Putting the Pieces Together

Why am I feeling so conflicted right now? It’s not right. It’s unprofessional. I grip my knees underneath the table and try to calm myself down. I’m a professional. I’m better than this.

“Um, you know, it’s 2023. Who cares if it’s the girl who asks the guy out, y’know?” Vega says with an awkward laugh.

But this doesn’t satisfy Agila, who looks me straight in the eyes and asks, “But do you want to go on another date with Vega, Kuya?”

I look down. For the sake of the mission, yes. Yes, I need to. I have to. I look back up with a steely expression and nod. “Yes, I would.”

I turn to Vega and give her my most practiced, charming smile. “Vega, would you do me the honors of going on another date with me?”

Vega stumbles through her words but eventually manages to get out a simple “Yes.” This time, my sister seems pleased as she claps her hands together and beams.

“Oh wow! A second date! Vega, you might actually be the one!”

“Y-you think?” She asks, and at this point I can tell that I should step in before Agila starts oversharing.

“Come on now Agila, let’s not—“

But my sister instead chooses to talk over me. “Yeah, I’ve been trying to set him up with other girls for years, but no luck! It was always ‘work comes first’! So you must be something else for my brother to be willing to put all that aside for once!”

Vega nods in understanding. “Oh yeah, I totally understand that mentality. I was like that before, too. Well, at least until I saw your brother.”

“Ohhhh~ Was it love at first sight?”

“Um...I guess you can say that?”

I notice Cobalt eyeing her carefully as she says this. Like he’s trying to piece something together. Was there something suspicious about that statement?

I discreetly tap the table in Morse code.

.-- .... .- - .----. ... / .-- .-. --- -. --. ..--..

(What’s wrong?)

Cobalt’s gaze turns to me, then back to the girls who are still engaged in conversation. He taps out his reply.

.. .----. .-.. .-.. / - . .-.. .-.. / -.-- --- ..- / .-.. .- - . .-. .-.-.-

(I’ll tell you later.)

I decide not to press. Cobalt’s the type that likes to get all of his information together before pitching something. I respect that about him.

I turn to look at the girls, who still look to be deep in conversation until a loud alarm starts blaring through the diner.

“Oh shoot, that’s me,” Vega says, taking her phone out. Her face falls as she looks at her phone and she lets out a weird noise that sounds like a cross between a deflated balloon and a sea gull squawking.

“What’s wrong?” Agila asks.

“I forgot I have an important meeting today! I have to get going! Uh, nice to meet you—“

She nods at Cobalt

“Good seeing you again —“

She nods at Agila.

“And, uh, let’s take a rain check on that date?”

I nod and give her another winning smile. She blushes. Nailed it.

Like a whirlwind, Vega rushes out of the diner and, as we find out later, even paid the bill on the way out.

We exchange good-byes with Cobalt shortly after. He sends me a text later, telling me that he has something he wants to look into and will keep me updated once he’s pieced things together.

“Are you going back to work now?” Agila asks.

I shake my head. “No, I’m done for the day. Do you have anywhere else you need to be?”

“Nah, I just want to go home and rest. It’s been quite a morning.”

“Oh? Did something big happen?”

“Big doesn’t even begin to cover it. Today, I had to fight—“ Agila pauses and lets out an awkward laugh, “--fight through a horde of shoppers. To, uh, get some sweets in the new cafe that opened recently.”

Right. Sure. She’s lying, but I’ll let it slide for now. Hopefully she’ll tell me what’s going on in her own time, and if she doesn’t…Well, that’s where my spy training comes in.

We walk together in silence, which is fine by me. It gives me more time to mull over my thoughts. I learned a lot about Vega today thanks to Cobalt’s insider info, but her initial aversion to romance before meeting me is still bugging me. I hope Cobalt can get back to me sooner rather than later.

“-ya? Kuya!”

“Hm? What is it?”

Agila puffs her cheeks a bit in a put off manner. “What’s with you spacing out like that? Wait, don’t tell me—“ Her expression morphs into a mischievous grin and I can already tell where this conversation is headed before she opens her mouth.

“Are you thinking about your next date with Vega?”

I decide to play it off coolly. “Yeah, I guess I am. What do you think of her?”

Agila makes a “hmmmm” sound, scratching her chin as if deep in thought. “I think she’s a little weird, but she’s definitely a good person. The type of person you’d want to have as an ally.”

Again, another interesting choice of words. “How long have you known each other?”

“Just a couple of days.”

“You two seem awfully close after just a couple of days.”

“I guess we just really hit it off.”

“Right…” That’s probably the most I’ll get out of her. For now.

We’re getting close to our house now. Agila runs up the steps to the front door and enters the code in. Once inside, our parents greet us from the living room. It looks like they’re still in the midst of their very belated spring cleaning. They’re both sitting amidst a sea of photo albums and it looks like the cleaning has been put on hold as they look back on old memories.

Agila makes a beeline for the photos, seemingly forgetting about her earlier claims of wanting to rest.

“Oh, oh! Gimme the baby pics!”

My mom kindly obliges and hands her the photo album with most of Agila’s baby pictures. I walk over to my Dad, who’s looking through an older photo album. I look over his shoulder and an elementary school-aged version of me stares right back at me.

“Do you remember how concerned you used to be about about your height?” My Dad asks wistfully.

I take a seat next to him. “Yeah, even by Asian standards I was pretty short.”

My mom comes over and takes a look at the picture in question.

“Oh, I remember the day this was taken like it was yesterday. It was during your sports day, remember sweetie?”

She reaches over and pinches my cheeks, as if I’m still the same height concerned little boy in the photograph.

“Yes mom, I remember,” I say, humoring her. “It was my first ever sports day in this country, so I was really nervous.”

Mom nods, closing her eyes as if reliving the memory now. “Yes, and then you met Cobalt and you two have been best friends ever since.” She tilts her head to side.

“I remember there was another kid that you became friends with that day, too. A little girl. But she moved away after just one year. What was her name again?”

I try to think back. It was so long ago I had nearly forgotten. That girl was a bit of an odd duck, but she was very friendly. I most distinctly remember her singing voice. The teachers always singled her out during music class and she always took that opportunity with great gusto.

My Dad turns to the next page of the photo album. This time, it’s a photo of a younger me, an equally younger Cobalt, and the little girl in question. Her hair is tied haphazardly into a ponytail and she’s flashing a peace sign. I squint my eyes and lean further in to get a better look at the picture.

That messy black hair. That smile. Where have I seen it before?

My parents notice the way that I’ve suddenly taken an interest in this particular photo. My mom smiles sweetly as she looks down.

“Oh, there she is! You kids were so adorable! Now, what was her name again? Ma- Macy? No, Mary. Mary Something, I think.”

“Mary Smith,” I say, feeling my throat go dry.

“Right, that’s her name! I wonder what she’s up to these days?”