A low, buzzing sound filled the room, and it took a second for Kira to realize it wasn’t actually her racing heart, but Santi’s phone, demanding attention from beside the half-eaten tartufo. His brow furrowed, a little knot forming there, and she giggled, giving in to the urge to smooth the knot with her thumb.
“Ignore it,” he said, even as he walked her backward so she could sit next to his phone on the counter. Then he took her hand, brushing his thumb over her knuckles that somehow still had chocolate on them. “This is more important.”
Kira looked down at the phone. “It says Doctor Perlas.”
That got his attention. Without letting go of her hand, Santi looked at the phone and swiped the screen before placing the phone against his ear.
“Doc?” he asked curiously. “Is something wrong?”
Kira was close enough to hear the sound of the doctor’s voice, but not exactly make out what he was saying. The way the color slowly drained from Santi’s face, the way he let go of Kira’s hand—she knew. Something was terribly, terribly wrong.
“I understand,” he said, and Kira could see the way he worked his jaw, saw how he struggled to keep himself together. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Then he hung up, blinking like he couldn’t remember where he was, why he was here. Kira took his hand gently and he flinched in surprise, but took her hand, squeezing it and releasing a tight exhale.
“I have to go,” he said, and it was like watching all the happiness he’d built drain away. It ached a little, to see him that way.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“My grandfather’s in the hospital.” He sighed again, and Kira caught a little shudder there, like the very idea of going back to Manila didn’t appeal to him at all. “He was having chest pains. They’re running tests, but god, the man is 90. I have to...”
“You have to go.” She nodded, gently pushing his chest to give her room to hop off of the counter. “Do you need me?”
She knew he was going to say no—there was too much family shit going on for him to agree. But there was a moment (and she’d seen it on his face; since when was his face that expressive?) where he could have said yes. And Kira would have gone without hesitation.
But as it was, he wasn’t quite there yet. Santi took her hand, placing it onto his cheek. He leaned into Kira’s hand, closing his eyes, she brushed at the slight stubble on that deadly jaw of his. He closed his eyes and sighed again. Then he kissed her wrist, a gesture of thanks, Kira thought.
“It’s okay,” he said, his voice suddenly small. “We’ll talk.”
That was officially Kira’s least favorite sentence in the world.
Chapter Nine
December 31
Sta. Gianna University Hospital
Manila
Bloom: is either of two types of white substances appearing in the surface of chocolate. Fat bloom is when the cocoa butter separates from the rest of the chocolate due to high heat. Sugar bloom is produced by crystallized sugar, usually caused by moisture exposure. Bloomed chocolate can be repaired, but as with all the steps in chocolate making, much patience is required.
“Ten-piece crab roe and shrimp xiao long bao, ten pieces hakaw, spicy pickled cucumber, radish cake, Taiwanese tofu with century egg, sweet and sour pork with lychee, lemon chicken, large hot and sour soup, salted egg prawns, broccoli and garlic sauce, large yang chow fried rice.” The delivery rider read off the list as Santi examined the bag he was handed, nodding along.
“What about the—”
“Chocolate xiao long bao, it’s in the other bag.” The driver handed him a second paper bag with the restaurant logo. “Media noche spread, sir?”
“What?” Santi asked, confused as he juggled the bags of food.
“Media noche. For New Year’s Eve?” the driver asked, and Santi blinked back in surprise. He hadn’t realized that it was already New Year’s Eve. He’d forgotten, in the rush of the last twelve hours. Today was New Year’s Eve. The new year was literally four hours away, and Santi was here in the hospital.
I’ve had three New Year’s without you. I don’t think I want another.
Santi tried not to picture Kira’s cheeks flushed and her pupils slightly wide after he’d kissed her, tried not to remember the smile on her face when he told her he liked her chocolate. Those were not good thoughts to have here.
He managed to give the driver a tip before he headed back into Lolo’s room, noting that the hospital was busy as ever even during the holiday. Santi peeked at the chocolate xiao long bao, wondering if it was going to taste any good, and headed to the elevators.
He’d almost violated a couple of traffic laws heading back to Manila at breakneck speeds last night. By the time he made it to Sta. Gianna, he was surprised to find his grandfather sitting up on the hospital bed, yelling at Doctor Perlas, the best geriatric doctor in the country, for being “incompetent.”
