Heart Rallies

Quatorze: Aspirin

He knocked on the door once. The woman inside just glanced at him and looked back at the laptop she was facing.

Seff slowly pushed the door open and put the bouquet of flowers on top of her table.

"I'm sorry Bianca," he told her. He called her the previous night and they had a long argument wherein she still ended up disconnecting the call. When he arrived, she assigned someone else to assist him, making an excuse that she was working on an urgent matter. The other employees were talking about the same issue.

"Is there something that your secretary wasn't able to do for you?" she asked.

"No. The secretary you gave me cannot forgive me on your behalf," he answered. "I know you're mad and I definitely understand your point. I know where you are coming from. I just want you to give me time to explain it to you."

"One question, Seff," she stood up and faced him. "As your girlfriend, I want to know if she's still living with you under the same roof, same door, same bedroom?"

"Y-Yes," he answered. He knew he couldn't lie.

Bianca shook her head and faced her computer again. "Have a good day Mister Yu. I would be attending meetings for the rest of the day. Should you need anything, you can course it thru my secretary. Otherwise, just close the door when you leave."

--

"Bea!" he said as soon as she picked up her phone.

"Who's this?" she asked, not knowing who was calling her direct line.

"Beatrice! She's not talking to me!" he panicked. "You have to go here and just explain it all to her!"

Seff.

Bea took a deep breath. "Seff, I'm busy. It's a Monday and I am expecting that you have the same scenario on your office right now. Can we discuss this at home?"

"That's the point Bea! She knows you're still in my place and she's refusing to talk to me because of it!" he said.

Bea cleared her throat. "Mister Yu, I am a lawyer and I need to earn money. I gave my cellphone number as my contact number when I signed the lease. Do not call me on my work phone."

"Oh crap, why do you all keep on calling me Mister Yu when you want to dismiss me?!" Seff complained.

"You wouldn't be dismissed in the first place if you called at the right time," she said. "I have to go now. I have my client facing annulment right now which is much important than that breakup. I'll see you at home."

"No. Don't hang up. You gotta fix this," Seff insisted.

"I'll talk to you at home. We'll discuss it."

"No. We have to talk about this now," he commanded.

"Bye, Seff," she told him.

"Don't hang up, I'm telling you," he warned.

"Bye Seff!" she said and put the handset back to its cradle.

Beatrice found him seated on the couch watching TV as soon as she came in. She needed to attend to a late meeting and so she came home later than expected.

"Why were you late?" Seff complained. "Have you had dinner?"

"Not yet. We had a meeting," she answered and put her items on top of the table. She remained standing while facing him. "Are you sure you want to be with her again?"

"Of course! That's what I told you earlier," he said.

"Then what are you doing here?" she asked him.