alippaphabet ✎

r for restaurant

New York was crowded as usual.

The Christmas season was here. Decorations were up on display, Christmas trees could be seen everywhere, and of course, you could feel the happiness all around.

A few years out of college, Lin Miranda was a restaurant reviewer for the Manhattan Times. It was the only job he could get as he worked non-stop for In The Heights, a musical he made about the place he always couldn't wait to come back to at the end of the day.

He sighed as he turns to the next page of his notebook, not satisfied with the lyrics he was writing for this one song. He couldn't think of the best way to rhyme out the feelings of the character. He was supposed to be writing out a review for the restaurant he was in at the moment, but as he looked at his surroundings, all he could see was somehow related to home. The picture of the George Washington Bridge displayed, the music playing, and the people seated around him. He could definitely make out some people speaking Spanish.

In the midst of brainstorming some new rhymes, a woman, looking really worried, suddenly sits on the free chair in front of Lin. He raised an eyebrow at the brunette, confused.

"Um, excuse me, I—"

"Look, I'm really sorry. But can you pretend to be my date? Just for a bit? Please?"

The woman was genuinely worried as she looked around the restaurant, but Lin was surprised by her sudden pleading. "What..?"

"Pippa! So this must be the date you were talking about." Another woman stopped by in front of the table of the two, flipping her wavy hair behind her. "Not as good looking as you described, but I think that means he's a perfect match for you,"

Lin, though not acquainted well with Phillipa (or anyone in front of him at the moment, in that matter), made a face at her. Pippa simply gave him a reassuring look.

"I'll leave you two. You, Pip, have to call me later and tell me about this, okay, or else I'm not gonna let you in my apartment ever again. Toodles!" The woman in a multi-colored beanie demanded, waved goodbye at the two, and walked out of the restaurant, leaving Lin confused as hell.

Once she finally walked out of sight, Pippa got ready to leave.

"No, wait!" Lin said, stopping her from leaving. "Before leaving, can you please explain to me what the fuck just happened?"

"Uh..."

Should I tell him? the brunette took a moment to think, and then sighed. The two take their seats once again as Pippa began.

"I'll get this out of the way, first. I'm Phillipa. You can call me Pippa, as you might've heard from Renée."

The two shook hands. Lin made a questioning look. "Renée?"

"Yeah. She's my friend."

"From what I heard, she's kind of a bitch..?"

"Don't be mean. She's just..." Pippa sighed once again. She wasn't used to opening up about her current situation to anyone, so telling a stranger is, of course, a hassle. "She's been acting like that ever since her girlfriend cheated on her."

Lin frowns. "Oh, I see."

"Yeah..." She shrugged. "I'm sorry for intruding, by the way. I'm not always that rude."

"It's okay." He reassured, "I have something to say, though. My opinion doesn't need to be counted, but I think she's having trouble trusting girls after what the other one did to her. I had a girlfriend once, she cheated on me as well, and it took me a while to recover. So... that must be it." Lin shrugged as well and takes a sip of the water from the glass in a front of him.

She nodded, considering the idea. "I've never thought of it that way."

"I just think that maybe she just needs some time to recover as well."

"Yeah, you're right." She sighed. "I'm just so sad though. She was never like this back in college."

"No need to be sad. I believe that the tables will turn soon. Besides, there's got to be a way you cope, besides being strong. She's still your friend. You're pretty nice to her."

"Well... Sometimes, when I come home from the days Renée... I don't know... makes me clean up her messes or tells me to pull my weight, which hurt, might I add, my mom would hug me, look me right in the eye and say, 'Pip, all you got to do is be patient. Keep respecting her and have faith in God's ways and soon, she'll warm up.' My mother meant so much to me."

He backtracked for a bit, rewinding her words in his mind to make sure. She used past tense when she talked about her mom. "My condolences..."

"It's okay. Her words will stick with me always, no matter where she is."

"Patience and faith, you say?"

"Yeah. And respect."

Lin nodded. "That's really inspiring. I guess her words really did have an effect on you. Though she gave a rude comment awhile ago, you just gave me a look of reassurance. I can really see the good in you."

She laughed, shaking her head. "Thanks."

"I'm Lin, by the way." He shot her a smile. "Want me to order something for you to eat or—?"

"No... It's alright."

He noticed a small frown tugging at her lips.

"If you're thinking about your weight like Renée said, it's okay. I just want to say that what I see on your outside is as beautiful as the inside."

Once these words escaped Lin's lips, Pippa blushed. Compliments were a rare thing for her, especially since she'd been hanging out with Renée a lot lately.

"Thank you... I guess." She smiled, feeling a tad bit of embarrassed. Lin simply grinned at her, quickly jotting down a few words in his notebook. He got a sudden boost of inspiration from Phillipa.

"I'll have to take a rain check on ordering that meal, though. Renée probably expects me to buy her a salad right after our so-called date." She sighed, adjusting her beanie and then standing. "Thanks for the small talk. I needed someone to vent out to."

"Thank you."

"What for?"

"Inspiring me. I needed the boost." He waved. "I'll see you... here, maybe next time?"

"Definitely. Here, in this restaurant, maybe next week."

"A real date, maybe?"

"Maybe." She winked, and the both of them chuckle. They were sure that they'd get along well. "Just know... Renée's not that bad. I understand what she's going through. Thanks for helping me with that. Bye, Lin."

"Bye, Pippa. Remember, paciencia y fe!"

Hearing it as "patience and faith" instead of the Spanish translation, she smiled at the nice man in front of her, waved and then left the restaurant.

"Mama would say: 'paciencia y fe'..." He whisperrf to himself, writing down his newly found lyrics before proceeding to start his restaurant review. "Phillipa's just as sweet as Abuela Claudia."