Sweet on You

by Carla de Guzman

  “Ready to talk?” she asked, like she’d been expecting this call. Trust her older sister to know best about her. Sari sighed.

  “Yes,” she said, and she heard the sounds of shuffling, Selene calling for Sam to stop trying to clean the shelves wrong and to come here.

  “Oh, is this an emotional, heart to heart sisterly meeting?” Sam’s voice was amused as she came on. “I don’t think we’ve ever done this before.”

  “Sari needs to talk to us,” Selene said, using a perfectly neutral tone she used whenever she was trying to mediate fights between them. “Sari?”

  “I miss you, Ate,” Sari said finally, feeling a little odd talking about her feelings through her phone, but being unable to see her sisters’ faces helped a lot. “I miss you when I don’t know what to do, and that’s a lot of the time.”

  “You can always call me, you know,” Selene said, sounding a little hurt. “I’m never too busy for you or Sam.”

  “Yes, but sometimes I just want you to be my sister, you know?” Sam interjected, saying the exact thing Sari felt. “Like you don’t have to be the boss all the time. I like knowing that you like to change up your nail polish, or that sushi is your comfort food.”

  “I didn’t even notice that,” Sari admitted.

  “Oh,” Selene said, like what Sam said had truly surprised her. And Selene Tomas no longer enjoyed being caught off guard. “Um. I feel kind of insecure about my nail polish addiction. It’s...a lot.”

  “Ay, Ate, have you seen my collection of lipsticks? This is a shame-free, judgement-free zone,” Sam said. “Right, Sari?”

  “Right,” Sari said, and let that be the jumping off point for her to say what was on her mind. “Sam, I... I’m still a little torn up about you leaving. I know I act like it’s all fine.”

  “Sure,” she heard Selene chuckle in the background.

  “But I’m going to miss you. And I kind of hate that you left me in the house.” Sari played with sand in her free hand while she tried to sort out her feelings. “It felt like you were leaving me because you hated me. Who’s going to kill all the ipis now?”

  “You think I’m brave enough to kill the ipis?” Sam laughed on the other end of the line. “Ate, I only do it because it’s one of the few things I get to do for you. You and Ate Selene take such good care of me, I want to try to do it myself, so you guys have time for yourselves. I’m sorry I made you feel abandoned. But I’m still here! I will never leave you, and I will never really hate you, even if you want to push me away. I’ll kick down all your walls if I have to. For you too, Ate Selene.”

  “I don’t have—” Sari started to say, but didn’t continue the sentence. She supposed that because Sam was only twelve when their parents separated, she was the one who got to live her life with a little less baggage than Selene and Sari.

  “I left the house because I don’t want you to worry about me anymore. But my God, Ate. I’m not leaving you!” Sam’s voice was a little shaky, and Sari felt her eyes suddenly get hot with tears. It felt oddly cathartic to cry, not because she was angry, but because her life was changing, and still she had her sisters at her side, cheering her on, as she cheered them on too.

  “Sari,” Selene’s voice, which, did Sari detect a little wobble from her? “Take all the time you need there at the beach. Sam and I will be here when you come back. And when you’re ready...”

  “Tell us exactly what that jerk Gab did so we can come up with a plan to take him down!” Sam yelled from the background. Sari laughed through her tears and agreed.

  “I’ll bring back buko pie,” she promised, knowing it was Selene’s particular favorite.

  No sooner had Sari dried her tears and put her phone away, it started to ring, this time displaying an unregistered number. Suppliers, clients and interested customers all had access to Sari’s phone number, so she didn’t think twice about picking up.

  “Hello?”

  “Is...is this Sari Tomas?”

  “Yes,” she said suspiciously. “Sino sila?”

  “You’re Sari Tomas,” the voice said again. “You...you’re the one in the video?”

