#HeartboundWP

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Day 16.2 | N/E

NADIA SENDS A TEXT to Yanyan, informing her that she might be home late and that her younger sister has to take care of her own dinner tonight. Nagbalak siyang umalis earlier, but there's suddenly a surge of customers that made her feel bad about leaving Kuya Rennie and the rest of the small team of staff to take care of it all, so she stays.

Fortunately, after half an hour or so, the crowd dies down, and the quietude comes back in. She decides to stay for a little while longer, helping clear out the tables while working on the new inventory sheet her aunt asked her to do. This is her job for now while the construction for their new location is still ongoing.

She stops laughing at the story one of the part-timers her age tells her while cleaning up when she sees a familiar figure outside. She blinks a few times, just to make sure he's really there and that her vision is not toying with her. Right outside the door, Eli crouches to the height of his niece whom he's with. The yellow and orange decorative lights outside the café mimic dappled sunlight, making his skin appear more golden in contrast to the marbling pale blue and light purple sky.

"Labasin ko ba, Ma'am? Papasukin ko?" a staff asks.

Nadia turns to him and shakes her head, lips in a tight smile. She returns to organizing today's receipts. "No. Hindi naman sila nakaharang," she says, while her hands are busy on her phone, sending her best friend a message because it's the best alternative she has for screaming.

Hindi na nakipagtalo ang kausap niya at nagpaalam na lang na pupunta sa kitchen. Nadia merely nods his way before looking back outside where Eli and Zo are. They're still talking, maybe even arguing? Even from this distance she can see the identical creases on both of their foreheads.

She quickly looks down on what she's doing when Zoa's lower lip juts out after Eli speaks, and her uncle does the same. Nadia bites the inside of her cheeks when she catches herself almost smiling at their resemblance. She doesn't think that the two look that much alike, but on some instances like this one, they can easily be mistaken as siblings. Their significantly large age gap may not even be that obvious to some, considering that Zo is a little too tall than kids her age. Would it really be that bad to find this adorable?

She drops her pen on the table and slaps both her cheeks lightly. Who is she kidding na harmless 'to? She's still crushing on him, as much as she hates to admit. Pero come on, who can blame her? Especially now that he's in his uniform and he has always looked good in white.

Her eyebrows raise when she sees Zo slapping Eli's hand away. They're definitely arguing, and now she's sure. She gathers the receipts, clips them, and quickly tucks them away in the drawer. Despite her heart rate exponentially increasing in every step she takes towards him, she continues to make her way to the door.

Eli and Zo put their conversation to a halt when she pushes the door open. Nadia bites the inside of her lower lip to stop herself from beaming upon seeing the similar expression on their faces—like they have just been caught red-handed. So cute.

Especially the uncle.

What?

No!

Her cheeks heat up, and she prays that he doesn't notice. Pakiramdam niya ay nababasa ni Eli ang nasa utak niya ngayon and that's just beyond embarrassing. Having a crush is embarrassing. She wishes she can stop, but, look at him!

"Is there a problem?"

The kid throws her uncle an accusing glance. Eli just purses his lips and doesn't say anything. Nadia slightly moves out of the way when Zoa stomps her way inside Butter. She wonders what that can possibly be about.

Nalingat lang siya saglit, following Zoa with her eyes, but when she looks back outside, her view is blocked by Elias who is suddenly standing so near, holding the door open. Nadia can only hope that he doesn't notice her gulping.

She gestures to Zoa's direction. "Is she . . .?"

"I'll take care of it," he says, almost whispering, eyes trained on his niece. She doesn't know if it's the wind outside or his breath he feels fanning her forehead, but he's sure that it's him who knocks the air out of her chest when he brings his gaze to her.

This effect is unique. She only gets it from him.

"Hi," he greets her, voice low. Her eyebrows furrow. Hindi alam ni Nadia kung ano ang iisipin, or kung may dapat man siyang isipin regarding the way he's looking at her right now. She's been through this twice already, and she should know better by now and remember that it's all in her head.

