Take my Hand | MIKHAIAH

CHAPTER 27 - Who's marrying whom?

The bell on top of the door clinked as the waitresses welcomed the customer in unison. Mikha removed her jacket and gave it to one of the employees. He accepted it and bowed a bit before disappearing to a small room where all the coats and jackets are stored.

"Reservation under Arceta." she informed the neat waiter as he guided her to their table.

Her mom waved at her excitedly. She told the waiter that it was okay for him to leave, she already found her family.

She greeted her family giving them a hug one by one. Aiah was absolutely gorgeous tonight–she always was though. Mikha softly touched Aiah's back and kissed her temple giving her a loving smile. She wasn't even aware of the surprise looks their parents threw at them.

Mikha sat beside Aiah and took her hands in hers.

"What did you order?" Mikha asked as she put her phone on the table.

"Broccoli Alfredo Stuffed Shells for you and Apple Cranberry Walnut Salad for me, Raspberry Sunrise Smoothie for me and mineral water for you." she answered.

"Is your food even suitable for dinner?" Mikha scrunched her face.

"Yeah it is, I'm on a diet, remember? I've gained weight."

"And I don't remember agreeing that thing with you. Your body shape is just fine, even if you do gain weight it doesn't matter. I don't want you to starve, you'll get sick."

"Well, we can always share your food?" Aiah soothed Mikha's thigh, she didn't want to argue in front of their parents.

"Okay." she nodded.

"Mikha, from what I heard, you really like smoothies." Aiah's dad said.

"She does, daddy. But she doesn't like it when she's having a heavy meal." the lawyer answered.

"Yeah," Mikha chuckled. She felt less awkward with Aiah's parents after having dinner with them a couple days ago. "Anyway, thank you for picking Aiah up dad," she smiled to the older guy version of her. "I was going to go but you know... emergency surgery and all."

"Aah don't mention it, it's my pleasure, darling." he squeezed her arm.

"We wanted to come to Manila for your birthday, Mikha, but your dad said that you don't celebrate your birthday so we cancelled the plan." Aiah's mom cautiously spoke.

"It's fine, mommy. It's not a big deal, thank you though for the consideration." she grinned.

"Aiah said you're working on a heart project?" Aiah's dad asked in curiosity. "Something with growing it?"

"Uh that, yeah, I'm working on the proposal right now but with work and all, it's kind of out of my hand, and I'm taking it slowly."

"How does it work?"

"Well... we try to strip out the cell from a donor organ leaving the connective tissue that used to hold the cell in place. It's called decellularization then we reseed it with the recipient's own cell hoping that it would regenerate without tissue rejection." Mikha described her project in a way that she thought was the easiest for common people to understand. Aiah was playing with her hand under the table feeling proud of the way Mikha explained it.

Not long after, their food arrived. The waiter who wore a suit came and presented the meal on the table. They thanked him and started to dig in.

Mikha cut her shell smaller and offered the first spoon to Aiah. Aiah threw her a questioning look but ate it anyway.