  “Video?” Sari was totally confused now. In a world where social media presence was key, she wasn’t shy to admit that the only time she was online was when she was managing the socials for Café Cecilia, so while she was technically adept, she didn’t really check out what was going viral, who was getting married, who was getting engaged. For obvious reasons, it wasn’t really her thing.

  “The viral video of the lyre band flashmob in Lipa. That’s you, isn’t it?”

  Sari’s jaw dropped so low she was surprised it hadn’t hit the sand yet. There were just so many questions. Who took the video? Who posted it? Where did they post it, and how on earth did this person manage to find Sari’s number?

  “Who gave you my number?” seemed to be the best place to start.

  “Well, point one, anyone who saw the video can see the name of your café in the background,” the person said like this was no big deal. “Point two, I Googled the name and found the café’s number. After a phone call and asking your staff about you, they gave me your number. So...ta-dah.”

  Sari slapped her palm to her forehead. She was going to kill her staff when she got back to Lipa. Or re-train them. One or the other.

  “Okay, well. Yes, that was me. Who are you and what can I do for you?”

  “My name is Rose Capras, and I’m looking for my brother.”

  Sari nearly dropped the phone on the sand, but her gasp was enough to make Kylo look up at her curiously. Sari scratched the big black dog’s ear until he relaxed again.

  “You’re vanilla birthday cake,” she remembered.

  “Yes, he did mention I was being immortalized in cupcake flavor,” Rose sighed, and Sari wasn’t sure if that was exasperation or relief in her voice. “Sorry, I’m really sorry about just calling you like this. But...you do know my brother, don’t you? I recognized him in the video.”

  “Yeah, I know him. He’s the guy in the video,” she confirmed, collapsing backward into the beach chair.

  “I knew it!” a voice exclaimed from the background of the other end of the call, and Rose immediately shushed whoever it was. “Sorry about that. Is it true he opened a bakery there?”

  “He did,” Sari said, picking up her saging con hielo and taking a huge bite. The bananas had been drenched in syrup just long enough that it still tasted like banana, but was made better for the sweetness. Yes, Sari was totally trying to distract herself from this conversation, because this wasn’t her conversation to have. If she was petty, she would just text Rose her brother’s number and be done with it.

  But no. Sari wasn’t petty. She was just...lonely.

  “Your brother is really good at baking,” she said instead on an exhale. “He makes people happy with what he does. And he misses his family a lot.”

  “Sure.” Rose sounded annoyed, or at least Sari thought she did. “All evidence points to the contrary. He lied to us for a year.”

  “Sometimes it’s easier to lie than to tell other people how we really feel. Or to run when we feel like we’re backed into a corner,” Sari said, and yes, she was aware that she was a hypocrite. Kylo didn’t have to look at her like that.

  “That sounds really stupid,” Rose huffed.

  “Well, no offense, but your brother is an idiot,” Sari snorted, shaking her head. “But he’s also here. Trying to be worthy of your dad.”

  “Dad again,” Rose grumbled like she’d heard this argument a thousand times over. “Papa is never going to change. Kuya’s just going to have to suck it up and accept that.”

  “I know.”

  “Okay,” Rose said, and that was the surest thing Sari had heard her say. Based on their phone conversation so far, she had a feeling that Rose Capras wasn’t always sure of herself. But you grew
out of that, usually. “Can we...can we come there?”

  “Probably a good idea to call him first.”

  “Probably.”

  “But you can text me here if you need anything,” Sari said, just because she believed in solidarity among sisters with stubborn older siblings. And she wasn’t about to subject Gabriel’s family to a wild goose chase to Lipa without someone pointing the way.

  Even if Gabriel was leaving her.

  There was a shuffle on the other end of the line. Sari could hear arguments and hissing before someone took over the call.

  “Miss Sari...” a voice she didn’t recognize asked. She wondered which of the siblings this was. She usually got confused when Gab showed her a photo. But it was safe to assume it wasn’t part of the older batch of kids.

