Charlie really loved her family; there was no doubt about that. She liked them, even. But sometimes–especially on a day when she's understaffed and always on alert for anything that could go wrong—being with them was more draining than a payday Friday dinner rush.
"Charlie?"
She looked up and found Sid standing before her, holding two large plastic cups that she recognized were from Earl and Grey's, as well as two paper straws. "Milk tea?" he asked.
He looked hesitant like he was a little afraid to talk to her when she was the one who had some explaining to do. "I'd love that," Charlie replied, smiling. "Thank you, Sid."
He motioned to the chair across her, where her sister had been sitting ten minutes earlier. She nodded, and he slid into it while putting the drink and the straw in front of her.
"Signature Grey, fifty percent sugar, extra pearl," Charlie read out from the label as she unwrapped her straw. "How did you know this was my usual?"
"I asked Soren at Earl and Grey's for recommendations. He saw my apron and told me this was your usual order," Sid said. "He says hi, by the way. He's a very cheerful guy."
"NomCom's very own sunshine." She stuck the straw in the cup and took a sip, the sweetness of the drink and the chewy sago giving her a much-needed dose of dopamine. "Ah, thank you for this, Sid."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
The confusion and disappointment she saw in his eyes earlier had now faded, and instead, his eyes just had a mix of kindness and curiosity. Charlie's heart softened—not that it had been hard before this, but at least she was now less afraid of being honest with Sid about what happened earlier.
She took another sip from her drink. "I'm sorry," she said. "First off, you really didn't do anything wrong. It's just that...my family. I just want them to have the best."
Sid's eyebrows rose, and Charlie realized what her last sentence implied. "Not that what you did was wrong, no. You've been doing a great job. But whenever my family drops by to eat here, I feel like they're doing an inspection. I don't want them to find something to criticize or correct in what we're doing, so I thought it was better to make new ones. At least if they do say something, it's on me. I'm sorry for ignoring your efforts."
Sid took a long, thoughtful sip from his drink, then asked, "Why do you feel like that whenever your family comes over? Don't they just want to see you?"
"I know that," she said with a sigh, shaking her head. "I'm the youngest in my family, and it's always that they're in my business. I know they mean well, and it's their way of taking care of me by making sure I don't have a hard time with anything. But sometimes, they're just too overprotective. I'm twenty-six already, for god's sake. I'm old enough to make decisions for myself, and sometimes I need to learn from my mistakes, you know?"
Charlie paused, breathless from her ranting. Then she groaned, covering her face with her hands. "Oh my god, I'm such a brat. I'm so sorry, Sid. For this, and for earlier. Really sorry."
She didn't know what to expect, but Sid's laughter was definitely the least of them. That, and the warmth of his hand tugging gently at her wrist. "Charlie, it's okay. I get it."
Peeking at him from between her fingers, she asked, "You do?"
Sid nodded. "At first, I was disappointed because it felt like I failed an evaluation from my boss. But I figured it out when your brother–"
"Future brother-in-law."
"Your sister's boyfriend went to the stall," he continued, not missing a beat. "I saw how panicked you were and realized it's probably not about me. So don't worry, I'm fine. I totally understand."
"Thank you." She dropped her hands, heaving a sigh of relief. "I really don't mean to be a brat about it, especially since I have a lot of friends who are older siblings themselves, so I know they have it harder than me, and–"
"Charlie," Sid cut in, raising a hand, interrupting her mid-ramble. "You don't have to explain. You're also talking to a bunso, not just in my family but also with my friends." He leaned his elbows on the table then motioned for Charlie to come closer. "Do you want to know what my family and friends said when I told them I wanted to get this piercing?" he asked, pointing to his eyebrow.
Charlie swallowed, feeling a strange warmth in her chest at his low voice and their closeness, despite the table separating them. His clean, baby powder scent teased her nose. With the sun about to set, the soft NomCom lights illuminated his face, making his eyes look extra sparkly. There was something about Sid's eyes that Charlie found almost magical—it was as if his eyes were filled with stars, and if she looked at them long enough, she'd find a galaxy somewhere inside him.
The silver on his eyebrow glinted, distracting her from her thoughts. Blinking away the thoughts about his lips, she turned her focus back to what he said and asked, "What did they say?"
