I gave my brother a year to try to win Mira's heart.
It's been more than a year since I admitted to myself that I was already falling for that undoubtedly crazy yet undeniably beautiful and kindhearted woman. It's been too long since the realization that no matter how hard I try to hide what I've been feeling, there was no denying that after years of shutting everyone else, the time came for me to welcome the person who would change everything for me, the woman who would rearrange my messed-up life.
I miss you, Mira.
****
"Hey, we're already here."
It had been too long a day for Mira. After that tiny escapade of ours at the mall, with a remembrance in the form of a sweet photo, I made it a point to take her home. Marahan kong tinapik ang braso niya dahil tulog na tulog siya habang bumabiyahe kami pauwi.
She opened her eyes, yawned, and said, "Ang bilis naman. Inaantok pa ako, e."
I smiled. Para talaga siyang bata. "Then continue sleeping in your own place. O baka naman gusto mong buhatin pa kita?"
She stuck her tongue out at me, making me laugh. "Asa ka." She clambered, reaching for her teddy bear from the backseat of the car.
I turned the engine off, got out, and opened the car door for her. Lumabas naman siya bitbit ang stuffed toy sabay ngiti sa akin. Her smile was shy and awkward.
"Good night, Sir Vren. Thank you ulit dito kay MB."
"You look funny," I told her, grinning. "Good night, dimwit."
"Aba, sinong dimwit, ha? Freak!" She narrowed her eyes at me, trying hard not to smile.
"Pssh. Crazyhead," I retorted.
"Para tayong baliw dito." She rolled her eyes. "Good night na talaga! See you tomorrow, sir."
"See you tomorrow, Mira." This time, I gave her a genuine smile. "I had a great time."
"Ditto." Then she seized one of her teddy bear's arms and waved it. "Bye-bye, Mr. Montevilla. Ingat ka."
With a smile on my face, I drove back to my unit.
****
When I was back at my own place, I instantly noticed my phone, unattended on my bed. I must've enjoyed the whole day so much, its absence didn't even occur to me.
Kaagad ko namang tiningnan ito, wondering if I missed any important call or message. But to my surprise, there were only three unread messages and five missed calls. Already a low count by my standards, what was more surprising was that they all came from the same number.
All from Dad.
Agad naman akong napaisip. My father was someone who seldomly kept in touch. Minsan lang kaming mag-usap. Being a stern, silent, and serious man, kapag ginusto ka niyang kausapin, malamang ay may malalim na dahilan.
From: Dad
Vren, I need to talk to you.
Why aren't you answering my calls?
Give me a ring, ASAP.
Obeying Dad's last message, I made a call. He picked up on the second ring.
"Vren," he acknowledged from the other line. "I've been waiting for your response the whole day."
"Sorry, Dad. I left my phone and I just came home," I said, my tone expressionless, trying to hide my apprehension. A grave feeling was starting to form inside me. "What's up?"
"I need to speak to you about Medialink,"
Dad said.
"What about the company?" I answered, rather sharply. I hate it when I get bothered with the way I run Medialink.
Dad cleared his throat, biding for time. "Your brother... He told me he's worried. Lately, you seem distracted at work."
"He told you what?" My apprehension turned into a great annoyance for Vince. Kailan pa siya naging concerned sa lagay ng Medialink? He has AMMC to mind, for fuck's sake.
"You heard me, Vren. Vince told me about this woman..."
"Whatever Vince told you is complete rubbish," I told Dad, aware of my rising voice. In my mind, everything was starting to click in place, and I was already cursing Vince. Real hard.
"We both know that he doesn't give a damn about Medialink!" I continued. "I can't believe how stupid you are to fall for his —"
"Son, you know how it'll disappoint me if the company gets messed up again," Dad cut in. "Tell you what, Vince was really reluctant to tell me all about it. He knows how you will react. But your brother just has the best interest of the company at heart, that's all."
"For fuck's sake, Dad! Can you please stop listening to Vince's antics and start believing me instead, just for once? Medialink is in a perfect state, and for you and your backstabbing son's information, we have already partnered with Arcodas! Ring a bell, Dad, huh? I'm sure it does, as Arcodas is no less than the top global ad solutions company! Medialink is about to open an annex in Canada!"
