Thank God it’s Friday and finally, Albert had finished his reports for the week! Now he finally needs to ask Diana about the Vice Mayor’s invitation. He remembered his conversation with Nez the night of Diana’s birthday, when he took her home.
***FLASHBACK***
They arrived at Nez’s house. Nez got off from the motorbike and removed the helmet on her head. She handed it to Albert.
“Can’t you just travel on Sunday morning so you could accompany me on Saturday?” he asked Nez.
“There you go again. I already told you the reason, right. I will just tell Diana---“
“Please don’t… it will make me look like a coward.”
“Then what are you right now?” she raised one of her eyebrows to him.
“A coward.” He sighed.
“What’s taking you aback? How could you prove yourself to her if you are feeling cowardly here in front of me?”
“I don’t know if I should still pursue her or just leave her be.”
“A piece of advice for you my dear, if you really love her, you should not give up. As long as she’s free, pursue her. Because if you give up now without even trying, you will end up regretting things over. I think regret is the cruelest thing a person could ever experience and as your friend, I don’t want you to regret anything.” She said and rubbed his arm. He sighed.
“I will give it a try then. If she refuses, then I guess that’s the time I should quit, right?” he asked.
“Let’s just hope for the positive outcome, shall we?” Nez asked and smiled a bit.
Albert sighed and smiled a bit too. They hugged each other.
“I guess, this will be our last meeting because you will be very busy for the next couple of days and you’ll be out of town again.” He said as he pulled away from Nez.
She nodded and smiled.
“Yes. Don’t give up just yet, Albert, okay?”
He nodded. He started the motorbike and Nez waved goodbye to him. He nodded and drove off.
***END OF FLASHBACK***
He sighed. He picked his phone and started typing his message.
HI DIANA! ARE YOU AVAILABLE TOMORROW NIGHT? I MEAN DO YOU HAVE PLANS? COULD I ASK YOU OUT, AGAIN?
Should he send it? He shook his head and deleted the message on the typing bar. He stood up and went to Beth’s desk. She was surprised to see him in front of her desk but she continued typing on her desktop.
“Wow, this is the first time. What did I do to grace me with your presence my buddy boy? Do you need anything?” she asked without even raising her gaze.
“Yeah… sort of.” He said and smiled a bit.
She stopped typing and looked at him.
“Carry on. I’m listening.” She said.
“About the escort thing tomorrow… Are you still available?” he asked and scratched the back of his head.
“Uhmmm… I uhh, I just accepted Deo’s invitation a while ago. I’m sorry, Albert. You asked a little bit too late, bud.” She said and smiled sadly at him.
“Oh, don’t worry, it is fine. I just asked so I could make sure you have an escort.” He smiled sincerely.
“You’re smiling but your eyes don’t lie, Albert. How about your date? Did she refuse?” she asked.
He shook his head.
“I haven’t asked her yet, to be honest.”
“What? Why???”
“Well, it’s kind of complicated but, maybe I really need to. Thank you anyway. Sorry for disturbing you.” He said.
“No, it’s cool. But you should really asked her. Let me know if she refuses. I’ll set you another date.”
“That’s thoughtful Beth, I should go back to my desk now.” He excused himself and turned around.
“Just text me if she refuses.” She called out.
He raised his hand as a reply. He sighed.
‘Finding a date is harder than accounting way back in college.’ He said to himself.
He took his seat and picked his phone again. He started typing.
HI DIANA. ARE YOU BUSY?
He sent the message. It’s now or never. If she refused, at least he tried his luck, right? After a few minutes, his phone chimed in. He checked the message. It came from Diana. He read the message.
QUITE… WHY?
He replied back.
I JUST WANTED TO ASK YOU OUT TOMORROW NIGHT, IF IT’S OKAT WITH YOU?
WHERE TO?
AT HOTEL ANDREI. THE VICE MAYOR INVITED US TO HIS AND HIS WIFE’S GOLDEN WEDDING ANNIVERSARY AND IT IS A FORMAL EVENT SO WE NEED TO BRING A PLUS ONE… THOUGH I ALREADY THOUGHT YOU WOULD REFUSE.
He sent it. But he regretted adding the last part. He can’t take it back anymore and Diana probably read it already so he just let it be. After a few minutes, he received a reply.