She's attracted to him, okay? Of course, madaling maglagay ng meaning. Whatever Eli does, no matter how innocent, will always appeal differently to her. She knows it, but she needs constant reminding. It's so easy to forget stuff especially when he looks this good.

"Hello," she greets back, eager to fill the silence with anything other than her loud heartbeats. "Come in."

She heads towards Zoa's table. The kid has her head slumped on the table with her arm as a pillow. Nadia smiles at her but she doesn't return it. "Hi."

"Hello," Zo replies weakly.

"Are you okay?"

Zoa shakes her head no. Nadia turns to look for Eli, confused when she finds him still glued on his spot by the doorway. He can come in. Wala namang problema, if he's thinking about . . . well . . . what happened to them. That's not really ancient history, pero she's okay, and his niece needs him to apologize or something. She motions for him to come in.

"We'll talk later, okay?" paalam niya sa bata, both because there's a pair that lined up in front of the counter, and that she cannot spend another second with Eli being near when he arrives at their table. She needs a minute to breathe.

Zoa nods, and Nadi begrudgingly goes back to her post.

She presses a button on the counter that signals the people behind the kitchen door that she needs assistance. While waiting for the customers to make up their mind, Nadia glances at their table. Zo still has her head down, her chin resting on her intertwined hands laid flat against the table, but she doesn't look like she's about to cry anymore. Her two low braided ponytails have been undone, and Elias is now combing her hair with a small pink comb.

She gives a little more effort on taking her gaze away from them. Ang cute.

Cute din how the sleeve hem of his uniform hugs his arm really well.

What?

No!

She wants to sink her face into the register while getting the customer's change when she feels her cheeks heating up again. Seriously? Hindi naman siya ganito two days ago when she last saw him! He should really stop coming here in his uniform. And yes, she's blaming him.

When she brings her eyes back up to hand the customer their change, Eli is already towering them from behind, lining up and waiting. She discreetly draws in a deep breath when the customer moves out of the line and Eli comes into full view. Good thing his niece went around the counter to come closer to her, getting her attention.

"Hi!" Zo greets, jumping up and down as if she did not seem so upset just a few minutes ago. Her hair is now in neat, twin ponytails. Her uncle did a good job.

"Hi!" she greets back, trying to be as cheery as Zo is.

She looks back at Elias who just picked up a pack of cheesebread from the display and placed it on the counter. She avoids his gaze and records the purchase in. When she brings her eyes back up to get his payment, he catches her eyes and mouths, "Sorry."

Kumunot ang noo ni Nadia roon. For what? She takes the 500-peso bill and punches it in. While she's getting his change, Zoa talks beside her. "Can I invite you, Tita?"

Napalingon si Nadia sa bata. Her backpack now swings from one of her shoulders, its zipper half-open, and on her hand is what seems like a card. Nadia throws a side-glance to Eli who seems to be keeping his expression neutral. Is this what the apology is for?

Nadia hands Eli his change, pretending that their fingers brushing for a second or two did not just send waves of electricity through her entire being. She wipes the imaginary creases on the lap of her dress with her palms to brush it away, before facing Zoa.

"Your birthday?" she asks, crouching a bit.

Zoa nods eagerly. Nadia opens the card, pulling the ribbon off and carefully unlatching the die-cut design that's keeping it closed. Nasa loob ang detalye ng party ni Zo tomorrow. She looks up at Zo again, her heart sinking a little when she knows she has to say no to her hopeful face.

She likes the kid. In the few instances that they talked, she was really kind to her and just plain lovely. Nadia instantly developed some sort of fondness over her as she reminds her of her siblings when they were much younger. And generally, she just likes kids.

Pero hindi lang naman iyon ang kino-consider niya ngayon. The kid wants to invite her, probably thinking that she's still 'friends' with her uncle. Well, she is. She thinks they are friends. She wants them to be friends. Pero alam niyang hindi sila friends in the sense that she's actually welcome to this kid's party. The last time she met Eli's sister, things did not really pan out well. Besides, baka close friends and family lang pala ang invited talaga. She's not sure that she qualifies.

