“TITA, Janessa!”

As soon as she entered their house, all her nephews ran to her to get the shopping bags from her hands. They’re all giggling in excitements while opening the paper bags. “Come and give me a kiss first,” she said and gave them a peck in the cheek each.

“What about me, Janessa? Where’s mine?”

Janessa paused, the voice was familiar to her. She turned around and found her grandmother, Imelda, descending from the stairs while smiling at her.

“Lola! I miss you!” She ran to her old lady and gave her a warm hug. “What a surprise! Did you come home for a holiday vacation?”

“Sort of,” she said when she released her. “I miss you, too. How’s my only granddaughter? I can see on your IG posts that you’re busy with your coffee shop.”

“It’s because Christmas is just around the corner. Espresso Your Love needs some changes,” she replied with a smile.

“Do you have a new boyfriend?”

If Janessa was currently eating right now, she might have thrown it. Her grandmother came home to the Philippines to ask if she has a new boyfriend. She can’t believe it.

“You still don't have a boyfriend, Janessa?” the old lady asked again.

Janessa scratched the corner of her brow. “Lola, did you come home just to ask me that?”

“Yes! That’s the only reason why I went home,” her mother replied without hesitation. “I’m worried that you might grow old alone—surrounded by the bitterness of your coffee shop.”

Janessa chuckled. “There’s nothing wrong with being alone, Lola—”

“That’s a lame excuse!” Lola Imelda cupped her forehead. “Look at yourself. You’re not young anymore—”

“Mom, don’t stress yourself. You just arrived, why don’t you take a rest first?” Janessa’s father butt in. He was watching them from the kitchen door with his apron and pot gloved hands. His daddy’s smile widened when she looked at him. “I cooked your favorite rollatini pasta, my princess.”

Janessa giggled. She ran to the kitchen and hugged her dad. “I bought something for you, dad,” she said and handed him the paper bag.

“Oh, you shouldn't have to…” He peeked inside the bag and smiled. “Perfect! I was about to get myself a new shirt for my badminton tomorrow. Thanks, Janessa.”

When his dad took the shirt out of the paper bag, she remembered the arrogant guy she encountered earlier. The guy that almost killed her! She might be overreacting, but hell! She's pissed off. Is he the son of Zeus? The nerve! She thought.

Her grandmother walked towards them. “By the way, Edmundo, have you told her about—”

“Not yet, Mom. I think it’s better if you’re the one to tell her,” his father replied quickly as if avoiding something. “I’ll leave you two first. I will check the dish in the oven.”

Janessa frowned at her grandmother, who was looking at her with an arched brow. And, based on her tone of voice while asking her dad, she had a feeling that won’t like what she’s going to say.

*

“WHAT?! A wedding? No way! I don’t want to get married!” Janessa couldn't believe it when her grandmother told her the real purpose of her sudden flight home.

“Janessa, please. Calm down and listen first,” her dad said calmly.

“I can’t believe this is happening...” She walked back and forth in front of them. “Dad, tell me it isn’t real.”

But, her dad just shrugged his shoulders. Janessa couldn’t digest what’s happening!

“Janessa, why are you so shocked? You should felt relieved because I found a man that you could marry. Don’t you see it? I’m doing you a favor, young lady,” she said as she gave her a once-over. “With that kind of fashion sense and personality, I doubt you could find a man that can accept you.”

Janessa was doomed. She looked at her black cotton tees and ripped jeans. “What do you expect to wear while making coffees? I’m a barista, Lola. I’m not a rampage model,” she said sarcastically. She’s beginning to hate this conversation even more. “And, please, I can find my partner. You don’t have to do this century-old stuff! Arranged marriage? We’re not in the 1900s anymore.”

The old lady shook her head. “Janessa, you’re already twenty-seven years, but you’re still single for almost six years—”

“Let’s not talk about that, please,” she cut off immediately. She knew that she’ll bring up again the past about her first-slash-ex-boyfriend, Dave Lazcano.

“I don’t understand why you didn’t end up with Dave,” her grandmother continued. “Why did you let him go? You can’t find another man like him. Dave is perfect, a handsome architect, intellectual—”

“Mom...” Janessa’s dad interrupted after noticing her silence.

It’s been years since Janessa and Dave broke up. But, the pain that it caused in her heart was still there. They say time heals all wounds, but it didn’t for her, because time just made the wound worse.

*

“LOLA, you didn’t tell us that the coffee shop was inside the Intramuros. It took me hours to find it,” Ardin told his grandmother Corazon when he finally got home. “It wasted my time.”

The old lady smiled. “Don’t be so grumpy, young man. Look at that handsome face, I’m sure you wouldn’t want age lines to mark on that,” she said while trying to erase the line forming between his brows.

That gesture made Ardin smiled. “You should have called me first before going here so that I filed an emergency leave from my office. I want to prepare a special dinner for you and Mom.”

The smile in the old lady’s face faded. “My goodness, Ardin! I don't want to hear anything about your work. It gives me goosebumps!”

He chuckled, but what was he going to do? Ardin Cardiente was a Forensic Pathologist. He’s one of the important correspondents at any crime incidents throughout the Metro Manila. His job was to investigate the crime scene, collect all possible shreds of evidence, and examine the most crucial proof of the crime: the victims' bodies.

Ardin’s grandmother was against his chosen field of profession. For the old lady, being in Forensics was too dangerous, and like what she always says whenever he mentioned his work: ‘It’s horrible.’

If the majority of people around the world feared and avoided death, Ardin was different. His work was to chase the cause of death. Ardin’s life was surrounded by different kinds of death—natural, accidental, homicidal, suicidal, and sometimes undetermined. But he doesn’t give a damn about what people think about his job. Because for him, it wasn’t just a job, it’s his profession. Only a skilled medical examiner like him can solve mysterious cases that are surrounded by hidden pieces of evidence that can only be found inside the victim’s body.

“By the way, Ardin, have you seen the coffee shop owner?” his Lola Corazon asked, face suddenly lit up with excitement again.

Ardin knotted his forehead. “Which coffee shop? The one where I bought your graham balls?”

The old lady nodded with a smile. “Did you see her?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t. Why? Do you have anything to say to the owner? We can call them—”

“No, Ardin,” she said and pinched the tip of his nose. “She’s your future wife.”

***

Author’s Note: The word ‘Lola’ that I used in some of my dialogues is a Tagalog term for ‘Grandmother’. While ‘Tita’ is for ‘Auntie’.