Claiming Carlos

by Rachelle Ayala

  “Ma, we’re blocking the security line. We have to go.” Carlos took Julia’s hand and waved goodbye.

  “One more kiss.” Ma plunged herself against him. “My eldest boy is getting married to such a perfect girl.”

  The guards had tiny smiles on their faces. They were Filipino and understood exactly what was going on.

  “Ma, we have to go.” Carlos dragged Julia from his mother’s side.

  A guard guided her to the line. “Ma’am, please step forward. You don’t want to miss your flight.”

  The plan was set in place. Carlos and Julia would announce their wedding date, and his mother would go home to spread the news and make preparations. Meanwhile, their mutual friends would post all over social networking so that Steve would see the pictures, take a leave and claim his bride.

  After that, Carlos would be free to convince Choco she’d made a big mistake with Johnny Dee.

  # # #

  Later that afternoon, Carlos was stuck in a meeting in Mr. Sánchez’s office with Johnny and Miranda, the Evil Dees.

  “We’re supposed to transition to the new menu,” Rey said. “Why are you still cooking special orders for the customers?”

  “Because they’re our customers,” Carlos said. “Didn’t you always say the customer’s always right?”

  “They’re the old customers.” Johnny leaned forward like he owned the place. A whiff of metallic cologne exuded from his shiny forehead. “We’ll never attract the type of clientele we’re aiming for if we continue to serve that unhealthy fried stuff.”

  “How do you suggest keeping the restaurant open if we don’t give the existing customers what they want?” Carlos challenged him. “Mr. Sánchez, we need cash flow, right?”

  “Actually,” he said, standing up. “Miranda has lined up investors. She suggests we shut down Barrio XO completely. Having a halfway place will damage our future branding and dilute the need for Manila Cloud.”

  “Shut down?” Carlos sank into his seat. “How long?”

  “Sell this location. We can get a pretty penny with the revitalization of the East Village, then look to buy a larger property in a more upscale location.”

  “But, when? Are we going to lose our jobs?”

  “Unfortunately yes. I can give you six weeks’ severance. That would be very generous, but I can’t give anyone else more than two weeks.”

  “Why? Why are you doing this?” Pain shot through Carlos’s chest and twisted his gut. Had Choco known about this? If so, why hadn’t she warned him?

  “Progress.” Johnny flexed his legs and laid them on the desk. “There’s a huge market for low fat, gluten-free, low-sodium cuisine. We can spend the year building out a high-class restaurant and refining our menu without the distraction of day to day operations.”

  “Until we sell the restaurant, we’ll continue operations,” Mr. Sánchez said. “I expect you to maintain your professionalism and follow Miranda’s directions. From now on, she’s responsible for testing the menu items. You’ll cook each dish to her specifications, and she’ll gather customer feedback.”

  “I understand,” Carlos said. “Who will be managing the new Manila Cloud? Will it be Choco?”

  “That’s not something I plan on discussing with you,” Rey stood. “Keep this information to yourself.”

  Talk about being shot down. Carlos’s pulse thumped in his temples, and a grinding weight pressed over his shoulders. If his boss was selling the restaurant, could he raise enough funds from his relatives to buy it?

  “One more thing,” Carlos interjected. “How much do you want for Barrio XO?”

  Rey looked at Miranda who shrugged and glanced at Johnny.

  He put his hands in back of his head and smirked. “Way more than a short-order cook can afford.”

  “How much?” Carlos stepped toward him, his fists clenched at his side.

  “One point five million.” Johnny whistled. “What did you think? We’d sell it to you for ghetto prices?”

  # # #

  Carlos watched Choco work alongside Miranda. While Miranda paraded around like a peacock princess, dressed in a dazzling array of iridescent plumes of silk, Choco shuffled behind her, wearing the plain, black Barrio XO wait staff uniform. What happened to all the makeup and fancy clothes? Did she think Johnny would continue to date her if she failed to keep up her image?

  Miranda smiled greasily at the customers, fawning on their babies, complimenting the ladies on their clothes and flirting subtly with the men. But when she approached the kitchen staff, she snapped her fingers, her mouth a sewer of complaints peppered with cuss words. Choco would correct her after she departed and reorder the dishes, speaking only to Danny, his sous chef. She studiously avoided Carlos, stepping well to the side and lowering her gaze whenever he walked by.

