June was lying on her bed when she heard little knocks on the door.
It didn’t take a second before Luis’s little head squished its way into the room with a blinding smile on his face. As soon as she saw him, her heart felt so full of love and pain at the same time.
“Baby!” She tried to put up a cheerful expression but her words came out flat.
Luis pushed open the door, letting himself in with some heavy books in his hands. June looked at the books with confusion. Surely he didn’t plan on reading her such lengthy serious-looking books.
Getting to the stool beside her bed, Luis placed the books on them and the bed beside her. “Auntie! I brought my baby pictures!” He said with a smile that sucked the frigid look on June’s face.
With eyes lit, she gleamed, “Really? I bet you were very handsome as a baby.” She cooed, ruffling his hair.
Luis loved the feel of his auntie’s hand on his hair. For others, he would throw a tantrum when they wanted to mess with his hair, but with her, it was something he looked forward to. He looked forward to every moment with her.
“I am still handsome,” Luis said with a pout. “Even more handsome!” He added.
Seeing him act so jealously about himself made June burst into laughter. A much-needed one that had the stress in her shoulders melting.
“Of course you are! You are the most handsome man in the world!” She said to him and his smile widened.
“More handsome than my father?” He asked and June felt her face heat up.
This child was having a hard time acting like a child with his constant jealousy of his father. She didn’t know how to explain it wasn’t a competition and he will always have her heart.
That fact was natural to her as breathing.
“Yes! Much more handsome than your father!” She assured, placing a kiss on his forehead for good measure.
Luis’s face heated as soon as she pulled back. Shyness covering his form. Her poor heart couldn’t handle the sight and she squeezed him into her in a momma hug.
She couldn’t imagine a life without her little prince anymore. He was like sunshine on a rainy day. Luis handed over the first album to her and they started viewing it.
“No! Not that one! It’s embarrassing!”
“I didn’t know my grandma took such ugly photos!”
“Auntie! I think we should stop viewing!”
Luis made comments as they went through the gazillion pictures that left the little adult more embarrassed and mortified than the last. At some point, he wondered if his father had set him up to ruin his image with his auntie.
He hadn’t checked the album and had rushed over when his father told him his auntie needed to be cheered up. However, he was second-guessing his father’s intentions as his only love rival.
Did he plan to sabotage him in this race for Auntie’s heart? The little one pondered at the back of his heart.
However, one look at the immersed and happy countenance his auntie wore, a total contrast to the gloomy atmosphere he felt upon entry, he was glad to let her view more embarrassing baby pictures of him.
He could always correct the impression later.
June continued watching the albums with Luis who soon slept off on her bed, leaving her to it alone.
Happy, she went through the hundreds of pictures across the three thick albums brought to the room and by the time she was done, it felt like she had watched the little treasure grow with her two eyes.
Her heart was full and the pains she had nursed of never becoming a mother were long gone. At that moment, the door jarred open and just like the little treasure before, another much larger head made its way into the room using the little room.
Rafael met June’s eyes as soon as his head shot into her room. He was of the opinion that they were now asleep since he had stopped hearing his son’s voice from his son’s room where he camped to watch the situation.
June beckoned on Rafael to come inside the room which he did, scratching his hair. He never intended to meet her awake when he came here, he’d thought they were both asleep and came to get his son per usual.
“Thank you.” June whispered when he was close enough. “I know you did this.”
The air between them was light, yet tangible. Unspoken words buried in their gazes. “I could make them pay,” Rafael said after a moment. “I could make them regret touching you.”
“I know,” June said, holding a chuckle. “But you’ve decided to let me handle it.” She added.
A silent understanding passed between them and he nodded.
“The offer is still open, wife. You just need to say the word.” Rafael rasped, taking the wind out of June’s long at the endearment.
Rafael watched her intently. Waiting for her reaction, testing the look on her face as he leaned forward, looking for any signs of hesitation as his lips neared her own.
“Father?”
Rafael and June jolted apart like they had been struck by lightning at the sound of Luis’s voice.
“What are you doing here, father?” Luis asked as he sat up, blinking away sleep.
“You should go to your room,” Rafael said in a dry tone. “Your auntie needs to rest.”
Luis was ready to argue but at the mention of June’s need to rest, he stepped out of the bed. “I hope you feel better auntie.” He said, gauging her with tired eyes.
June blinked back tears. “Of course darling. You made the pain go away.”
A small smile. “You should go back to sleep then. I will see you tomorrow.” The little prince said, then turned to his father. “Let’s go.”
Luis took his father’s hand to the surprise of both June and Rafael, dragging him out of the room with him. June couldn’t help the smile that bloomed on her face when she heard his luttle voice scolding his father.
“Stop sneaking up on Auntie and making her flustered!”
Safe to say Rafael was made to sleep in his son’s room by Luis who thought he planned to disturb his auntie when he fell asleep.
That night, June slept peacefully with a beautiful dream of her playing around with her husband and her little prince, Luis.