moirai

work

The week passed like any other week. Both were busy with work that they hardly had time to really enjoy alone time or even time with friends. Maine was dead serious about this new project that she had won the proposal for while Rj also became quite busy with his big project. His little office had never as busy. He was having some internal struggle every evening seeing stacks of papers piled on desks. He acknowledged that he had OCD so seeing those messy stacks as he left the office made him throw a mini fit in his mind as he walked to his car every night. On the other hand, Maine was also getting buried in paperwork that she always tried to keep her cool each morning as she entered the office.

The only night that Maine got to enjoy some rest was Friday evening. She had put in her reservation for a table at the Salcedo Market the next day, Saturday, so she needed to prepare the cupcakes she was going to sell there. Baking was her stress-reliever. That Friday morning, Yaya Maring began putting out the things she needed. Like clockwork, her Yaya knew what to do and when to do stuff, especially when it came to Maine or her Tata, as she fondly called her ward.

"Ta, puli timprano ha? May cupcakes ka pa bala nga himuon..." (Ta, come home early, ok? You have cupcakes to bake...) Yaya Maring reminded her that Friday morning before Maine left for work.

"Yes, Ya...upod ko karon si Pau...diri na sya matulog..." (Yes, Ya...Pau will be coming, too...she'll sleep here...)

"Okay...halong" (okay...take care)

"Thank you. Bye."

By noon, the final paper was done and submitted. Everyone in Maine's team breathed a sigh of relief as they heard the "swoosh" of the email sent from Pauleen's macbook. Maine slumped into her chair and covered her face with her hands, and gave out a big sigh. This one stressful week!

"Pau...mamaya uwi tayo ng maaga..." Maine called out to Pauleen from across the conference room table they were seated at. Pauleen was directly infront of Maine. They both stood up, gathered their things and walked to their own desks.

"Ah, oo...yung pantulog ko andun pa ata sa house mo..."

"Hmmm...yung blue na nightshirt? Nakita ko nga sa closet ko..."

"Yup! Tara! Lunch na tayo...nagugutom na ako...."

"Tara! Saan tayo today?"

"Hmm..parang gusto ko ng medyo light lang...sandwich?"

"Pwede....alam ko na, Sprout!"

"Saan?"

"Sprout. Dun sa likod. Sa Valero..."

"Ahh sige..."

"Ruby, sama ka?" Pauleen asked Ruby whose desk they passed on the way to their own desks.

"Salad and sandwich lang..." Maine volunteered.

Ruby thought for a moment. "Hmm...sige..." was her somehow hesitant reply. She wanted to go down and out of the office for a while herself to release the stress that she was feeling from the work load she had but having a salad wouldn't really help her much. She tagged along for the company.

The trio walked to the back of their building and exited the back entrance. They walked along Valero St. until they reached Sprout. Maine got herself a wrap and a bottle of juice while Pauleen got herself a salad, soup and a drink. Ruby took a while but decided on a sandwich, salad and a drink. Then they walked back to the office.

They had lunch in the office pantry which was surprisingly empty today. They must've been a bit noisy that their noise echoed in the almost empty office (it was lunch time; most of the people went down for lunch) when a head popped from the side of the door.

"Hello, ladies!" Mr. Tuviera, the company president, their boss, heard them and decided to check on the noise.

"Uhh...hello Sir!" Maine immediately stood up at the site of Mr. Tuviera's head at the door.

The two other girls got up and greeted him.

"Sir, kain?" Ruby said, offering their food which was on the table.

"No, thank you. Mukhang enjoy na enjoy kayo ah."

"Sorry po sir. Masyado po ata kaming maingay..." Pauleen apologized.

"Hindi naman. It's nice to hear laughter like that."

Maine looked down at her feet.

"O sige, enjoy your lunch, ladies."

"Thank you po, Sir" Maine said as she and the rest sat back down

"Nga pala.." Mr. Tuviera, who had turned on his heel indicating that he was leaving, turned again and looked at them. "Your project is well made. This will surely be a hit with the client."

This news elicited excited shrieks from the girls.

"Congratulations!" Mr. Tuviera said and finally disappeared from the pantry.

"Thank you, Sir!" the girls said in unison.

The afternoon went on pretty smoothly for the girls. Maine just had a few emails to reply to while Pauleen and Ruby were busy with paper work. At around 4:30pm, Maine looked at the clock and started to get ready to leave.

"Pau...Pau!" Maine called to Pauleen who was at her desk behind Maine in their little cubicle.

Pauleen had her earbuds on so she couldn't quite hear Maine calling to her. Maine rolled her chair towards Pau and tapped her friend on the shoulder. This caused Pauleen to jump a bit and yank an earbud out of her ear.

"Baket?" Pauleen said as soon as she realized who had disturbed her.

"Ready ka na...uwi na tayo in a while..."

"Ah..oo..." Pauleen scrambled to gather the papers that were scattered on her desk. She was still busy with some paper work that needed her signatures so she tried to finish scanning the last 3 pages that needed her attention. She had put on her earbuds to block out any distraction.

At 4:45pm, Maine stood up and went to the pantry to return her used mug. She rinsed it then got some cold water from the dispenser and drank before washing the mug and setting it on the dish drainer. Then she went back to her cubicle and found Pauleen getting her things ready. They nodded to each other and went to the elevator then to Maine's car which was waiting for them at the back of the building.