"You did what?!"

Napangiwi si Red. Pagkarating ni Troy ng bahay ay agad niyang sinabi rito ang ginawa niya. He was baffled.

"Regina! Don't you know how important that file is?! Pa'no kung walang mai-present si Vince sa board kinabukasan? Don't you care how that will affect him?!"

"I-I kept a copy, just in case. But you know Vince, he'll figure it out."

Napasapo ito at nailing. "You're crazy. He'd probably kill you. Well, it was good while it lasted. I didn't really expect to be a widower this young."

She slapped his arm. "Hey!"

He chuckled and pulled her in his arms. "Just kidding. But he'll be very pissed, for sure."

"I know. But I'm doing this for him."

He ran his fingers through her hair and kissed it. "Pero sana next time, huwag mo namang idamay ang trabaho nya. Instead of helping him out, you might just screw him over. Kawawa naman yung tao, wala na ngang love life, papalpak pa sa trabaho."

She smiled. "I know. I'll apologize to him, but I can't promise to not do it again kung wala pa ring magiging improvement sa kanila," she said stubbornly.

--

"Magdamag kayong magkasama?!" pabulyaw na tanong ni Neri kay Moira nang makauwi siya.

She grimaced. "It's for work."

Neri scoffed. Mukhang hindi ito naniniwala.

"I swear," dagdag niya. "Someone deleted the files we've worked on yesterday, so we had to pull an all-nighter to redo it. Hindi ko naman pwedeng pabayaan na sya lang mag-isa ang magtatrabaho."

"E di sana nagpatulong sya sa ibang empleyado."

"Confidental information kasi yung trinabaho namin. Who else would do them but us?"

Kunot-noo pa rin si Neri.

"I promise you, Neri, we only did our jobs. Nothing personal happened."

"Pa'no 'yang sikmura mo? Di ba sinisikmura ka kapag madaling-araw?"

"Natulog ako. He woke me up when it's time to go home."

She was worried about him. Hindi pa ito natutulog. Tapos ay maliligo ito kaagad before the meeting. Baka kung mapaano ito. Gustuhin man nyang bumalik sa office para tumulong, Vince already told her to go to work late. Kahit daw mga alas dyes siya pumasok.

"Neri, if you don't mind, gusto ko munang matulog saglit."

Bumuntong-hininga ito. "Okay. Sana wala nang mangyaring ganito in the future ha. Nag-aalala si Kelvin sa 'yo."

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry if I made you worry, too."

--

Moira slept for a couple of hours bago siya naghanda sa pagpasok. Pasado alas nwebe na nang makarating siya sa opisina. Pagkalagay ng gamit niya ay agad niyang tinungo ang office ni Vince to check on him.

Nakapangalumbaba ito. His eyes are droopy. Marahan siyang kumatok sa nakabukas na pinto.

"Vince?"

Bigla itong tumunghay, na para bang nagulat.

"Yes? Nandito ka na pala."

She frowned. "Nakatulog ka na ba?"

He looked really tired. Namumula na ang gilid ng mga mata nito sa sobrang antok.

"I haven't." Umayos ito ng upo. "I still have a lot of work to do."

"Give me some. Ako na ang gagawa nung iba. Matulog ka muna."

"I'll sleep later. Could you buy me a cup of coffee?"

She pressed her lips together. "Vince..."

"I can sleep when I'm done working," giit nito.

--

Vince massaged his temple. He didn't expect Moira to come to work early. But he's glad that she did. Antok na antok na kasi siya. Sobrang sakit pa ng ulo niya. Hindi na siya makapagtrabaho ng maayos. Nakailang kape na ba siya?

"Here's your coffee."

Pumasok si Moira na dala ang kapeng ipinabili niya kanina.

"Thanks."

He took a sip and frowned. The coffee doesn't taste like coffee at all.

"What is this?"

"It's hot chocolate."

"But I told you—"

"I know. But you need to slow down on caffeine."

Pagkasabi'y lumabas na ito ng opisina niya at saka isinarado ang pintuan. He looked inside his trash can. May limang malalaking empty cups ng kape roon. He sighed. Maybe she's right, but hot chocolate's no use. Mas lalo siyang aantukin.

