Rita's Secret

Her name is Rita. She's our assistant at work. I love working with her. Every time I ask a favor from her, she will do it without any complaints or alibis. And she always wear a smile on her face, regardless of how swamped we are at work.

I found out she has two other jobs other than what we have together. I wonder how can she manage to do it. Time management and Perseverance were her reply. She said she just wish she earns as much as I do so she can just keep one job but the need requires her to hang on to three.

She earns half of my salary as an assistant but she will always be the one to bring me food and buy me chocolates and coffee. She will tell me some stories about her son back in the Philippines. She whines of how expensive Levi's 501 nowadays. "$60 for a pair of jeans? That's ridiculous!" . I will smile when she does that, thinking of my Seven For All Mankind jeans (which most of them don't fit no more for gaining weight from her Adobo, Kare Kare and Kit Kats during break times).

Today, she showed me pictures of her new constructed house in Alabang. It was a beautiful modern house. The house I dreamt of having. It's a 5-room 2-level house with a stunning Japanese garden. All that came out of my mouth seeing the pics was "Wow!".

I asked her how much did she spare for this amazing house. She replied coyly: 14 million pesos. I didnt allow the 'Wow' out of my mouth this time. I remember she works 3 jobs and she deserves having this. She lost her husband long time ago. And she did this all by herself? I thought to myself, I cannot afford building this house in 3 years like the way she did. Did she win the Lotto? Well, if she did, why is she still working with us?

"All of my hard work was for this house. One more year and i'll not be working hard for the Money any more" she reckons. Her son will be graduating next year. Then she said: "When he finishes college next year... he will find a job and HE WILL BE LIKE YOU!"

I was a little bit embarrassed and surprised of how Rita see me as a model for her son. The high regards she has for me. I told her with all honesty : "No, Rita. I hope your son will not turn out to be like me. I hope he will emerge to be like YOU"

All she replied was: "Ikaw naman. Joker ka talaga!".

I didnt know if she did get my point. She was carrying fresh linens and some cleaning soap heading towards the room of an elderly Caucasian full of poop. And I thought, I wish I can be like her.

-----O-----

Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success. -Dale Carnegie

Positive For Nothing

3:45pm, 7th Floor

Ben likened his 7th floor workplace to a colony of ants. Everybody is busy working in a dull uniformity. Everybody looks the same with their black and red suits. 2 more hours and Ben will be out of here. Waiting for 5 O'Clock is always a thing to endure every weekday. 

The Queen Ant summoned Ben to her office. "Ben, I need you to bring this down to Mr. Myrmex on the 5th floor". Ben's eyes sparkled: "Of Course. Of course". The 5th floor is where Mar is working. Mar is Ben's new crush. He's the new guy with the dimples. Ben's not even sure if he's real name is Mar. He once overheard someone calling this new guy 'Mar"... which could be a nick for Mario, or Marlo, or Edimar. Just like his 'Ben', a short for Benjamin. 

Ben with the docs on hand passed by a mirror. He checked how he looks. He's not that bad looking at all, he thought. At least for his standards. Ben fixed his red plaid tie. Not for the extra pounds, he'll be perfect. He smiled anyway and headed to the elevator.

The fifth floor's aura was much different from where he works. They are much relaxed here. He saw Donna, Mr. Myrmex's secretary. "Hi, Donna" with eyes not on hers but journeyed somewhere instead, to look for Mar. He saw Mar at his desk. Absorbed of what he is doing. "Your Boss needs these papers", says Ben to Donna but eyes still on Mar. Let Mar see me please, thought Ben. Donna was on the phone unaware of what's going on. Ben waited both for Donna to attend to her and Mar to see him. He wanted himself to be visible to Mar, visible to be noticed.

Then it happened. Mar eventually saw him. Stared at and noticed him. Ben did not smile at all. He instead counted from 1 to 4. Yes! 4 seconds. According to his friend, Henry, a 4-second stare or more means something. Something positive. Then Mar smiled at him and he smiled back. The dimples just made him want to shout "Hanep!". But he kept it to himself. He then noticed Donna smiling at him too. He retained the smile for Donna and said: "I love your lipstick!"

Ben, back to 7th floor smiled till 5pm.

-O-

3:50PM, 5th floor

Marlon has to impress his boss. He's new to this company and the paper works assigned to him are not his forte at all. He has to finish this by 5pm or else his boss might think he's not capable of this job. He needs this good first impression. Just like how he impressed Tommy, the guy he's dating for a month now. Marlon is into well-built muscled guys like Tom. Like this new job, he wants to keep Tom for good. 

The company sales materials Marlon is working on gave him a headache. He's been at his desk for 2 hours straight since his lunch break. He paused for a while to take a deep breath. While doing this he saw this chubby guy with a red plaid tie staring at him at Donna's desk. He looked familiar. He tried to remember where he met this guy. 

Presto! The guy staring at him now is the same guy he caught picking his nose while driving at the parking garage this morning. He cannot help but smile. And the guy smiled back at him. That worsened the situation. He wanted to laugh hard but felt embarrassment for the guy. He just lowered his head instead with the smile still intact. 

-O-

9:00 PM, Ben's Bedroom.

Ben cannot sleep. Happiness is what he felt. He thought of the smile Mar gave him this afternoon. The 4-second stare meant something. Ben's positive. Mar's into him. He's excited to go back to work tomorrow.  

-O-

9:00 PM, Mar's Bedroom.

Marlon is happy. He just had another great sex with Tommy. While Tom's head on his chest, he shared how stressed he was at work and the story of that funny-looking co-worker picking his nose at the carpark today.