FUTURE
Philippines
Alabang
"Sir, this is Kien po from the Alabang branch. May sunog po. The firemen are already here, pero..."
"Okay, I'm coming."
He's trying to be calm, but he's not.
Bea and Thirdy are on a cold war because he forgot about their anniversary last week. Although the doctor told him that she understands, she has been so cold to him.
If the car could fly, it would probably have reached Alabang by now. Before he left, he told Kristine to call Bea about the situation because he's sure the doctor won't answer if it's him.
When he reached the branch, he saw a lot of fire trucks and people outside. He looked for a familiar face. When he saw a lady with tears on her face wearing The Grid's uniform, he spoke.
"Hey, everyone's safe, right?"
"Yes, Sir!"
"How about the customers?"
"Wala naman na pong masyadong customers, Sir, since almost closing na po, so mabilis po kaming nakalabas."
He sighed.
His phone keeps on vibrating, but he couldn't afford to answer. He was too busy looking at The Grid's bunso being consumed by the fire. The Alabang branch is the newest branch. It actually caused a lot of conflicts since there is a lot of competition in the area.
The fire lasted for two hours, and it simply made Thirdy weak. After making sure na walang nasaktan at lahat ng customers ay walang naiwanang gamit, he told the staff to wait for the meeting he will schedule to talk about the plans.
Before he could drive away, he checked his phone. There were missed calls from his daughter, Iza.
He just can't talk right now, so he decided to drive to a cafe near Bea's hospital.
He texted his wife.
"I'm at the cafe outside the hospital. I'll drive you home."
Beatriz didn't respond, so he assumed that she's still in the operating room or something.
His mind is clouded, that's for sure. He was staring into the unknown when the door of the cafe opened. He quickly checked, but unfortunately, it was not Beatriz.
He checked his phone and saw that Kristine called. He texted her, saying that everything is fine at bukas na siya chikahin.
After a few moments, his phone vibrated, and it's Van.
"Putangina mo, nasan ka na?" Van's voice is too loud.
"Okay ako, bro. Wala namang nasaktan sa The Grid. Everyone's safe."
"Gago, Bea is in the emergency room. She passed out. Everyone's calling you."
"Shit, shit. Okay, malapit na ko."
And he dropped the call.
He quickly ran to the emergency room and saw Van and Rhi talking.
"What happened?"
"Overfatigue siguro. Grabe duty niya lately. Patayan. Nag-away ba kayo?" Rhi asked.
"Yeah."
"Kaya naman pala. How's the fire? Everyone's safe naman?" Rhi was being careful in bringing up the topic.
"Yeah."
"Iza is outside with Ian. Bumili lang ng pagkain. You should stay with her."
Van punched Thirdy's arm after Rhi walked away.
"Wag niyo naman ako takutin ng ganon ni Bea. Sobrang alat ng araw niyo. Uuwi na ko. Mariane is probably worried now."
"Yeah, but the punch isn't necessary. Ingat, bro. Thanks."
"Fuck you."
And Van walked away.
Thirdy stared at his wife. He noticed that she had lost a lot of weight, her eyebags were more prominent, and she looked so restless.
"Dad!"
Iza ran into his arms.
"Nak."
"How's everyone in Alabang?"
"Everyone is safe."
"Hi, Tito," Ian greeted.
"Thanks for accompanying Iza, Ian."
"No problem, Tito."
"You can both go home. Ian, hatid mo na lang muna siya. Bawi ako," Thirdy said.
He kissed Iza's forehead and gave Ian a tap on the shoulder.
A few hours had passed when Beatriz woke up and saw her husband already sleeping in the chair beside her.
She touched his face and tapped his arm.
"Hey."
"Angel, you woke up? Wait, I'll call the nurses."
Before Bea could protest, her husband was already at the nurses' station.
She smiled at the scene.
After paying the bills and one last check by Rhi, it was time to go. Thirdy is the one pushing the wheelchair to the parking lot while looking for his car.
"How's the fire, love?"
"Wow. I'm your love again? Akala ko you filed for divorce na eh."
"Heh."
"I'm sorry for forgetting. It was so busy at The Grid."
"It's okay nga."
"It's okay eh kulang na lang hindi ka umuwi kakaduty. Ni hindi ka nagtetext."
"Fine, I was tampo. But I felt guilty when I found out about the Alabang branch. I was so scared na I almost drove to you, kaso ayun, I passed out."
"Angel, one favor."
"Uhuh."
"Pag nag-aaway tayo, can we be honest about what we feel? Don't say it's okay. Tell me na nagtatampo ka, ganon, kesa you overwork yourself. Okay?"
Bea just nodded.
Thirdy assisted her into the car and made sure she's comfortable before going to his seat.
"Do you want me to drive?" Bea asked.
"Huh? No. Just rest."
"Day off ko tomorrow."
"Yeah, I heard nga. Bed rest ka for two days, sabi ni Rhi."
"Can you take a day off as well?" she asked, using her puppy dog eyes.
Thirdy reached for her hand.
"Sorry, Angel. I have to do stuff because of the fire. My week will be crazy."
"Uhm, yeah. That's okay. I'll help you na lang with work. I can drive for you."
Thirdy chuckled and kissed her hand.
"I love you."
"I love you too, Chef T."