--

Vince sent Moira some files to work on. Trinabaho niya kaagad ang mga iyon pagkatapos ay humingi pa siya ng gagawin. She's had some sleep, he hasn't. Ngayon lang niya napatunayan sa sobrang workaholic ng boss niya. Akala niya ay extreme na iyong pag-uuwi nito ng trabaho sa bahay at pagtatrabaho tuwing weekend, but it turns out that he's also willing to risk his health for his job.

Nang mag-lunch time ay aayain sana niya itong kumain sa labas, pero pagbukas niya ng pinto ay nakita niyang nakasubsob ito sa lamesa, natutulog. Hindi na niya ito ginising. He needed that nap. But she brought food for him because it's not good to skip a meal, lalo na't nakailang laklak yata ito ng kape mula madaling-araw.

He was still sleeping when she got back, so she just left the food on his table and continued working.

Bandang alas tres, sinilip niya itong muli. He's still sleeping. Nilapitan niya ito at tinapik sa balikat. He didn't budge.

"Vince."

Nilakasan niya ang pagyugyog sa balikat nito, hanggang sa magising ito.

"What time is it?" was his first question.

"Alas tres na."

"Shit." Napahilamos ito ng mukha. "Why did you let me sleep?!"

"Because you need it."

"Damn it!" Nagawi ang tingin nito sa takeout food na nasa lamesa. "What's this?"

"U-Uhm, your lunch."

"I'm not hungry," he spat out. "Just buy me a coffee."

"Sisikmurain ka nyan kung kape ka lang nang kape."

Bumuntong-hininga ito. "I need coffee. Please," mariin nitong sabi.

Padabog siyang umalis. Pang-ilan na ba ito? Hindi kaya atakihin na si Vince sa puso sa dami ng kapeng nainom nito sa buong maghapon? E di atahikin, inis niyang sabi sa sarili.

Bumili siya ng dalawang kape sa malapit na café. When she got back and gave him both, pinagtaasan siya nito ng kilay.

"Are you trying to kill me?"

"You're already doing a great job at that. I'm just helping to quicken the process," sarkastiko niyang sagot.

She went back to her seat, seething. Hindi na niya ito pinansin hanggang sa mag-uwian. Kung may balak ba itong kumain ng hapunan o wala, hindi na niya inintindi. She simply sent all the finished files via email and said that she'll be leaving. Tapos ay umuwi na siya.

The next day, she woke up feeling guilty. She wanted to make it up to him, so she prepared a bento box for Vince, since he likes Japanese food. Neri looks disapproving, but for the sake of Kelvin, she didn't say a word.

Pero pagdating niya ng office, wala pa si Vince. Inisip niyang nagbabawi lang ito ng tulog kaya hinayaan na lamang niya.

Nang magtatanghali na at wala pa rin ito, doon na siya nag-alala. She tried calling him pero walang sumasagot. Tinawagan din niya si Rose para magtanong, pero wala raw itong naririnig mula kay Vince. So nilapitan nya na sina Red at Vico.

"Hindi nya ba sinabi? Hindi raw sya makapapasok kasi masama ang pakiramdam nya."

"Hindi ko ma-contact yung number nya e," sabi niya sa dalawa.

"Kung gusto mo, puntahan mo sya sa bahay. Pahatid ka sa driver. Malapit lang naman dito ang bahay nya."

Nag-alangan siya. They didn't part in good terms yesterday. Baka inis pa rin ito sa kanya. Though she didn't know why he got angry with her. Concerned lang naman siya.

"I have some documents that he needs to sign," dagdag ni Red. "Hindi naman urgent, pero dalhin mo na in case you need an excuse to see him."

Nag-init ang pisngi niya. She didn't want to know what Red meant by that, but she accepted the documents anyway. Para nga naman kung ayaw pala ni Vince na magpadalaw, at least may excuse sya kung bakit sya pumunta roon.

Dala ang inihanda niyang pagkain para rito, she asked the driver to bring her to his house. Malapit nga lang ang bahay nito, pero halos hindi ito umuuwi. Para kasing mas gusto nitong tumira sa office nito.

Ilang beses siyang nag-doorbell bago siya napagbuksan ng pinto. Vince opened the door himself. Namumutla ito.

"M-May sakit ka raw," bungad niya.

Nilakihan nito ang awang ng pinto at saka siya pinapasok.

"Sinat lang 'to."

Pinaupo siya nito. Inilapag naman niya ang bento box sa lamesa.

