Be Mine

30

Carlos was about to leave the office to pick up Lia when his phone rang. It is his brother. He picked it up while walking towards the elevator.

"Hello, Christian!"

"Kuya.. si Mama.."

"Anong meron kay Mama?"

"Kuya, nandito kami sa ospital." He took a deep breath when he heard that. He is not a fan of hospitals as it would always bring bad news to him.

"Ha? Bakit? Anong nangyari?", he asks.

"Nilagnat kasi si Mama nung isang gabi tapos inuubo din. Kanina, mukhang nahihirapan huminga kaya dinala na namin dito."

He tries to be calm. "Kumusta naman siya?"

"Naka-ventilator, Kuya, para matulungan huminga. Sabi ng doctor pneumonia daw."

Carlos sighs. "Sige. Pauwi na ako diyan." He did not wait for his brother to say something back. He hangs up, but instead of going down to his car, he went up to Gary's office. He checked thru the glass window and feels thankful that he is still there. He went in without knocking. He saw Gary look up in the middle of signing some papers.

"Caloy! Nandito ka pa pala.."

"Pare, hindi na ako makakadaan ng HR eh. Pero magleave sana ako. Mga two days max."

Gary's brows furrowed at him. "Is everything okay?"

"Emergency lang. Nasa ospital si Mama. Kailangan ko umuwi."

Gary nodded. "Walang problema. Nabigay mo naman na lahat ng proposals this week. Take as much time as you need."

"Salamat, pare."

"Ingat sa biyahe ha. Tawagan mo ako pag may kailangan ka."

He nodded. "By the way, Happy Anniversary sa inyo ni Clara! Nakita ko yung post niya sa instragram!" He smiled one more time and left. He messaged his brother that he is on his way. He wanted to call Lia but there is no signal at the basement parking lot. When he finally got out to the highway, he waited for a traffic light to go red before messaging her.

"I'm so sorry, Lia. Something came up." He hits send. He was about to send another message saying that there is a family emergency when his phone died. He scrambled around the car to check his power bank and charger when he realized that he left both at his condo.

"Hindi ikaw ang may Alzheimer's Caloy! Of all the days na maiiwan mo!", he says out loud. He just hoping that he can charge his phone when he gets to La Union.

Lia sat down on her office chair staring at Caloy's text. She feels disappointed. She was really looking forward to going out with him. Heck, even planning to pay for the food to at least repay him for whatever he has been doing for her. She dials his number and wants to know why but he cannot be reached anymore. She sighs. She tries again but it is still the same result.

She does not understand this feeling inside of her. Why is she feeling all sorts of sadness when she received that text? Is it disappointment? Frustration? Annoyance? Is she really that desperate to go out with someone that she is feeling all of these? She has no right. Caloy is just a friend and the dinner is just something usual for friends, right? She sighs again.

She decided to go home until she remembered she did not bring her car.  "Looks like I have to take a cab.", she tells herself. She asked the guard to help her get one and luckily, it didn't take long. She got home and checked if Caloy sent another message. But there was nothing and all the feelings she felt are still there. She still replied with, "It's okay. There's always a next time." She stared at her text. Why did it feel heavy typing those words?