"Sid, are you okay? Sid, do you want to talk about it? Sid, are you going through something? Sid, are you rebelling or something?" With every question, his voice changed, mimicking whoever it was that asked him that. Finally, leaning back in his chair, he added in his normal voice, "It was then I learned that I shouldn't have said anything and just got home one day with it. Boom, surprise, everyone!"
Charlie grinned. "At least you went through with it! I remember bringing up the idea of moving to my own apartment one time, and my entire family looked at me like I had grown another head. When my mom asked me what's wrong with staying at home with them, I lost my resolve."
"You know, if you did move out, I bet they would be calling you every night and find all the ways and reasons to visit you. Every weekend for the first month I moved to St. Tropez, I'd always find someone at the lobby waiting for me. My friends, especially, would actually go here from Antipolo, asking if I want some company." Sid shook his head in part exasperation. "My refrigerator was full of food because they kept bringing me cooked food and groceries. Not that I mind, but also, I would have liked to experience feeding myself."
"Right?" Charlie exclaimed. "While I didn't get to move out, I did rock their world when I said I quit my full-time job to focus on Wraps & Roll. On the day before I resigned, my sister made me write the longest pros and cons list I've ever done on whether I should do it or not. Kuya Gabriel was the only one on my side; he's also an entrepreneur, so he helped sell my idea to them." She shook her head, remembering how frustrated she had been, how it felt like they were all ganging up on her. "And I can make any of these wraps we make here at home for them every day if they want to, but they still choose to go here every week—sometimes even more—because they want to pay. And see me at work. While leaving all these little suggestions on how I could improve things."
"That's very nice of them, though. Buying instead of acting entitled to free things."
"I know, and I appreciate that." Charlie carefully traced the Earl and Grey's logo on the condensation outside her cup, then looked up at Sid. "I'm sure you also miss your supply of food."
"Of course. My mom makes the best adobo."
"Oh no, my dad makes the best adobo," she argued. "Anyway, I am grateful. And I love them. I just wish that they'd trust me more sometimes and stop–"
"--treating me like a baby!" Sid chorused with her.
Their surprise mirrored in each other's eyes, making them both burst out laughing. Sid's shoulders quaked, his eyes disappearing with mirth while Charlie doubled over, thumping the table with her fist. It had been a while since she laughed like this, and it felt so good. Even more, it felt so good to laugh like this with Sid.
"To being the bunso," she said, lifting her milk tea toward him when they both caught their breaths. "May the adults in our lives see us as adults."
"And may we let go of our stubbornness and have the patience for them when they forget." Sid raised his own drink and clinked it against hers, his eyes sparkling. "Cheers."
A comfortable silence fell between them, and Charlie felt a little excited thrill rush through her veins whenever their eyes met as the silence stretched on. It wasn't quite like the kilig that she had been feeling around him since they met, or even when she was chatting with him on KiligFinder. It was somewhat weightier, more substantial than the flutters then, making her feel grounded rather than floating away. She realized that beyond the two of them working together and having a crush on him, she could also call Sid, a friend. And it was great to know that.
That reminded her of something. "You know, I always thought you were the eldest in the family," Charlie said. "You had that vibe when we were chatting."
"I did?" Sid frowned. "Maybe it's just my full name? It does have an old guy vibe."
But she didn't know his real name in KiligFinder; that was only for their work conversations. Did he really not remember her? "Can I ask you something, Sid?"
"Sure."
"Do you know me before this? Before we met in person last week, outside of being our supplier. Have we met before?"
Charlie cringed inwardly at how the question sounded once she said it. She could have directly mentioned KiligFinder but saying that felt even sillier because if he did unmatch with her there–which he probably did—then maybe he wasn't mentioning it because it was awkward for him. And Charlie wasn't sure if she wanted to talk about what happened to them now because they're still working together. She couldn't afford a strain on that side of their relationship, at least until Mira and Sophie were back.
"Have we?" Sid looked at her thoughtfully, tilting his head to the side. "I'm sorry, I'm not very good with faces and names, to be honest. Why?"
It didn't look like he was lying. Maybe...maybe it was pointless to even try to know. It's not like they would go on a date again, anyway. "No reason, maybe it was another person." Charlie stood, picking up her drink. "Come on, let's go back. By the way, do you want some turon?"