iMessage
November 04

Finley Javier

Hi, Leigh.

Uy, hello.

Nabanggit sa akin ni Kenz ang nangyari sa lolo mo. I'm really sorry for your loss.

Thank you, Fin. Si Kenz talaga, tsk.
Lahat na lang ng nangyayari sa akin, nire-report sa'yo. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Well, it's not really a secret that she's keen on playing Cupid for the two of us. 😅
Hey, do you need someone to talk to? Nandito lang ako.

Salamat. Pero ayos lang naman ako.

Really? Then why are you crying at a parking lot right now?

Hoy. Paano mo nalaman?
Ang creepy ha!

Sorry, I didn't mean to creep you out.
I suggest you look out of the window, though.
The car parked next to yours might be familiar.

Read 06:17 PM

••••

Fin, nakauwi ka na ba?

Yup. Just got home, actually.
Bakit gising ka pa?

Hinintay kitang makauwi rin, obviously.
Salamat sa pagsundo sa akin ha?
Sabi ko, hindi ko kailangan ng personal driver, yet I still keep on letting you drive me home.

Well, I can't let you drive yourself home, not when you're obviously distracted. Baka mapaano ka pa sa daan. Halos sarado na nga ang mga mata mo kakaiyak.

Nakakahiya, nakita mo akong ngumangawa.
Pasensya na. Buong araw kong pinigil ang mga luhang 'yon.

Don't say sorry, Leigh.
How are you feeling now?
I hope you're at least a bit better.

Oo, medyo gumaan na nga ang pakiramdam ko. Salamat ulit ha? Pinuntahan mo pa talaga ako sa office. Naabala ka pa tuloy.

Don't worry about it. Nag-alala kasi ako sa'yo. Kenz mentioned how close you are to your grandfather.

Oo. Secret lang namin 'yon, pero ako raw ang favorite apo niya. 😌

I'm sure you are. 🙂 No wonder why his passing hit you so hard. I know just how it feels, dahil namatayan din ako ng lolo noong isang taon. Just like your Lolo Clint, he was my maternal grandfather.

Oh. I'm sorry for your loss, too.

Thanks. I've been okay for a while now, though. But I still miss my grandpa terribly. It's sad, the way I'll never be able to talk to him again.

Yeah, that's what I'll also miss about my lolo. Lagi kaming magkakwentuhan no'n. He used to give me the best advices.

That's the thing with older people, isn't it?
Ang sarap nilang kausap. We could learn a lot from them, if only we young ones would actually sit down and engage with them.

Kaya nga, e. I just wished I spent more time with Lolo Clint these past few months.
Nagi-guilty ako.

Bakit naman?

Masyado kasi akong nagpakasubsob sa trabaho, kaya hindi na ako nakadalaw masyado sa kanila ni Lola Clary. Kahit nga ang parents ko, hindi ko na masyadong nakikita.

I'm sure your Lolo Clint understands. I don't need to know him to be certain that he wants his favorite apo to have a successful career. 🙂

Kung alam mo lang. Lagi akong pinapaalalahanan no'n na 'wag maging workaholic.

Well, your grandfather isn't wrong.
You, Ms. van Acker, are a certified workaholic. And I think we need to do something about that.

Anong ibig mong sabihin?

Maybe it's time for you to start leaving the office on the dot. No take-home work, too.
And you need to spend more time with your family. Let me guess — you still work on weekends, don't you?

Oo. 🙈

Tsk, tsk. Life is short, Leigh. You shouldn't spend majority of it balancing figures or whatever it is that you do as an accountant. There's more to life than our job.

Maybe, for other people. But not for me.
Ano namang pagkakaabalahan ko bukod sa trabaho, aber?

Oh, I don't know... maybe visit your aging parents? Kahit tuwing weekends lang?
Doesn't take a genius to figure that out, ma'am.

And then what, get bombarded with questions like kung kailan ako mag-aasawa at kailan ko sila bibigyan ng apo?

That's what parents of single twenty-nine year-old accountants do, Leigh. 'Wag ka nang magtaka.

Ganyan din ba ang parents ng single thirty-one year-old veterinarians, hmm?

Sweet heavens, yes. My folks won't shut up about it. Nasaan na raw ang girlfriend ko, bakit daw hanggang ngayon hindi pa rin sila binibigyan ng apo ng panganay nila, blah blah blah. They're a bachelor's nightmare. 😂

Haha, see? Now you know why I rarely visit my parents these days. Lalo lang akong nape-pressure. Here I am, trying to enjoy the fact that I'm single and having a flourishing career, yet all they care about is getting another grandkid.

I'm sure it's not that, Leigh.
Your parents are just looking out for you.
Ayaw lang nilang tumanda kang mag-isa.

But what if that's exactly what I want to happen? I'm already happy being alone, Fin.

Really? Don't you want to have a family of your own?

I do, to be honest. Pero bago ko 'yan isipin, kailangan ko munang makahanap ng lalaki na makakasama ko sa pagbuo ng pamilyang 'yan.

Obviously. But a beautiful and successful woman like you won't have a problem doing so. Nagtataka nga ako kung bakit single ka pa.

That's because unfortunately, after years and years of trying to find The One, all I've managed to accomplish is attract a bunch of douchebags. Give up na ako, Fin. Ubos na yata ang mga matitinong lalaki sa mundo.

Hey, just to remind you, you're talking to a guy right here. 😆

I know. And not just any guy.
A ladies' man, to be exact. 😏

Dati lang naman po 'yon, Miss van Acker.
Nagpapakatino na po ako. 😣

Pfft. Gabi na, Doc Javier. Matulog na tayo.
Kailangan ko pang gumising nang maaga bukas dahil magko-commute ako. May isang lalaki kasi riyan na nagpumilit na iwan ko na lang ang kotse ko sa parking lot ng office namin. 😜

Haha! Ang kulit nga ng lalaking 'yon.
Don't worry about commuting to work tomorrow, Leigh. Ihahatid na lang kita.

'Wag na. Sobra-sobra na ang abala ko sa'yo.

Hindi ka abala sa akin, Leigh.
I'll see you tomorrow morning, alright?

Hay naku.
Makulit ka pa sa aso, Finley Javier. 🙄

Grabe naman, haha! Tulog ka na nga, mukhang umiinit na ang ulo mo sa akin. Good night, Madam Accountant. 😁

Good night, Dokie. 🙃

Delivered 09:53 PM