Be Mine

1

Lianna Rodrigo is running a little late. She has an event at the cafe today and she needs to bake a lot of pastries for her client.

"Of all the days to be late, bakit ngayon pa?", she tells herself. She tries to drive as fast and as safely as she could but Manila traffic is just hell. She just stepped on the gas when her phone rang. She answered it via the car's bluetooth.

"Lia! Nasaan ka na? Tumawag na yung client!" It's her bestfriend and business partner, Bianca Delgado.

"Malapit na! Give me 10 minutes. Paki-ready na lang yung mga gagamitin ko."

"Na-ready na kanina pa. Bilisan mo na lang. Sabi ko kasi sayo kahapon na sa condo ka na matulog. Bakit kasi umuwi ka pa sa - "

"Okay na! Mamaya na ang sermon! See you in a bit."

She hangs up, tried to still be calm and reminded herself about the things she needs to do before the client arrives. In 10 minutes she arrived at Lia's Cafe. The cafe that her mom left her. She used the backdoor and immediately put on her apron to start with work. She gave instructions to some of the assistants to do things as fast at they could which they all followed. Everything was going smoothly just like she planned. She was about to put the third tray of cupcakes in the oven when Bianca entered. 

"Lia! Ano okay na tayo? Nandito na yung client."

"Yup! Almost done. Pwede na ilabas yung ibang pastries." 

"Okay! Great! Labas ka na rin ha!"

"Susunod na ako."

Lia asked the assistants to finish the frostings and to bring out the food. She went inside her office to freshen up and went out to meet her clients.

Lianna did what she does best. The clients are so happy that they did a product launch in her cafe and told her that for sure it won't be the last. She thanked them and sent some of the extra goodies home. She loves it when clients enjoy her baked goods and loves it more when they rent the cafe for a private event. She happily went back inside the office where Bianca is waiting for her. 

"Nakaalis na sila?"

She sat on her office chair and checks her phone, "Yup. Sobrang nagpapasalamat nga. Hindi daw ito ang last."

"Aba, dapat lang! Ang dami nilang demands kahit wala naman sa menu natin."

Lia giggles at her bestfriend, "ikaw talaga, ang sungit mo talaga! Lalo na doon kay Sir Francis.."

"Hindi ako masungit. Ang dami lang talaga niyang demands kaya ayoko na siyang kausap."

"Looks like crush ka niya!"

"Che! Tigilan mo nga ako, Lia. So ano, magsasara na tayo?"

Lia nodded, "Oo. Para makapahinga na rin ang staff since maaga nanaman sila bukas."

"Sige, sabihan ko na sila. Tapos mauuna na rin ako. See you tomorrow."

"Wait, Biancs.. Wala ako tomorrow. Diba Friday bukas?"

Bianca smiles, "Sige. See you na lang when I see you. Enjoy!"

Lia smiles, "See you and ingat sa pag-drive!"

Lianna just entered her condo with a bag of groceries that she bought before going home. She was putting away some items in the fridge when her phone rang. She fished it out to check who was calling and it gave her a smile on her face. She put it on speaker so she can still do some work.

*Gary calling*

"Hi, Hon!"

"Hi! How are you?"

"It was good! The client liked it and really enjoyed the cafe."

"That's great."

"Yeah. Ikaw? How was your day?"

"As usual, stressful dito sa opisina."

"Gusto mo ba magdinner dito sa bahay?"

"Um, Hon, sorry. Mukhang mag-oovertime ako since may mga naiwan akong trabaho kagabi.."

Lia smiled as she tries to remember last night. Gary picked her up at the cafe early and took her to a private restaurant so they can spend time together. Gary has been really busy lately and last night was something she looked forward to after how many weeks. 

"It's okay, Hon, wag mo kalimutan kumain okay?"

"Yes, ma'am. Magkita na lang tayo bukas."

"Okay. See you. I love you!"

"Me, too, Hon! I have to go. Nandito na yung clients."

Lianna ended the call and continued to do chores. She's been busy, too, and the house has been collecting some dust on some spaces that needed her attention. She's grateful that her mom taught her to do chores when she was young but her most favorite one is baking because her mother owns a cafe - that she eventually inherited, because of that, her parents sent her to the States to take up culinary arts and when she graduated, she took over the cafe that was named after her. It's just too bad, that after a year of managing the cafe, her Mom passed away.