Chapter 68

"I called to say I'm sorry. I received a call this morning from my secretary that a big client came to the office early. I immediately left the clinic," he said and that explained the reason why I couldn't find it when the procedure was over. "It's okay. You did your assignment before you left, so thank you very much for that," I replied calmly. I heard Quintin laugh, but it sounded awkward to me. "Y-you're right." I seemed to notice something strange when he paused. There were some noises in his background but I couldn't distinguish what exactly those were. "What was that, Quintin? Are you alright?" I immediately asked out of curiosity and concern. "What do you mean?" he returned. "There's something noisy. Did you fall on your seat?" I tried focusing my ears on the noise, which surprisingly suddenly disappeared. "There is nothing noisy here," he said, which surprised me even more. "O-okay, maybe I'm just imagining things," I said as an excuse, but I was certain I heard some strange noises and it even left feedback. Quintin cleared his throat. "By the way, have you talked to Felicity? Did you happen to see him at their house yesterday?" It was obvious he was trying to change the topic and when I heard my best friend's name, the little smile on my lips disappeared. "No, we haven't talked yet," I answered and I returned the same question to him. "Same, I haven't seen him recently. I'm impressed with how well he hides, but I hope we get to know what the real thing is we're dealing with here," he replied and we both got silent. I sighed. Thoughts of conclusion came rushing into my head. I wanted to know why he had been avoiding me, but how he acted when I saw him stopped me from asking anything. "Are you okay?" Quintin asked, breaking the silence. "I'm physically okay, but emotionally, I don't know," I paused and after taking another sigh, I continued. "I just wish I knew what I did wrong. I miss my best friend so much. Without him around, it's like having coffee without sugar—bitter." "That's a nice comparison. How about me? When I'm not around, how does it feel?" I frowned at his question. I thought of what to say. "I guess my days would be like a pickle without vinegar," I replied. "Why the vinegar? I take a bath twice a day, I never smelled even once in my life. Even my fart smells like perfume," he complained, raising his voice because he got offended. "Silly, I said it's like a pickle without vinegar. I didn't say you're the vinegar yourself. Oh, gosh!" He made me slap my forehead out of frustration. He got mad without even waiting for my explanation. "Then why vinegar?" He lowered his voice this time. "The pickle spoils immediately without vinegar, right? Vinegar is the one that prolongs your favorite chicken adobo too, right?" I asked, expecting by this time he would finally get a clue why I said vinegar. "Y-yes?" he asked cluelessly. "Slow," I whispered. "My day would lack flavor too and I won't last long enough and be strong enough without your help, so thank you," I uttered loudly. "Hmmm... I don't get it..." My shoulders slumped at his response. "What the heck, Quintin? Your brain stopped functioning, it seems." It was my turn to complain. "You should have compared me to coffee too. But I'm the creamer," he grumbled. "I am, right?" he added, which sent awkward feelings. I brushed my face when I remembered what he did for me that day. If only he had been in front of me at that time, I might have kicked him. He didn't know when to be serious. He always finds ways to insert his silliness. "Alright, just keep going, and I'll ruin your life," I threatened him with a grin. "You can't scare me like that, woman," he fought back. "Oh, really? Wait for a few days and I will show you how," I responded with a chuckle. "I'm just kidding!" I could feel how much he was panicking at this moment. "That's something I'm not sure of." "Hey!" "Fine! Calm down. I won't do anything." "Oh, thank you." "I won't yet," I said, taking it back. "Elyana?!" I chuckled. I couldn't believe he would panic that fast. He thought he could make fun of me. Then he was wrong. "Anyway, if you ever get a chance to see him, please ask him what's wrong. I'm worried, and as I said, if I did something bad to him, I will apologize, and if he doesn't want to see me anymore, let me know too," I told him with a heaviness in my chest. I miss that gay, my best friend—the old him, caring for me. "I would. Don't worry too much. You might be able to affect the baby." My ears felt warm when I heard the word "baby." There was excitement and at the same time I felt shy because it came from Quintin, but that was too early to expect. "Silly, we need to check first if it was successful. So no baby yet," I corrected. "You're right, but I have a feeling this will turn positive." He sounded too confident. What surprised me was that there was no sign of awkwardness in the way he spoke about it. He remained formal. "I'll be back at the clinic in a few days to check. I will update you by then with the result," I told him. "Alright, I'll be waiting," he replied. "I'll say goodbye now so you can rest." Okay, good night, and thank you for today," I responded. "No worries," he said and let me end the call before he could do so. When he was no longer on the other line, I asked myself, "Did I make the right decision to pick him as a donor?" I felt some doubts, but my desperation brought me to that situation. There was a slight regret, however, we both signed a contract together. I was just praying that wouldn't put any of us in trouble in the future.