Wrong Place, Wrong Time (Part 2)

Vivi ran to their living quarters and went straight to the bathroom, where she tried to calm herself down. She splashed some cold water on her face in an effort to cool it down.

That man was the bane of her existence!

She looked at herself in the mirror. She was still panting; water dripping from her chin and the faint tinge of pink on her cheeks.

“It would do you well to stay away from that man,” she said to her reflection. 

She needed to break the cycle of bad luck he had brought upon her.

She wiped her face with a towel.

Elena could be the one to serve him instead of her. The old lady was a loyal employee who worked at the inn for decades.

Yes, she could try to persuade her grandmother with that suggestion.

She took a deep breath and gave herself an encouraging smile before stepping out of the bathroom.

She was about to leave their quarters when she heard someone call her.

“Vi.”

Ria was standing in the living room. In her hand was a piece of paper. She could just make out a hint of a letterhead, telling her that it’s something important.

“Were you the one who applied for the dormitory?” her little sister asked.

“Yes.” 

“Why?” Ria clenched the paper in her hand. “I already told you I’ll take the train everyday so I can still help out at the inn.”

“You’ll only tire yourself out commuting. Besides, the inn has enough staff.”

“Why can’t I help out? I always watch you and Grandma work hard to keep the inn operational. You spend all your time out in the inn that the only time I see you come home is late at night. I want to do my part too. At least I can save money by eating my meals here and bringing my own lunch to school.”

Vivi sighed. Nothing was really going right today. Nonetheless, she needed to be patient. And change her strategy.

“Look, I already computed the amount of money you’ll spend commuting against the amount of money you save eating here. They don’t really make much of a difference. Better to simply save your energy and stay in the dormitory. We’ll save more money that way.”

“But-”

Vivi walked to her sister and placed her hands over Ria’s shoulders. “Ria, what you need to do right now is to focus on your studies so you can help me manage the inn. That’s how you can help me and Grandma.”

Ria tried to control her emotions, but Vivi could see the glint reflected by the tears that threatened to fall from her sister’s eyes.

“Fine,” the younger one conceded.

“Atta girl.” Vivi rubbed Ria’s head, messing up her hair. “Gotta go, I still need to check on something.”

She walked out the door without looking back. Had she done so, she would have noticed the tears that finally fell on her sister’s face.

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Anthony Owens walked quickly along the beach. It’s about a 30-minute walk from his parents’ beachside house to the Chocolate Kiss. 

It was almost 10 in the evening when he suddenly received a text message from Vivi asking him to meet her at the beachfront where they usually hangout. He had known Vivi since they were kids and was pleasantly surprised to hear that she had come home after staying in the capital for so long.

Up ahead, he could make out her silhouette against the light from the lamppost. She was sitting on the sand, her legs cradled against her and her head resting on her knees. Her hair was down and flew with the breeze.

She had always appeared surreal to him under the moonlight. Like a water nymph that would disappear at sunrise. 

He plopped down unceremoniously right beside her, immediately opening one can of beer from the six-pack he was carrying.

From the time she came back, Vivi would often call him to hangout late at night when she had an especially tiring day or when she fought with her sister. Since then, he had learned to bring her some beer whenever she called and let her drink away her sorrows.

“Had a fight with Ria?” he asked as he handed her the opened can.

“How did you know?”

“I’m psychic.”

She chuckled, elbowing his side. “Right.”

“You’ve been arguing a lot lately.”

“Tell that to her. She’s the one asking for too many things lately.”

“What kind of things?”

He watched as she drank deep from her beer can.

“Today, she got mad at me for signing her up for a dorm room. She insisted she would commute to her university every day.”

“What? That’s crazy!”

She nodded. “Grandma and I are working so hard to make sure she gets an easy life so she can focus on her studies, but she refuses to listen.”

Anthony shook his head and made clicking sounds with his tongue. “Kids nowadays. They have no idea how hard it is for us.”

“And on top of that, we have this VIP guest staying at Cottage 2.”

“I heard about that. Selene said he’s been making unreasonable demands.”

Vivi continued by telling him what happened in the past few days since the man staying in Cottage 2 arrived.

“Is he harassing you? Just give me the word and I’ll give him a punch in the face.” He cracked his knuckles.

She let out an unrestrained giggle that fell like music to his ears. Vivi had always been so captivatingly beautiful that he couldn’t help but admit that he was glad of the events that made her come home. She belonged here. Beside him.

Without any warning, she leaned on his shoulder.

He was so surprised that he froze for a second, not knowing what to do. But just when he had the courage to bring his arm around her shoulder, she suddenly spoke.

“I’m glad I have you as a friend. You always come when I call you.”

His hand stopped mid-air, then slowly fell back onto the sand. He gave a deep sigh. Perhaps that wasn’t the right time.

The two continued to chat, watching the stars in the sky.

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The next day, Vivi walked up to Cottage 2’s front door to deliver breakfast. As per usual, she knocked politely on the door before using her master key.

Surprisingly, this time, the guest came to open the door before she could use her key.

“Good morning,” she greeted with the best smile she could offer. “Your breakfast is here, sir.”

“Mn.” He opened the door wider to let her in.

She immediately went in and laid the food on the table. It was a continental breakfast, with toasted bread, sunny-side up eggs, and crispy bacon. As she was pouring the coffee from the thermos, she started to feel uneasy.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

She glanced around and saw that he was in the living room, sitting on the couch.

When she had finished, she came up to him. He leaned over and rested his elbows on his knees, his mobile phone on both hands. There was a guitar case on the coffee table that she had never once seen before whenever she came to clean the cottage.

She cleared her throat. “Breakfast is ready, sir.”

“Mn.”

“Will there be anything else?”

“No. Thank you.”

“I’ll be going then. Have a nice day.”

She exited the cottage, closing the door behind her. She stood there for a moment, a frown forming on her face as she wondered if there was anything wrong. In the 20 minutes she spent inside the cottage, not once did she see him look at her. Not even when she was talking to him.

Lunch was even worse. He went inside the bedroom after opening the door for her and didn’t come out until she left. The breakfast was also left half eaten.

It was such a stark difference from the usual energetic attitude he showed her days ago that she couldn’t help but be troubled.

When it came time to deliver his dinner, she decided to bring a thermometer gun, and a couple of antipyretics and painkillers with her, thinking that he might be sick. 

Once again, he opened the door for her. He didn’t go to his room this time, but sat quietly in the living room like he did that morning. The guitar case, which was nowhere to be seen that noon, was again on the coffee table.

Vivi observed him closely, sneaking glances as she laid the food on the table. She even took care to choose food that was easy to digest and wasn’t so oily.

Finished with her task, she took a deep breath, dusted her clothes, and walked up to him.

“Is there anything wrong, sir?” she asked hesitantly.

“No.” 

“Are you feeling alright? You can tell me if you feel unwell. We have a registered nurse on the premises. Or I can call a doctor.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “I’m fine,” he replied curtly.

She hesitated, her hand unconsciously going up to her necklace and playing with the pendant.

“Would you like to have a tour of the island?”

He looked up at her with questioning eyes. It was still cold, but it was the first time he looked at her since that morning. She chose to celebrate her small victories.

“I was thinking that maybe you’re becoming bored from staying in the inn every day and would like to try our tour package. You can have it charged to your room, of course.”

“I’ll think about it.” 

His reply was still blunt, but Vivi could see a spark of curiosity in his eyes. She gave him a smile.