Even if he already met Belle and talked about M with Carlo, it was the first time J asked Belle about M's whereabouts. It was also the first time he went back to the pediatric wing to ask about M at the end of her shift.
"Si Nnn...si Mendoza?" Richard approached the pediatric wing nurses' station after casually walking past the open doors of the rooms and wards of the hallway. He took quick glances at almost every scrub wearing staff in the area but failed to see Nic. He even thought that maybe she was assisting a patient in the toilet or behind one of the many closed curtains or doors so he lingered a bit in the area.
"Doc, medyo nagmamadaling umalis kaninang mga 11am. Masama ata ang pakiramdam" Pearl replied.
"Ah. Pero okay naman sya kanina..." Richard said loudly although it was more of him speaking his mind. He tried to recall if M acted odd when they were together earlier in the morning.
"...nagmamadali nga pong umalis kanina. Muntik na nya maiwan yung toy-mat bag nya..."
"Diba iniiwan nya yan dito?"
"Papalitan daw nya ata ng laman" Pearl replied, shrugging her shoulders.
"Ah, sige salamat" Richard left the station and tried calling M as soon as he was far from any visible pediatric wing staff. After three tries without any success, Richard decided to head home for lunch. He hoped that Nic decided to go home if she wasn't feeling well as mentioned by Pearl.
However, he didn't find her home either. He went back to the hospital quite worried and decided to seek help from Belle. But, Belle didn't also know where Nic had gone off to. Nic had mentioned about seeing J being hugged by a woman several days before today. Unlike J, M didn't always have lunch or hang out with Belle while at work. They usually contacted each other at random times; their friendship was strong and very secure.
---
Still feeling worried for M, J came home to an empty and dark apartment. There was no food on the table or 'evidence' of any activity in the kitchen. In the refrigerator was some potato salad from the previous night so J had that for dinner. He sat and ate quietly, looking at the present he bought for M which he was going to leave on the dining table.
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