I can’t help but smile looking at one of the photographs above my working table. It’s us four years ago, looking so young, happy and carefree. We are standing side by side-- Me, Mika, Kim, Cienne, Camille and Carol. I wonder what they are doing right now. I wonder if they’ll be surprise to see me tomorrow at their doorstep. Just thinking about this makes my smile grew bigger.
A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. “Ma’am, the papers you requested finally arrived.” Said Charity, she’s my Filipino assistant. She’s been with me since I started our family business here in London-- it’s a series of hotel all over the country. I’ve been busy with the whole business thing that’s why I realized I should go back home to the Philippines for a couple of months for a vacation and since we’ve been planning to build a branch in Manila it will be a win-win situation, if ever.
“Eh yung passport ko ba and visa nakahanda na?” I asked her.
“Oo naman, Ara. Yun pa ba makakalimutan ko?” she joked. “Pero Ara, sure ka na ba talagang uuwi ka na ngayon? Baka tumambak trabaho pagbalik mo sige ka.” She sat down on the swivel chair in front of my table.
“Oo naman, ate Charity. Tagal na din simula nung nakauwi ako, ‘no. And besides, di ko naman papabayaan trabaho ko. Di ba nga, magtatrabaho din ako dun?” I told her. “Ay teka, ate tumawag na ba si Dr. Baker about dun sa check-up ko?”
“Hindi pa eh. Baka bukas daw dadating yung papers ipapadala ko nalang sayo sa phil. pag dumating na.” I nodded.
“Oh, pano? Umuwi kana sa flat mo at nang makapagpahinga ka na muna saglit. 6 pm na oh, in 4 hours kelangan nasa airport ka na, ha? Sige na ako na bahala dito.” She winked at me. And got out of my office. Kaya kasundo ko si ate charity eh. She’s been taking care of me like I am her sister, when in fact I’m not.
I did what she told me to do- got home. I planned on taking a 2 hour nap, but I overslept. I woke up with 9:00 pm displayed on my digital clock.
Shit.
I’m starting to feel panicky so I hurriedly prepared myself (took a bath, brushed my teeth, and put some decent clothes on) for the flight I was about to take. I hailed a cab since I already sent my car to the Philippines yesterday. It should be parked at the airport so that I can use it to go home or go to a hotel to stay in. Nobody—even my family-- knows I’m going home (Philippines) today—well except for ate Charity.
When I stepped in the airplane a flight attendant assisted me to my seat and asked me if I needed anything else. I dismissed her politely by saying ‘no’.
The ride was somewhat… uncomfortable. There was a lot of air turbulence that our plane faced. I got a little dizzy but I still managed to get some sleep. A shake woke me up. It was the flight attendant telling me that we are about to arrive and that I should put my seat belt on. I gently thanked her and obeyed.
I arrived at Manila at exactly 6:12pm and I got out of the NAIA terminal 2 faster than I expected (6:45). I went to where my car was supposed to be parked and loaded it with my stuff. It’s a gray bmw z4. I know it’s too fancy to buy a car like this, but it’s my dream car and I can afford it, so why buy other cars, right? I immediately dialed the phone number of one of my closest friends. It took her 3 rings to pick it up.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Mika. Where are you?”
“Um, The Fort. Why?”
“Nothing. Just asking. Who are you with?”
“Friends. Hoy, Victonara wag mo na nga akong inglishin. Bakit nga.”
I stifled a laugh. “Sus, wala nga ang kulit may papadala lang sana akong package sayo. Sa the fort ko nalang ipapadala ha?”
“Sus, ewan ko sayo! Sige na, sige na. May ginagawa pa ‘ko. Bye na.”
“hahahah, oo na bye.” Ang init naman yata ng ulo nun? I thought. I was about to get inside my car and drove my way to the Fort and surprise my friends when I heard a voice shout my name.
“Ara!!” I turned to look at the person who called me. And was shocked to see her. She’s one of my friends actually but I never got the chance to hang out with her since I went to London after I graduated college.
“Hi Arra,”
