The cab pulled up to the gates of the family estate, the tires crunching on the gravel as it came to a stop. Derek stepped out, breathing in the familiar humid air of Mindanao. The scent of salt and lush greenery hit him, a rush of nostalgia washing over him. Home.
Before he could grab his bags, a high-pitched squeal pierced the air.
"Derek!" Chloe and Chantal, his 14-year-old twin sisters, came barreling down the driveway, their matching sundresses flaring as they ran.
He braced himself as they tackled him in an exuberant hug. "Whoa, easy! You'll knock me over!" he laughed, tousling their identical wavy hair.
"We missed you!" Chloe said, grinning up at him.
"Yeah, you've been gone forever," Chantal added, punching his arm playfully.
"I've only been gone a semester," Derek replied, amused.
"That's forever," they said in unison, earning an affectionate eye roll from him.
When he looked up, his gaze met another figure standing a few paces away. Reyna.
She was smaller than he remembered--or maybe he had just grown taller and she remained five-foot nothing in generous heels. Her tiny frame was wrapped in a simple white blouse tucked into faded jeans, her dark hair tied back in a loose bun. She looked the same as she always had: effortlessly composed, yet somehow radiant.
"Welcome home, Derek," Reyna said, her voice warm but measured.
For a moment, he hesitated, then closed the distance between them. "Rey-Rey," he said, pulling her into a hug. She felt soft and familiar against him, her arms wrapping lightly around his waist.
When she leaned up to kiss his cheek, as she had so many times before, something shifted. Her lips brushed his skin, and a strange warmth spread through him--a heat that had nothing to do with the tropical sun.
Reyna pulled back, smiling, but Derek felt like the ground had tilted beneath him. "It's good to see you," she said simply. "I missed you."
"I missed you too," he replied, quickly adding, "we've all missed you. And I'm sorry for your loss."
Reyna nodded politely and backed away as the girls began chattering about plans for the week. Their parents, of course, were detained with business in Manila, and would miss much of Derek's spring break with the family. He only flew halfway around the world to be with them. They were great people, their children wanted for nothing and Derek was receiving the best education and apprenticeship back home in England that money could buy.
But it seemed they had always subcontracted the responsibility of hugs and kisses, words of praise and encouragement to a designated minder. There had been a succession of them over the years, but they hit the jackpot with Reyna. She was 18 when she arrived, the daughter of their then-groundskeeper, and she endeared herself at once to Chloe and Chantal as an inventive playmate and loving supervisor.
Derek, who had tired of the revolving door of aproned guards, treated Reyna first as a temp and later as more of an annoying older sister, always bugging him to do his homework or pick up after himself. It finally came to a head that weekend four years ago while his parents were off on yet another business trip, when he invited his pals over for an impromptu piss-up that wound up wrecking the joint and inviting the interest of the police. Reyna somehow persuaded the local constabulary there was nothing to see there, and the following morning Derek found her quietly cleaning up and trying to repair some of the damage. The hurt in her eyes was more than he could bear.
When his parents returned, he immediately owned up to his idiocy, and apologized to both them and Reyna. "I've been beastly to you and I am ashamed of that," he told Reyna after he was grounded. "I won't let you down again." Reyna hugged him in tears and things began to change after that.
Every night, after reading the girls their bedtime story, she would knock on Derek's door and they would talk about their days. In the months that followed their goodnight hugs and kisses lingered just a little longer, and they were more playful around each other.
Eventually Reyna told him about the man her parents wanted her to marry from their home village because it was high time she settled down and produced grandchildren. Derek, with a growing maturity and college on the horizon, suggested she think long and hard on that and not deny herself the possibilities of a better life.
He recognized her intelligence, how she was a quick study of just about any topic. He taught how to play tennis and she held her own on the court, often beating him in spite of her size. For her part, Reyna taught him to spearfish and he enjoyed the many hours they spent in the sea together. They formed a bond of friendship and in the back of his mind he was wondering about the possibilities he might be denying himself with her.
But the obstacles -- cultural, a yawning eight-year age gap, the fact that Reyna was employed by his parents to take care of him and the girls -- seemed insurmountable, almost taboo. And then the clock ran out. Bags were packed and he left the Philippines for England.
During his first semester at Oxford Chloe called to share the news that Reyna was marrying the man after all and how she and Chantal were beside themselves with grief that she would be leaving them after all that time.
"You're twins," he cracked. "You're always beside yourselves." But he was saddened too.
It was Chantal who called him six months ago with more sad news -- Reyna's husband had been killed in a construction accident, after two brief years of marriage. The girls began an immediate campaign to get her back and their folks were helpless to refuse, having tired already of another series of housekeepers. Reyna immediately accepted their offer, with a healthy rise in pay, and on the surface it appeared all was back to normal.
While the girls continued to plan his limited vacation days with things he could do for them, Derek felt a little ungallant as he watched Reyna lug his duffel and roll his suitcase up to the house -- she was still "Mighty Mouse" who insisted on doing the heavy lifting. The girls soon lost interest in him and scampered off, and he followed Reyna upstairs to his room where she was unpacking his things.
"Hey," he said, a tentative smile tugging at his lips, "what do you say we take a trip down the hill to the beach, sit in the cabana? Just you and me. We should catch up."
Her brows lifted in surprise. "To the cabana?"
