Chapter 2

AS SOON as Raquel entered their mansion, all her nephews ran to get the shopping bags from her hands. They’re all giggling in excitement while opening the paper bags. “Come and hug me first,” she said to the kids. “I miss the house!”

“What about me, Raquel? Where are my presents?”

Raquel paused. The voice was familiar to her. She turned around and found her mother descending from the stairs while smiling at her.

“Mom! I miss you!” She ran to her mother and gave her a warm hug. “What a surprise! Did you come home for the holidays?”

“Well, yeah,” her Mom said when she released her. “I miss you, too. How’s my only daughter? Are you still keeping yourself busy at work?”

Raquel is a pastry chef with her own small café. After graduating from a business course, she decided to put up a small café from her inheritance money when her dad died. It’s been six years, and Raquel thought that she’s a few more steps away from success.

“Christmas season is quite busy. Love Shots Café needs some changes in the interior and menu,” she replied with a smile.

“Do you have a new boyfriend?”

If Raquel was currently eating right now, she might have thrown it. Her mother came home to the Philippines to just ask if she has a new boyfriend. She can’t believe it.

“You still don’t have a boyfriend, Raquel?” her Mom asked again.

Raquel scratched the corner of her brow. “Mom, did you come home just to ask me that?”

“Yes! That’s the only reason why I went home,” her mother replied without hesitation. “I’m worried that you might become an old maid and alone—just like your uncle.”

Raquel chuckled. “There’s nothing wrong with being alone, Mom—”

“That’s a lame excuse!” Mom cupped her forehead. “Look at yourself. You’re not young anymore—”

“Fely, don’t stress yourself. You just arrived. Why don’t you take a rest first?” Raquel’s uncle butts in. He was watching them from the kitchen door with his apron and pot-gloved hands. His Uncle Ted’s smile widened when she looked at him. “I cooked your favorite Chicken Adobo, Rocky.”

Raquel giggled. She missed being called Rocky by her favorite Uncle. “I bought something for you, Uncle,” she said and handed him the paper bag.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have to…” He peeked inside the bag and smiled. “Perfect! I was about to get myself a new apron. Thanks, Raquel.”

When his Uncle took Van Gogh’s inspired apron out of the paper bag, she remembered the jerk she encountered earlier. The guy that almost killed her! She might be overreacting, but hell! She’s pissed off. Is he the son of Zeus? The nerve!

Her mother walked towards them. “By the way, Ted, have you told her about—”

“Not yet, Fely. I think it’s better if you’re the one to tell her,” his Uncle replied quickly as if avoiding something. “I’ll leave you two first. I will check the dish in the oven.”

Raquel frowned at her mother, who was looking at her with an arched brow. And, based on her tone of voice while asking her Uncle, she had a feeling that she won’t like what she’s going to say.

_______________________

“WHAT?! A wedding? No way! I don’t want to get married!” Raquel couldn’t believe it when her mother told her about her plans soon.

“Raquel, please. Calm down and listen first,” her Uncle said calmly. But darn, she can’t just calm.

“I can’t believe this is happening...” She walked back and forth in front of them. “Uncle, tell me it isn’t real.” She caught her head. “Wedding? I still have a lot of plans. I don’t want to settle down!”

But, her Uncle just shrugged his shoulders. Raquel couldn’t digest what’s happening!

“Raquel, don’t be so stubborn. You should felt relieved because I found a man that you could marry. Don’t you see it? I’m doing you a favor, young lady,” she said as she gave her a once-over. “With that kind of fashion sense and personality, I doubt you could find a man that can accept you as her wife.”

Raquel was doomed. She looked at her black cotton tees and ripped jeans. “What do you expect me to wear while making baking cakes and making coffees? I’m a barista, Mom. I’m not a rampage model,” she said sarcastically. She’s beginning to hate this conversation even more. “And, please, I can find my partner. You don’t have to do this old-fashioned stuff! Arranged marriage? We’re in the 21st century, mother.”

The old lady shook her head. “Raquel, you’re already twenty-seven years old; in that age, you should’ve been married with—”

“Let’s not talk about my age, please,” she cut off immediately. She knew that she’ll bring up again about her first-slash-ex-boyfriend. This is fucking ridiculous…

“I don’t understand why you didn’t end up with Colton,” her mother continued. “Why did you let him go? You can’t find another man like him. Colton is an ideal man, a handsome Engineer, intellectual—”

“Fely...” Raquel’s Uncle interrupted after noticing Raquel’s silence.

It’s been years since Raquel and Colton broke up. But, the pain that it caused in her heart was still there. They say time heals all wounds, but it didn’t for her because time just made the damage worse.

_________________________

“IT TOOK me hours to find that coffee shop, Mom,” Ronald complained as soon as she gave the cookies to her mother. “I thought it was inside the mall. It wasted my time.”

His mother smiled. “Don’t be so grumpy, son. Look at that handsome face. I’m sure you wouldn’t want age lines to mark on that,” she said while trying to erase the line that formed between his brows.

That gesture made Ronald smiled. “You should have called me first before going here so that I filed an emergency leave from my office. I want to prepare a special dinner for you and Mom.”

The smile on her mother’s face faded. “`My goodness, Ronald! I don’t want to hear anything about your work. It gives me goosebumps!”

He chuckled, but what was he going to do? Ronald McLean was a Forensic Pathologist. He’s one of the essential correspondents at any crime incidents throughout Metro Manila. His job was to investigate the whole crime scene, collect all possible shreds of evidence, and examine the most crucial proof of the crime—the victim’s body.

His mother hated his job because her dream for him is to be an architect, but he went on a different path and became a ‘morgue doctor’. If the majority of people around the world feared and avoided death, Ronald was different. His work was to chase the cause of death. Ronald’s life was surrounded by different kinds of death—natural, accidental, homicidal, suicidal, and sometimes undetermined deaths. But he doesn’t give a damn about what people think about his job. Because for him, it wasn’t just a job; it’s his passion. And, only a skilled medical examiner like him can solve those mysterious cases surrounded by hidden pieces of evidence that can only find inside the victim’s body.

“By the way, Ronald, have you seen the coffee shop owner?” his Mom asked, face suddenly lit up with excitement again.

Ronald knotted his forehead. “Which coffee shop? The one where I bought your favorite cookies?”

The woman nodded with a smile. “Did you see her?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t. Why? Do you have anything to say to the owner? We can call them—”

“No, Ronald,” she said and pinched the tip of his nose. “She will be your wife.”

***