I Could Fall

Chapter Forty-Four

A man who was exiting the establishment opened the door for me. I thanked him. He seemed nervous when he smiled as a response. I smiled back before moving past him.

My eyes scanned the room. Even at day time, Refinery is well lit with the group of pendant glass ball hanging lamps. Each table even has a hanging frosted ball lamp. The yellow light glowed softly and beautifully because of the wooden furniture and fixtures. The floor and the wall are wooden, too.

Hindi malaki ang restaurant kaya mula sa harap ng pinto ay natanaw ko na agad sila Phil at Trix. They were sitting at the table near the tall shelves of wines and other alcoholic beverages that were braced on the wall.

Palapit pa lang ay nakita na ako ni Phil. She even raised her hand and waved at me with a big grin on her face. Trix glanced at me and then back at Phil. May inangil si Trix at si Phil naman ay umangil din pabalik. They only stopped when I reached their table.

"Hey," I greeted and set my bag on the empty chair.

"Hi!" Phil stood up to properly welcome me with a hug and kiss on the cheek. Trix did the same.

It was around four in the afternoon when Phil flooded my phone with missed calls. Nasa meeting ako kaya hindi ko 'yon agad nasagot. It's so unlike her to call relentlessly, kaya nag-alala ako. She usually just leaves a message if she wants to hangout or call me once if it's time sensitive.

The last time we talked was the day after Ate Laurene's wedding reception. Kinamusta niya lang ako at nag-sorry dahil hindi niya ako nabantayan. It turns out she passed out while Trix was drunk.

It was five-thirty when I called her back. She wouldn't tell me what it's about. She just said she needs to meet me in person. That's why I drove straight to this restobar after work.

"What happened?" I asked as we got settled on our chairs. I didn't miss the way Trix was frowning.

"Let's order first," sabi ni Phil.

Napanguso ako. I badly want to know what's this all about, but I don't wanna insist, Pumayag na lang ako para mapabilis at namili na ng kakainin.

I ordered caesar salad and smoothie. I'm trying to keep it light because I'll have to eat dinner with my family at home. Habang sila naman ay pumili ng rice meal.

"So, what were you going to tell me?" I started the topic again when the waiter finally left the table.

Bumagsak ang ngiti ni Phil nang tumingin sa akin. She bit her lip. Her eyes looked a little hesitant. Nagpakawala ng buntonghininga si Trix at uminom ng tubig.

Huminga nang malalim si Phil at matapos ay uminom din ng tubig. "We... uhm... We saw Ali earlier."

I stilled at the mention of the name. Pati ang pag hinga ko ay nabitin. Phil took it as a sign to continue but I can see the cautiousness in her face.

"Sa office. He hired our company for the grand launching of AS Engineering," paliwanag ni Phil.

AS Engineering?

"It's his. He recently left the Santiesteban Global Corp. and built his own company," Phil answered the question that I didn't voice out. Siguro ay nabasa niya sa mukha ko.

Napauwang ang labi ko. Mangha at gulat na pinaghalo. I stayed away from social media because I didn't want any reminder or temptation. Kahit anong balita ay wala akong narinig kaya nakakagulat para sa akin ang impormasyon na 'to.

"He's... uh. Not alone. He's with uhm... somebody else," Phil began to trail. My stomach clenched 'cos I'm starting to figure out where this is going. "They were really uh... friendly."