My Dreamy Old Husband

The talk in the living room resumed shortly after Carmen retreated upstairs. The whole family could sense that it was a crucial time in her life since she was about to transition from a teenager to a young adult—a process that was otherwise known as ‘the transition’.

It was at the start of the family discussion when Sophia first made the announcement that a historical revolution was slated to happen at around the same time Carmen transitioned into young adulthood.

“Carmen is going to start using condoms soon,” Sophia declared slowly with a sigh. “She’s all grown up now. She’s no longer the kid she used to be.”

Upon hearing the news, Cooper and Anna felt their hearts sink. Linus, too, looked as if he was in despair.

Carmen’s words would leave the family heartbroken for an entire year.

Her generation had evolved and using condoms at eighteen was commonplace. While the adults in the family were acutely aware that it was a rite of passage, they could not help but feel as though they were about to lose their little girl—whom they had raised for seventeen years—to some filthy boar-headed boy.

Sophia figured that Carmen would be done with her shower by the time the discussion was over, so she knocked on the latter’s bedroom door before entering.

She tried to come to terms with the fact that her daughter was growing up. Carmen no longer needed a nanny and she had been weaned off the bottle for years. Now, she was a teenager whose bedroom door was always locked and no one could enter without her permission.

Carmen is a big girl who wears a bra now, Sophia reminded herself.

Carmen was about to sleep when she heard the knock on the door. With a tired look on her face, she opened the door to reveal an enthusiastic Sophia.

“Darling, don’t you have to get ready for finals now that it’s a new school term? How about I look through the mock papers with you?”

“Mom, I graduated with a PhD,” Carmen pointed out as she looked at her mother through bleary eyes. “High school exams are a piece of cake.”

topics and quipped, “I heard that you broke up with your boyfriend today. Do you want me to beat his head into

sighed. “Mom, you can’t go around beating people’s

How about if we go through your

watch on her wrist. “Mom, it’s eleven! We’ll go through the thesis tomorrow.

the room and responded, “Okay,—go and get

her thumb over her index finger to form a

gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Goodnight,

She stared at the ceiling, which was simulated to resemble a starry night sky. I’m practically an adult. Can all of

best sleeping experience. For Carmen, who was already worn out, that meant she was close to falling

as if

She was frightened and scrambled to hide under a table,

closed her eyes and fell into someone’s arms. She could still remember the feeling of being held that way—it felt

process. She kept her eyes closed all the way,

in front of her parents and he slowly stepped

broke into ugly sobs. By the time she finally calmed down,

morning while yawning as she perched on the back of Theo’s

but it seemed like he did not age a day ever since he started using the three-step age-defying skincare collection that was manufactured through a collaboration between the Michel Medical Technology

giants in their respective industries had completely revolutionized the future for mankind. Not only did they launch the Premium High-Tech concept, the cosmetics department in Ronney Group had also partnered with Michel Medical Technology Group to produce several skincare and cosmetic products that would stop aging in its tracks. As a result, Carmen and her pets

as they headed down the familiar road that led to the school. His schedule was synchronized with Carmen’s. He was the security guard stationed by the school entrance and every morning he would scrutinize every person who entered and left the school grounds, making sure that there was nobody suspicious

school and saw that the elite institution was brightly lit. It seemed as if everyone had

at her, but she was used to their sneers and paid no attention to them as she walked toward her seat. She placed her bag down and plugged in her earphones to listen to