"What's that?" he asked.

"It's just something I made. Kumain ka na ba?"

Umiling ito. "Wala akong gana."

"You should eat. Red told me that you hava a maid. Where is she? Bakit di ka magpaluto kahit sopas man lang?"

"Nasa ospital. Her son's sick. She's been there since Monday. And I told you, I don't have the appetite."

Not minding his response, she stood up and headed to the kitchen.

"May maluluto naman, di ba? I'll just cook something for you."

"Moira..."

She opened the refrigerator to look for something that she can make into a soup.

"Is chicken soup okay?"

Nagulat siya nang bigla siyang nitong hilahin palayo sa ref. He closed the fridge's door and looked at her sternly.

"You're overstepping," mariin nitong sabi.

"Vince, I'm just concerned. Rose instructed me to take care of you, so—"

"But I didn't ask you and you don't need to."

Hindi niya alam kung bakit todo tanggi ito sa concern niya. But maybe she really is overstepping. Hindi nga naman iyon trabaho ng isang assistant. Siguro iba si Rose, because she's been with him for almost ten years. Ano nga ba naman siya? Temporary replacement lang.

"All right. I'm sorry."

She turned to leave but just as she was about to walk out the door, narinig niya itong bumuntong-hininga.

"Hey, I'm sorry," he said. "I really just wasn't feeling well."

Lumapit ito sa kanya.

"Chicken soup is fine," dagdag nito.

--

Nahiga lamang si Vince sa sofa habang nagluluto siya ng sopas. Sinabihan muna niya ang driver na balikan na lamang siya dahil mukhang matagal-tagal siyang mag-i-stay. She left the documents in the living room for him to review. She told him that it wasn't urgent and asked him to not look into it while he's sick.

Pagkaluto ng soup ay agad niya itong tinawag. Pinuno niya ng sopas ang isang malaking mangkok at saka niya iyon ibinigay kay Vince.

"Eat up."

"Hindi ko 'to ubos," reklamo nito.

"Okay lang. Kahit makakalahati ka lang, okay na."

Vince nodded and began eating. Siya naman ay kinain ang bento na ginawa niya kanina. Hindi pa rin naman kasi siya nagla-lunch at hindi rin naman iyon makakain ni Vince kung sakali.

They ate in silence because there's nothing to talk to. Hinayaan na lang niya itong kumain. He needed it. Kahapon kasi ay puro kape lang ito, kaya nagkasakit tuloy.

Hindi lang kinalahati ni Vince ang pagkain. He even managed to finish the whole bowl.

"Thanks. It was delicious," he said with a smile.

"Akala ko ba, kapag may sakit, walang panlasa?"

"I was just being nice." He stood up and put the dish on the sink.

"I'll wash the dishes. Uminom ka na ng gamot. Teka, may gamot ka ba?"

"I have some," sagot nito.

Nilapitan niya ito at dinama ang noo. Sobrang init noon. He's definitely sick, but he's acting like he's not. Ngayon lang siya nakakita ng taong hindi aminado sa sariling may sakit sila. If it's Neri or Joem, magmumukha na siyang katulong sa dami ng utos ng mga ito.

"You're too close," he whispered.

"Oh, sorry." She took a step back.

"You're still close." She yelped when he pulled her by the waist. Hindi na niya maintindihan si Vince. Kanina lang ay ayaw nitong magpaalaga, then he became pleasant and now... Ganito ba talaga ito kapag may sakit?

"You're too close. Even if you're at arm's length or a meter away, you're still unbearably close. I think you have to be outside the room, in another town, across the sea or halfway across the world to be in a safe distance. I just need to not catch your scent or hear your laughter or see even your silhouette, because even the thought that we're breathing the same air is driving me crazy."

Pinamulahan siya sa sinabi nito. What does he mean by that?

"V-Vince..."

His face softened. "I'm sorry, Moira. I tried. I really did."

He closed his eyes and leaned closer. Biglang kumabog ang dibdib niya when she realized what he was about to do.

She put his hands on his chest and pushed.

"D-Don't... don't kiss me."

Kumunot ang noo nito, parang biglang nalito.

"Don't give me false hopes, Vince." Kumawala siya rito at saka dali-daling kinuha ang bento box sa lamesa. "Take your medicine and get well. Bye."