| Fan Fiction |
by kglove
“It’s not a date, alright? He just wants to show me his new place, that’s all.”
“Of all the people in the world, why does he have to show it to you? I mean you guys are broken up already. What is it to him if you like the place or not? I'm sure he has other friends he can show it to.”
“Jane, you know that he and I were once upon a time friends.”
“Yeah, and once upon a time you were lovers as well.” Jane rolled her eyes on Kim. “You are so naïve.”
“I'm not! Why don’t you just go check the time logs of our trainees. Once you're done, you can leave if you want.”
“A little too excited to get rid of your intern so you can get ready for the date, huh?”
Kim sighed. “Stop calling it a date, will you? Look, I have tons of paperwork to do. Pestering me about Gerald is not going to help. Can you just do what I asked you to do?” Kim ordered Jane. But her face expressed amusement at Jane’s smirk as she was leaving.
Half an hour later, her phone rang which startled Kim. She reached for her phone in her bag and saw it was her dad calling.
“Hey dad!” Kim greeted enthusiastically.
“Kim, I left you several messages. I've been trying to get a hold of you since this morning.”
“I'm sorry, dad, I wasn’t able to check my voicemail. Things have been pretty hectic today. Anyway, what’s up?”
“Nothing to be worried about, honey. I just want to let you know that I will be gone for two weeks. I will be attending a conference in Singapore and I leave tomorrow morning.”
“Oh. So, do you need a ride to the airport?”
“No. Your Kuya William is going to take care of that.” Mr. Chiu assured.
“Well then, you have a safe flight. I’ll see you when you get back. I'm going to miss you.”
“Ditto, sweetie. I will try to call when I have time. Take care of yourself, alright?”
“You too, daddy. Bye.” Kim hung up and realized that someone was standing outside her office. “Hey, is it time yet?” She glanced at the clock. “It’s only five-thirty.”
“No, I'm actually here to let you know that Michael wants to see us in his office in five minutes.” Gerald replied.
“Really? What for?”
“I don’t know. He said something about wanting to make sure everything is in order. Whatever that means.” He shrugged. “Should I be worried?”
Kim laughed. “No, not at all. Mike is probably giving out our new training schedule. My class is moving on to Products training next week so I will have another batch to handle.”
“Oh. He can do that through email, right?”
“Yes, but Mike is very hands-on. That’s one thing I like about him. He really sees to it that he’s on top of everything. Don’t worry; it’s not going to be long. Probably 10 minutes tops.”
“Okay then, I will see you there.”
***
Kim hesitantly stepped inside Gerald’s apartment. It is a studio type unit with very minimal appliances. The only thing separating the living room and bedroom is a curtain impetuously draped over. Kim noticed that there are still boxes left unopened at one side of the room.
“I'm sorry, I haven’t unpacked everything yet. Please, take a seat.” They heard a soft knock and Gerald hurriedly opened the door.
“I'm here for a delivery for Mr. Gerald Anderson.” The young man announced as soon as he opened the door.
“Yes, that’s me.” Gerald reached in his pockets and paid for the food he ordered.
Kim’s eyes followed every move that Gerald made. She heard Gerald utter his thanks before he closed the door and walked over to his dining table where he deposited the stuff he was carrying. “I hope you don’t mind, I ordered food.” Gerald said.
“I thought we are just having coffee.”
Gerald set the table and took out the food from the boxes. “I figured you will be hungry by the time we get here. Besides, it is dinner time already.” He saw Kim look at him apprehensively. “I ordered lasagna for you.” Gerald walked over to where she was seated. “Please?”
He said ‘please’ in a way that he knew she couldn’t refuse. She followed him to the dining area and he moved so fast, she was surprised he was already holding out the chair for her, waiting for Kim to sit down. Although they ate dinner in discomfited silence, Kim couldn’t help but blush every time Gerald attended to her needs. Halfway through dinner, Gerald quipped. “This has got to be the most quiet meal I’ve ever had.”
Kim gave him a confused look before finally laughing.
“That’s more I like it. If we go through one more minute of silence, I think I’d go crazy.”
“You’ve got a pretty decent place here.” Kim said, trying to pick up a conversation.
“Thanks. My agent said he could get me a bigger place than this. But I settled for this one because I don’t think I’d need a large apartment. I’d be at work most of the time anyway.”
“I know what you mean by that. I was actually thinking of moving to a smaller unit. But I have a contract until the end of this year so I have to stay put.” Kim said.
They talked for couple of hours about work, family and friends they have in common. They didn't notice the time as they chatted animatedly like they used to do. “Gerald, can I use your restroom?” Kim asked.
“Of course, go ahead. I’ll take care of this mess.” He then proceeded to clean up the table.
When Kim went out of the restroom a couple of minutes later, she saw that Gerald was seated at the couch on the other side of the room watching TV. Glancing at her watch, she saw it was almost nine in the evening. “Um, Gerald thanks for the dinner. I have to go though.”
Gerald stood up from where he was seated and motioned for Kim to sit down. “Can you at least finish the coffee I made for you?”
Kim debated at first but eventually gave in. “Okay. But I really have to go after this.”
“Absolutely.” Gerald sat beside Kim and drank his coffee. “Kim?” She looked at him sideways. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being here. I really appreciate that you took the time out to come here.” he clutched Kim’s free hand. “After all the things that happened between us, I'm glad that we are back to being friends.”
Kim looked at Gerald then at his hand holding hers. She took her hands from his grip hastily which surprised Gerald. “Gerald, I really have to go. Thanks for tonight.” She stood up and hurriedly strode to the door and was about to grab the knob when he seized her arm.
“Kim, wait. Did I say something to offend you?”
Kim yanked her arm away from Gerald. “We can’t friends, Gerald!”
Gerald was confused. “What? Why the hell not? I thought we’re okay?”
“I made a mistake. I shouldn’t be here with you. This is too soon. I'm sorry.” Kim opened the door and turned to leave.
“But Kim…”
Kim stopped and faced Gerald. “Please, just leave me alone. I know we will be seeing each other at work, but I’d appreciate it if you will not talk to me. Bye Gerald.” Kim walked away, leaving a very confused and hurt Gerald behind.