Andrew looked at the door of the apartment unit 1504 with a heavy sigh.
Somehow in the end, he had to be in a difficult situation like this. It started when he and David went to the supermarket to buy groceries. The Writer is well aware that he can't always depend on buying food from outside or take-out. Moreover, what is the use of a large refrigerator in his apartment unit if it is only filled with bottles of drinks and some snacks and fruit. And again, the location of the supermarket is indeed quite close to the apartment building, but who would have thought that Andrew and his cousin would meet the Editor and her son.
Honestly, the meeting was really awkward, especially for Andrew and Macy.
With all the things that happened the past few days, the Writer tries not to run into the Editor whenever he is about to leave or return to the studio. Apart from the overall situation, Andrew also needs to avoid the woman for his emotional problems. But who can predict or stop destiny?
No matter how hard he tries to dodge, he will surely meet the woman in one way or another. And maybe he should retaliate against his Agent for getting him into a situation that even he doesn't know how to turn it back into.
Andrew sighed again, staring at the wine bottle and a bouquet of flowers in his hands.
“Well, Andrew Coangco… it’s time to make your choice now. You could not come at all, maybe just call her and tell her you suddenly remembered an important appointment. Or… you can come, give this bottle of wine and flowers to her and then say that you can't stay for dinner,” he muttered quietly. "Or…"
Suddenly, the door opened. Andrew smiled faintly when he saw that it was Marcus who opened the door.
You can say…
"Hi..." said Andrew.
The little boy smiled sweetly at him. "Hello, Uncle Andrew..."
The Writer smiled and glanced at the direction of the apartment. He didn't see Macy, but Andrew could smell the food. He looked down again when Marcus grabbed his hand and pulled him inside. Well, he doesn't know since when he is this weak when it comes to a child.
Andrew walked in and took off his shoes in the foyer. After making sure the door was closed, he followed the little boy who was jogging down the hall to the living room area.
The Writer then glanced at the interior of the apartment. Even though it seems like his apartment and the Editor’s unit are the same size, Andrew feels that the apartment feels much more like a home than his own unit. It was probably because he could find traces of 'Marcus' in every corner. Including when he saw a large frame on the wall of the living room.
A family picture.
Andrew looked at the frame closely. The three people in the photo -Macy, Marcus and a man who is now an ex-husband - are smiling happily.
“I hope you like pasta dishes.”
He turned and saw Macy who is taking off the apron she is wearing as he approaches him from the kitchen area. Ah, Andrew has seen people wearing an apron, both man and a woman.
But somehow, he feels like Macy is different.
The Writer smiled. “It does not matter, really. I'm not a picky eater." Then he handed the bottle of wine and the bouquet of flowers to Macy. "As an apology."
Macy accepted the bottle and the flowers and frowned.
"For that incident," Andrew muttered carefully.
The Editor just nodded slightly. And Andrew cursed himself for bringing up the problem that was the main source of their awkward situation.
“Marcus, go wash your hands first," Macy turned to her son to escape the awkward atmosphere between her and the Writer.
The little boy nodded and rushed to the bathroom. Macy then motioned Andrew to follow her to the dining table. She put the wine bottle on the counter along with the flowers and opened one of the cupboards to take two glasses and a wine bottle opener.
Andrew, himself noticed the dish that had been all prepared by the Editor and smiled.
Oh, how he misses home food!
Then he turned to Macy who was about to open the bottle of wine. Andrew, being the gentleman that he naturally is, walked over to her and held out his hand.
"Let me do it," he offered.
The woman smiled and handed the bottle opener to Andrew. "I'm sorry if the dishes are too simple," she said as she washed her hands in the sink.
Andrew shook his head. "I told you, it does not matter. I should be the one apologizing. Because of my cousin, you have to be bothered like this. And again… maybe I should invite you to dinner for some time to treat you back. Especially because of my recklessness which made you have to… you know.”
Macy looked back at the Writer who looks good at opening a bottle of wine. “That may be your carelessness, but I should have been more careful not to touch anything. Everything on the table at that time was a gift from your fans, I shouldn't have taken it without asking you first."
He glanced at Macy. Honestly, he never thought that their talk would be this smooth talking about the incident, but as far as Andrew can see, the Editor looks so calm right now. Maybe because the editor just thought that it was an accident that could happen at any time. Well, for Macy's incident of drinking medicated drinks, it might be an accident, but what about him who helped her to…
Then there was a loud pop sound indicating that the wine bottle was open.
"Mom, I've washed my hands!"
Macy turned to look at her son who is now wiggling his hands cheerfully with a smile plastered on his baby face. “Very good.”
*****
Macy exhaled slowly.
She tried hard to control her emotions and facial expressions. Sitting with Andrew right now was not something she expected. Even since their accidental meeting at the supermarket this afternoon.
The woman actually felt quite lucky, because she almost never met the man every time she had to leave her apartment unit since that incident. With all the things that’s going on, Macy thinks that she just needed time so she could face the Writer again without having to go back to remembering...
Stop it, Macy!
She took a deep breath and glanced at her son who is currently enjoying his pasta. She smiled faintly. Marcus is still not good with chopsticks, but her son has a stubborn nature. His mouth is now filled with pasta sauce because he is trying his best to eat with chopsticks whenever he is eating pasta or noodles.
Macy grabbed the napkin she had prepared and handed it to the boy. Her son immediately turned to her. She just signaled for him to clean his mouth. Marcus snorted then took the napkin and wiped his mouth.
The Editor just chuckled. She knows that her son doesn’t like it whenever someone is telling him what he should do because according to him, “he can handle himself”
But then she stopped laughing because Andrew was with them. Her son doesn't like it when Macy treats him like a baby in front of other people since he really thinks that he is a big boy now.