  Her eyes were bleary and red, and she appeared to have lost weight. A pang yanked at his heart. His once feisty Choco, who bantered with him constantly, had been reduced to silently carving cucumber flowers and curling carrots.

  Business was unusually light this Wednesday. Even with the Two for One special, most tables were empty, especially the ones in the bangus room. The Sunshine Retirement crowd hadn’t shown up, and he missed visiting with the cheerful elders. Faded photos of happier times were stuck on the bulletin boards which had already been removed from the entry way because they were too “low class.”

  “Hey, boss,” Victor said, tapping on a laptop. “We need to cut the supplies. We have too much leftover food. There are no parties booked for lechón and the reservation book is empty tonight.”

  “It’s the damn menu,” Carlos grumbled. “None of our customers want anything to do with gingery vegetable dumplings in arugula bed, asparagus soup with toasted walnuts, monkfish in Chinese lobster sauce, or beetroot salad with Moro blood orange.”

  Victor waved his hand limp wristed. “Oh, but Johnny says the snooty electric-car driving green vegan tofu eaters will happily crunch on farro, garbanzo, quinoa cakes and drink wheatgrass, acai berry, lactose free smoothies.”

  “If we don’t have customers soon, this place is going to collapse.” Carlos thumped his fist on the refrigeration table. “I can’t believe the boss is going for this. Something’s not right. He’s too smart to be bamboozled by those Evil Dees.”

  “Evil Dees, that’s a good one,” Victor laughed. “What hold do they have on Sánchez?”

  “You noticed it too?” Carlos rubbed his chin. “Do you get the feeling Mrs. Sánchez is not on board with these changes?”

  “Oh yeah,” Victor said. “There’s a definite chill there. Mr. Sánchez spends more time with Miranda the witch than with his wife.”

  “You know what? Maybe Mrs. Sánchez can help us save Barrio XO.”

  “Good luck, man. We’re going to need it.” Victor scrolled through the inventory list. “We’ll have to discard food items that have gone stale and write it off. Has Choco mentioned anything about the payroll?”

  “No, she hasn’t.” Carlos’s stomach did a slow, tortured roll. Barrio XO could be running out of cash.

  “Can you find out?” Victor’s eyebrows creased. “My son has surgery coming up, and I need to meet the copayments.”

  Carlos clapped a hand on Victor’s shoulder. “If it comes to that, I’ll forego my pay for you. Let me speak to Choco.”

  Carlos wandered around the restaurant and located Choco in the back alley taking a break with a bowl of ube ice cream.

  “I’m on break, leave me alone.” She finished her ice cream and tossed the paper cup into the dumpster.

  “This isn’t about us, but the restaurant.”

  She pursed her lips, eyes averted from him. “What about?”

  “You’ve noticed the drop in traffic, haven’t you?”

  “Of course, it’s like a ghost town here.” She shuffled her toe in the gravel.

  “Why is your father letting this happen?”

  She took a deep breath, shaking her head. “What do you care? It�
�s only a stepping stone for you. Someday you’ll have your own restaurant and you won’t give a second thought to us here.”

  Count on Choco to turn this into a personal conversation. She acted angry as if he couldn’t go out with Julia while she flaunted Johnny in his face. Or maybe she had a fight with Johnny, who’d become Johnny-Come-Stranger-Lately.

  “I’m only asking for my staff. Will we be able to make payroll?”

  She looked at him, pain and weariness etched in her face. “I don’t know.”

  Every bone in his body resonated with her agony, and he longed to reach out and wrap her in his arms. But she’d only rebuff him and make matters worse. What was important right now was saving the restaurant and their jobs.

  “What does your mother think? Does she agree with these changes?”

  “My mom? What do you think?” Choco snorted. “Papa’s gone off and done this on his own. He doesn’t even speak to Mama anymore.”

  “Why? Shouldn’t she have a say? She’s fifty-percent owner isn’t she? She’s his wife.”

  Tears welled in Choco’s beautiful eyes, and the sight of it almost undid him. She was never a crybaby, always so tough and defiant.

