CHAPTER 10: SOMEONE SPECIAL

THE GIRL WHO CAN’T DATE

By Eleventh

CHAPTER 10: SOMEONE SPECIAL

“For someone in love, the bravest thing to do is making that now or never decision in life. And that phone call was my kind of brave. It took a lot of courage and a couple of dials, delete, dial, delete moment to do it.” – Ira P.

2017 JOURNAL

“Hey! Are you free tonight?” Ira called. “No? Uhm, how about this afternoon? Still no? Lunch? Great! Where? Ow, the Café Piazza? Sounds good! I’ll see you later. Bye!”

Ira was never this excited. She never thought she’s gonna do something crazy.

When lunch break came, for the first time, she let her hair loose and wore a ladybug clip to keep the strands off her face. She dabbed a little lipstick which she snatched from Maggie’s table and put on some perfume.

“Going somewhere?” Skye asked suspiciously.

“I’m gonna eat my lunch… outside!” She smiled tight-lipped.

“You’re not going out somewhere and do something crazy and stupid like confessing to a guy who only looks at you like a sister, riiiiight?”

Ira crinkled her eyebrows and slightly leaned away from her colleague, gasping.

What the hell? How does this twerp know a lot of things? Did he hear me talking to Maggie about being sisterzoned? Such a nosy twerp!

“Whatever I’m gonna do is none of your business!” and she left flipping her hair.

AT CAFÉ PIAZZA

Meeting Joey at the café with an intent to confess is like meeting the director of Grayson Academy for the first time for the initial interview. It’s a nerve-wracking moment where your heart pounds twice faster than normal, where your brain shuts down in the middle of composing the best words that’ll please the other person, and where your mind juggles a series of useless thoughts, making you choose between chasing your happy ever after or letting it slip in your hands.

Standing behind the door, Ira can see Joey from his seat sipping on his hot coffee. Examining her reflection on the glass wall, she practiced her smile. She looked like sunshine in her mustard yellow hoodie jacket and skater skirt.

This is it, Ira! There’s no turning back! You have to tell him! It’s now or never!

The wind chimes belled when Ira opened the door of Café Piazza. As usual, Laura’s always the first one to greet her.

“Hey there, Sunshine! You look lovely today!”

“Thank you, Miss Laura!”

“Come here!” Laura signaled Ira with her chubby fingers to come closer to the counter so she can whisper. “Let me guess! You’re going out on a date with that guy over there, are you?”

Ira can’t help but laugh happily. “No, we’re not! Silly! We’re just good friends.”

Laura gently nodded with a pout and shrugged her shoulders. “Well! From the way you smile, I don’t think he’s just a friend.”

Then she went inside the kitchen leaving Ira still smiling uncontrollably.

“Hi, Joey!” she greeted.

“Oh, hi! Have a seat!” Ira took the seat across Joey. “You know what! I’m glad that you asked me out for lunch.”

“Really?” Ira was flattered.

“Yes! Because I’m going to introduce you to someone special to me.”

Someone special?

“What do you mean?”

This time, Ira’s smile is slowly fading as she gets a bad feeling that something she did not see coming is going to happen.

“She’s here!” Joey smiled excitedly.

This was a different smile. He never smiled at Ira like this.

He stood from his seat and met a classy and sophisticated-looking woman in her thirties who’s as tall as him. She wore a fitted black dress that seamlessly highlights her slender body. Her long straight hair carelessly falls on her shoulders making her look like an actress or a model. She has a small, pretty face that looked fresh and natural in light make-up.

Is she human? She looks… perfect!

“Love! I’m happy you made it!” There’s a twinkle in Joey’s eyes when he stared at her.

“I miss you, Mon Amour!” the woman responded with a passionate kiss on the lips and a tight hug, and stayed like that for a minute.

Ira looked away. She couldn’t handle the scene. She can tell they are so in love by the way they get lost in their own worlds. It was an eyesore, torture!

After a minute of embrace, Joey introduced his girlfriend to Ira. “Love, come here! I’d like you to meet, Ira. Remember the kid I was telling you about?”

She smiled. It was a very sweet one. “You mean Ares’ only sister?”

“Yes!”

“Hi! It’s nice to meet you. I’m Fiona!” Fiona reached out for a handshake which Ira received and gently shook it.

She knows I exist. She looks friendly and kind too. I don’t think I could hate her. If this is a movie, I won’t be good enough to be her rival.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Fiona. Here! Have a seat!” Ira offered the seat next to her, but of course, where else do girlfriends sit?

“Thank you, Ira, but I’ll just take the seat beside Joey.” Fiona kindly refused.

“Yeah! Of course!” Ira smiled awkwardly and went back to her seat.

Fiona followed Joey’s lead as he pulled the chair beside him to let her sit. Then, the gentleman called Miss Laura’s attention and ordered food for everybody. While waiting for the food, they had a little chitchat about Fiona’s delayed flight and how she calmly addressed her situation, how she managed to arrive in an unfamiliar city, and how she was surprised with the traffic in the Philippines.

“When Joey said that the traffic in the Philippines is terrible, I thought he was exaggerating.” Fiona laughed as she recalled her experience.

