“Ning was cuter,” Alice argued. “Better than Tala, at least.”
“I’ve always thought Cherie was a badas—I mean, impressive name,” Kiko coughed.
“Ha-ha, Tito was about to say a bad word,” Cassie snickered beside Kira. Kuya Jake was busy engaging Ate Kamilla with the latest from Manila—which restaurants were currently making waves, which restaurants’ shine had since faded (and had faded quickly), which places were being lined up for, who opened them.
The waiters poured another round of wine for the adults and served the brick oven pizza, which featured balsamic onions, mushrooms from that fancy farm in San Benito, bits of blue cheese, on even more cheese. The crust was pillowy and soft, the dough slightly salted but still tasteless enough for Kira to want to dip it in spicy honey. And Kira needed carbs at the moment. They really did help soften the blow to her ego.
Was it worth it?her traitorous brain asked her.All that drama, all that hirap. Was it worth it?
“Remind me again why you called this a spy mission, Cass?” Ate Kamilla asked, the only one eating her pizza with a fork and knife. Kira gasped and widened her eyes at Cassie, who was suddenly very interested in the fountain outside. Kira groaned. This was what she got for telling her niece everything.
“We’re spying?” Jake asked excitedly. “On who?”
“Oh god,” Kiko sighed. “Kira, did you really make the family go to this restaurant so you could spy on Santi?”
Kira made a noise, something like a squeak and a choke on her bread, because how did Kiko evenknowabout that.
“Yes!” Cassie exclaimed.
“No!” Kira said at the exact same time. “Santi’s not even here.”
“The fact that you know he’s not here is—”
“Santi? Officially friends na kayo ulit, hija?” Alice asked, leaning forward on the table to get a better look at Kira. “Not because I don’t want you to date him, or anything, because Idowant you to date him—”
“Mother, please!” Kira groaned, wishing she could burrow herself under the focaccia bread until the conversation was over. She looked at Alfred and Mikaela, and thanked god they were still in their own little world.
“I don’t want you to date him,” Raymond argued. “For the record.”
“Dad,” Kira said in the exact same tone, because it didn’t help. “Didn’t you use to slip him twenty pesos to buy me gulaman when we were kids?”
“If I had known it would lead to this, I wouldn’t have done it!”
“I am only saying this because you were so unhappy when you lost your friends when you moved back here,” Alice said, reaching out across the table to squeeze Kira’s hand affectionately. “So it’s good that he came back.”
Kira winced, because her mother was right. She knew full well that losing friends was a part of the process of growing up. People just fit differently, or didn’t fit at all, as you became the person you wanted to be. When she moved to Lipa, her Manila friendships just...fell away. Because they led other lives, because Kira didn’t bother to keep up with what was the latest in anymore.
But it hurt like a bitch every time, giving someone so much of your heart, only for them to trample on it and walk away. To dive eagerly into a new experience, only to be left alone, and then unceremoniously fired, like you never mattered. It had been better to stay in the sidelines, helping other people build more lasting relationships. Here. In the place she loved.
But hey, at least her family’s normal equilibrium had restored itself. All was right with the world, at least until next month’s board meeting. Argh.
“Isn’t that Kuya Santi right there?” Cassie asked, doing her grandparents proud by using her pursed lips to point in the direction of the back of the restaurant.
“Nice try, Cassie.” Kira took a deep swallow of her wine. Mmm. Dry. “How do you even know what he looks like?”
“Ate Nessie had pictures!” Cassie said cheerfully, because of course she did. Cassie was smiling with all the adorable innocence of...er, whatever grade she was supposed to be in now. “She said he came back for you after twenty years.”
I moved to Lipa because of you,he’d said.It means more, because it was you.
“He didn’t come backforme, he came back and I just happened to be in the same place,” Kira argued, and this heat on her cheeks was from the wine, it had to be.
“But you like him, don’t you?” Cassie asked, as the next course was served, an aglio olio with handmade linguini, slow-cooked bolognese with Angus beef meatballs and pesto in nubby little pasta twirls. Yummm.
“Hay naku, she has a crush,” Kamilla sighed. “Now she’s never going to leave Lipa.”
“Why would I want to leave?” Kira scoffed, and shook her head. “Pass the aglio olio.”
“Because if the chocolate boom was going to happen anywhere, it’s going to happen in Manila, isn’t it?” Kamilla asked, tilting her head curiously like she was ready to drill holes into anything Kira said. “Can I have the Parmesan?”
