Pol In Love [gxg]

3.1: birthday

Not long after waking up, Mayor Alice softly rubbed her eyes. Even though she has been sleeping for days, she is unable to describe the strange fatigue she is suffering. She was aware that napping and relaxing would not alleviate her fatigue.

“Happy birthday!”

Startled by the sudden greetings, she found herself face-to-face with a group of people as she opened the door of her bedroom. It was Miss Gi, her councilors, and a few others who had supported her during these difficult times.

Her disbelief causes tears to rise in her eyes.

Her disbelief causes tears to rise in her eyes, but it does not stem from the fact that people entered her home without permission. It was a good kind of 'disbelief'; despite the constant criticism she has received, there are still those who want to celebrate her birthday with her. To top it all off, she completely forgot about it, too, her birthday.

It’s as if she couldn’t move, but there’s a curve on her lips, showing her appreciation. Hence, to not ruin the moment, she sniffed back her nose to stop herself from crying.

“Oh no! You shouldn’t be crying.” Miss Gi, her assistant, warned her and her councilors cheered along, “yep, Gi is right!” they added.

“It’s your day, what should we be doing by now is—” The man popped a wine bottle, but immediately received an elbow from Lady Susan, the cook, “what should we be doing by now is eat breakfast!” said lady Susan and they all laugh in unison as they agree.

Lady Susan had prepared a veritable feast, and Alice was astounded to see it when they all stepped out to the balcony for breakfast.

However, she was in the midst of her meal when she received an unexpected phone call, to which she promptly responded after recognizing the number on the screen.

Senator Risa.

“Hello! Se– sir?” She meant to say senator, but the people she's now hanging out with are likely concerned about why "a senator" was calling her at this hour of the morning.

It would also be a grave mistake to say that it was Senator Risa who was making the call.

“Hello, sir?” Alice repeated.

When Risa heard the word "sir" on the other end of the line, she scoffed at the thought of why Alice would call her that. Nevertheless, she chooses to ignore the thought. As far as she’s aware, she hasn't changed her biological sex since she was born, and she's a MISS.

“I’ll be sending your sandals today through delivery.” the senator on the other line, reminded the younger woman.

“Noted, sir!” Alice said in brief, “May I know what time exactly you are going to deliver it?” Her voice lowered as if conversing with a delivery guy, to shield their conversation from prying ears.

“What the– am I hearing you right?” The senator lost her cool, and Alice couldn't hear the sudden outburst since she was distracted by a councilor who called out her name,

“Oi oi! Someone’s having a morning call…” they teased, Alice just softly giggled, then waved her hand to stop them teasing.

She shrugged and said, "It was just a delivery guy," but Risa, hearing her words on the other line, was not pleased.

“I don’t know what time cause I’ll just ask my staff to cater it for me. And mind you, I AM NOT A DELIVERY GUY.” Though she refrained from actually yelling, Risa's statements conveyed a clear sense of frustration; Alice could hear her just before she ended the call.

“Okay, si–” The beeping sound echoed in Alice's ear, cutting short her sentence.
However, she chose not to let her mind dwell on the incident and proceeded with her meal.

“Ah, mayora, forgot to tell you that mayor Caluag will visit you later.” Miss Gi informed her boss.

As soon as Gi finished her statement, people cheered. They all knew about the dating rumors when it was completely absurd, they just wanted to tease Alice.

“Of course, the suitor won’t miss the birthday!” one said, Alice shook her head in response.

To think of it, there were only a few of them having their meals, but it was enough to create such noise.

“Enough with the teasing! You guys know we’re not compatible.” said Alice.

The teasing grew wild even more, but after breakfast, everyone, with the exception of Alice, headed to the municipality for their regular appointments.

Additionally, Alice asked Gi and the councilors to bring some of the food to the municipality hall for her people and staff to share.

Calugay then arrived nearing evening, bearing a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a small paper bag, a thoughtful gift for the birthday girl.

“Happy birthday, Alice!" he greeted as soon as he entered the house, giving her the flowers.

“Oh, thank you, you don’t have to.”

“No, it’s the least thing I can do.”

A man settled onto the couch while Alice made her way to the dining table, searching for something to serve her guest.

Regrettably, the food had become cold and required reheating.

“Uhm, Liseldo, the only food I got here was from the dishes Lady Susan cooked earlier. If you want we could just order or?” Alice suggested.

But the man gently smiled, “It’s fine Alice, I’m here to check up on you, not for the food.” said Liseldo, walking towards Alice.

Alice’s shoulders slumped as she forced a smile, “Is there any progress on the appeal you sent to the senate?” Asked Liseldo.

Mayor Liseldo Calugay is one of her closest friends in the political world. Though other people sometimes misunderstood their relationship, there's nothing going on between them except from their strong friendship.

“I'm still waiting for their response,” Alice briefly answered, “You know what, I don’t think you’re hungry…” she paused, then continued “what we need is a bottle of wine.” Alice teased the other mayor with a grin and she knew the man wouldn’t fail her.

“Yes, but only one bottle.” Liseldo with his index finger up in the air pointing at Alice cheek, warning Alice, yet agreeing with the woman’s idea.

He couldn’t drink much as he still had other places to go after Alice’s and it's a crime to drive when he’s drunk.

Alice meticulously retrieved three bottles of her cherished wine, which she had held in high regard for a time.