Surprise!

Yuri’s second day at the resort was as lively as the first one. — But in a different fashion.

He had expended most of his day downtown running errands.

Only now, almost at 7PM, he has manage to sit down for a bit.

With this free time, Yuri uses his access to the system at the reception computer to find out Ana’s number.

— And… Find it! — He celebrates.

He quickly saves her number in his phone and send her a message.

“Yo, Ana. It's Yuri”

“My bad”

“I got your new number on our system 😅”

After a moment, she replies.

“Hey.”
“It's ok 😆”

“What up?”

Yuri continues.

“Are you still on the spa?”

“I need to give you something”

Ana replies, quicker than before.

“I am”

“What is it?”

Yuri types and rewrites his text a couple of times trying to find a less cringy way of saying it just to come back to the first words he had typed.

"A gift, for yesterday"

"Nothing too fancy tho"

“Awww” — She replies, almost immediately.
“Cute”
“You are at the reception, right? I’m going there rn”

Yuri starts to type his response, completely focused on his phone.

“I can go to the spa too, if it's easier for y|” — but before he finishes, he gets interrupted.

— Hello, good evening. I would like to speak with Yuri, is he here? — a female voice calls from the other side of the reception counter.

In a little rush, embarrassed for being so distract, Yuri quickly put away his phone.

—Oh… Sorry. Good evening! — He put his phone aside and stands up, facing the guest.

— I’m Yuri, how may I — He interrupts himself mid-sentence as he immediately recognizes her. — Huh?

Green eyes.

Brown hair.

Gold hoop earrings.

Just as he had seen her walking the campus hallways for the past three years.

— Surprise! — She exclaims with a wide smile and giggling for having successfully pranked Yuri.

— What are you doing here, Emili? — He asks with genuine confusion.

— Didn't I tell you that the theater group and I were going to perform "A Christmas Carol" in a small town at the request of the city hall? — she answers with a question.

It finally clicks for Yuri.

— And it's HERE?! — he emphasizes.

— Yep. — She confirms, crossing her arms over the counter. — Since you had mentioned before that your parent's had a resort here, I decided to check it out.

Yuri remembers casually mentioning the resort in a few conversations they had over the years.

— What? — She asks. Studying his face — Was hoping to get a break from your best friend? — she teases him.

— What? No! — He smiles — You just caught me by surprise, that's all.

His smile grows now that the initial awkwardness has dissipated.

— Are you checking in now? — He asks Emili.

— No. I've checked in the morning, with the guy with frizzy hair. - She describes Felipe, who was taking care of check-ins this morning - I asked about you, and he told me you were out on some errands.

Her breasts almost squeeze out of her sundress as she lean over the counter with enthusiasm and a big smile.

— So, I came back now to invite you. — She speaks with Yuri as he tries to avoid staring at her chest. — How about we go to the opening of the Christmas festival this evening?

— Huh? Does the festival start today already? — Even though he is the local, he had completely forgotten

— Mhm. They will turn on the lights and there will be some live performances too — She explains. Her voice full of expectation — So?

She asks him, full of expectation. But his face quickly reveals a concern deeper than she had anticipated.

— Well... only if you're not too busy with work. — She adds. Trying to match his energy.

— … Sorry. There are still some day shift workers who on their shift. — he explains himself with a fake smile. — I have to stay, at least until they clock out. Just in case they need help with something.

— No. I mean… Yeah. Sure! I forgot about that. — She also put on a fake smile.

Yuri, trying to ease the letdown, attempts to cheer her up.

— Why don't you go on ahead? I’ll go check with them if they need something.

As he speaks, Emili's face relaxes again as she realizes that he is not making up an excuse.

Not that Yuri was that kind of guy. But for the last six months, she had noticed he has been growing distant.

She had her own theories—after all she has been his best friend for the past three years. Yet, since he hadn't openly spoken of it, she had been treading on eggshells.

— If they don't need me, I'll just take a quick shower and meet you downtown. Okay? - Yuri suggests.

— Deal! — She smiles, taking a coupe steps backwards towards the reception door. — Text me if it works out, okay? I’ll meet you there.

She walks out the door, waving at Yuri.

“What is up with him lately?”, Emili thinks as she follows behind some other guests toward the resort entrance.

At the reception, Yuri buries his face in his crossed arms over the counter, following it with a frustrated sigh.

"And now this?", he murmured to himself.

“It must be some kind of conspiracy by the universe to screw me over.”

— What with all that mumbling, hot stuff? — a female voice said from behind Yuri.

There was no mistake on who was it.

— Hi… Ana — He says, with his face still buried into his arms.

— You just got here and already have a thing going on, huh? Who was that cutie? Is she a crush of yours? She seemed to know you well, didn't she? — Ana flooded him with questions in an unmistakable mocking tone.

