Love At First Sit

Bittersweet

"Was that Aloysius Gregorio the guy you told me you met during the speed dating event?" Roxette asked as she made her dinner plate.

Roxanne swallowed. "Y-yeah."

"He seems nice and attractive." A smile bubbled at her mother's lips.

"Ma," Roxanne drawled and threw a glance at her kids, who were enjoying the meal their grandmother had prepared for them

"I'm just saying," Roxette shrugged. "He doesn't deserve to be friend-zoned so hard." She wiggled her eyebrows.

Roxanne shook her head.

"Ging, it's about time." Her mother reached for her hand and squeezed it.

"Ma...we are not...I can't...we shouldn't." Roxanne felt a deep red blush form on her cheek and knew she was stuttering. "I don't want any more headaches, okay?" She could imagine herself tangled up with him, but immediately shooed the image. "You want some more, Danny?" she asked Daniella. The little girl nodded and Roxanne scooped more rice onto her plate.

"Did HE contact you after the incident?" Roxette asked, pertaining to Chris, who'd resurfaced after years of abandonment, bribing the kids with toys.

"I haven't heard from him again," Roxanne said in a low voice. "When do you plan to open the shop? I already have all the permits. We're just waiting for you," she asked, an attempt to change the topic.

"Anytime you want."

"Ma, I thought of a place where the young and old could blend well. It's a coffee shop/ resto bar/mom-and-pop diner all in one," she explained. "What do you think?"

"That's a great idea."

"Mommy, chicken please," Maximus demanded, reaching over for the piece of chicken leg across the table. Tinay was quick enough to get it for him and placed on his plate.

"Before you know it, your business could become a beloved local dining establishment with a line out the door every day," Roxanne enthusiastically laid out the possibilities.

"Our business," Roxette corrected her. "There are a lot of things I'd never dealt with before—employees, payroll, taxes, bank account management. I need someone to help me."

"That's why I hired a well-trained staff to help you."

"I want YOU to help me manage our business," Roxette said firmly.

"Of course, I will help you," Roxanne assured her. "But I have to work for my kids, too."

"Ging, I'm not gonna let you slave yourself working a steady night shift that poses a threat to your health and safety. Let me make it up to you for all the years that I have lost." Roxette smiled softly at her. She stood from her seat and gently wrapped her arms around her daughter. "But before we open, let's go out of town first. Would you like that, kids?"

"Yes!" the twins said in unison.

"Let's go to Baguio!" Daniella squealed.

"Tito Wish lives in Baguio. He can come with us," Maximus told Daniella.

"Oh, really? I missed Baguio. Let's go this weekend then, and maybe we can ask Tito Wish to come." Something flashed in Roxette's eyes.

Roxanne just shook her head at her. "Okay, I'll tell him."

***

"You know what? You cannot bribe me even with a dozen Belgian chocolates to approve your resignation without rendering thirty days," Mina told her during their fifteen-minute break in the smoking area of the mezzanine.