“You’re Late.” Marni declared haughtily at me. She had waited some twenty-odd minutes in the coffee shop near the Office, when I came in shivering with water spots on my uniform.
“Umulan kasi,” I replied. “I had to go up all seven floors again to get my umbrella. And besides,” I looked reprimandingly at her, “you were the one who was always late. Yabang mo naman.”
Marni smirked as she passed me the coffee shop menu. “Not naman mayabang. I just didn’t want you to forget that I still have the ability to be punctual.”
I caught the waiter and ordered a grande of raspberry café mocha. I was caffeine-loading today – I needed to be alert for the 3-hour meeting later. Marni fidgeted with the cigarette in hand and reached out for the lighter in her pocket. As soon as the flame touched the tip of the stick, she flicked the lighter cap back on and extinguished it. She bent the cig in half and ground it on the ashtray.
“Quitting?” I said, surprised. “Since when?”
“Since I,” she paused, changed her mind and reeled off, “Do we have to start the conversation this way?” she turned to me, annoyed.
“Hey, I just asked! … It’s not like you to turn down a good stick of Philip. Ever since I met you, you’re nevverrr without a smoke, even in a non-smoking area. Daig mo pa Smokey Mountain sa usok e.” I downed a third of my coffee and placed the cup on the table. “If you don’t want to answer, fine. No big deal anyway.”
The rain outside the shop grew stronger and slapped violently on the glass panes. As I looked outside, people in corporate attire were running on the sidewalk; caught without umbrellas, they were hopelessly using bulky laptops as substitutes. A weighty and meaningful silence fell between Marni and me, until she gasped and broke it.
“It IS a big deal.” Her voice was low and void of the cheerful perky character I had associated with Marni. “I haven’t had my period in two months now.”
Instantly a horrific vision of her and Apong Joel (an elderly single manager from where we worked) flashed before me. I wanted to laugh out loud. It was a joke that was ringing clearly in my head, the insensitive maniac that I am.
“Well, well, well,” I said to her, “Guess who’s late again.”
posted by Elyss @ 7:06 PM
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