddenly so quiet?" their mother asked. "You must both be tired. Take a nap after this. You both worked hard this morning and should take your rest."
"I will, then I'll go to Mang Cardo's place and see if I can work for some fish," Tommy said.
*Somebody's trying to avoid me.*
"Fish will be good. How about you, Yna? You should rest, too. Both of you had come home very late last night and then were awake very early this morning. I wish I could be as young!"
Tommy had lifted his face from his plate and his mouth had stopped chewing his food, as she was. They were both staring at their mother, scared to ask the question of how she knew.
*Was she awake when we arrived? Did she hear anything? She was sleeping when I checked her room! She couldn't have been!*
She noticed our dumb faces and frowned. "Is there something wrong?"
Arianna gulped. But Tommy was faster than her.
"Mama, why were you awake that late? Didn't your doctor tell you specifically to make sure to have a complete deep sleep at night?"
"Oh, I heard the door opening and closing, and I think I heard you enter the room separately. It isn't like this house can hide rickety sounds. I should do that morning routine of being in the sun so I wouldn't get sick too much and money can be used for repairs."
She stopped as if she had trouble breathing after speaking that long, then recovered.
"I fell back to sleep again after that. Though I believe I was half-asleep when I heard you both. I was just relieved you've gone home."
Arianna was trying hard not to ask how her mother would have known she had left the house. She didn't tell her.
She took off as soon as she had her meds and was breathing deeply.
But she didn't dare to do so, afraid of the woman asking more and more questions.
She looked down on her plate again and comforted herself that whatever her mother was thinking about these night activities of Tommy and her leaving late at night, she would never even imagine what had really happened.
If she knew or suspected even a little, she wouldn't be as nonchalant.
She would probably have a bad heart attack this time.
"I'll wash the dishes. Ate Yna, you can take your siesta."
*Bad move, brother.*
Both women were staring at him in disbelief.
"Well, I had been coming home late every night and she... she went and gave me a tongue-lashing for being so late and making both of you worry," he explained sheepishly to their mother. "She should be sleeping already. I am trying to make up for it."
"So will you be late again tonight?" their mother asked with a frown on her face. "Really, Tommy, what have you been doing?"
"Well, I have this classmate in second grade who'd left public schooling then and is studying in a private school in town. He's in a special Science Club and he's got these really interesting projects and since we bumped into each other a month ago, he would invite me sometimes to his house to work on them with him. I forget time whenever I go. I like learning from his computers."
She was staring at her brother again, feeling such a relief in her chest.
Tommy was really bad at lying and when he was telling our mother that she had to fetch him late last night, he could barely look at her.
But when he revealed about this old classmate, he was animated and his young eyes were looking straight at their mother.
Arianna knew he stayed with that classmate when he was still hiding.
"You loved Science and Math. You're very good at school. That's why I was so upset when you didn't enroll. You were both out and your old teacher visited the other week. I couldn't tell you right away because you are always in town the recent days, but she told me that if you ever feel like you want to go back, they'll help you."
Tommy's eyes were huge. "It must be Mrs. Corales and Sir Randy," he mumbled.
"And three more. They said your classmates miss you."
"Mother..." Tommy replied exasperatedly. "You just want me to feel bad."
"You should. You disobeyed me," Arianna butted in.
He looked at her and of course, there they went remembering there was an elephant in the room.
"Are we done eating?" she asked flippantly as she looked over the empty plates on the table. "I'll help clean up then we can all take a nap and you can get the fish for dinner tonight. How about that?"
"The school and your classmates want you back in school. They even will let you work in the garden and do something in the office so you can earn a little. They will do something to include you in the payroll."
And so they started cleaning up the table as their mother continued on her campaign to get her youngest kid back to school, if not the oldest.
Arianna finished Senior High and at least the first year off her course before she had to stop because they couldn't afford it. Her mother also couldn't be left alone at home for a long time during that period in their lives.
She still wanted to go back.
She kept daydreaming about it because dreaming was free.
When the dishes were done, the other two went to their beds while Arianna, again, took a bath. She didn't want to think why.
And feeling a bit better, she also took her nap.