They all stood there a moment, hands to their mouths.There was no way they could stay at the apartment.
Willow grabbed her phone and tried calling the owner, but they weren’t picking up.“Okay, so I guess we’ll have to look for another place for the time being.Sorry, I guess I’m pretty rusty,” she said, pocketing her phone.
“No, Will, I should have checked the listing and where it was; this is your first time here after all,” Sal said with a kind smile as she patted her friend’s arm.“We can always find another place for the time being.”Sal closed the door to stop the smell from leaking out.
“I live nearby!”Theola said in a chipper voice.“You can spend the night until you find another place?”
Sal and Willow looked at each other and nodded.
There were flights of stairs again to climb down with their heavy luggage.It’d be easier to bring them all down, but they were both exhausted from their long-haul flight.Sal turned to Willow and tilted her head while flashing a knowing grin, submitting to their situation.Willow shrugged.“When I said adventure, I meant the whole thing that comes with it—good and bad.”Sal loved Willow’s optimism.
As her friend started down the stairs with her luggage, Sal viewed the dehydrated little cactus from the corner of her eye.“I’ll follow down soon!”she called out.Willow let out a thumbs-up sign and began her descent down the stairs.
Sal approached the parched little cactus, unscrewed her tumbler, and watered it.She whispered kind words to it and went on her way.The day wasn’t over yet.
1..Translated from Tagalog to “It’s hot, isn’t it?”— pertaining to the weather.
Chapter Thirteen
A Family Business
RAFA
Medina, Washington
Rafa’smoodlightenedwhenSal’s message came in.“Hey, I just arrived at the airport.I miss you already.I forgot about the traffic and the heat here, but it’s still home.The first Airbnb was a bust, so we’re crashing at Theola’s place.I’ll tell you more once we’re settled.”
He beamed at her message and thumbed a response.“I miss you too.I’m happy you’re back to your roots.Tell me more about Theola when you can.I’m about to meet my business partners and give them an explanation for the audit findings.Wish me luck.”
He stared at his reflection in the phone screen and set it down.Hands in his pockets, pacing back and forth in his room, he thought now and then while he unpacked his bags for a brief stay at their family home in Medina.
He was about to meet his business partners.The audit findings were on his bedside table, neatly cataloged in a folder.He had gone through it again as soon as he arrived, only to be frustrated with the conclusion.Rafa continued pacing and halted his unpacking.
Colette had developed a system within his company to pilfer money through the years.She had help from other employees, who were now being questioned.When he looked at the list, his heart sank.Many of them were people he had worked with closely, and some he had known since his father was head of the company.It was bad governance.He should have noticed it, and he should have paid more attention.The worst-case scenarios filled his mind, and he jumped from one thought to the next without stopping.Sweat gathered on his forehead as he sat on the edge of his bed.“What’s the matter with me?”
Then he thought about Sal and instinctively grabbed his phone again.He wanted to hear her voice; he needed it to help him calm down.Midway through dialing her number, he stopped.He was carrying the weight of his problems on his chest, hoping she could help him feel better about them.He had promised her a lifetime of love and security.This was far from it.
“Focus, Rafa,” he muttered to himself, resting his palms on his knees and forcing himself to keep his attention on finding a solution to the problem.“Offer to hire an internal process department…” he said under his breath, practicing the spiel he had prepared to appease his business partners.“Remind them you can manage the company…” But his mind circled back to Sal.
His thoughts moved to the wedding in the spring of next year.It just couldn’t be postponed—not because of this—but what would his partners say if he celebrated while knowing he had to prove himself capable of managing the company after this colossal blunder?He could hear them in his head now.Marriage first, then babies; he’ll never be able to manage his time.The company will suffer.Rafa’s knees jutted up and down nervously.It was bad enough that they lost a considerable amount of money, and business partners rarely forgot a mistake like this so soon.Celebrating knowing this would be insensitive.They could marry privately, but they had agreed to a big celebration because this was a love that took years of earnest searching, and it just had to be celebrated the way it deserved.That, or they delay it again.Not again, Rafa lamented.
A year ago, when he started sprouting gray hair, Rafa realized they shouldn’t postpone the wedding; they weren’t getting any younger.So if they weren’t to marry soon, then when?His mind traveled back to Sal again, and he remembered the first time she noticed his salt-and-pepper hair.
“I like that your hair is going gray,” he remembered her saying in a whisper, her chin resting on his chest as they both lay in bed.“So you like your men older?”he said with a chuckle.
Sal chortled in response.“I just know I’ll love you no matter how you look,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.“Plus, I always wondered what it was like to marry a silver fox.You actually look pretty good.”She smiled, looking up at him with a carefree expression.He remembered holding her close and wanting to give her the world.
Rafa breathed in the memory of that slow morning as it faded away to the present, then put his phone down.He would try to fix this on his own.
A knock echoed through the room, and the door slowly creaked open.A voice called out, “Rafa?”
“Ma.”
“I could hear you pacing from downstairs,” Iris said, letting herself into the room.
Rafa took a seat on the bed again and exhaled.“I’m just nervous about later.”He rested both elbows on his knees and clasped his hands; his thoughts were still a heaving mess.
Iris walked over and gave him a pat on his broad shoulders.“You’ll figure it out, dearest,” she said, and then looked to his opened luggage, its contents half unpacked.She moved to his bag and helped him unpack the rest of his clothes.“Aveline will help you.She’s friends with some of them.She also took a leave of absence from her work for this,” she said, hanging some of his polos.