"Thank you for inviting me. Can I keep this?" she asks. Zoa nods. Nadia crouches to her height. "But I'm sorry I can't go. Tita Nadi is very busy tomorrow." She doesn't know that, pero iyon lang naman ang puwede niyang sabihin sa bata.

The disappointment is visible on Zo's face. So she doesn't have to look at it and feel more guilty, Nadia pulls her in and gives her a hug. "But happy birthday!" she says, rubbing the kid's back in an attempt to comfort her.

When she pulls away, Zoa merely nods at her. Nadia grabs both her hands and holds them tight. "I'm really sorry."

"It's okay," Zo says. "Thank you po."

"Alam mo, I'll give you cookies," Nadia offers, letting go of her hand. She quickly reaches for the to-go boxes and places four chocolate chip cookies on them, making a mental note to not forget to record it later before she leaves today's payments and receipts to one of the employees.

"And cake, as an early birthday present." She leaves the box at the counter, gets a plate, and takes a slice of chocolate cake. She grabs a spoon before handing it to Zozo, who receives it with both her hands. She's smiling now and that's good. "I'll get you a gift."

Zozo looks up from the cake slice to her eyes. She glances at her uncle standing so stiffly like a guard in front of the counter before returning her gaze to her. "You can hand it to Tito El."

Eli clears his throat. Loudly. Napalingon si Nadia sa kaniya. She takes the box of cookies and tapes it closed, before handing it to him. She shakes her head when she sees him opening his wallet, most likely to pay.

She sees his chest move when he sighs. Na kay Zoa ang tingin nito nang magsalita, "Or to Tito Migs, right?" He takes the box.

"But sabi mo you're more f—"

Nadia didn't quite understand what Zo was saying because Eli was already beside her before she could even finish. "Okay, that's it," he gruffs, holding her by the shoulders and maneuvering her back to their table. "Come, eat your cake."

Eli comes back to the counter, and Nadia wishes that the lights inside conceals the way she's blushing. He smiles sheepishly before leaning over. "Sorry."

She nods, looking down at the drawer and getting the receipts and her pen back—anything to take her eyes off him. "It's okay." She glances at Zoa who's already too busy eating her cake. She picks up the invitation. "Cute ng invitation," she adds before putting it inside her handbag.

They both turn silent after. Nadia looks up at him when he sighs, still leaning on the counter. She blinks multiple times, as if that's a way to shield herself from getting mesmerized, when they lock their gazes. "I'm sorry, Nadi."

The way he said her name replays in her head a couple of times, before she finally figures out what this is about.

He's not talking about Zo's birthday.

She smiles. She doesn't think that he needs to apologize, but she'll take it. She thinks it's nice to hear. "I'm fine," she assures him.

"You look it."

She stops herself from drawing another meaning, and an entirely different one, from what he just said. He's just being polite. He's not hitting on her or anything.

"You . . ." She wants to return the compliment, pero nagkabuhol-buhol ang dila niya when their eyes meet again. Their gazes just keep snapping together like magnets.

Afraid that giving him a flattering remark would reveal that her big, fat crush on him never really went away, she says, "You need a haircut."

Eli stops leaning on the counter. He runs his fingers through his hair, checking his faint reflection on the glass pastry display. "You think so?"

"Yup," mabilis niyang sagot, stopping herself from running her mouth and telling him that he looks fine even with his hair this thick.

He chuckles. "Thank you."

She nods. There's a small smile on his face after. "I'll go with Zo."

After a little more than ten minutes, Zo appears beside her and tells her goodbye. Nadia catches Elias looking back at her before closing the door behind him.

* * *

"ARE YOU OKAY?" Elias asks Zo the moment they are out of Butter. He takes her backpack and slings it over his shoulder. He holds her hand on the way down the stairs because she insists on carrying the box of cookies instead of having her hand on the railings.