She then glanced at Andrew who was sitting in front of her and watched him for a moment.
Ever since they started eating, neither of them had the guts to open a conversation. Sometimes, Macy will just talk to Marcus and her son tries to chat with Andrew. But literally, she and the
Writer didn't talk directly at all.
Suddenly, the Editor’s phone rang.
After excusing herself, Macy stood up and rushed to the living room where she left her cell phone. Andrew glanced at her briefly then turned to Marcus who sighed and just resumed eating. The man noticed the change in the boy’s expression when the woman left the dining table to take the call.
Andrew was about to ask, but he realized that this isn't something he could ask just because he is curious or something.
Soon, Macy returned to the dining table with an apologetic look.
"Sorry, but I have to go to the printer," she stated.
"Is there any problem?"
Macy mumbled. “It seems that one of the printing staff misprinted the agreed amount. I have to go and solve the problem myself," she explained to the man. Then she turned to her son.
“Marcus, you want to come with mommy? Or do you want me to take you to daddy’s house? If you want to go to daddy’s house, mommy will pick you up tomorrow morning."
Andrew remained silent.
"I want to stay here," muttered Marcus.
"But dear, mommy will be gone for quite a while. You can't be home alone."
The boy then looked at Andrew closely. Oh, he would not like the idea that crossed the child's mind.
“I can stay with Uncle Andrew for a while. I promise to be on my best behavior.” said Marcus who is doing his best to convince his mom.
Macy glanced at the man uncomfortably. "But Marcus, we can't trouble Uncle Andrew. Besides, Uncle must be busy right now." She reasoned out.
"Busy? Are you busy uncle?" Oh, the boy's question is now directed at him.
Andrew blinked a few times. He noticed Macy's gaze on him. The woman asks him to cooperate with her and tells Marcus that he can't be bothered. Maybe because he is still a stranger and the Editor doesn't want to bother him. However, Andrew can also see the boy's wish that he can’t be escorted to his daddy's house.
Oh, why should I be stuck with this situation? The man murmured to himself.
“Err… I'm quite busy indeed. But…” Andrew glanced back at Marcus. He sighed. Well, it is now confirmed, Andrew Coangco is a weakling when it comes to a child’s plea. "You can leave Marcus to me. After all, our apartment units are just opposite to one another. I can stay until you come back.”
Marcus smiled broadly while Macy, leaving with no choice, can only sighed in defeat.
*****
Andrew was replying to the last message sent by David when he realized that Marcus had fallen asleep by his side. Since Macy left, they spent their dinner together and Marcus suggested that they watch some movies afterward. Every now and then, the boy commented on the films they watched and he only gave a modest response.
Well, Andrew doesn't go to the cinemas very often. He is not interested watching a movie let alone, an animated film.
He glanced at Marcus then took a deep breath. He put his phone on the coffee table before getting up. He walked to open several doors to find the boy's room. When he found it, the Writer returned to the living room to carry Marcus into his arms and put him on the bed.
After securing the blanket and tucking the boy in, Andrew stared at Marcus’ small face. He smiled briefly because it was clear that the boy had a resemblance to his mom. Even though he can only see Marcus’ father’s face from the frame in the living room, he can tell that there is no resemblance at all between the boy and his father. Andrew’s hand then gently stroked Marcus’ head then he quietly walked out of the room and closed the door slowly.
He returned to the living room and looked at the television which was still showing the last movie the boy watched. It's very late and the woman hasn't come back yet. It seemed the problem was serious enough that the Editor had to go to the printer tonight to manage it.
Andrew sighed as he grabbed the remote and stopped the animated film and replaced it with another movie. After choosing the movie, he went to the dining table to get his wine glass.
He poured more wine into the glass before returning to the sofa in the living room.
Well, watching movies while being the Editor's babysitter wasn't something he had planned. And even though he could return to his unit now, he still couldn't leave the boy alone by himself.
Andrew sip slowly the red wine he brought. It wasn't the kind of wine he bought often, but it wasn't that bad. He put the wine glass on the coffee table as he focused on watching the movie being played.
Fifteen minutes have passed and Andrew began to yawn sleepily. He glanced at his cellphone which was located near the wine glass. He initially thought of contacting Macy and asked when she would be home. But that's just a consideration. He leaned back against the soft sofa and returned his focus to the film.
Until his gaze shifted to a pile like a manuscript that was on the table next to the sofa. The Writer thought it was a pile of scripts that the Editor had to check. But why did she even take it home?
As far as he knows, Editors are not allowed to bring a draft of the manuscript out of the publishing office. But there seems to be a special rule in St. Haven.
Then he grabbed a script that was at the top of the pile. His brow furrowed as he read the title.
“Wildest Dream of a Woman?”
Andrew then opened the first page and read it. He knew that what he was doing was a mistake – reading other writers' drafts, even without the editor's permission. But he will only read the first chapter. After all, he will not be plagiarizing the script.
However, after only a few minutes of reading, the Writer quickly returned the manuscript to another pile of drafts. Hah… he didn't think that St. Haven also received a draft script with such a wide genre. Well, he knows that there are several publishing houses that accept any genre of script, especially if they have a good plot and storyline. That's what most of the publisher offices abroad are doing. But he did not think that St. Haven also accepts genre- specific scripts.
"Maybe there was a special consideration because they accepted the script," Andrew muttered.
After all, it's not good if he assumes something bad. Andrew rubbed his tired face. Oh, he wanted so badly to go home and lie down in his new soft bed. However, currently, he can only lie on the sofa while staring at the television which is still showing the film of his choice.
Andrew yawned again and slowly he closed his eyes.
*****