Loren has been typing away on her laptop for the past couple of hours with only a couple of plants and a cup of coffee to keep her company. With only a couple of days left before having to report to her advisor on her dissertation progress, she's working double-time to get at least 7,000 words out before the deadline.
Her mind went into hyperfocus and typed word after word after word. The next thing she knew, she hit a few words shy of 7,500. She saved her work and closed her laptop to give herself a break.
Soon after, Loren opened her balcony and stepped out into some fresh air. Much as she would like to go down for a bit of a walk, more work awaits her in preparation for her flight back to Manila the following week.
Yet something didn't feel entirely right today.
She scrolled her emails from her phone, then it dawned upon her. "Pia hasn't emailed me the past couple of days."
A wave of anxiety suddenly hit her upon that realization. "Pia's usually on the dot when it comes to emails. One email, I would understand, but two?"
She paced around and typed Pia a message. "Pilar, okay ka lang ba? Bakit hindi ka nagpaparamdam?" Send.
"Text me as soon as you receive this." Send.
"Please talk to me." Send.
Hopefully, three messages will wake her up.
Just as she was about to settle down, her phone went off showing a FaceTime alert with Risa's name on it. When she tapped the accept button, Risa waved at her from the screen. "Hi, Ate Lo! Nangugnumusta lang."
"Risa! Sakto lang timing mo at kakatapos ko lang magsulat ng dissertation," Loren waved back. "It's been a while since nag-Facetime tayo. How's things over there?"
Risa smiled. "Okay naman kami rito. Naipasa na ung budget on third reading so double time kami on the other bills in the calendar bago mag-adjourn."
"Family doing well?"
"My kids are safe, Leni and I are still doing well, sa awa ng Diyos.", Risa continued. "Holding the fort in many ways is very stressful, pero kinakaya naman."
The two of them shared a laugh afterward. "I know you have a lot on your plate, Ris. Just checking if you're still taking care of yourself."
Loren and Risa go way back - they've worked on the same negotiation table back when they represented the government many decades ago, back when they were active in the peace process.
So many things have happened since then and they've been on and off-contact for different points in time until they worked together in the Senate in 2016.
Of all the senators she's worked with recently, Risa's the one who knows most of her "state secrets", and Loren knows quite a bit of Risa's own as well. She mentored Risa a lot, especially in her first years as Senator, but their friendship ended up being more like a sisterhood that remained even while being on different Senate blocs for most of their time together.
Seeing Risa transition from an idealistic peace advocate to one of the most formidable Senators felt like seeing a little sister grow up and come into her own. If anything, it's Loren who ends up learning a lot more from Risa than she thought it would be possible.
Much as she wanted to talk to Risa more, only one question filled her mind. "Risa, is Pia okay? Mga 2 days na siya hindi nagpaparamdam."
Risa sighed on the other line. "Well, she finally showed up to work today, but before that she has been taking sessions online na walang video."
Alarm bells blared around Loren's head. "Bakit? "
"She's still kind of shaken from what happened to us a couple of days ago."
Loren's eye started twitching. "Anong nangyari?"
Risa drank from her water bottle and started speaking again. "Well, a couple of days ago, there were parliamentarians from Spain who did a courtesy call here in the Senate. Guess who was among them? Mr. Felipe Morales."
"Tall guy, "good looking", has a rosary bracelet around his wrist?" Loren asked, drawing air quotes on the 'good looking' part.
As Loren feared, Risa nodded her head. "Clearly the guy still had his eye on Pia and kept harassing her when the three of us had coffee."
Loren seethed in white-hot rage at the thought of someone even looking at Pia in such a way. There's no time to think - she had to do something. "Okay, I'm going home ASAP."
"Ate L–"
She quickly dropped the FaceTime call and booked the earliest possible flight to Manila.
A few hours later, Loren dashed through the Heathrow airport and made it just in time for her red-eye flight back to Manila. She thanked her lucky stars for adrenaline and her trusty sneakers for not failing her for once.
After 13 hours on the air (and a short layover in Hong Kong), she's again rushing to get to the end of NAIA Terminal 3. She gave 1000 pesos to one of the airport taxi drivers and had him take the fastest route to the GSIS building where the Senate lies.
Loren stomped around the halls of the 9th floor with two pieces of luggage in tow and hurled expletives around everyone she sees, occasionally stopping at an unsuspecting staff member before moving to the next. "TANGINA, NANGIGIGIL AKO. NASAAN SIYA? TELL ME WHERE HE IS."
Staff members from various Senate offices peeked in the hallway to see what the commotion is about, but at this point, Loren didn't care about the stares or the jetlag. She just needed to let out that seething rage building up for the past 13 hours.
Her tunnel vision led her straight to Pia's Senate office. Without even knocking, she opened Pia's door and continued her tirade. "FELIPE MORALES, IF I SEE YOU, TANGINA MAMUMURO KA SA AKIN."
Pia stepped back upon seeing Loren in such a state. "Love?"
Loren pointed at Pia and darted her with a stare so intense it could turn her to stone. "Nang-galing ba siya dito, Pilar? BECAUSE HE WILL PAY FOR THIS."
"...they already left last night."
Upon hearing that news, Loren deflated and dragged her feet to the couch on the left side of the room. "Nag-book ako ng flight tapos hindi ko pala siya maabutan?"
Pia sat down beside her, but kept her distance. "Dear, London, England ka kasi galing, hindi London, Quezon City."
Loren buried her head in her hands. "I'm not in the mood for your sarcasm today, Pilar."
After a brief moment of silence, Pia continued her questions. "Teka lang, diba next week ung flight mo? Bakit ka nandito?"
"Dalawang araw kang hindi nag-eemail, dear. Paano kung may iba palang nangyari sa iyo?", Loren said, getting even more irritated than she thought it would be possible.
Pia bolted up and let out a sarcastic laugh. "Oh my God, Lorna Regina, pwede naman kasing busy lang, diba?"
"Eh, ano ung sabi ni Risa na 2 days ka raw hindi pumasok ng session?" Loren questioned. "Sarili mong girlfriend, hindi mo sabihan na may problema?"
Pia turned her back and fixed the papers on her desk. "Relax, dear. I'm fine. Yes, he made a pass on me, but Risa put a stop to it before anything else happened."
An air of desperation leaked into Loren's voice. "Ganyan na lang ba palagi pag may problema, Pilar? Just disregard anything I have to say and pretend everything's fine?"
While Loren was talking, Pia just kept shuffling papers and other items around her office.
Loren then continued through hot tears. "Tangina, Pia, why do I have to beg to get you to listen to me? I go out of my way to give you my full attention, tapos pag ako na magsasalita, tatalikuran mo lang ako? Sa totoo lang, nakakapagod na."
Upon hearing those last words, Pia stopped what she was doing and faced Loren once more with a poker face that was trying to hide tears. "Reg, do you want to stay at my house for a while? Doon muna tayo magpahinga."
The fatigue and jetlag from such a long flight have seeped into Loren's bones. "Okay."
Pia then grabbed Loren's luggage and led her to her car. After a short drive (with Loren sleeping for most of the car ride), they arrived at Pia's house, where they will both stay for the rest of the week.