Until You

A walking, talking boyfriend material

"You were dating Isidro Agustin? The Isidro Agustin?"

They really should stop saying his name in full now. "It's not like that," Charlie replied. She picked up an insulated silver bag that said "Strawberries" on the label and pulled it open, dumping the frozen fruit in the designated container. "It was all online, but we didn't get to the actual dating part." She paused, wincing. "He didn't show up."

"That's not cool."

"You're not going to ask me why he ghosted me?"

"Why should I?" Mira frowned. "He should be the one explaining things, not you."

Charlie paused as a rush of gratitude for her friend filled her chest. She had avoided talking about this because of her reactions from some people, namely, her family. They were the reason she was even on KiligFinder in the first place. "Don't just focus on work," they had told her. "You need to go out and have fun, too!" Charlie knew they meant well, although that didn't make them less annoying.

But being the youngest in the family often meant resistance was futile, so she downloaded KiligFinder just so she could say she was doing something. Charlie had no expectations or plans to take any of it seriously until one day, she matched with a certain Sid, 27.

He sent her a message first, and this one caught Charlie on her day off, so she replied. Sid was friendly, and their conversations were fun, often jumping off from a this-or-that question he asked her. For example, "Coffee or tea" had him talking about different ways of brewing coffee; "ensaymada or cinnamon roll" led to them exchanging their best pastries in the city; and "day shift or night shift" had Charlie talking at length the perks of being on mid-shift. The questions and discussions were mainly light, but it was okay; she enjoyed it. So, when Sid finally asked to meet, Charlie was excited—but not as enthusiastic as her family when they found out.

Then...he didn't show up.

Now that was a pain to explain to her family, and she still regretted telling them, especially with the questions and comments that came after. "Maybe there was a misunderstanding," or "Perhaps you read too much into his words," and "Did you say something that may have turned him off." Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Charlie knew that they were all disappointed for her, and they meant well, but still, the questions didn't help. Hearing what Mira said validated what she had always known: it wasn't her fault.

"Are you planning to talk to him about it?" Mira asked, taking the now-full container to pass it on to her sister.

Charlie shook her head. "Nah, it's probably not worth it. Look, he didn't even remember me earlier." She had waited for any sign of recognition from him while they went over the day's delivery, but all she got was a polite and friendly smile that he also gave to everyone. It kind of stung how she seemed to have so little impact on him, but it's not a big deal. It wasn't like they've talked about deep life things or that they were talking for so long. That's just how things happen sometimes, and it's okay.

Perfectly fine.

Really.

"Too bad, Sir Sid seemed very nice," Sophie said, tone wistful. "He was very accommodating earlier, right Fay?"

"Yup." Fay paused from chopping the carrots and pointed. "He even gave us some mangoes. He said it's fresh from Zambales."

Oh, so that's why they had mangoes today, even if she knew it wasn't in their order. "I didn't say Sid wasn't nice," Charlie said. "It doesn't have to be mutually exclusive. He's a good person to work with, as we all know, but maybe not a very good person to date."

The other ladies fell silent, and for a moment, Charlie wondered if she had said something wrong. Then Mira chuckled.

"He may not be a good date, but I have to say, the Isidro Agustin we met today? Whew." Mira actually fanned her face. "That man looks like he's a walking, talking boyfriend material."