400 Days After Fina

Day 472

400 Days After Fina by JellOfAllTrades
Chapter 20

I sign another document and push it aside. Kate had already gone home and here I am in my office, wasting a perfectly good Friday evening by staying late at work.

Maybe I should call Jaime and meet up with him in whatever bar he's in right now. But I have a feeling I won't enjoy it because he'll just spend the rest of the evening looking for girls to hook up with. By the time the clock hits midnight, he'll leave me in the bar to take his pickings back to his house or to a nearby hotel. That's not exactly how I envision my Friday evening to end.

Of course, I can just go somewhere on my own. But where? And why? Surely there's nothing wrong with spending my time in the office, working. After all, as the head of this company, my employees are relying on me to make a profit and to make sure that no one's going to lose their jobs.

Maybe I can stop by Angel's for a short chat. But I promised myself I'll keep my distance. And if I'm really that desperate for her presence, I can always give her a call. I did give her my old cellphone for a reason.

I'm finishing the last few documents I have on my desk when my cellphone started ringing. I looked at the caller ID and my heart jumped to my throat.

Fina Romulo calling...

I let it ring for a couple more times, trying to figure out if I'm hallucinating again. Realizing the call is real, I answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"J-jell?" The voice of a woman said, her voice cracked and she sounded hoarse.

"Mrs. Romulo?" I asked, realizing it's Fina's mother on the other end. "Bakit po kayo napatawag?"

"Pasensya ka na, anak, kung naiistorbo kita." Mrs. Romulo started to cry and I straightened up, my heart pounding. She wouldn't call me like this if nothing bad happened. "Si Ferdinand kasi, naaksidente. Nahagip ng truck yung tricycle niya sa highway. Nasa ospital na siya ngayon pero kailangan siyang operahan. Kailangan namin ng tulong, anak.¨

I swallow the lump in my throat and maintained a neutral face. I ran away from them when Fina died, I'm not going to make the same mistake twice. "Anong ospital po? Okay lang po ba kayo?"

"Nasa Magsaysay kami sa Lopez. Okay lang ako, hindi niya ako kasama nung naaksidente siya."

"Okay, sige." I take a deep breath and thought about the horror of asking kuya Rommel for a favor. While there's a real possibility that he might ask for a favor in return, he does owe me for what happened during his campaign. I'll deal with him later. Tita Nani and tito Ferdinand need me now. "Tatawagan ko po si kuya Rommel para matulungan kayo, tita. Mayor siya jan sa Lopez. Hintayin niyo lang po siya diyan, ah?"

"Salamat, anak. Salamat." Tita Nani sobbed.

"Okay lang po ba kayo?"

"Okay lang ako. Pero si Ferdinand--" she sobbed again and unable to continue. I'm painfully reminded of her wails when Fina was announced dead in the hospital.

"Tita, wag ka mag-aalala, okay? Magiging okay din si tito. Sisiguraduhin po ng pinsan ko na gagawin ng doktor lahat para kay tito. Babyahe rin po kaagad ako mamayang madaling araw para andiyan na ako bukas ng umaga, okay?"

"O-okay."

"May kasama po ba kayo jan?"

"W-wala."

"Uhh, sige. Ganito, tita, tatawagan ko lang po yung pinsan ko, ah?" I closed the folder in front of me and stood up to face the glass wall behind my desk. "Hintayin niyo lang po siya. Darating din po kaagad siya jan."

"O-okay. Salamat, anak."

I smile at how much affection she has on calling me her child. It's both a blessing and a curse. "Teka lang po, tita ah? Tatawag po ulit ako mamaya."

I ended the call and proceeded to ring kuya Rommel's number. It rang for a few times before the jolly voice of my cousin greeted me.

"Jellane! Napatawag ka?"

"I need your help."

"Tungkol saan?" His voice changed to a serious tone immediately.

"Ferdinand Romulo is in Magsaysay hospital right now because of an accident on the highway. He needs to be operated on pero walang pera yung pamilya niya. Can you do something?"

"Ferdinand Romulo?" His voice sounded careful. "Taga saan siya?"

"Calauag. He's Fina Romulo's father."

"Oh," was his only reply and I wonder what the rest of the family knows about what happened between Fina and me.

"Are you going to help or not?" I asked impatiently. "I just need you to make sure maooperahan siya. I'll pay you later when I get there."

There was a pause on the other end of the line and I fear I'll have to ask somebody else for help. "Ferdinand Romulo sa Magsaysay hospital." Kuya Rommel repeated as if he's writing something down and I finally let out a relieved sigh. "I'll call ahead to check kung anong status niya. Siya lang ba ang nasa ospital ngayon?"

"Nasa waiting room yung asawa niya, si tita Nani."

"Okay. Yun lang ba?"

"Make sure they're taken care of," I replied. "I'll be there by tomorrow morning."

"Kaya mo bang bumyahe?"

"Oo."

"Get some sleep before you hit the road and get someone to go with you. Baka makatulog ka sa daan. Mamita won't be happy if something bad happens to you again."

"I'll be fine, don't worry about me."

I end the call and called tita Nani again to inform her that kuya Rommel will be joining her shortly. Afterward, I pack my stuff and head home to grab a few things to take with me to Calauag.

I was in the middle of stuffing clothes into a bag when I remembered Angel. It's the weekend and this is the perfect opportunity for her to take a short trip back to her hometown. Plus, she knows tita Nani more than I do. She'll do better as emotional support to her than I ever will be, so I grab my phone and rang her up.

"Hello?" Angel's groggy voice answered. I quickly checked my watch and see that it's almost midnight. She must have gone to bed early.

"Uuwi akong Calauag ngayon, gusto mong sumama?"

"Ngayon?" She asks, confused.

"Tumawag sa akin si tita Nani. Naaksidente daw si Mr. Romulo. Uuwi ako para matulungan sila."

I heard scuffling on the other end. "Sasama ako!"

"Get ready, I'll be there in half an hour." I didn't wait for her reply and ended the call.

After I finished packing my bag, I rushed back to my car to pick up Angel. I have to be quick because tita Nani needs me. I don't doubt my cousin to do as I asked but I doubt the emotional support kuya Rommel can provide to tita Nani who lost her only daughter to cancer just a year ago. The fear of losing her husband might overwhelm her.

I may not have been much help to Fina, but I'm going to make sure her family will never have to suffer losing someone in such a horrible fashion again.