I FEEL GUILTY. IT SEEMS LIKE I HAVE BEEN A VERY BAD FRIEND. HAHA
He sensed the awkwardness on Diana’s text, so he replied back.
I DON’T MEAN IT THAT WAY. SORRY. BUT YOU ALWAYS REFUSED MY INVITATION. WHENEVER I PLANNED THE INVITATION, YOUR DEFAULT ANSWER IS NO. BUT IF IT’S NEZ, OR YOUR COLLEGE CIRCLE OF FRIENDS, YOUR DEFAULT ANSWER IS YES. SO I COULDN’T JUST SHRUGGED OFF THE THOUGHT.
CAN’T MY REFUSAL TO YOU MEAN THAT I WAS JUST BUSY OR JUST SHY? OF COURSE I SAID YES TO THEM BECAUSE I WAS NOT BUSY AND IT’S A GIRLS’ BONDING! THAT’S TOO MUCH OF AN ASSESSMENT ON YOUR PART, DON’T YOU THINK.
He can sense that she was already pissed. He lie-low and replied.
OKAY FINE. YOU WERE SAVED BY YOUR EXPLANATION. I GET IT. SORRY.
BECAUSE IT’S AS IF YOU WERE SAYING I HAVE MY FAVORITES WHEN IT COMES TO FRIENDSHIP BUT I DON’T. IT’S JUST THAT, THEY SCHEDULED MORE CONVENIENTLY.
Upon reading her reply, he sighed. That’s what he thought, she’s going to refuse. He didn’t reply to her. He put his phone on his pocket and went over his reports. He rechecked them even though there’s no problem in them anymore. He just wanted to clear his mind.
When he was done rechecking it, he printed them out. He was startled when someone knocked on her table. He turned around to see who was it, it was Beth.
“So, did you ask her out?” she asked.
“I did. But she didn’t reply yet. She probably still has her class.” He lied.
“So she’s a teacher? Wow. That’s a plot twist.” She remarked.
“Why, what did you expect?” he asked, laughing at her remarked.
“Well, I thought she could be a business woman or a bank teller. You know someone who graduated a business degree because you’re on accounting, too.” She said and shrugged her shoulders.
“My ex-girlfriend is a business woman.” He stated.
“Then why don’t you just invite her?” she asked.
He laughed.
“Are you kidding me? I just said EX-GIRLFRIEND. Weren’t you listening? Besides, she’s already married.”
“Married???”
“Yeah. Well that’s how life is.” He remarked.
“Expect the unexpected.”
“Right.” He said and smiled. “Why are you here, by the way?” he asked.
“I asked the vice mayor if we could attend at the event alone, like with no one but yourself…”
“And…?” he asked curiously.
“And he said no. We should really have a plus one tomorrow night. He said it doesn’t make sense if we attend on a wedding anniversary alone.”
“What’s weird about that?” he asked.
“He said the essence of the event is to show the love and bond between two old souls. We all know how the vice mayor loves his wife so much right? So that’s the whole point, he said, and I quote, ‘To show and to encourage you youngsters what a true, genuine love is,’ end quote.” Beth stated.
“But what if our plus one wasn’t really the one we supposed to be with?”
“Like me and Deo?” Beth said and laughed.
“If you don’t see yourself together with him, then why chose him over Carlo?” he asked, frowning.
“I overheard him threatening Carlo. You know I like Carlo more, right, but he’s too weak against Deo so I am going to give Deo a taste of his own medicine so he would get away from me and Carlo.” Beth said and smirked.
He smirked, too.
“You, naughty girl.” He commented.
“What? He’s a real bully and I am so fed up with his overconfidence! I am just being decent. But enough is enough. After giving him a taste of his own medicine, I will asked Carlo out.” She smiled sweetly.
“That was a bold move.” He said.
“What? I like Carlo a lot, if not for Deo. I’m just avoiding Carlo so Deo would not bother him. But I really like him! So I’m going to pursue him after tomorrow night.”
“You’re really going to do that?” he asked, puzzled.
“Of course! You know, Albert, if you really like the person, you’re going to do everything for them. You make efforts. You pursue them. It doesn’t matter what you are or who you are. Because if you don’t take the chance, you’re going to die regretting not trying.” She said.
The last page was printed out. He gather the printed reports and fixed it. Beth has a point. It is better to try and fail than not try at all.