Lady Friend

Twenty Five - Double Life

"I'm sorry..." Geremias abruptly stood up. "I've got to go." Before she could reply he'd already run off. 

Yep, she thought, stupid decision.

She got up off the bench and started walking back to the Studio without any further thought. Maybe that was best. 

Violetta started singing, interrupting her conundrum of thought. Before you suspect anything, Violetta was her ringtone. Angie was a loving aunt. She answered the phone call that was impatiently waiting to be answered by her. 

"Pablo?" She checked the caller ID before pressing the 'accept call' button on her phone.

"Yes. Angie. Look, we've got a situation. How far are you from the Studio?" He sounded like he was about to blow a fuse.

"I'm on my way there -"

"How far. Are. You." He replied.

I'm there, she thought, if I run for a few blocks.

And so she did. When she finally reached the Studio she was panting with a ticked off Pablo waiting for her. He was tapping his foot. That was never a good sign. The last time that happened was when he was in a meeting with Gregorio. Ooh. Not a good flashback just before going into a meeting with him. She stopped. That's what he wanted her for, right? A meeting? Pablo nodded. Oops, she must have been thinking that one out loud. Sorry.

Like a courteous gentleman, Pablo opened the door for her. She thanked him. Who turned to face her? Geremias. Great. As if she wasn't embarrassed enough. Pablo told them to sit. What was he going to say to them?

He pushed a small pile of paper towards bot of them. By the looks of it, they were all the same papers. He watched them for a minute. Pablo wanted to build the tension. He didn't say anything.

Angie looked at the papers. First, she flicked through them all. Then she briefly scanned what each one had to say. Next, she read each one carefully. The description was a little boring, but she had to kill time somehow. 

The first page said about how we should treat fellow co-workers. She recognised this from her contract which she signed with the Studio a few years ago. No doubt the same one Geremias signed. The second was just a page of rules. Nothing too important as far as she could see. Her eye drifted to the bottom of the page. Underlined and circled multiple times in red marker were the words, 'Do not fraternise.' In little print, read, 'This means no physical or any type of romantic relationships between employees. If fraternisation is found, this will be met with serious consequences.'

Oh God. He had told Pablo. The swine.

But technically it wasn't fraternising. He didn't actually kiss her. Or her, him. She wasn't breaking the rules! A little wave of happiness passed through her.

The third page was pretty much the same. Turn over. The fourth page had a list of protocol. It was entitled, 'IF YOU LEAVE THIS POSITION', in block capitals, with a scary colon. She didn't like where this was going. Frantically, she went back to the page before that. It had the same capitals but only not protocol for if you left the job, but for if you were fired. Now she really didn't like where this was going. Was Pablo going to fire her? She turned to the next page. 

'We are entitled to give you references for your next job.' Oh God, oh God, oh God. He knew. Pablo had found about France, about the job. He was going to fire her so she could go to France without a current line of employment... or she could leave the Studio. She thought back on the papers,  'IF YOU LEAVE THIS POSITION', 'references'. He could still help her with France! That'd be a lot to ask of him. She wouldn't do that. That wasn't being a good friend.

"Geremias has quit." Pablo said to Angie, "He told me that he had gotten another job." He said this with spite. His attention was solely on Angie until he turned to the other side of the table, "You may leave now."

Geremias slowly nodded. "Thank you." Without another word he pulled up his chair and left.

The air was cold. Not because a window was open, but because there was a strain between Pablo and Angie's friendship. He went to get himself a cup of coffee. Angie followed to make herself one, but he made her sit down.

She was hurt by that. However, shortly after he placed his coffee on the table, he started brewing hers. Angie looked at the floor. Avoiding the situation at hand.

"Now you can do this the easy way or the hard way." Pablo placed her coffee on the table and inched it gently towards her. "Either I fire you or you leave."

Why was he being so hostile? He was her friend! Surely he could have some sympathy! "Pablo!" She exclaimed, shocked at his attitude. She'd never seen him like this before. Her throat tightened. He glared at her, wondering for what she would say next.

"Maybe I should word it differently. Um.." He paused, thinking of how to correct his mistake, "Would it be easier if I fired you or if you left?" Awkwardly, he fiddled with the handle of his coffee cup. 

"Neither!" Replied Angie. She knew that she had to say something, make a decision, but this was her involuntary reaction. She couldn't help the fact that she wanted to stay with her niece, here, but she had accepted a job, there. Rethinking her reaction, she took a deep breath in. "Leave. I'll, I'll leave." They both stood. Pablo extended his arm out to her to shake her hand. She took it. They shook hands. 

Angie's heels clicked and echoed in the silence of the room. She was about to open the door to leave but he couldn't let his friend go without a goodbye, "I'll miss you." He wanted to just say 'goodbye', but the words on his mind came out first.

Her eyes glistened and she smiled weakly, "I'll miss you too." The door closed and they were both left with the imminent aftermath of what would happen next.

That was the next question. What would she do? She hadn't had a call from the job to let her know of a definite date so she was still waiting, in a sense. She could go to the wedding, she guessed. Would German even want her there? Regarding their history and everything that had happened between them? 

Without even realising it, her feet had involuntarily guided her to the park. She breathed in the atmosphere and wished that she would never have to make this decision. Meandering, she walked around a tree.

"German!" She was surprised to see him here. Just as she was about to ask why he was there, her eyes dragged to a drawstring bag. A wig was poking out of it. She looked at German more closely. He was wearing glasses. The same ones that Geremias wore. 

Don't be silly, she thought, he's Geremias.

She shook her head in disbelief and waited for an answer from her employer-slash-brother in law-slash..... She didn't even know what to call him anymore. It took everything she had in her not to cry right there and then.