— W-what? No! Who? Her? Oh… she is just a friend from college. — he stammered in a panic, trying to cover up the fact she had figured it out so quickly.

“How in the hell did she catch that? It can't be that obvious!”, he thinks while trying to dismay her.

Ana watches his pitiful attempt of an explanation with a dull face.

— Oh. Sure! Totally believable bro. Very subtle. — she burst out laughing in his face.

Yuri face burns, bright red, while he just stands there pouting at his own defeat.

Anyway, where is my gift? — Still giggling, Ana asks, trying to change subject.

— H-here. — He picks up a small white box with a blue ribbon on top from one of the drawers in the counter and give to Ana, still refusing to look at her face.

Ana face immediately changes into a gentle smile as he gives the small box to her.

Smiling with closed eyes, she pressed the small box against her cheek, holding it tightly with both hands.

— Thank you! — She says in a genuinely happy tone.

Seeing it, Yuri soften and smile back.

— It's nothing fancy. — Yuri says politely — It's for yesterday, but also… — He pauses.

— Hm? — Ana open her eyes, still holding the small box close to her face.

— To celebrate. — He continues. — I couldn't say it properly yesterday, but I was really happy to know you are better now.

The short-lived surprise gives plate to Ana friendly smile once again.

— So that's why you cried, is it? — she teases him

— Yes… — She reaffirms — of course it was!

She knew that wasn't why he was crying on the previous night, but she saw no point in bringing it up.

After that, a for a brief moment, silence fills the room around them.

— To be honest — Ana speaks. Her voice now more vulnerable — I was a little scared to talk to you after all this time.

She fidgets with the gift ribbon as she talks. Even though it is not so much of a heavy topic, it seems to be really important for her.

— Afraid of feeling like strangers, or something like that — She holds the gift closer to her chest. — It makes me happy to know it still matters to you.

Both Ana and Yuri smiled, and in that silent moment, they saw the children they once were, back when they were closest.

— I don't want to ruin the surprise, so I'll open it later when I go home, okay? — Ana points at the small gift box.

As she says that, something feel of to Yuri.

— “Go” home? — He asks — Hasn't the spa already closed?

— It did. — Ana answer while putting her gift under the counter and leaning back against the wall. — But I'm still waiting for the dryer to finish spinning some sheets and towels.

Once in a while, Ana stays late to finish cleaning the spa before heading home. This has never been an issue for her, as she typically uses the waiting time to enjoy the sauna or the pool.

— It's way better than waking up even earlier to do a lot of shores before clients start to show up.

 — She says, casually, while stretching her neck and yawning. — I'm not a morning person at all!

The sudden, sharp screech of the tall reception bench startled Ana as Yuri bolted to his feet, his face set in a quite serious expression.

— I'll do it! — Yuri exclaimed while looking Ana in the eyes.

For a moment, Ana stared at him, her face displaying an almost blank expression of surprise.

—... What? — She asks him, trying to understand the reason behind his sudden change of tone.

— I can do it, I can finish the laundry. — He repeated, his tone a mix of urgency and expectation. — That way, you won't have to stay late, right?

— It's okay. Don't worry about it. — Ana try to dismiss the tension — I do it almost every week.

— Please. — Yuri insists.

His genuine determination to help with something that trivial makes it even harder for Ana to understand his reason.

— Do you even know where to put the sheets after they’re done?

— No… — He admits reluctantly —- Could you show me?

— Are you sure? — She placed her hands on her hips, scrutinizing Yuri's stubbornness — Didn’t your crush just asked you?

— I’m telling you, it's no big deal. — she continues, trying to convince him.

— I know — Yuri explains — But I promised my parents I would take care of the resort while they are out.

Ana's expression softened as she finally caught a hint of what Yuri might have been struggling with.

— This is my top priority right now. — He says, his voice steady.

Ana sighs softly, a small laugh escaping as she brushes her bangs aside.

— Fine, Mr. Stubborn. If you insist. — she says with a playful smile.

Yuri smiles in return, relieved to follow through on what he considers part of his promise, grateful for the chance to help.

— I’ll gladly accept the company. — says Ana, her smile growing warmer.

Later that evening, Emili sits at a table on the sidewalk, surrounded by tourists enjoying a live samba show.

On the table rests a half-drunk mug of beer and her phone, which she taps awake.

“08:03 PM — 12/19”

That’s the only things on her lock screen. No new messages.

“He must have gotten caught up with work,” she thinks, a frustrated sigh slipping past her lips.

She props her elbow on the table, her cheek resting against her hand, eyes fixed on her phone.

“But I can’t help but wonder… Does he still blame himself for that accident?”