Darling, You.

The Ebony Pier

She seems like she’s wasting her time now…and she can be doing more eventful things like finally finding out the set of numbers she’s been trying to figure out for the past hours.

How humiliating. It’s been hours and she still couldn’t find his number. HOURS.

Normally, she could figure out those kinds of things in a matter of minutes, but the man seems to know her too well. What that fish gave was truly a challenge.

"We're back!" Another disembodied voice announces unabashedly. Everyone turns to watch the two newcomers enter the meeting room. The third sibling, Narni – rocking her new hairdo, a pixie cut – sashays her way through the room and takes a seat beside Sienna. “Ah, Nina, about time you arrived.”

Following Narni is the fifth sibling, Loreta, as timid as ever. Catalina paid no heed to Narni’s remark. She drew in a nervous breath when Loreta quietly took the free seat beside her. Her younger sister regards her with a nod and a small smile. Catalina did the same, hoping that it did not come off as stiff.

Catalina can handle any of her blunt, stern, and loud siblings, but the only person that she always finds herself tense around is the soft-spoken and shy Loreta. She finds it weird that she’s like this around her now when, in fact, they were the closest growing up. Loreta is three years younger than her and spent most of her years looking up to Catalina. Loreta was always regarded as Catalina’s best friend. Catalina only loved her out of the siblings because she had such a pleasing personality that even she was envious of her outlook in life. The best part of Loreta was that she listened to everything Catalina wanted to say. She was the only person Catalina loved to share her innermost thoughts with and she isn’t even considered ‘chatty’ to begin with.

Through her peripheral vision, she warily watches Loreta set up a small notebook in the space before her, ready for the meeting to begin.

It feels weird to go from talking every minute of the day to suddenly not talking at all.

And Catalina knows it’s all her fault.

Rio suddenly claps his hands out loud, breaking Catalina from her reverie. “All right! Now that everyone is here, I believe that we may begin.” One of the assistants then carries a tray of glasses filled with sparkling wine and begins to leave one glass on the table on each sibling’s right side. “Trento and Palermo are not joining us tonight because–”

“Ughhh,” Sienna interrupted in a drawl, “yes, we all know. They’re busy with their last year of university.”

Rio dismisses the interruption and explains in a voice he uses when explaining things to his four-year-old children, “I simply said that for the sake of the minutes of the meeting which Lora is willfully doing.” He brings a hand in Loreta’s direction. “Anyway, I called for a meeting since The Ebony Pier is celebrating its 20th year anniversary in a month. The general manager sent me a proposal of the theme of the celebration, all the plans they wish to do during the celebration, and the logistics behind it.”

“Don’t they do this every year?” Narni asks. “Why call for a meeting now?”

“Well, this year marks their new collaboration with Marina Sol Cruises Inc.”

“Ohhhh,” Narni says softly. “And we are connected to this, how?”

“The board of the hotel directors wishes to make changes to the building to accommodate what Marina Sol wants for the collaboration to happen.”

“What kind of changes would that be, then?” Catalina asks, genuinely curious.

“Interior design is one of the changes,” Rio answers, “but the major one would be highlighting a viewing deck on the eighth floor that is overlooking the pier.”