“Fuck’s sake,” Willow exclaimed.
Sal closed her eyes and let out a deep exhale.Logistics problems were common, but she had forgotten the Philippines’ specific complications.“All right, all right,” she said, thinking for a moment.“Where is the warehouse?”
“It’s in Paranaque,” she said, thumbing her iPad again, probably to pull up the map.
Sal massaged her chin.“Could someone make a trip there and identify the art piece?We have the serial code on the back of it; we just need to locate it.”
“I can go with Theola for this, but…” Willow said, giving Sal a concerned look.“Are you gonna be okay here on your own?”
It was no secret she and Rafa had a falling out.Theola and Willow didn’t know the specifics, not for lack of concern, but because each time they tried, Sal couldn’t bring herself to open up about it.So they just silently supported the couple as they went through this rough patch.
Sal grinned warmly for the first time that day and nodded.“As you said, I’m feeling better.You guys go ahead while I close more deals for the art show.”
Willow nodded and looked at Theola, who took it as a signal to continue.
“We have to find a better way to address the negative press, or else no one will go,” Theola said.“I don’t think we can just ignore it anymore.”
Sal thought for a second and reached for her phone.“I think I have an idea,” she said, looking for a number in her contacts list.
Willow stood up and got dressed as Sal checked her phone.“You think of a solution while we go retrieve the painting,” she said.“We’ll update you as soon as we find it.”
Sal agreed, and after they had left, she called the person she was looking for.“Hi, Tita Evie.I need to call in a favor...”
“Of course, dear,” Tita Evie responded.“What do you need?”
“How do you feel about having an exclusive interview on your news channel about the grimoire everyone’s been talking about?”
***
After the call, Sal made her way down to the café and had breakfast alone for the first time in a while.Well, technically, she wasn’t alone.Frankie, the café’s resident cat, visited her table and sat beside her.The calm tabby was about two sizes bigger than Kimmy.It had white and orange patches all over its fur, and small eyes that tilted downward, making it look like a sympathetic little fur ball.
“You’re pretty chunky, aren’t you?”she nearly sang to it as the cat allowed her to give it some chin scratches.Sal missed Kimmy and wished she could escape everything and go back to her cat.“But I guess you’ll have to do, buddy,” she said, petting him again.Frankie just purred in response.
Frankie sat beside Sal on the wooden bench as she ate her breakfast with hot coffee.She added milk and a bit of stevia because she loved a flat white, and it was a welcome difference from her usual black coffee.She breathed in the nutty aroma of the locally pressed coffee beans.The misery of her separation from Rafa didn’t feel so piercing anymore—that was probably a good sign.
After breakfast at the café next to Frankie the cat, she walked up to her room and closed the door behind her.Her laptop lay on the small antique dresser table in her shared room with Willow.Time to get to work,she thought as she tied her hair back into a messy bun and began her tasks.
Hours of hyper-focusing on emails and presentations for the event styling felt like enough time to check again if Willow or Theola had called.There were no messages, not even from Rafa.She placed the phone down and just lay on the bed for a few minutes.Then, as though the universe had listened, her phone chimed.She grabbed it and checked the screen.Demonyo—it was Harmon.She unexpectedly laughed at his name on her phone.The message read,“Come downstairs, I have something to give you.”
Sal put the phone on her chest and thought for a moment.She wasn’t keen on seeing Harmon, not while she was feeling better about this rough patch with Rafa.“Sorry, I’m busy.Just leave your package with the barista.I’ll pick it up later.”
Not a second later, Harmon replied.“I’m coming up.”
She frowned.God, he was persistent.“Don’t come up.I’ll meet you at the café.But I can’t stay long.”She hit send and sighed.She sat up in her bed and walked out of the room.When she arrived at the antesala, she paused at the shadow of a man standing at the foot of the stairs.As she descended the steps, she first caught sight of his shoes and then her heart leaped when she saw the rest of him in the flesh.He looked up at her and offered a shy smile.Handsome, brooding, and clean-cut, as always.He had on dark blue linen trousers and a gray knitted top with sleeves that stopped at his elbows.The bangs of his jet-black hair framed his face.
She locked eyes with him as she reached the last few steps of the wooden staircase, meeting him a few steps higher than his height.
His smile became warmer as she drew closer, and Sal felt herself flush.She tucked a hair behind her ear.“So what is it you wanted to give me?”she asked.
He took out of his pocket a dark blue envelope sealed with a wax stamp and handed it to her.“It’s your invitation,” he said, his eyes never wavering from hers.
“To what?”
“To my art show.It’ll be in the National Museum of Fine Arts in Manila,” he said.“I’d love to see you there.”
The way he had said the word “love” called Sal’s attention.She cleared her throat.“You don’t have Baron with you?”
“No,” he breathed.“This was a personal trip.”
