"What is it, Ria? Aren"t you still going to stop working out?" Cassie said, once biting into her favorite burger. It is full of veggies but also chopped with beef and bacon.
"Your body is okay, eh. You look so fine! It looks like you and Ronan are just siblings." I stopped lifting the weights and then reached for the water bottle.
"Cassie, I just wanted to maintain it. Besides, I don"t want to look old when Ronan is with me."
Ronan frowned when he looked at me, shaking his head. "Mom, I told you. You"re beautiful even without all of that."
I mimicked the expression on my son"s face while laughing.
"I need to go! I"ll buy frappe. Bye!" Cassie sped away.
The cycle continues until the weekend is easily over. We went to the gym in the morning and then had groceries to cook at the condo. We have also bought Ronan"s supplies since their class will start this morning.
He is in Grade 12, taking STEM. We are in the living room now, and from here I can see Ronan arranging himself in front of the mirror.
He grew up so fast and so fine. I remember the first week I was with him, and it was so touching. And just a matter of time, this is him. Graduating from high school. My big boy.
He"s seventeen, but he"s taller than me — a big time. My son is also sporty, so we get along when it comes to outdoor activities. That"s what they really say, ‘no? That once our children grow up, we will miss them even more. Though Ronan is still sweet to me, there are still things that he keeps to himself.
"Mom, is this really okay?" he asked as I immediately nodded.
"Yes, son. You"re especially handsome with your uniform. Behave, alright! I don"t want to hear about your women right away within one week."
He frowned. "Mom? You know, I don"t play with girls." I laughed a little. If there is any habit that Ronan has acquired today from his father, it is that he is respectful, especially to adults and girls.
I don"t regret having this boy. Maybe with the help of my friends and parents, I was able to raise him better.
"Anyways, Mom, when can we visit grandpa and grandma? It"s been five months, and I miss them so much. Then my friends who are also there in Quezon."
My parents" grandfather and grandmother also separated from us when I was pregnant with Ronan. In fact, they don"t like the idea of pursuing this child before. Anyway, I"m too young. I was only sixteen when I gave birth to Ronan. My son and I almost had a problem with our safety, but in God"s mercy, it turned out okay. It was a painful but normal delivery.
How? I don"t know either. But maybe, there really is a God.
"We will. Maybe by next month. Come on, focus on school first." I took the files I needed to bring to the office. Flash drives, portfolios.
I took Ronan to his school and then I sailed to our office. Since I got pregnant, I stopped my studies. And I"m just lucky that my parents have other acquaintances who worked in the path I want. They begged me to get the job, and after they"ve read all my works before, they agreed. I was a part time writer at sixteen. I"m just at home, whenever I finish a book I submit him to the board, sometimes they like it. Sometimes no either. But it made me concrete about what do I really want in life.
I want to write. So, I didn"t stop there. After I gave birth to Ronan I decided to go back to school. Mama, who used to take care of him, accepted my situation because of Ronan. It didn"t bother me at all. I knew I was guilty too. But I"ll never regret having my Ronan.
I finished college, and now I have a stable job as an Interior Designer.
"Miss Ria, Mr. Andrade is calling you. Asap." I followed what Ms. Dianne and set sail for Mr. Andrade"s office.
Mr. Andrade has made a great contribution. to the two of us. He helped me in figuring out what I really want. He said, my hands seem to be useful. He said, I was good at drawing and writing so I would use that. For Ronan.
"Mr. Andrade, good morning."
"Have a seat, Ria." He pointed to the seat in front of him. I swallowed. This is up to something important, yes?
". . . So this one company, supplier of books, emailed me. And they are looking for you. They need you to be their speaker at their upcoming event. Actually, you took a lot. I thought Ria, it would be better for the ones you write to hit the box office."
This is a good opportunity, that"s why I don"t want to leave Ronan alone at home by any chance, the class has just started and of course I wouldn"t miss his exciting stories. We are also used to this because we do this before the school year.
Such events will definitely take the night and I don"t want Ronan to be alone in the condo at that time. I can"t coax anyone to watch because everyone has their own job.
"Actually, your pass is open for two. So you can really bring Ronan." My eyes widened. I haven"t talked about the ones I need to have a solution right away.
"Oh! Thank you, Sir! I"ll grab it because I"m finishing a book. This can really help, Mr. Andrade. I don"t know how to thank you, but thank you very much."
He nodded and told me to prepare a speech because the event is on Friday.
I went back to my office to also finalize the reports assigned to me by the big boss. After that, I had to buy a few household items.
Time is easily consumed so I"m down now to have lunch. When Ronan and I are busy like this, we can"t have lunch together.
Of course, even though I"m babysitting Ronan, I still don"t want to burden him.
I was outside when my cellphone suddenly rang, it"s my baby!
"Baby?" I welcomed him. What could have happened? Why did he call?
"Mom, where are you?" His voice was obviously happy. I couldn"t help but be emotional.
Ronan is growing up very fine. It makes me proud that I raised him so well even when I was alone; and of course, with mama and papa as well as Cassie.
"Here, I"m looking for a place for lunch. You? Done with your lunch?" I answered.
"Mom! Shall we not have lunch together? I"ll send you a place, I"ll wait for you." He turned off the call before I could speak. That boy really is something.
He really knows how to make me soft .As much as I want to let him with his own life, he himself wants me to always be with him.
But he"s very independent as well. He still knows how to decide on his own, do household chores and all. During my off, and it"s a weekend he"ll make me sit all day then he said he"ll take care of everything.
I went straight to the parking lot to pick up the car and then went to the place he was next to.
When I arrived, I decided to move quickly, I only have a limited time with my son now.
"Ouch!" I moaned when an elbow hit my arm. I immediately turned to the man to reprimand him.
But I lost my strength when I saw the same eyes that Ronan had.
No way.
"I"m sorry, miss." He looked at me then smiled.
My thoughts remained.
Miss? Impossible.
"It was nice bumping into you, though." he smiled again then said goodbye.
It was just now again, just now again, my heartfelt like a racetrack. That guy!
How did he call me ‘miss"? Doesn"t he remember me anymore? Well, that"s 17 years. I wouldn"t blame him if not, but he — starting with his eyes, nose, lips to maybe the feet I know. . . even with the changes in physical appearance, he is still the one I see.
The eighteen-year-old Knoxx.
