Say Yes

12

Inigo

"Inigo nakikinig ka ba?" Iritableng tanong ni Suzy sa akin. She snapped her fingers in front of my face, cutting me out from my deep thoughts.

"May sinasabi ka?" Pinilig nya ang ulo niya sa pagkainis.

"FMD outbreak. I am telling you we need to carefully prepare the farm. Alam ko naman na handa tayo pero doblehin pa natin. May outbreak na sa ibang bayan. Madami tayong fattener and cattles for disposal. DOH already raised alerts."

Outbreak. Screaming additional costs.

Madami pa siyang sinabi na halos pumasok at lumabas na lang sa tenga ko. Just the last part captured my attention.

"I scouted supply of vaccines already para dun sa mga alaga natin na wala pa. Just so you know I'll help the finance dept para sa mga POs."

Tumango lang ako. Kakasettle lang namin ng issues sa manggahan nung isang buwan and here comes another problem.

Parang sinusubok ako ng tadhana when it comes to finances.

"Thank you Suzy." Yun lang ang tangi kong nasabi.

"I will be back in 3 days. May mga aayusin din ako sa Manila." Yun lang and Suzy stepped out of the room. It took a while for me to absorb everything.

Tumayo ako at tumanaw sa labas ng bintana, appreciating the beauty of the farm my parents nurtured.

The farm which is in the brink of possibly losing to some grandiose infrastracture.

Far away from what I dreamed of.

Dahil minsan, nangarap ako ng kagaya ng mga magulang ko, dito ko din bubuuin ang sarili kong pamilya.

With the woman I love the most.

But fate has its own way which are against my will.

I lost the girl I love.

And maybe I am about to lose my farm too.

Napalingon ako sa mahihinang katok kasunod ang boses ni Mae. "Sir Inigo, nandito po si Mam Christine."

"Let her in."

Mae pushed the door, at iniluwa noon si Tita Christine, one of my mom's friends. Farm stockholder. One of our investors.

Althea's mom.

She's nearly on her 60's, same age as Chiara's dad and my mom, but elegance is still reflecting beyond her age.

Nakasuot siya ng all beige sleeveless dress na hanggang tuhod, isang mataas na itim na sapatos na may matilos na takong, with her signature bag on the side. Her specs made her look like strict rather than old. Complement sa medyo bilugan nitong mukha. She was all slender, standing in good posture. Kung hindi ko siya kilala ng personal, I would mistaken her to a woman of early 40s.

Lumapit ako para batiin siya. I am not expecting her to come dahil wala naman siyang appointment.

"Hello po." I leaned forward to kiss her cheek. She gave him her little smirk and settled her self in the middle of the couch. "Napadaan po kayo tita?"

Umikot ang mata niya sa opisina ko. Usually, sa meeting or conference room kami nagkikita. This is the second time na nasa opisina ko siya. The first time, sumilip lang siya sa pinto.

Nag invest si Tita Christine sa farm when my parents both died. I must admit, her investment helped the farm a lot when it comes to finances.

"May binisita ako na friend na malapit dito, so I decided to check up on you. Are you okay hijo?"