"Out of all the
Things happening in
this bar,
It was her smile
and her smile alone
that I was worried
about."
Days and weeks have come and go and Bea didn't feel any good, yet she made sure that she would attend to her studies first before hanging out with her friends in the evening.
She hasn't seen Maddie and Jho since the day they last talked and she hoped she wouldn't see them anytime soon since she didn't know how to deal with them and thought it was better to keep a safe distance from them.
She went back to her usual self – wild, carefree and flirty. She welcomed ladies and gentlemen in their VIP table without question and entertained them with vigor. Her friends have noticed the abrupt change, however, they were afraid to tell her that she was doing really bad, even worse than when they were in college.
She has remained contented with her life as of the moment and she was glad that she was able to take her mind off the girl who broke her heart into pieces. She was fine – everything was – but she didn't wish for anything more than fine.
On the other hand, Jho's performance at work gradually declined. She had taken more absences and it alarmed her workmates, especially Deanna and Jamie. They knew Jho's work ethics and her passion for her job. Seeing her space empty made them wonder what has gone wrong in the past weeks.
She arrives work with bags under her eyes and attends meetings, mind drifting somewhere else. It was like she's hypnotized.
She couldn't grasp herself like Bea. Suddenly, she didn't have the appetite to eat and despite being exhausted from work, she's left staring at the ceiling until the morning sun kisses her eyes from the blinds. She felt something hollow deep inside her, but she doesn't know how to fill the void.
She tried visiting clubs and bars to find potential replacements for Beatriz, but sadly, her eyes couldn't find anything as appealing as her. She had unconsciously set Bea as her standard for choosing someone to associate herself with. It was funny cause she would ask some weird personal questions like do they could cook, are they're scared of horror movies, do they knew the song 'You Give Me Something', do their sheets smelled like citrus or do they like regular cups of hot coffee instead of Starbucks – all of which points to Beatriz.
She almost dialed Bea's number once when she was so drunk and barely arrived at her condo alive. She wanted to say she missed her badly, but she recalled that heartbreaking night, where everything between them over. There was a constant ache in her heart knowing that she could do nothing to change that.
Meanwhile, Bea stopped visiting her family at the office since then. She would ask the driver to send the dishes she learned to cook from school and skipped going home during the weekend. She didn't want them to see her down and depressed. What would she say when they ask her what's wrong? She might break down in front of them because of the very thing she avoided all her life – love.
She decided to apply for internship in France. Considering that the main focus of her culinary studies were Western dishes, specifically French cuisine, it would be best for her to learn from the country itself.
She discussed it with her parents and they were ecstatic and very supportive of her decision. She'll fly in a few weeks and she plans to leave everything about Jho behind as well – the memories, pain and love – and wants to start anew as a trained and professional chef.
Her friends knew of details about her departure and they encouraged her to pursue it. She was thankful for such great company throughout her college and early adult life and thought that she couldn't have survived without them by her side.