“Yeah! Traffic is really bad here.” Ira replied trying not to feel out of place. The way they converse is really placid, spontaneous, and fun, that’s because they have the same wavelength.

In the middle of their conversation, Joey received a call from overseas. He excused himself to take the call. Now, Ira’s left alone with Fiona. There was an awkward silence that only Ira can sense. Fiona doesn’t seem to be bothered at all.

However, it was Fiona who broke that silence.

“You don’t know how I’ve always wanted to meet you.” Fiona held both of Ira’s hands and gave her a warm smile. “I heard a lot about you and your brothers from Joey.”

Ira, though feeling uncomfortable with the stranger’s sweet gestures, responded kindly. “Oh? I didn’t know Joey has been talking about us.”

Fiona let go of her hands and tucked in the strands of her hair behind her ear. “Joey is so fond of your family. He’s jealous actually because he always wanted to have a sibling.”

“But he can’t because his parents had a hard time conceiving,” Ira added.

“True. I understand him and I could relate to him because I am my parents’ only child too. Being an only child of the family, there’s always that part of us that wishes we have someone else other than our parents. The way Joey talks about you and your brothers, I feel like I wanted to be your family too.”

Why would anyone love to be part of our family? It’s not perfect!

Ira was stunned. She never thought that some people would find their family appealing despite its imperfection - an overly kind father that doesn’t get involved much of his children’s lives, a clean freak doctor that acts like the head of the house, a freelance model who doesn’t have a dream and has no plan to commit nor settle down, a hot-tempered girl who have anger management issues, an obnoxious, vain college student who’s trying hard to be an influencer, and an adopted child who has communication problems.

“But you have each other now. You can create a whole new family together, a big one.”

“Right!” Fiona laughed. She doesn’t sound convinced. “Honestly, the thought of creating a family hasn’t crossed my mind yet, though Joey has been talking about it. I don’t think I’m ready to settle down. I can’t imagine giving up my career and be someone’s wife.”

Somehow, Ira felt confusingly bad and sad about what Fiona just said.

“I… I thought that if you finally found someone special, you would be willing to give up everything.”

“That’s what movies tell us, dear! But, uhm, love is more than just emotions. There are choices to make and sacrifices to risk. And practically speaking, you have to be wise with your choices in life so you don’t regret anything.”

Ira drank a glass of water. She wanted to be quiet but she can’t hold her thoughts at that moment. “But if you love someone, wouldn’t that person worth the risk?”

Fiona giggled. “You really are cute, Ira. Have you had someone special in your life?”

She was left speechless. Then Laura came with their food with Joey following from behind.

“So what did I miss?” Joey asked.

“Uhm, just having some girl talk. Anyway, was that work?” Fiona asked.

“You bet. Things aren’t doing well back at the office but, thank goodness, my secretary is dependable.” Joey explained while thanking Laura with his eyes for setting up the food.

Fiona sniggered. “You can always count on Caroline.”

“True! I don’t know what am I going to do without her.” He said while getting Fiona’s plate to slice the steak. Ira noticed that thoughtful gesture. “Here’s your steak, my love!”

“Thank you, Mon Amour!” Fiona immediately took a bite. She was pleased with the food that she can’t help but compliment it. “Mmm… this is good! The meat is so tender and tasty. Here! Have some!”

With Fiona’s fork, she fed him with a slice of steak. Some sauce dripped in Joey’s mouth which Fiona immediately wiped with a tissue as they exchanged grins and giggles.

It was a sight to see to some but for Ira, it crushes her heart. But funny that she couldn’t look away, instead, she watched the scene and decreed her mind that this is the reality that she needs to accept.

She observed how Joey looks at Fiona. His eyes were always glistening when he speaks but the sparkle he has for Fiona was different and special. She can tell. She had always looked straight in those eyes but could only see comfort and compassion. But for Fiona, his eyes reflect love. It was the kind of look she sought but never once found.

Ira was screaming in her head. She was so frustrated that she can’t stop twirling the pasta with her fork.

Fiona noticing Ira’s silence while playing with the pasta confronted her. “Are you okay with your food, Ira? Is it bad?”

Off guarded, she replied, “Ha? It’s fine. It’s tasty.”

“Are you sure? It seemed like you haven’t taken a bite yet. I ordered pasta for you because as far as I remember, that’s your favorite food. I wish it still is.”

Ira smiled and nodded softly.

But it wasn’t really her favorite food. Then the memory during high school days flashed back. When Joey caught her crying at the back of their school, he comforted her with food. He took her to the nearest café. Before it was Café Piazza, it was called La Lei Café back then. Joey didn’t ask her what she likes and ordered two plates of pasta. To please the guy he likes, she pretended she loved the food. That’s where the misinterpretation began.

“I was just mixing it properly, but yes, I love it!” Then Ira gobbled a spoonful of pasta in her mouth, too much that she felt like she’s going to be sick.

“Hey! Calm down! Is it that good?” Joey laughed at the sight of her seemingly enjoying her food.

“Yeah, it is!”

Ira was shoving the pasta in her mouth when suddenly she can’t move her arm. A pale white masculine hand stopped her from eating.

“That’s enough! It’s time to go!”

Ira looked up and was surprised to see Skye’s furious eyes. She hated him but for that moment, she was grateful that he came.