His niece nods, albeit weakly. She glances up at him. "I'm sorry. Earlier."

He shakes his head, takes her hand up and leans down a little to kiss the back of her palm. "Don't worry, I know you are."

When they reach the ground floor, he lets go of her hand. She wraps her free arm around herself. "I'm sad that she's not going."

Elias sighs. "Me, too, baby." He can be honest with the kid.

She looks up at him, lifting the box in her hand. "You want a cookie?"

That makes him smile. He nods. "Yeah. Let's eat in the car." The car makes a brief alarm when he unlocks it.

Zoa walks ahead of him, stops beside the backseat, and turns to look at him again. "But the crumbs . . ."

He shrugs, then gets the door for her. "It's fine." He sets down her backpack beside her when she's in.

"'Pag kay Mommy, bawal. Makalat," Zo says while putting on her seatbelt.

Elias tugs on it lightly just to make sure that it's locked. "Just try lang na 'wag magkalat."

"Okay," she chirps. She peels the tape off the box of cookies on her lap. "You're the best."

Napataas ang kilay ni Elias doon. He stretches an arm out over the back of the driver's and the shotgun seat, leaning in to get a good look of his niece's face. "Really?"

"I like you more than Tito Migs," Zoa says, already one bite in on one cookie, making him laugh.

He splits one of the cookies in two and takes a half with him. "I know, sweetheart."

Elias drives her home. When he's back at his room, alone with his printed notes that he's only halfway through reading, he recalls what Zo told him earlier—the bit about Nadi having the choice to just not reply if she doesn't want to. Sending a message is completely up to him, provided that she doesn't have him blocked, or she doesn't tell him to stop.

He gets it. But still, he doesn't want to be a bother to her. He gets up from the corner of his bed and paces around his room, hoping that he would stumble upon the right decision to make. After walking around in circles, he stops in front of the mirror attached to his closet.

She said he needs a haircut. He makes a mental note to do it tomorrow before Zo's party.

He exits his room. Maybe he will find the answer in the kitchen. He leans on the counter after downing a glass of water, hands still fiddling with his phone. He knows they ended things somehow amicably, but what he does not really know is what goes on in her head—if she finds him annoying, or if he's making her uncomfortable, among other things. How can he make a decision if there's no way for him to find those out?

But maybe that's just how it is. The answers always reveal themselves. It just so happens that sometimes they don't show up at the most ideal time. But he'll know.

He'll figure it out.

Ganito na lang: if she doesn't reply, he will stop. After all, hindi naman importante ang sasabihin niya ngayon. Next time, he would only message her if it's something important, or if she does it first. Or in the slim chance that she explicitly asks him to. If she doesn't reply now, titigil na siya. He would take it as a sign that she's not ready to have even the smallest interaction with him. She might be just being polite earlier, anyway.

It's his first time in several days that he's visiting her name in his inbox. It's also the first time he's composing a proper message and hitting send since two weeks ago when all he did was spell out her name on the message box and delete it. He drops his phone on the kitchen counter as if it's burning his hand when he's done.

Ang daming tumatakbo sa isip niya pagkatapos. Unang-una na iyong ano'ng gagawin niya if she ignores his message and then he sees her in person again. Nakakahiya. Does he need to bring it up and explain? Or do they just go about it like this never happened?

And if they don't stumble upon each other again, paano na? He made a deal with himself not to bother her anymore if she doesn't respond, and he's not intending to break it. Pero ano na lang ang mangyayari sa kaniya?

To say that he's relieved when he sees the notice changing from Delivered to Read is an understatement. It means that she doesn't have his contact blocked. He doesn't even care kung napindot lang ni Nadi iyong message niya at wala naman talaga itong intensiyong basahin. At least one of his questions is finally answered: she does not have him blocked!

He walks away from the counter to refill his glass. He grabs the jug from the fridge, too nervous to peel his eyes off his phone screen for too long. He's pouring water in his glass when his phone chimes.

She replies.

He spills water all over the kitchen counter, almost drowning his phone in the process.