Always And Forever

A date maybe

"Attorney Ferrero?"

A distinguished old man queued.

His aide straightened, "Yes, Senator"

"The Ferrero family? Those lawyers?"

The aide nodded in return. "The owner of Ferrero Law Firm, Sir."

He leaned back on his chair. Fingers lightly tapping on the hard-wooded desk.

"And what exactly is Attorney Ferrero doing with Senator Romero's granddaughter?"

After all these years. He still addresses his rival the same way. Senator Romero.

"We're still verifying sir-"

"I didn't ask what you're verifying", his boss shot him a look. "I asked what he's doing".

The aide hesitated, "They seem to be close. Yun lang ang alam namin"

The tapping on the table stopped. "Close?"

The aide nodded in response. The man stood up from his chair and walk around his floor to ceiling windowed office.

He glanced on his shoulder, "Call the doctor"
"Po?"
"Tawagan mo. We can't be reckless now a Ferrero is involved."

=

The sun has risen. The vehicles started to flood the highways of the city again and the closed shops opened. Hospital staff arrived one after another. Meanwhile, the ones who had been on duty the other night were finally preparing to leave. Leni was one of them.

The moment she entered her office, she let out a tired sigh and stretched her arms over her head. It had been a long night. Clearly, sleep weren't in the picture. She grabbed the hem of her scrubs and pulled it over her head, leaving her upoer body exposed to the cool air of her office. She walked toward the couch, reach into her work bag for a clean shirt.

Just as she was about to put it on. The door opened. Her eyes widened as well as Bongbong's. No words were spoken, He immediately went out closing the door behind him.

Hand still on the door knob, he took a deep breath, "Putangina".

It has been customary for him to randomly drop by and leave a cup of coffee. Sometimes she's not there, other times she's asleep. Knocking has already become an option for him.

On the other side of the door, Leni stared at the door for a moment before laughing under her breath. A few seconds later, she heard him speak.

"Doc? Tapos ka na?"

She walked to her swivel chair before answering.
"Yes, you can come in now".

Ferdinand stepped inside with his gaze fixed firmly on the floor. "Sorry. Akala ko walang tao".

"It's fine", Leonor replied before pulling her chair and sat down.

Her hair was slightly messy from the overnight shift, and exhaustion was written all over her face. Still, she looked at him with an amused smile. As if him seeing her half dressed had been nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

"Bat naka tingin ka sa sahig?", she chuckled as he remained by the door.

"I'm really sorry", Bongbong said again. "Hindi ko talaga sinasadya."

Another chuckle escaped her, "Ferdie, okay lang talaga. Really"
Ferdie.

Only then, he slowly looked at her and shrugged, "Okay, sabi mo yan ah".

He walked toward her desk and placed a cup of coffee beside a few scattered folders. "Yan. I heard nasa ER ka magdamag."

"Thank you."
"Your welcome"

He tucked his hands inside his pockets, looking oddly pleased with himself. Leni took a small sip before glancing back at him.
"Hmm?"
Both his eyebrows rose, "Hm?".
"May sasabihin ka pa."

She leaned against the edge of her desk, waiting. "Go on".

For a moment, Bongbong said nothing. His fingers fidgeted inside his pockets while one foot tapped lightly against the floor.
Sabihin mo na kasi Bong.

"I was wondering", he took a deep breath. "If you're free this Friday?".

She paused, slowly lowering the coffee in her hand.
"Friday?"
"Yeah"

She thought about it for a moment. Friday is her birthday. Damn.
"Why?", she asked. A small smile forming on her lips.

"Uhm", suddenly his brain stopped wiring. He glanced at the door before looking back at her. "Ano kase", he paused again.

The little confidence that was left in him immediately faded. He closed his eyes, fist tightened, and took a deep breath for the nth time. Leni tilted her head in amusement.

"Maybe we could go out?"

The words finally left him.

"Like...Have dinner or something"
"Just the two of us?", she asked.
"Yeah", he nodded, heart beating fast. "Just the two of us."

She continued staring at him. The lump that he just swallowed visibly traveled through his throat.

At the back of his mind, he regretted every decision that led him to that moment.

"A date, maybe?". The words escaped him before he could even think. Aatakihin na'ko sa puso rito.

"Friday?", she repeated.
"Yes", his reply came fast.
"Okay"

He felt his heart skip a beat. "Okay?"

"Okay.", Leni nodded.
"Like...payag ka?"
"Oo"
"Okay?"
"Okay nga. Ang kulit naman", she shook her head unable to hide the smile.

Her response slowly sunk unto him. Pumayag nga. A triumphant smile slowly appeared on him.

"Okay! Ayos!"