IT was almost eight in the morning, the first Friday of the month and his first week at their Manila office. It’s also his first week as one of the new account executives of ECA Publishing Group, a new publisher and distributor of children’s books based in Los Angeles. So far, so good. It was actually better than he had anticipated.
He didn’t want to accept the position at first because taking the job means having to go back to Manila, which was the last thing he wanted. He has managed to live in L.A. for many years and he actually loved it. But aside from the fact that it was indeed a good opportunity, there’s this part of him that’s telling him that seven years were probably long enough to forget.
Forget? Well, not really. For Bullet, there are certain things that’s just impossible to forget.
Coming to L.A. was never part of his plans. He’s satisfied with his job as a business consultant in Manila, des
YES and no. She’s not yet ready to see Bullet again but she has to.It has been seven years and Astrid should already have built the courage to see him again. But truth is, she hasn’t. Facing Bullet and asking for his apology for leaving without a trace is something that she has been delaying for a long time now. After coming back to Manila, she told herself that she’d do everything to find him for Luna’s sake. But yeah, many years had passed and she’s still not up to it.She’s got too many what ifs that she just wants to tell Luna that her father no longer exists. A part of her prays that Carl would be able to locate Bullet as soon as possible but another part of her wishes otherwise.But unfortunately, Luna found Bullet’s pictures, called her Dada Carl and asked for his help. Ah, sometimes, she wants to regret her decision of letting Luna call Carl whenever she wanted, even without her perm
“WHY are you looking at me like that?”Astrid heard Theo chuckled. He shook his head and focused on the book he’s reading. They were sitting at the bench inside the amusement center where Luna was having the time of her life. She’s been bugging her to visit the mall and let her play at the amusement center as a reward for being the top of her class. So she had no choice but to find time to grant her wish. Good thing that Theo was free to drive them since she had to take her car to the shop for maintenance.“Hey, what’s the matter?” she asked once more when he fell silent. His eyes were on the book but she can see that he’s smiling. “Come on, what is it?” He’s been glancing at her every now and then and it somehow makes her uncomfortable. “Do I have something on my face?”Theo glanced up and shook his head. “I’m sorry, it’s just that...&rdq
"OMG!”Astrid laughed out loud at Martha’s overreaction when she told her about 'the' news. She was about to sip her coffee when Martha excitedly yelled.“It’s about time, girl!”“Martha, don’t get too excited. we’ve just started dating okay?”“Still!” Martha held her hand and smiled brightly. “I’m so happy for you, Astrid. At long last, you’re ready to fall in love again!”They were inside the coffee shop just across Luna’s school where she always waits for her. After her teacher’s assistant job finishes at ten, then she visits her shop for an hour and picks Luna up afterwards. Martha was supposed to be on a date but when she told her about the news, she immediately called off her date and came to see her instead. It was expected of Martha to be happy for her but she didn’t expect her to be this thrilled.&ldquo
“IS that all, sir?”Bullet has been staring at his monitor for the entire three minutes. He didn’t even hear their office secretary, asking him about his meetings for the day. The secretary had to ask multiple times before he could answer.“By the way, Miss Audrey just called. She said she won’t be able to join you to dinner tonight because she’ll be going to her grandparents.”“Noted. Thank you, Miss Mendoza,” he replied without looking at her. He just heard the door opened and then closed.When Audrey’s grandparents learned that she’s now working in their Manila-based company, they invited her to visit them in the province. She wanted him to come but he refused because he still has a lot of things to do so now, she’s been avoiding his call the entire day. He’s used to her temperament though and he knows that she’ll talk to him again when she’
BULLET crossed his arms over his chest and watched her from afar. He chose to sit at the far end corner of the restaurant where nobody can bother him. He came there right after his last meeting just to make sure that he arrives at Mandy’s before she did.Honestly, he’s not expecting Astrid to show up. He should know because he’s already used to her letting him down and not keeping her promise. Ah, why the hell did he ever come here in the first place? He was able to live a normal life for seven years and he shouldn’t be wasting his time for this.He’s not even sure if the email really came from Astrid or it was just from someone who wanted to play tricks on him because after she abandoned him and left for another man, he decided that he didn’t want to have anything to do with the woman anymore and he won’t let her in his life again, ever. So he flew to the US, changed his email address and contact number,
“HI.”Astrid was about to stand up but Bullet motioned her to stay seated. Instead, he sat down opposite her at the table. She’s not meant to stare but it was inevitable. He has always had that look that stopped women in their tracks. Yeah, he’s probably used to it, those glances and sudden pause when women look his way, accompanied by easy gaze and flirtatious smile. Though he’s always known his effect on women, he’s modest about it, which just made all the girls fall all the more.“How did you find me?” he asked without hesitation. The muscles in his face tightened but kept eye contact. His usual cheerful smile was replaced with a blank expression.“You are late,” she accused, trying her hardest not to stare.“I came here a few minutes before you arrived,” he confessed. “I just want to make sure that the email I received really came from you.”
AND then an uncomfortable silence. For Bullet, it felt like they were sent back in the time when they were still together. Astrid smiles the same smile and sometimes, he catches her staring at him the way she used to that he had to tell himself over and over that they are two different people now. It’s different now.“Have you told Luna that you’ve found me?” he asked after the waiter has cleared their table. They have just finished their dinner and now enjoying their coffee.“Not yet. I’m still gathering my courage. This is a huge deal for her and as much as possible, I want your first meeting to be simple but memorable, to say the least. She’s turning eight next month and I was thinking maybe it’s the perfect time.”He smiled. “But do you think Carl wouldn’t mind that I’ll be gatecrashing her birthday party?”“You are not gatecrashing, Bullet
“ABOUT time, man.”Bullet laughed and took a sip of his cappuccino. It took him a few months before he’s able to contact Lukas and he expected him to be mad at him but fortunately, he just smiled when he showed up at his new office just a few blocks away from the building where they used to work together. Nothing has changed in Lukas, he’s still the fun and wacky friend he had back then. And yeah, he’s still single until now, which was a shock because before he left, Lukas was actually planning to propose to his girlfriend.“So when are you gonna see her?” Lukas inquired after telling him about his new-found daughter with Astrid.“Next weekend. I’m kind of nervous, man,” he admits. “I don’t know what to do once I see her face to face.” He got his phone from his pocket and showed Luna’s pictures to Lukas. His heart started beating fast the moment he saw his