  “Is there anything I can do?” He couldn’t help reaching for her hand. “Choke, I care about Barrio XO. It’s my home. You guys are like family to me. Should I speak to your mother?”

  Her lower lip trembled, and all he wanted to do was kiss her, hug her and wipe her tears away. But he held onto her hand, since she hadn’t withdrawn it. Slowly she nodded. “It might help. Mama trusts you. She’s at home right now. You can probably talk to her after Papa leaves for San Francisco.”

  “That’s true. I’m taking him to the airport. Do you know who he’s meeting?”

  “He says investors. Jewell Capital or something. I snooped his cell phone and have a trail on the numbers he’s been calling. I’ll show you.” Choco tugged Carlos toward the building. “My father says he’s gone to see a business broker about a new location.”

  Carlos held onto Choco’s hand like it was his lifeline. Every manly urge in him prodded him to take her in his arms and kiss the life out of her. But he’d tried that before, and it had backfired. She’d been thinking of someone else. Dreaming of another man and using him as a substitute. Carlos swallowed hard and shuddered at an itch rattling in his ear. He had to restrain himself and play the fake engagement all the way through, if not for her, then for Julia who was counting on the Facebook posts to get through to Steve.

  Choco led him through the beaded curtain into her father’s office. She quietly shut the door and drew the shades.

  “Here, see? I found a notebook in his carryon and correlated his notes with the numbers he called.” She handed him a little brown spiral bound pad.

  He flipped it open and a bunch of receipts fell out. Hotels, restaurants, bars.

  “What’s going on? Is he stepping out on your mom?”

  “Seems that’s what’s happening.”

  “But when did this start? I can’t believe this. Your parents were the ideal couple. I used to walk in on them, accidentally, of course. But they’d be talking so sweetly and hugging.”

  “Apparently it started when he hired Johnny, who brought his mother on board.” Choco practically spit Johnny’s name.

  “Wait, you don’t like Johnny either?” Carlos knew this was a big jump in logic.

  Choco simply shrugged. “What does it matter to you? At least Johnny admires me and finds me worthwhile, unlike others. He treats me like a princess. Too bad his mother’s a bitch.”

  Shit. She did care for Johnny. Rocks rumbled in Carlos’s stomach, and he gritted his teeth to keep from throwing things. How had he miscalculated? She only hated Johnny’s mother, like she hated his mother.

  Carlos flipped through the rest of the notebook, not seeing anything significant. Names, places, figures. A lawyer’s card, a DNA lab, realtor, private investigator, financial services, restaurant brokers.

  “DNA? What’s that for?” He pointed to the entry in the notebook.

  “I don’t want to think about it.” Choco took the notebook, blinking. “I hope it has nothing to do with Miranda.”

  “It’s probably nothing.” Carlos scratched his head. “Except Miranda’s a very attractive woman.”

  “You seriously think so?” She slapped the notebook on the desk. “But then again, you men are all alike. And I hate you.”

  There was no point arguing with her while she was being unreasonable. He simply turned to the door and walked out.

  Chapter 25

  The restaurant was nearly empty for dinner, so Carlos left Danny in charge and drove to the Sánchez’s home. Choco had gone back to her apartment and Miranda was commanding the skeleton crew. This was as good a time as ever to make his appeal to Mrs. Sánchez.

  He stopped at Tita Elena’s bakery to buy a cake. It hadn’t been that long ago when he’d heard rumors of a merger between Elena’s bakery, The Golden Dream, and Barrio XO. Elena had been Mr. Sánchez’s ex-girlfriend and Mrs. Sánchez’s best friend. Naturally when she broke up with Rey, she introduced him to Anna. It had seemed to be a marriage made in heaven, but now it was tarnished.

  Carlos opened the door, which jingled from the bells hanging on it. Elena was at the counter reading a fashion magazine. Even though she was close to fifty, she was still a beauty queen. It seemed Filipina women never aged, they just got more gorgeous as the lines sharpened their faces.

  “Tita, mano po.” Carlos held his knuckles to Elena who blessed him.

  “My dear Carlos. How are you? May I get you a cup of coffee or tea?” Elena snapped her fingers at an employee.

