Chapter 19 - Day Off
The beach plan happened because Chloe said—
tara subic
Jane replied—
game
I stared at the group chat.
No date.
No logistics.
No transportation.
No plan.
Just—
tara subic
Apparently this was how normal people organized recreational activities.
I typed—
when
Chloe:
sunday
Jane:
early
I waited.
Nothing else.
what time
Chloe:
lia
what
gala lang
I stared.
WE STILL NEED A DEPARTURE TIME
Jane:
6am ??
There.
Civilization restored.
Saturday afternoon, Mama found me putting clothes into a bag.
"Saan ka?"
"Subic."
She stopped.
"Subic?"
"Yes."
"Kailan?"
"Tomorrow."
"Kala?"
"Jane and Chloe."
Mama nodded.
Then—
"Maliligo kayo?"
I stared.
"Sa beach?"
"Oo."
"That is generally the plan."
She slapped my arm lightly.
"Bastos."
I laughed.
"Sorry."
Papa looked over from the sofa.
"Anong oras alis?"
"Six."
"Uwi?"
"Same day."
"Mag-ingat."
"Yes, Pa."
Then Mama immediately started listing things I might forget.
Towel.
Extra clothes.
Plastic bag.
Water.
Medicine.
Sunscreen.
I held up the sunscreen already in my hand.
She nodded approvingly.
One item passed inspection.
Sofia walked past.
Looked at the bag.
"Beach?"
"Yes."
"Kasama?"
I stared.
"You know."
"Ate Jane and Ate Chloe?"
"Yes."
She nodded.
Then looked at the sunscreen.
Then at me.
Then—
"Have fun."
Normal.
Too normal.
I narrowed my eyes.
"What?"
"Nothing."
I hated that word.
Sunday morning, I left the house before sunrise.
Mama was already awake because mothers apparently had access to a different operating system.
She handed me pandesal.
"Eat."
"Yes, Ma."
Papa was still asleep.
Reasonable.
I messaged when I left.
Then met Jane and Chloe.
Chloe looked at my bag.
"Why does yours look organized?"
"Because it is."
Jane looked inside.
"Towels separate?"
"Yes."
"Wet bag?"
"Yes."
"Medicine?"
"Yes."
"Power bank?"
"Yes."
Chloe stared.
"Are we traveling or evacuating?"
"Preparedness is attractive."
Jane immediately—
"Pretty?"
I closed my eyes.
Six in the morning.
Already.
"Please."
Chloe laughed.
The drive was mostly music.
Chloe controlled the playlist first.
Bad decision.
Jane complained.
I complained.
Chloe ignored us.
Then MAMAMOO came on.
I sat straighter.
Jane noticed.
"Of course."
"What?"
"Nothing."
"That's Solar."
"I know."
"You said of course like—"
"We know."
Chloe nodded.
"We know."
I pointed toward the front.
"Drive."
"I am driving."
"Then focus."
Jane laughed.
Somewhere along the way, everyone got hungry.
We stopped.
Coffee.
Breakfast.
Bathroom.
No optimization.
No timeline.
No problem.
I checked my phone out of habit.
Three customer messages.
One from Evelyn.
One from Isabella.
One from Abigail.
My thumb paused.
Sunday.
Closed.
I opened Abigail's message first.
Ma'am, reminder lang po may delivery tomorrow morning. Naayos na namin yesterday.
No emergency.
I reacted with a thumbs-up.
Then put the phone away.
Jane noticed.
"Work?"
"Not anymore."
She nodded.
No lecture.
Good.
By the time we reached the beach, Chloe had complained about traffic fourteen times.
Jane had changed the playlist twice.
I had eaten enough snacks to make lunch technically unnecessary.
We still planned lunch.
Naturally.
The first thing Jane did after we found a spot was look at me.
"Sunscreen."
I held mine up.
"Prepared."
"Face too."
"Yes."
"Neck."
"Yes, mother."
She stared.
"Fine. Burn."
I laughed.
Chloe held out one hand.
"Mine."
I looked at her.
"You brought nothing?"
"I brought myself."
"Unfortunately."
She took my sunscreen anyway.
Jane was wearing shorts.
Normal shorts.
Beach appropriate.
Nothing unusual.
I did not think about them.
At all.
Until Chloe looked at me.
Then at Jane.
