Until You

The elusive Isidro Agustin

"Ma'am Charlie, I'm sorry."

Well, that didn't sound good.

"Good morning, Kuya Ambo!" Charlie replied cheerfully, despite the sudden impending doom that descended on her. She usually didn't get phone calls before her workday at Wraps & Roll started, especially one that began with an apology. That, and their trusty fruit and vegetable delivery guy, Kuya Ambo, was usually not this somber in the morning, so something must be wrong. "Why are you saying sorry?" she asked.

"Ma'am, I won't be able to do the delivery today. I'm not feeling well today."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, Kuya. What happened?"

"Just a little fever and body pains," he replied. "Naulanan kasi kahapon."

The weather had been a little fickle lately – blazing hot in the morning followed by rains in varying intensities by the afternoon and humidity all day. Even for Charlie, it had been an everyday struggle against allergic rhinitis. She was only winning because of the daily turmeric concoction that her mother makes her drink and her allergy medicines.

Kuya Ambo continued. "But don't worry about me, ma'am Charlie. Konting pahinga lang kailangan. I called to tell you that I won't be doing the delivery today."

Of course, Charlie didn't expect him to show up if he wasn't feeling well. But wait, did that mean there will be no fruit delivery today at all?

She inhaled sharply, glancing back at their stall as her brain revved up as if she had floored the gas. Where would she get her supplies today, then? Their deliveries arrive every other day, and they usually don't run out of supplies too fast. Still, they had a surprisingly big dinner rush yesterday. Charlie could probably get supplies from her contacts back when Wraps & Roll was still just an online business, but these were smaller, and usually, they needed an advance notice for bigger orders. Going to the grocery was out of the question because the prices were more than what she was willing to pay. They could go to the nearest palengke, but they won't have all fruits and veggies they used in their dishes. And oh god, it's Wednesday, too, which meant it's also the delivery day for their online orders, and those have been paid in advance – she couldn't cancel them now.

Maybe her older sister Cams had contacts? But did Charlie really want to ask for her help?

She was so caught up in her problem-solving mode that she missed a big chunk of what Kuya Ambo said next. "...is on his way there."

Who's on his way here? "Sorry, Kuya, I missed that. What did you say?"

"Sir Isidro, ma'am. Papunta na po siya diyan. He'll be taking over my delivery route for the meantime."

Sir Isidro...as in, Isidro Agustin, his boss? As in, the same person who helped Charlie get her business off the ground? Indirectly, anyway, because somehow, he had all the produce she ever needed at a lower price than she expected.

That Isidro Agustin?

"Ma'am? Did you hear me? Hello, ma'am Charlie?"

Oh, she hasn't responded yet. "Okay, Kuya, got it," she replied. "Pagaling po kayo."

When Charlie returned to the stall, Mira, her good friend and Wraps & Roll assistant manager paused from reviewing their online orders for the day and gave her a questioning look. "That phone call looked serious. What happened?"

"Kuya Ambo won't be doing the delivery today." Charlie made her way to her usual seat in their stall, stopping briefly to tie her loose shoelace.

"Do we need to go to the wet market?"