Chapter 45 - Just Dinner
Mama made the cassava cake.
Of course she did.
Not one tray.
Two.
I stared at them on the kitchen counter Sunday afternoon.
"Why two?"
Mama looked at me like I had asked why oxygen existed.
"Isa sa kanila."
"And the other?"
"Sa atin."
Reasonable.
Then she added another container.
I frowned.
"What is that?"
"Pancit."
"Mama."
"What?"
"Tita Elena asked for cassava cake."
"So?"
"So why are we sending catering?"
"Hindi catering."
Sofia walked past.
Looked at the containers.
"That's catering."
"Quiet," Mama said.
Sofia kept walking.
"Sorry."
Final authority remained undefeated.
I took the food.
Checked my phone.
Tori:
still coming?
I smiled.
already leaving
Then—
mother prepared enough food to establish diplomatic relations
Pause.
mine cleaned the house twice
I stopped.
why
because you're coming
Interesting.
should i be afraid
Longer pause.
probably not
Not reassuring.
Then—
she's been weirdly nice all week
That was somehow worse.
define weirdly
she asked what food you like
Oh.
progress?
maybe
Pause.
don't say that yet
Fair.
I put my phone away.
The first sign something was wrong—
was the extra car.
Not inherently suspicious.
People owned cars.
Visitors existed.
Family dinners occasionally contained—
family.
Still.
I looked at it while walking toward the house.
Nice sedan.
Clean.
Recent model.
Not ridiculous.
Just—
someone had made an effort.
I carried cassava cake and pancit toward the door.
Tori opened it before I knocked.
She looked beautiful.
Also—
confused.
Interesting combination.
"Hi."
"Hi."
Her eyes dropped to the containers.
"Your mother escalated."
"Against my advice."
"Expected."
I handed her one.
Then noticed her face again.
"What?"
Tori frowned.
"There are shoes inside."
I stared.
"Your family wears shoes?"
"Extra shoes."
Ah.
"Bea?"
"No."
"Marco?"
"Already here."
I looked past her.
Men's dress shoes.
Not Tito Ramon's usual pair.
Tori stared at them.
Then at me.
"No."
Oh.
There.
Before either of us could say anything—
Tita Elena appeared from the dining room.
"Lia!"
Very cheerful.
Too cheerful.
My suspicion increased approximately forty percent.
"Good afternoon po."
"You brought cassava cake."
"Yes po."
"And pancit?"
"My mother."
She smiled.
"Ang bait talaga ng mama mo."
Then—
"Tori, bakit nasa door lang kayo? Come."
Tori didn't move.
"Ma."
"What?"
"Who is here?"
There.
Direct.
Tita Elena paused.
Half a second.
Too long.
Then smiled again.
"Visitor."
Tori's expression went completely flat.
"Who?"
"Elena."
Tito Ramon's voice came from the dining room.
Warning.
Interesting.
Then a man appeared behind him.
Early thirties, maybe.
Tall.
Well-dressed.
Actually handsome.
Annoyingly.
He smiled politely.
"Hi."
Tori closed her eyes.
Oh.
Carlo.
Of course.
Of fucking course.
Tita Elena brightened.
"Tori, you remember Carlo."
Tori opened her eyes.
"No."
Carlo laughed awkwardly.
Fair.
Tori looked at her mother.
"Ma."
"Anak, huwag ka naman ganyan. Carlo came with Tita Susan's—"
"I don't care how Carlo came."
Carlo's smile disappeared.
Poor man.
I looked at him.
He looked at me.
We both understood immediately that neither of us had designed this meeting.
Excellent.
At least there were only two victims.
Maybe three.
Tito Ramon stood.
"Elena, I told you not to do this."
"I didn't do anything."
Tori stared at her mother.
"You invited him."
"I invited everyone."
"No. You invited Lia."
"And Carlo."
"Yes. That's the problem."
Tita Elena sighed.
"You're making it a problem."
There it was.
Tori laughed once.
Not amused.
"I'm making it a problem?"
"It's dinner."
"Then why is Carlo here?"
"Because he's family friend."
Carlo lifted one hand slightly.
"I can leave."
I liked him already.
"No," Tita Elena said immediately.
Tori looked at me.
Not asking me to fix it.
Just—
checking.
I shifted the container in my hands.
"I can also leave."
"No," Tori said.
Immediate.
Then—
"You were invited."
Her eyes went back to her mother.
"Properly."
That landed.
Tita Elena's mouth tightened.
"Fine. Everyone is invited. So everyone can stay."
No one moved.
Then Marco appeared from the hallway.
Saw Carlo.
Stopped.
"Oh my God."
Bea came behind him.
Saw Carlo.
Covered her face.
"Ma."
Fantastic.
Apparently this surprise had not been disclosed to the sibling committee either.
Tita Elena pointed toward the dining room.
"Can we please just eat?"
Tori looked at me again.
I could see the question now.
Do you want to go?
I could.
Absolutely.
But—
I wasn't leaving Tori alone in this circus unless she wanted me to.
I shifted the cassava cake toward Marco.
"Can someone take this before I drop it?"
Marco took it automatically.