Then back at me.
??
I stared.
"No."
Jane looked over.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Chloe smiled.
"Understandable."
Jane frowned.
"What is understandable?"
"Beach."
"That doesn't make sense."
"It doesn't need to."
I pointed at Chloe.
"You're exhausting."
Jane looked between us.
"Is this the pattern thing again?"
Chloe smiled.
I walked toward the water.
"I'm swimming."
"LIA!"
Nope.
The water was cold enough to make me regret every decision that led me there.
Jane laughed when I flinched.
"Ang arte."
"It's cold."
"Beach."
"Water can still be cold."
Chloe walked straight past both of us.
Show-off.
Two minutes later, she got hit by a wave directly in the face.
I laughed so hard I swallowed seawater.
Justice.
For a while—
nothing happened.
Actually nothing.
We swam.
Talked.
Got tired.
Went back to shore.
Ate chips.
Went back into the water.
Chloe tried taking photos and produced several masterpieces where one of us had our eyes closed.
Jane accused her of sabotage.
I agreed.
Then Jane took the phone.
Better photos.
Unfortunately.
"Lia, dito."
I looked over.
Jane was holding the phone.
"What?"
"Picture."
"No."
"Why?"
"Wet."
"We're at a beach."
"Exactly."
"Stand there."
I sighed.
Fine.
I stood.
She took one.
Then another.
"Okay."
"Show."
She pulled the phone closer.
I stepped beside her.
Our shoulders touched.
Normal.
I checked.
"Delete the second."
"No."
"My face."
"Normal."
"I look confused."
"You always look confused."
"That is objectively false."
Chloe appeared behind us.
"Send sakin."
"No."
Jane:
"Yes."
Traitors.
Then a group walked past.
One woman caught my eye.
Pretty.
Good hair.
Very nice—
I stopped myself.
No.
Do not.
Look at the ocean.
Beautiful ocean.
Huge.
Safe.
Beside me—
"Very nice legs?"
I turned.
"WE ARE AT A BEACH."
Jane burst out laughing.
"What?"
"Everyone has legs!"
"That wasn't the question."
"Jane!"
Chloe looked toward the woman.
Then nodded.
"Understandable."
I stared at her.
"Can you please develop your own personality?"
"No."
Jane was still laughing.
I walked away.
Lunch was grilled food, rice, drinks, and an unreasonable amount of conversation about nothing.
Best kind.
Chloe told us about a relative who had apparently turned one family reunion into an interrogation chamber.
Jane told a story about someone at work accidentally replying-all.
I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.
Then they asked about my employees.
"Claire okay?" Jane asked.
"Good."
"Abigail?"
"Good."
"Bea?"
"Good."
Chloe stared.
"Excellent update."
"You asked."
"Any drama?"
"No."
"Any office romance?"
"No."
"Any scandals?"
"No."
Jane:
"Boring."
"Exactly how I want payroll."
Fair.
Then Jane asked—
"Celeste?"
I stared.
"What about her?"
"Students."
"Ah."
Chloe smiled immediately.
I pointed.
"No."
"I didn't say anything."
"Your face did."
Jane looked at Chloe.
"What?"
"Nothing."
I sighed.
"Grace is doing a trial for English students."
"How many students na?" Jane asked.
"Eleven last count."
"Ang bilis."
"Referrals."
"Center na?"
"No."
Jane laughed.
"You really won't let her rent."
"Not yet."
Chloe:
"What if she wants to?"
"She can."
Jane stared.
"You say that like you've physically stopped her before."
"I haven't."
"Verbally?"
"Repeatedly."
Both laughed.
My phone buzzed inside the bag.
Once.
Then again.
Then again.
I looked toward it.
Didn't move.
Jane noticed.
"Work?"
"Maybe."
"You checking?"
"No."
Chloe looked impressed.
"Who are you?"
"Shut up."
We stayed on the beach for another hour.
No phone.
No orders.
No revenue.
No planning.
At one point I lay back on the towel and closed my eyes.
Wind.
Voices.
Waves.
Jane and Chloe arguing about whether one cloud looked like a dog or fried chicken.
Dog.
Obviously.
Chloe was wrong.
I did not tell them.
Too peaceful.
I tried remembering Original Life.
Age twenty-four.
Sundays.
Beach trips.
Random day trips.
