Dancing with the Devil

Chapter 27

“Hello, I’m so sorry!”

Unang bungad ko papasok ng sasakyan pagkatapos mailagay si Malaya sa back seat. I look at her from the mirror and wink letting her know that it's fine. She might be young but her maturity is really scaring me, ayokong pumasok sa isipan niyang nakakaistorbo siya. I always felt how sad she can get when she thinks that she’s bothering the people around her.

“Are you in the meeting place na ba? I’m so sorry but I’ll be late for our meeting. I had an emergency, and I brought someone with me.” Nilingon ko ang pamangkin na nagsimulang abalahin ang sarili sa panonood ng ipad niya.

“But don’t worry! She’s well behaved, if you want I can get her a table near us so we can discuss things thoroughly.” Dagdag ko 

“Okay, yes. Yes, thank you!”

“Malaya, you’re eyes are too near on the screen.” Suway ko sa kanya matapos ibaba ang telepono. Hindi ito nagsalita ngunit tahimik na inilayo ang kaniyang ipad sa kaniyang mukha. Napabuntong hininga nalang ako at nagsimulang magmaneho patungo sa aming destinasyon.

It took us half an hour to reach the said meeting place. It's a coffee shop. I thought to myself that we could have the meeting in my own shop, mas maganda siguro but I need to understand that this is a collaboration that my business will benefit from. And besides it's such a nice place too. Vintage na vintage ang dating, pero hindi awkward para sa ibang customers na hindi masyado in sa mga ganitong theme, komportable pa rin dahil sa akmang pagkakaayos ng buong lugar. You can still see some accents from the modern era, they were able to blend it smoothly kaya hindi rin halata lalo na kung hindi ka observant.

Tangan-tangan ang kamay ng aking pamangkin ay pumasok kami sa loob. My smile widened as I waved my hand to get her attention.

“Hannah, hi!”

“Omg, it's been a fucking while!” Tili niya.

People look at her way, pero wala ata siyang pakialam. Her  eyes were astounded at the sight of Malaya by my side. She was silent and rooted to her place. I wanted to get attention because it looks like her soul just left her body.

“Gosh! She looks exactly like you!” She exclaimed. “Hello, hello. I’m Tita Hannah, what’s your name? And you’re so cute!”

I can feel how she badly wanted to pinch Malaya’s cheeks but stopped herself from doing so. 

“Thank you po, I’m Malaya po.” 

She smiled quietly and tightened her hold in my hand. Yumuko ako sa kanya at pinanood kung paano siya magtago sa likod aking binti. She’s shy and looks cute hiding behind me. Inilapat ko ang kamay sa kaniyang likuran, marahan siyang itinutulak paharap patungo sa upuan.

“I’m sorry for bringing her. Wala kasing magbabantay sa kaniya,” hinging paumanhin ko matapos makapag settle na kami sa kaniya-kaniyang upuan.

“Ano ka ba! It's fine, and look oh. Who would dare reject a kid that looks so cute! This is no biggie, and besides we’re just finalizing everything. Hindi naman tayo maiistorbo, and I can see she’s very well-behaved at her age ah.”

Hannah didn’t mind Malaya's presence at our table as we finalized the plan. Pinilit pa nga niya akong sa table na namin manatili ang pamangkin. Hannah’s opening an Italian cuisine restaurant, when she heard that I baked pastries she didn’t think twice and got me as their provider for the pastries they would sell. Well, I’m not really the one who bakes, I had workers to do that but wanting to work with her and explore another side of the business world, I took the courage to say yes.

Ngayon nandito kami para macomplete na ang pinag uusapan and as soon as possible we could start working on things they needed. I felt so proud, kung dati kami pa ang naghahanap ng suppliers for our sources ngayon ay kami na ang nagpoprovide para sa iba.