  “Oh God, just Sari, please.”

  “Ate Sari, then. This is Iris. Number seven, if you’re confused. People usually are.”

  “Ah. Peppermint chocolate,” she realized. Iris was the youngest of the girls, and (Gabriel had been happy to say) everyone’s secret favorite. “I’m not confused. What can I do for you, Iris?”

  “Can I ask...are you and my brother...?”

  Sari braced herself. But thankfully Rose seemed to save her from answering the question by telling her little sister off (“obviously they’re together!”). Iris was undaunted, though, and tried to argue that the video was unclear, and Gab’s status was still set to single.

  It was a full minute before Rose wrestled back control of the phone.

  “Sorry about that,” Rose said. “But I’ll let you know when we get there. Thank you so much, Ate Sari.”

  “You’re welcome, Rose. You too, Iris.”

  “Bye, Ate Sari!”

  Then they hung up. Sari took one look at the calm beach, the utter peace of the waves and the sun beating down on the sand. Her dessert bowl was empty, her beer was gone, and her dog was asleep.

  She stood up and stretched her arms, digging her cold toes into the warm sand. After a quick look to make sure no-one was watching, Sari pulled her shirt off over her head, revealing a modest but still sexy bikini. A teeny, tiny part of her wished Gabriel was here right now to see her and eat his heart out.

  But he was about to have bigger problems.

  “Watch my stuff,” she told Kylo, who used her bag as a pillow and fell asleep before Sari walked toward the water. Who was going to stop her?

  The caption “getting my vitamin sea” was a corny cliche because it was true. There was no better way to clear your head than to dunk your head under the salty water, floating with the waves as the sun kissed your skin.

  This was when Sari had her big revelation.

  When she and her sisters were younger, easier to bring around, their father used to take them to the beach. Sari knew, even early on, that the beach trips were his way of avoiding their mother, but she loved them anyway.

  On those trips, her father taught her how to swim by holding her in deeper water before he let go of her and told her to relax.

  Sari, of course, nearly drowned every time, until he picked her up by the armpits.

  “You’ve gotta keep kicking, kiddo. The water isn’t as deep as you think.”

  That was how Sari learned how to swim. Even when she was left by herself, as long as she kept kicking, kept her mind clear and had moments like this, she would be fine.

  “I’m tired of kicking,” she told the sky, spreading her arms out over the water. Then she closed her eyes and gave in to the tide, letting it gently rock her. The water wasn’t as deep as she thought it would be.

  * * *

  Sari was in a better mood when she drove back to Lipa, speeding down the highway with her windows open and her hair getting an instant blowdry by the wind. Kylo stuck his head out the window and howled, as if singing along to “Christmas in Our Hearts.”

  Her phone rang again. Really, if Sari was ever going to actually run away from her responsibilities, she should learn to at least be on airplane mode.

  She knew she couldn’t, obviously, she was a sister and a business owner and couldn’t afford to be on airplane mode, but a girl could dream.

  Incoming Call: Dimples

  Well, Sari wasn’t about to answer. She had absolutely no reason to talk to him, they had barely been together long enough to leave any belongings with each other (unless their hearts counted, ba dump tss), or leave anything of importance to one another.

  At the end of the day, she felt rubbed and raw, and any further provocation wasn’t going to help. There were only so many times her heart could break, and with Gabriel Capras, it would take very little for him to crush it fully.

  So it was better not to talk.

  After letting it ring for a while, he called again. Still, she refused to answer, because it was a driving hazard. Because he had nothing to say right now that she was ready to hear. Because she was tired.

  The ringing stopped. Then it started again.

  “Hoy, why are you calling me, dimples?” she yelled at her phone, and by some weird flux of technology, it answered her.

  Calling Dimples on speakerphone.

  “Putang—”

  “Sari,” Gabriel answered on the second ring, and Sari jumped, because his voice was urgent and just a little bit loud. “What the hell?”