Full afternoons doing nothing.
There had to have been some.
Probably.
But what came back first were orders.
Machines.
Deadlines.
A supplier issue.
Maybe a bulk job.
A customer who needed something Monday.
I could remember numbers more easily than ordinary Sundays.
That bothered me.
Not enough to ruin the day.
Just enough to notice.
"Uy."
I opened my eyes.
Jane was standing over me.
"What?"
"Sleeping?"
"No."
"Your eyes were closed."
"Resting."
"Same thing."
"No."
She held out water.
"Drink."
I took it.
"Thanks."
Then she sat on the towel beside me.
Chloe was farther away taking photos of the water.
Jane looked toward the sea.
"Masaya?"
"Yeah."
"Good."
Simple.
No deeper interrogation.
I drank.
Then said—
"I haven't checked my phone in two hours."
She looked at me.
"Congratulations."
"That's significant."
"I know."
"I might have customers."
"They'll survive."
"My business might collapse."
"Then Abigail will message in all caps."
I laughed.
Fair.
Chloe came back.
"Picture tayo."
"No," I said.
"Yes," Jane said.
Democracy failed.
We took several.
Normal ones.
Ugly ones.
One where Chloe deliberately moved at the last second.
One where Jane was laughing before the timer finished.
One where I was looking at Chloe instead of the camera because she had said something stupid.
Later, that one became my favorite.
Not because it was flattering.
It wasn't.
My hair was messy.
My face was turned.
Jane was mid-laugh.
Chloe looked like she was about to ruin another photo.
It looked—
alive.
Before leaving, we changed clothes.
Packed.
Checked for trash.
Checked the area twice because Chloe lost one slipper.
It was under her own bag.
I said nothing.
Actually, I said a lot.
On the walk back, another woman passed us.
Jane looked at me immediately.
I stared straight ahead.
"Don't."
"I didn't say anything."
"You were going to."
"Maybe."
Chloe:
"She's learning."
I turned.
"I'm not avoiding looking at women because of you two."
Jane smiled.
"Sure."
"I have dignity."
"Questionable."
"I hate this trip."
"You had fun."
"Unfortunately."
We ate again before heading home.
Of course.
During dinner, I finally checked my phone.
Customer inquiries.
No emergency.
Evelyn confirming Monday quantities.
Isabella asking if I wanted to reserve stock.
Abigail had sent one photo of the cleaned workspace Saturday afternoon.
Nothing burned.
No missed crisis.
No catastrophe caused by my absence.
I stared at the screen.
Then locked it again.
Chloe noticed.
"All good?"
"Yeah."
Jane:
"See?"
I looked at her.
"Don't."
She smiled.
"Growth."
"Fuck off."
The ride home was quieter.
Everyone tired.
Chloe drove.
Jane eventually fell asleep.
Her head tilted toward the window.
I looked once.
Then away.
Nothing dramatic.
Just Jane.
My friend since Grade Seven.
Still here.
Chloe glanced at me through the mirror.
I caught it.
Her eyebrows lifted.
??
I mouthed—
No.
She smiled.
Asshole.
When we reached home, Mama opened the door before I could knock twice.
"Kamusta?"
"Good."
"Nasunog?"
"No."
"Sunburn?"
"No."
She inspected my arm anyway.
Papa looked over.
"Masaya?"
"Yes, Pa."
Sofia appeared behind Mama.
"Pictures."
"I just got home."
"Send."
"Later."
She looked at my bag.
"Did Ate Jane and Ate Chloe survive?"
"Barely."
"Good."
I walked inside.
Home.
After showering, I lay on my bed and opened my gallery.
Most recent photos.
Beach.
Food.
Chloe.
Jane.
The three of us.
Messy hair.
Bad angles.
Sunlight.
Random ocean shots.
One picture of my slippers for some reason.
Then farther back—
product photos.
Proofs.
Invoices.
Inventory.
Screenshots.
Work.
A lot of work.
I scrolled back to today.
Stopped at the photo where none of us were properly looking at the camera.
Saved it.
No business reason.
No documentation.
No future use.
Just because I liked it.
My phone buzzed.
Group chat.
Chloe:
next month ulit
Jane:
game
I stared.
Then typed—
game
No calendar check.
Not yet.
Tomorrow could handle tomorrow.
Today had already been full enough.