  “Tea, thanks. I came to pick up a cake for Tita Anna.”

  “Oh? She didn’t order one.” Elena quickly fanned herself. “I hope we have what she wants.”

  “It’s a surprise from me.” He grinned. “I want to pay my respects.”

  “O-oh, I get it.” Elena smiled widely. “It’s Choco, isn’t it?”

  “Huh?” Carlos cast in his mind if it was Choco’s birthday. He didn’t want to be accused of forgetting, so he nodded. “Yes, what do you have there?”

  Elena’s employee set a pot of tea in front of them and poured two cups.

  “My son always brought them a mango cream cake. Of course, you’d want to be different, since you’re courting a different daughter of theirs.” Elena peered through the glass of the cake cabinet. “I have strawberry dream, lychee nut and taro, matcha, that one’s green, like money for good luck. Auspicious if you want to propose marriage.”

  “Not quite,” he said, taking a sip of tea. “I was thinking of calamansi cake with cream cheese icing.”

  “Oh, you’re in luck. That’s Choco’s favorite. I have one in the back. Betty,” she called to her employee. “Fetch the calamansi cake.”

  Elena turned back to Carlos and tapped the table. “You’re a lucky guy. I insist on doing the wedding cake as a gift to you.”

  “Oh, that won’t be for a while.” Sweat broiled under Carlos’s collar. It was obvious Tita Elena had been left out of the loop while his mother was around. He’d heard there had been some jealousy when Elena was asked to be maid-of-honor at Rey and Anna’s wedding instead of his mom who called herself Anna’s manang, or bossy big sister.

  “Take it slow,” Elena said. “Choco’s a sensitive girl, very tart like the calamansi, but sweet with a heart of gold. She’ll make a great wife, very loyal and determined.”

  Carlos sipped his tea and nodded, not knowing what to say. She was everything and more, but she was confused, dazzled by Johnny and his Tesla, and angry at Carlos for dating Julia, when she was the one who had suggested it.

  “What’s wrong?” Elena stirred sugar into her tea. “You’ve gone quiet. Are you nervous?”

  “Yes, nothing’s simple.”

  “Tell me about it. Those Sánchez girls can be quite a handful. My son was heartbroken for years. Years. And well, now I think he finally has a
chance to make good with Evie.” She seemed to catch herself. “Actually, it’s hard for me to sit back and not interfere. They need to work out their own problems, but I can always give advice.”

  The tea warmed Carlos’s heart, and he inhaled the jasmine scent, reminding him of Choco. He swallowed and let out a deep breath. “There’s this other guy. He’s wrong for her, but he flatters her.”

  “Oh? In what way?” Elena raised the teacup to her lips.

  “He took her to Beverly Hills for a makeover. When she returned, she didn’t look anything like herself. She bought expensive clothes, shoes, and she even whited out her freckles.”

  “Oh, I bet she looked fantastic.” Elena sipped the tea. “She has a pretty face, but she doesn’t take care of herself since she’s so busy caring for others. What’s this guy like and are you seriously worried?”

  “He’s a total poser. Phony to the bone. He swaggers around like he’s big man in town, drives a Tesla convertible. You should have heard Choco talk about it like it was the second coming in cars. He puts her on a pedestal and sends her flowers every day.”

  “Can’t you do the same?”

  “On a cook’s salary? I work for her father. He already warned me. Asked my intentions and told me to leave her alone. My family’s poor, and I have too many younger brothers and sisters to help get through college.”

  “You don’t have to buy flowers. Women care more about the romantic gesture. You can pick them from the roadside, or make paper flowers, or write her a poem. You’re a cook. Bake her a little cake every day.”

  Carlos swallowed bile and he twisted the napkin. “She has to choose and right now, I’m in the doghouse. I did something stupid.”

  “What did you do?” Elena poured Carlos another cup of tea.

  “I tried to make her jealous, and she hates me now.”

  “Then you have to explain.” Tita Elena’s eyebrows creased in concern. “Take it from me. Don’t wait until it’s too late. I don’t regret much in my life, except letting my husband die before I could apologize for a misunderstanding I caused.”