Love At First Sit

Moving On

The seats were often full since R&R Fusion Café, Bar and Restaurant first opened its doors.

During the day, they served breakfast, lunch, pastries and a variety of coffee. At night, they served dinner and more alcohol than necessary. Their resto bar had grown to be well-known to locals on Hermosa Street in just a week.

Mina was sitting in a corner, her legs crossed as she flicked through a random fashion magazine. When the bell tinkled, she looked up and saw Roxanne walking in, sporting an R&R uniform. She looked professional in her black trousers and white blouse. Her pride was tangible. The expression on her face said: Look here, world! I run this business!

A wide smile spread across Mina's face as she dropped the magazine, and ran over to her friend.

"Roxy!" Mina enveloped her up into a hug, squeezing her. "Oh, my God, I missed you, girl!"

"I missed you too!"

The two pulled away.

Mina pointed to someone behind her and stepped aside to give her a clear view.

Roxanne's face drew a confused expression, which made Mina chuckle. "OM?" She recognized the man. It was Benj, her former Operations Manager from the call center.

The smirk said it all.

"You?"

Mina nodded.

"Him?"

She nodded again.

"Oh, my God! I'm so happy for you, Mina!" The pair smiled. "Have you introduced him to William?"

Mina's smile dropped. "No, I haven't."

"I think it's better to introduce your son to your boyfriend right away."

Mina looked in Benj's direction. "We're not at the I think we're falling in love stage, okay?"

"Think about William and not just yourself, Mina. What if he sees you with some guy and thinks, who this guy my mom is with? He's no longer a kid," Roxanne said in a low voice.

"Look, we're not here to talk about my parenting. We are actually here because we wanted to get a matching tattoo and I thought of you. Well, not actually you, rather your boy-toy, Wish."

"Wilhelmina! He's not my boy-toy!"

"Whatever," Mina rolled her eyes. "He's got nice tats, so I assumed he can point us to the best tattoo artist in town."

"He is one of the best, Mina," Roxanne proudly said.

"Wow, what progress, huh," Mina teased. "And look at you! You're really on a different level now. As in, like, wow!" Mina commented, looking around the place. "If I didn't know you, I would assume you have a dirty old man benefactor."

Roxanne chuckled. "I missed you, Mina. I really missed your antics!"

"So, are you free? Can you accompany us to the lion's den?"

"Wait, let me ask someone to man the shop while I'm gone." She went over to the counter and assigned someone to do the work, then went back to Mina. "Let me call Wish."

Roxanne dialed Wish's number, waiting for him to pick up. On the third ring, Wish answered.

"Wish!" Roxanne chimed.

"Hello?" he asked groggily, his voice still thick with sleep.

"Awww, I'm sorry I woke you up." Her heart skipped several beats as she listened to his bedroom voice. "Did you work last night?"