Chapter 3 - Not Yet #2
Could I make five days happen?
Yes.
If I worked late.
If I skipped Sunday.
If I did most of it personally.
If nothing went wrong.
Which meant—
no.
I replied:
We can do 5 days if reduced to 120 pieces. For 200, 8 working days po ang safe timeline namin.
Silence.
Then:
Sige po 8 days.
I blinked.
That easy.
Again.
People were often more flexible than I had assumed.
Twenty-three-year-old Lia had just been terrified to ask.
I logged the order.
Then looked at my assistant.
"You free next week?"
They looked worried.
"Why po?"
I laughed.
"Work."
"Oh."
"Two hundred."
Their eyes widened.
"Madami."
"Yeah."
"Kaya po?"
I smiled.
"That's why you're here."
They smiled too.
Okay.
Maybe this could work.
I didn't tell Ate Bianca or Kuya Nathan about the new order immediately.
Not because it was secret.
Because if I told Ate Bianca—
she would probably ask whether I could print jewelry packaging.
If Kuya Nathan heard—
food labels.
Then somehow I'd have three family businesses in my room by Thursday.
Not yet.
I loved them.
But boundaries.
Beautiful concept.
Maybe I would teach the Ramos family eventually.
Maybe.
Friday afternoon, my phone buzzed.
A message from an old friend.
Not old-life old.
Current-life old.
Someone from school I had barely talked to recently.
Hoy buhay ka pa?
I stared.
Then laughed.
Fair.
Unfortunately.
Wow sumagot
Excuse me
Akala ko swallowed ka na ng printer mo
I looked at the printer.
It beeped.
"Don't."
I typed:
Very possible.
Then the friend sent:
Labas ka naman minsan.
I paused.
Old reflex:
Busy ako.
I could already feel the words forming.
Instead—
Kelan?
There was a noticeable pause before the reply.
Then:
WAIT WHAT
I laughed.
Ano
Pumayag ka????
I asked when. Calm down.
Saturday sana. Kain lang.
Saturday.
I checked my schedule.
Orders were on track.
No urgent delivery.
Assistant wasn't working.
I could go.
Nothing would collapse.
Then another message—
Baka ayain ko din si Chloe.
I stopped.
Chloe.
Of course.
The trio hadn't been a constant physical trio in years.
High school—
yes.
College—
mostly chats.
Rare meetups.
Different schedules.
Different schools.
Different lives.
Twice.
Maybe three times a year if we were lucky.
After graduation, even less.
I had seen Jane one-on-one when I was twenty-two.
Pink cake.
Catch-up.
Then I disappeared into work again.
Chloe and I had chatted.
Jane and I had chatted.
But actual meetings?
Almost nothing.
One year gone.
Current Lia had inherited that absence too.
I typed:
Game.
My friend:
SINO KA
Shut up.
I'll tell Chloe ??
I put the phone down.
Saturday.
Food.
People.
No revenue attached.
Terrifying.
At five, I stopped working.
My assistant had already left.
Orders were safe.
Materials prepared for Monday.
Two hundred-piece order scheduled.
No catastrophe.
I turned off the printer.
Walked downstairs.
Mama was watching something on TV.
She looked at me.
"Tapos?"
"Yeah."
"Maaga."
"Five na."
"Maaga sayo."
I sighed.
Fair.
I sat down.
Mama looked at me again.
"May lakad ka bukas?"
I frowned.
"How do you know?"
"Wala."
"You asked like you know."
"Chloe?"
I stared.
"What?"
"Parang nakita ko name sa phone mo kanina."
"Ma!"
"Eh nandun sa table."
"Privacy."
"Hindi ko binasa. Lumabas lang."
I narrowed my eyes.
Mama smiled innocently.
"Maybe Chloe."
"Ah."
She nodded.
"Kumusta na yun?"
"Okay."
"Tagal na rin hindi napunta dito."
"They rarely come here."
"Dati naman."
"Rare din."
"Mas madalas kayo kala Jane."
"Yeah."
Mama nodded.
"Kamusta si Jane?"
There.
Normal question.
Nothing else behind it.
Mama didn't know.
As far as Mama was concerned, Jane and Chloe were simply two high-school friends Lia still occasionally talked to.
Sofia knew better.
Mama didn't.
And that was exactly how it needed to stay.
"Okay naman."
"Teacher na?"
"Working on it."
Mama nodded.
"Magkita-kita kayo."
"Maybe."
"Good."
No teasing.
No implication.
Just—
go see your friends.
I smiled.
"Yeah."
Papa came home around six-forty.
I did mano.
He put down his bag.
"O, kumusta?"
"Okay."
"Dami ginagawa?"
"Medyo."
"May tao ka na daw?"
I looked at Mama.
She pointed at herself.
"Ako nagsabi."
Of course.
"Part-time lang."
Papa nodded.
"Good yan."
"Yeah."
"Para hindi ikaw lahat."
I stared at him.
Another warning.
Again.
Apparently my entire family had spent my first life trying to prevent my death and I had simply responded:
No thank you, I have emails.
"Exactly."
Papa looked at me.
"Bakit ka tumatawa?"
"Nothing."
He shook his head.
"Parang weird ka lately."
Sofia, from the sofa—
"See?"
I pointed at her.
"Don't start."
Papa laughed.
Normal.
That night, I looked at tomorrow's plan.
Meet friends.
Eat.
Maybe Chloe.
No business purpose.
No networking.
No client.
I almost cancelled.
Not because I didn't want to go.
Because there was always something else I could do.
Update product listings.
Research suppliers.
Prepare Monday production.
Build another spreadsheet.
Work would always provide a reason to stay home.
That was the problem.
I closed the laptop.
Then wrote another rule.
24. IF SOMEONE ELSE CAN LEARN IT, TEACH THEM.
Under it:
25. MY TIME IS ALSO A BUSINESS RESOURCE.
I stopped.
Then added, smaller:
And not all of it belongs to the business.
There.
That one.
I looked at tomorrow's chat again.
Saturday. Kain lang.
I smiled.
Maybe I could do that.
Just eat.
Talk.
Show up.
A normal twenty-three-year-old thing.
No optimization required.
Then the printer beeped.
I looked over.
"Monday."
Silence.
I narrowed my eyes.
Suspicious.
But I turned off the light anyway.
Tomorrow—
I had somewhere to be.