The elevator stopped at the basement. Manong Delfin stepped out first, and I followed after him.
It was my first day at Costamarina Brisas as a laundry attendant. Today, Mang Delfin would be teaching me all the do's and don'ts.
We turned a corner and walked a bit farther until we stopped in front of a door marked, "Authorized Personnel Only."
"This is the laundry room," he said as he opened the door.
We stepped inside, and he immediately began showing me what I needed to do. With every word that came out of his mouth, I learned something new. He even demonstrated everything, how each machine worked, how to handle the linens, and the proper way to fold the tablecloths. After a while, he let me try everything myself while he stood by and watched.
"Lunch time!" one of our coworkers shouted when the clock struck twelve.
"What are we eating today?"
"What do you all want?"
"How about roasted chicken? With Coke."
"Ugh, boring!"
"Elias, how about you? What would you like?" Mang Delfin asked, making me raise my head from what I was doing.
"Huh? Ah— I already brought food, sir." I answered.
"That won't do! When you're here, you have to eat with everyone. Come on, what do you want?"
"You decide, sir. I'll go buy it." I said, scratching the back of my neck.
"Nice one, Eli. Then let's go with sisig."
Everyone agreed. Mang Delfin handed me money for the sisig, and a couple more coworkers gave their extra orders.
I stepped out of the laundry room and walked toward the exit of the parking area. I even passed by some resort guests, mostly families, and a few town officials.
While I was walking, I heard loud voices echoing from the deeper part of the parking lot. It was a secluded area, so I figured it must be private.
"¡Cuántas veces te he dicho que no quiero casarme!"
It was impossible not to hear them, I had to pass right by.
"¡Esto es por tu propio bien!"
"It's not! ¡Es por tu propio bien!"
I couldn't help sneaking a glance to see who was arguing.
It was Miss Aurelia, looking furious, and a middle-aged woman who was shorter than her. They looked quite alike.
They were arguing right in front of Miss Aurelia's car. They exchanged a few more sentences in a language I couldn't understand.
I didn't want to get involved and was about to leave, but, damn it! My hand suddenly grew a hole, and a ten-peso coin slipped out.
It rolled… and stopped right at Miss Aurelia's feet. Both of them stared at it, then slowly looked up at me.
I froze. Should I pick it up? Should I leave it? After a moment of panic, I forced myself to walk toward them, slowly, and stepped between them to retrieve my coin.
I thought no one would speak, but then Miss Aurelia suddenly said...
"Mi novio me está recogiendo."
The older woman gasped and covered her mouth, pointing at me.
"No me molestes otra vez o heriste los sentimientos de mi amante." Miss Aurelia added. The older woman said nothing.
My eyes darted between the two of them. I didn't understand anything they were saying, were they insulting me? What was happening?
"I'm sorry, Miss Aurelia. I didn't mean to overhear your conversation. I didn't really understand anything," I said, even though I hadn't done anything wrong.
"Miss?" The older woman said, turning to Aurelia as if questioning her. There was mockery in her voice.
"Este es nuestro indicativo de llamada, Miss and Sir," Aurelia said defensively.
"Ridiculous!" the woman scoffed.
"It's not! ¿No te has dado cuenta? Everyone calls me Madam, not Miss. Please excuse us. Todavía tenemos una cita." She looked at me. "Where are you headed?"
I glanced at the older woman before answering.
"To the eatery, ma'am. I'm just buying sisig."
"Don't spend your money. I'll pay for your meals. Come with me." she said, tugging my hand and pulling me along.
I hurried after her. The older woman shot me a glare that could kill.
What were they even arguing about? The way that woman looked at me, it was as if she had plans to bury me alive.
We walked out of the parking area with her still holding onto my hand. I couldn't even pull away because of how tight her grip was.
Honestly, I could have pulled free if I used force… but I didn't want to risk it.
"Who was that, Miss Aurelia?" I finally asked, unable to keep my curiosity in.
"My mother."
"Oh." I just nodded and let her drag me along.
"You know, you can ask the kitchen for food. Why are you buying outside?"
"Is that so? We just… prefer buying outside because we feel shy asking from the kitchen." I replied with a small smile. Truthfully, I didn't really know why the others didn't ask the kitchen.
"Next time, don't hesitate. You work with them too."
I nodded again.
We reached the eatery, a bit farther from the resort. It was crowded since it was lunch time.
People turned to look at us or rather, at Miss Aurelia. My boss was undeniably beautiful. Even some of my coworkers liked her.
I mean, who wouldn't? She carried herself well, and her fashion was always on point.
"What do you want?" she asked, looking at the dishes on display.
I told her what my coworkers wanted. The vendor quickly prepared everything. While the food was being packed, Miss Aurelia stared at me.
"What is it?" I asked.
"You haven't told me what you want."
I wanted to say I already had food, but I knew she wouldn't accept that. I scanned the options and pointed to the dish I was curious to try.
She raised a brow and gave me a teasing look.
"I didn't know you liked mussels." She turned to the vendor. "One order of sautéed mussels as well, please. And also this one…"
I stared at her back as she spoke to the vendor. My face suddenly felt hot when her earlier comment sank in.
Wait a minute, surely she didn't mean anything else by that…
Right?
Maybe I'm just being dirty-minded.