Santiago woke up to an empty bed; he yawned and stood up to his feet to check the bathroom for Joan, but she wasn’t there. He yawned again and assumed she was in the kitchen, so he went ahead to get ready for the day.
After he was ready for work, he walked downstairs, a newspaper in his hand and his phone, tie, and shoe in the other hand.
“Joan,” he called to her when his eyes spotted a particular story on the paper. There was no response from her. “Joan,” he called out again and waited for a response. Nothing.
He placed his shoes on the living room floor, his tie on the sofa, and pocketed his phone. He walked into the kitchen to find it empty; a frown graced his forehead.
Santiago took his phone from his pocket to call her as he poured himself a cup of coffee. Her number wasn’t connecting, so he was worried. He tried Camile’s number and got the same results.
He walked back to the living room and picked up the newspaper again; he opened to the page that the particular story was on and sat on the sofa to read it carefully. Stacy’s father has declared bankruptcy and is liquidating all his assets to solve some issues that weren’t released to the public.
Santiago didn’t think they had this much money trouble. He made a mental note to call Stacy later in the afternoon after he gets across to Joan.
He put the paper down so he can fix his tie and wear his shoes. Just as he stood up on his feet, a call came in.
He was quick to pick up the call without checking the caller.
“Yes?”
“You’re awake,” came Joan’s soft voice.
A sigh of relief left his lips unconsciously. “You had me worried here,” he said to her.
Santiago threw the rest of the coffee and cleaned the cup before leaving the kitchen. A memory of Joan warning him about wasting food jogged his memory; it put a smile on his lips.
“Did you see what I made you?” she asked.
Santiago frowned, “You made me something?”
“Yes, I did, silly,” she chuckled.
“Guess I’d have to take them to work.”
“You got up late?” she asked the obvious.
Santiago shrugged, a wide grin on his lips.
“My for-life alarm left very early in the morning without trying to tell me,” he accused playfully.
“It was urgent; I had to rush down here,” she explained.
“It’s fine. Where are you? And what’s this urgent matter that had you out of the house this early?” He walked back to the kitchen to warm up the food.
He brought out the food flask and bag she got him a couple of weeks ago.
“Remember the fight with Watkins?”
“Rings a bell,” he answered. “Rich, spoiled brat that thinks he can get away with anything?” he asked dryly.
“At least sound excited about the gist,” he could hear the frown in her voice.
Santiago laughed out loud, “Of course I am excited about the gist; the Watkins men aren't my favorite right now after what they made Camila go through.”
Joan paused and let out a sigh, “Same here.”
“What’s this gist you want to share?” He didn’t wait for the microwave to ding before turning it off and pulling out the food with his gloved hand.
“Well, junior Watkins has been arrested in relation to the death of Camila’s mum,” she broke the news to him.
His eyes went wide in surprise. “How did that happen?”
“Miles,” she answered.
A frown graced his forehead as he tried to figure out who that was.
“Who’s Miles?”
“Her mum’s doctor before junior Watkins thought he was mature and responsible enough to take over her care,” Joan answered.
“Wow, that’s great. I am glad her mum’s getting the justice she deserves.
“Me too.” Joan paused for a moment. “I had to come over to her place when she called to tell me the news.”
“I understand; please take all the time you need to give her as much support as she needs. She needs her friend now more than anything.
“Hmm,”
“What?”
“You care,” he heard the smile in her voice.
“I’m not that much of a monster, my love,” he joked, and she laughed.
“I can see that; thanks for listening.”
“Anytime, Joan, and thanks for the food.” He took a bite from the stir-fried egg rice. “It’s really delicious.”
Joan chuckled, “Right?”
“Yes, looks like I will have to finish this before leaving the house.” He carried the plate to the dining area, placed the plate on the dining table, then continued eating.
“That was the plan all along,” she said with a smile.
Santiago put the spoon down, then drank some of the water he poured for himself earlier to step it down. He rests his elbow on the table.
“When you get home, there is something I need to talk to you about.”
He heard shuffling, then it stopped. There was silence for about a minute before her voice broke it.
“Something bad happened?”
“Oh no, it’s nothing you should worry about at the moment.”
“Is it ba—”
“Camila is your major priority now, remember?” He jogged her memory.
“Thank you, Santiago, you made things easy for me, and I appreciate it a lot.”
“I am glad to help in any way I can,” he lets her know.
“I need to go now; I’ll see you later.”
“Sure, send my greetings to Camila and let her know I’m glad for her and wish her all the best.”
“Thank you,” came Camila’s groggy voice, followed by a yawn.
“She heard you,” Joan chuckled.
“Our entire conversation?” His eyes widened.
“Just your greetings, take care.”
“You too, Joan, later.” He disconnected the call and placed the phone on the table. An unending smile on his lips as their conversation played in his head over and over again.
He finished the food as quickly as he could, so he doesn’t get to work late.
Santiago walked to the sofa to grab his tie and then walked to his home office to grab the documents he had been working on for a while. He properly looked through the papers to confirm that he wasn’t forgetting anything, then he stacked them together and opened the briefcase to place them inside.
A paper fell from the papers he held; he bent to pick it up, then read the content of the document. His face hosted a frown as his eyes scanned the paper for the second time.
A particular section in the paper caught his attention; his eyes widened in surprise when the information sunk in.
“What did you do, Dad?”