Chapter 6

Hindi kami nag-usap sa elevator.

Twenty floors down, and neither of us said a word. Lex stood on one side with his hands in his pockets, as if they might get ideas. I stood on the other and stared at the floor numbers like they were counting down to something scary. Every ding sounded louder than it should have.

That was when I touched my left ear and found it bare.

"Oh no! I lost an earring. One of my moons." I patted my hair, shoulder and scanned the elevator floor. "Nahulog siguro kanina."

"We can go back and look."

"It's fine. Sinulid lang 'yon." It wasn't just thread. It had taken me an entire night over the Pacific. Pero hindi ako iiyak over a crocheted crescent in front of Lex Legaspi.

He didn't say anything, but his hand slid into his jacket pocket and stayed there.

"At least the lights are back on," he said finally, to the elevator door.

"Yes. Very nice lights."

"Great lights. Excellent lights."

Pinigilan ko ang sarili kong tumawa. He must have seen it in the reflection of the doors. Ngumiti siya ng bahagya, just enough to make my stomach flutter.

"Rule five still stands," I said.

He nodded. "Rule seven, however, is new."

"I didn't make a rule seven."

"I'm proposing it." He glanced at me, "No more power outages."

"That's not a rule. Hiling 'yan."

"Then I'll wish very hard."

Bumukas ang p***o and I walked out first, fast, before I could say anything stupid.

The ballroom looked like a movie set. The big chandeliers were still off, so the hotel had lit hundreds of candles in little glass lanterns. Outside the tall windows, the sea was dark and the sky flashed lightning every few seconds. Amoy ng pinaghalong ulan at bulaklak ang room at may bandang tumutugtog ng mabagal na Hawaiian music gamit ang ukulele at slack-key guitar.

 "Beautiful," Lex said beside me.

"The decorations are lovely."

"I wasn't talking about the decorations."

"Lex."

"Right. Rule five." He cleared his throat. "The decorations are very lovely."

Binilisan ko ang lakad. He followed, trying not to laugh.

A lady in a coral dress checked our names. "Table one, please. By the window. You're sitting with Mrs. Sinclair.”

Mrs. Elise Sinclair. The woman with the money. The one person in Hawaii who could say yes to our whole project. A woman so notoriously hard to please kaya binansagan siya ng sariling staff na Customs Officer. She's the one to impress. 

"Oh no," Lex whispered. He had gone as pale as I had.

And of course, the name cards were side by side. Ms. Serrano. Mr. Legaspi. The universe has a sense of humor, and it was laughing at us.

Mrs. Sinclair is in her sixties, with a neat silver bob, a green jade bracelet, and sharp eyes. Beside her sat Mr. Kimo, a big, friendly man who was already on his second plate of kalua pork.

"Ms. Serrano. Mr. Legaspi." Mrs. Sinclair did not smile. "Sit. I watched both of you today. I liked one of you more than I expected, and the other less than I expected. I haven't decided which is which."

Umupo ako pero halos hindi ako makahinga.

"Here's how this works," dabbing her face with a napkin. "I have a lot of money. I can only give it to one of you. Everybody's presentation was pretty. So before dessert, each of you will tell me one honest weakness in the other's plan. If you flatter, I'll know.”

"Mrs. Sinclair, we’re competitors—"

"Yes, dear. That's why it's fun."

Lex put down his fork. "I'll go first."

I stared at him.

"Her plan is the best one I've seen in years," he said, calm as water. "Homes for families who really need them. But she hasn't set aside enough extra money for when things go wrong. And in a flood area, things will go wrong." Tiningnan niya ako ng sincere. "That's the weakness. It's a big one."

My face went hot because he was right. Nakiusap ako sa mga boss na dagdagan ang contingency money, and they said no because it made the plan look smaller on paper.

I took a breath. Tiningnan ko si Lex and decided to be just as honest.

"His project is beautiful. But only a fraction of these homes will go to families who actually need affordable housing. The rest are for people who can afford to pay more. It may look good on paper, but this isn't what we promised.”

The table went quiet. Lex didn't flinch. If anything, he looked relieved.

"She's right," he said. "I've been asking my father to change that for two years."

"And is she right about the money?" Mrs. Sinclair asked him, nodding at me.

"He's right," I said. "I'll fight for it the day I get home."

Salitan ang tingin ni Mrs. Sinclair sa aming dalawa bago unti-unting sumilay ang isang tusong ngiti sa kanyang mga labi.

"Interesting. You two know each other's work better than your own bosses do. And you argue like a couple who's been married ten years."

Muntik akong mabulunan sa iniinom kong tubig. Lex patted my back and said, "Mrs. Sinclair, we only met yesterday."

"I believe you," she said, in a voice that clearly did not. 

During dessert, Lex's phone buzzed.

He looked at the screen, and his face went soft and worried at the same time. "Excuse me. It's my father."

Lumabas siya sa glass doors papuntang balcony.

"That's Alfonso Legaspi," said Mrs. Sinclair quietly. "I sat on a board with him once. A serious man, but a gentle one underneath. He cried at his wife's funeral in front of three hundred people, and I hear he's never forgiven himself for it." She sipped her tea. "Fathers like that hold on to their sons very tightly, dear. It isn't always unkindness. Sometimes it's fear."

"Mrs. Sinclair—"

"I'm only saying." Sabay pisil sa kamay ko na nasa ibabaw ng mesa. Her fingers were cool and surprisingly kind. "And that you looked at that door the whole time he was gone. Careful, dear. Work and the heart make terrible roommates."

Hindi ako sumagot, I do not know how to respond kaya ngumiti nalang ako.

Lex came back, smile on, pero hindi ang mga mata niya. His knee bumped mine under the table, and neither of us moved it away.

"Everything okay?" I whispered.

"He wants me home on Friday. He says dinner is too quiet without me." 

Then the band started a slow song. A few couples drifted onto the dance floor.

"Mr. Legaspi," said Mrs. Sinclair, “Go dance with her."

"Mrs. Sinclair!" protesta ko.

"It's not a request, dear. I can tell a lot about a man by how he leads." She smiled sweetly. "And a lot about a woman by whether she lets him."

Lex stood up. He held out his hand, palm up, steady, with that quiet look in his eyes, the real one, the one under the suit.

"Strictly business," he said.

Every sensible rule I owned told me to say no.

Inabot ko ang kamay niya. "Strictly business."

He took my hand, grabbed me gently on my waist and led me to the dance floor.