"Sure."
Then I looked at Tori.
"I'm okay."
Her shoulders loosened slightly.
Not much.
She nodded.
"Okay."
Carlo was still standing awkwardly near the dining room.
I looked at him.
"Hi. Lia."
He gave a tiny relieved smile.
"Carlo."
Tori stared at both of us.
"Please don't become friends."
I laughed.
Carlo did too.
Tita Elena did not.
Dinner began with enough tension to power a small municipality.
Tito Ramon looked exhausted before food even reached his plate.
Bea looked ready to murder her mother with eye contact.
Marco was deeply fascinated by his rice.
Tori sat beside me.
Carlo sat across from us.
Of course.
Tita Elena had apparently planned seating.
Subtle.
Very subtle.
I almost admired the operational commitment.
Almost.
At first—
normal conversation.
Because humans were bizarre.
Tito Ramon asked about traffic.
Bea talked about work.
Marco talked about graduate school applications.
I told Tita Elena Mama had added pancit because apparently cassava cake alone was considered socially inadequate.
That got a laugh.
Then—
Tita Elena turned to Carlo.
"So Carlo, tell them about your promotion."
Ah.
There we go.
Carlo paused.
"It's not really—"
"Senior director na siya."
Tori stopped chewing.
I looked at Carlo.
Interesting.
"At Meridian Axis," Tita Elena continued.
I froze.
Not visibly.
Probably.
Meridian Axis.
Ah.
That company.
Very interesting.
Carlo nodded awkwardly.
"Operations strategy."
I knew.
Because Meridian Axis had been on my acquisition watchlist for six months.
Not because I desperately wanted it.
Because it had—
decent recurring contracts,
good regional footprint,
mediocre systems,
bloated admin costs,
underused distribution relationships,
and an owner who had privately floated the possibility of selling controlling interest if valuation crossed the right number.
I had their last three years of financials.
Not legally questionable.
They had sent them.
Through an advisor.
I knew their debt.
I knew their customer concentration.
I knew exactly which branch was dragging EBITDA.
I also knew—
with sufficient motivation—
I could probably buy the company.
Not today.
Not from the dining table.
But—
conceptually?
Yes.
Tita Elena continued.
"Very good company."
"It is," I said.
Carlo looked at me.
"You know Meridian?"
"Yes."
"How?"
I smiled.
"Business."
Very broad answer.
Tori glanced at me.
She knew that tone.
Not what it meant.
Yet.
Her mother smiled as if this proved her point.
"See? Even Lia knows."
Oh, Tita.
Please continue.
This was becoming educational.
"Carlo has been there, what, eight years?"
"Nine," Carlo corrected.
"Very stable."
Tori put her fork down.
"Ma."
"What?"
"Stop."
"I'm just talking."
"No. You're advertising him."
Carlo closed his eyes briefly.
I felt bad for him.
Tita Elena looked offended.
"I'm proud of him."
"Then tell him you're proud of him. Why are you telling me?"
"Because you never listen when I tell you—"
"Elena," Tito Ramon interrupted.
"No, Ramon. I'm tired of everyone acting like I'm doing something horrible."
Bea stared.
"You invited a man to dinner with Tori and her girlfriend."
"I invited a family friend."
Marco muttered—
"Very targeted family friend."
"Marco."
"Sorry."
Not sorry.
Tita Elena turned back to Carlo.
"Anyway, very successful. Senior director. Company car."
Oh my God.
She was really doing it.
"Ma."
"And he bought his condo last year."
"Tita," Carlo said quietly.
She ignored him.
"Very responsible."
Tori leaned back.
Her face had gone from angry to—
incredulous.
Almost impressed by the audacity.
I knew that feeling.
Then Tita Elena looked at me.
Not directly hostile.
Worse.
Kind.
"I'm sure you understand, Lia."
There.
I put my fork down.
"Understand what po?"
Tori turned toward me.
Danger.
Her mother smiled.
"As a businesswoman."
Oh no.
"Stability."
I waited.
"Planning for the future."
I said nothing.
"Security."
Still nothing.
Tita Elena continued—
"Tori is not twenty anymore."
Tori laughed sharply.
"I'm aware."
"I just want her to think."
"She thinks constantly," I said before I could stop myself.
Tori looked at me.
Tita Elena smiled.
"Yes. Exactly. She's very intelligent."
Then somehow—
she made that sound like evidence against her daughter.
"She should consider all possibilities."
Tori stared.
"I have considered men."
Silence.
Marco almost choked.
Bea looked down.
Tori continued—
"I don't want them."
Carlo raised his glass slightly.
"Clear."
I looked at him.
Excellent.
Tita Elena frowned.
"You don't know every man."
Tori stared.
"I don't need to audition the entire male population."
I bit the inside of my cheek.
Carlo failed.
He laughed.
Tita Elena looked at him.
"You're encouraging her."
"Sorry po."
He did not look sorry.
The food survived another five minutes.
Then Tita Elena tried again.
"Carlo's company is expanding."
I looked at her.
This was becoming dangerous for entirely different reasons.
"They're opening another location."
"Two," Carlo corrected automatically.
I knew.