  “Gabriel, I can’t talk to you right now.”

  “Oh, really! You don’t want to talk to me? You—”

  Sari pushed the End button to hang up. Not her finest moment, but just hearing his voice made her pulse race and her heart break all over again. He was leaving, just like everyone always did. Sari might have already accepted that she was going to be alone, and she was going to be fine. There was nothing more they could do about it.

  Kira Luz is calling, her phone rang, and Sari managed to answer, putting it on speakerphone again.

  “Kira?”

  “Sari, don’t hang up, this is important,” Gabriel’s voice insisted, and Sari actually growled.

  “You dirty bastard. You dirty, sneaking, underhanded, dastardly little...”

  “I may be a bastard, but I slept on it, and now I have my fight back, and we need to talk about this.”

  “I think we already said everything that we needed to say.”

  “It’s been eight hours, and I can’t bake cookies for shit. Our dough is still in the freezer.”

  Sari bit her bottom lip at the use of our. There was no more our. As of eight hours ago he’d made it clear that this was nothing more than a little flap and throttle. Kiss and tickle. Whatever. And Sari had made sure it would stay that way. So she swiped at Gabriel instead.

  “My presence has nothing to do with your baking,” she huffed. “You’ve been doing this long before I came into the picture, and you’re too good to let your skill slip just because I wanted out of this.”

  Hell or high water, rain or shine, Sari could pull an espresso or roast beans. It was one of the things she prided herself on. She found it hard to believe that Gabriel could just forget how to do the thing that made him the most happy.

  “The point is, I understand that you don’t want me. You don’t want to listen to me, or care about what I have to say. Fine. What I...”

  No, you dummy. I want you so much. That’s the problem. I love you, and I can’t bear to see you go is my problem. I hate you because you turned out exactly like everyone else. Sari inhaled sharply, and her breath was shaky. Sweat broke out at her palms, but she kept her hands on the wheel. Sari had been bottling up everything for too long now. So long that her own emotions were spilling out.

  “...my sisters!”

  “What?” She’d almost forgotten that Gabriel was still on the other end of the line.

  “Rose and Iris are here,” Gabriel said finally, his voice calm, but even from the other end of a phone line she could tell
he was agitated. “They cut school and got on a bus to Lipa, then took a tricycle to the Laneways.”

  “Oh,” Sari said, doing her best to focus on what he was saying. “And?”

  “Rose doesn’t even walk to Jollibee outside her school, Iris has never ridden a tricycle in her life and they came here. I don’t even know how they figured any of this out on their own...”

  “Aren’t they both in college now?”

  “You told them where I was.”

  Sari had always wondered what her reaction would be if someone accused her of doing something monumentally stupid. Apparently she did not take to it very well.

  “You think I’m petty enough to call up your sisters, tell them you’ve been lying to them for the last year and make them come here to confront you?” She huffed. “Give me some credit.”

  In the back of her mind, she understood his frustration. If his sisters were anything like Sam, doing something as reckless as that, even if it was for her, would have had her hopping mad too. But Sari was in too deep into this yelling match with Gabriel now, and they were both acting like complete fools. It only served to point out that they were both too petty and too childish to be together, if they argued like this. Hell, this whole thing had started because of a prank war!

  Well, no. This whole thing had started with a cookie. A cookie that a customer brought into her shop. Her brain went back to that moment in the kitchen, him in his element and her snacking on walnuts and chocolate, just watching him. She pressed her lips together. If she thought about it hard enough she could still taste the cookie dough. The chocolate, the nuts, the chips...it should all be too much, but it worked well together.

  The cookies would have tasted like love. Damn it.

  “Rose and Iris came here for you.” She forced herself to focus on the conversation. “Do you know how lucky you are that in this entire universe, two kids cared enough to come to you? Did something they’d never done before, because they love you and missed you? You have a whole family that wants you around! I would kill to have someone do that for me!”