Frustrated towards him and my no-good brother, I continued spitting half-assed words to Dad. "In case you still don't believe me, in case Vince's words are still law to you, may I just tell you that the first thing I'm gonna do tomorrow is to fly to Canada to start that goddamn company expansion project!"
Hindi ko na pinag-isipan pa ang mga sinabi ko. Basta, ang alam ko lang, galit ako. Galit ako kay Dad dahil napakadali sa kanyang paniwalaan ang magaling kong kapatid. At mas lalong galit ako kay Vince dahil hindi ko akalaing pati si Mira, idadamay niya sa katarantaduhan niya. I couldn't believe he'd stoop that low just to succeed in discrediting me. Or was it the other way around? Did Vince hope that in getting Dad to intervene, he'll get me out of the way and have Mira all to himself?
Either way, this still proved that my older brother was nothing but a two-faced jackass.
I could hear Dad retorting from the other line, but I wasn't really listening. There was an odd ringing in my ears, which could only mean that I was pissed off beyond belief, so I hung up. The next thing I knew, I was driving
recklessly to AMMC.
****
"I'm here to see my brother Vince," I told Vince's assistant upon arriving at his office. "I don't fucking care what he's doing now, just tell him I'm waiting for him."
She consulted her notes, hands slightly shaking in obvious fear of me. Afterwards, she looked at me with terrified eyes. "Sir Vren... I'm afraid Doc Vince is in the OR. He's unavailable probably until another hour, pero pwede niyo po siyang hintayin —"
"The hell I care!" I told her. "Go fetch him!"
The assistant made no effort to move apart from shaking her head, and that's when I lost control. "What? I said, go fetch my fucking brother!"
Trembling, she got up and ran towards the operating room. After a good ten minutes or so, she returned and this time, Vince was following her, still wearing his green scrubs.
Halata ang ang inis sa mukha ni Vince. "What do you want, Vren? Hindi ba sinabi na sa 'yong nasa OR ako —"
Sinugod ko siya at walang pag-aalinlangang sinuntok sa kabila ng pagsigaw ng assistant niya.
Napaupo naman si Vince sa sahig habang
pinupunasan ang dumudugo niyang ilong. "Bro, anong problema mo? You come here and —"
Lumuhod ako at kinuwelyuhan siya. "What the fuck did you tell Dad, Vince? How dare you feed him lies at my expense? Pati si Mira, dinamay mo pa!"
His face hardened. "Oh, that. I told Dad the truth, Vren. I told him you're neglecting the company, na wala ka nang ginawa kundi bumuntot kay Mira —"
I gave his face another well-aimed blow. His assistant was frantically trying to stop me, but I gave her one dangerous look, enough to shut her up and make her backtrack.
"Damn it, Vren!," he cursed. "May balak ka bang basagin ang mukha ko?"
I sneered at him. "Thanks for giving me the idea, Vince."
Lalo namang nag-init ang ulo ko nang ngumisi rin sa akin ang gago. He looked gruesome with his bleeding nose. "Do it, then! Ganyan ka naman, 'di ba? Resorting to violence is the only thing you know how to do very well!"
I inched my face closer to his. "At least, I'm not like you. I'm not a no-good, tattletale, weak git. You want Mira for yourself?" I asked while rising to my feet. "Fine! I'm giving you a year. Tomorrow, I'll head to Canada for Medialink's expansion. But I'm coming back. And when I do, make sure she's already yours. Or else, I'm getting back what is supposed to be mine."
Tumalikod na ako at walang lingon-lingong lumabas ng opisina niya.
****
Truth be told, I had no intentions of going abroad to oversee Medialink's expansion. Heck, I already rejected the idea when Arcodas' CEO, Mr. Kenvick Bosch, mentioned it to me. I told him we could just focus on Medialink and Arcodas's partnership by increasing our companies' influences locally. At lalo pang na-justify ang rejection kong iyon nang ma-realize kong may isang taong hindi ko kayang iwanan— si Mira.
But of course, pumasok na naman sa eksena ang magaling na si Vince. He told our father of my alleged neglect of the company. Not wanting to disappoint Dad, but more importantly, not wanting Mira to get dragged into our messed-up family affairs, I was forced to leave for Canada. Isa pa, ayoko munang makita si Vince dahil baka lalo pang lumala ang away namin.
But like what I told my idiot of a brother, I intend to come back.
I'm coming back for Mira.