Aiko. Tales of Full Contact. Part 2. 4 Tom and Jer

4.

Tom & Jerry’s Last Fight.



There was this one more thing... best fight ever and J.Lo’s concert. You know the game Block the Runner? That kind of thing.

My father and I had that kind of fight. There were 80 missed calls from him and I flew to HK. That was the time — after so many years — he seriously talked to my mom. He needed help looking for me.

He called Tanny too:

- Please forgive me. Even if I know where she is I cannot tell you. We pinkie promised each other since college even if Satan burned us together. I can only share with you what her exes said about her... When she’s gone she’s gone. Nowhere to be found.

My papa shouted...

- God damn gay friend
I’m not her boyfriend.
I’m her father.
I’m her boss.
I need her for board meetings.
It was like Tom & Jerry.

There was an upcoming board meeting. He wanted the reports in advance before his flight to Indonesia. Engineers, chemists — they weren’t finished. I told them to work through the weekend. I showed him the draft, but there were too many blank pages..

It was Friday. I had to leave by 3 PM.

He said no. I had to fill the blank pages. I added some, but it wasn't enough.

By 4:30 PM, I stood up:

- I gotta go get changed.

- Why is it so important? Are you going on a date? If the guy cannot wait, dispose of him.

Everyone laughed. I didn’t even say where I was going. He kept talking and talking. I just stayed silent.

Then he reached out and grabbed my bag.

He had my attention.

More talking. I kept listening. Then I grabbed my bag from the side of the desk and started heading out.

He blocked me.

- NO! You cannot go out.

He moved his chair and raised his foot onto the desk. I went back to my seat. He stood there, blocking me.

No way out.

Then someone's cellphone  rang — a call from Japan. He had no choice but to
take it. I didn't wait.

I jumped.

Onto the desk.
Onto the engineers’ 10-seater table.
Down to the floor.
And I was wearing heels.
There were:
Engineers
Chemists
Staff
2 Japanese guests

They all saw it. They laughed so loud. The Japanese guests asked my papa:

- She can jump in heels that high? She went to karate school?

I headed for the door. He ran, trying to grab my bag, but he only caught my jacket. I slipped out of it and ran downstairs, skipping the elevator. When the driver saw me:

- Ma’am, where to?

- Give me your car keys now. Go up and run. Our boss is looking for you.

And I’m gone.

Got to my condo. Refreshed. Dressed up. Off to J.Lo’s concert.

While at the concert... My assistant called my mom’s assistant. The boss wanted to talk to her urgently.

- Can we be in the same car, together? I need your help looking for her urgently.

My mom answered:

- Not your car.
  Not your driver.
  My car.
  My driver.
  Don’t sit beside me.
  You move there.
  We are going to the Mall of Asia arena parking lot.

It’s huge. They went around for 1.5 hours looking for my car. I hadn't even brought it. Papa gave some money to 5 guards to find it.

I never looked at my phone. I partied all night. In the morning, I see:
80 missed calls. 50 messages.

  Boss
  Mom
  Assistant
  Etc.

I called Tanny. Let’s meet at the airport.

We flew to Hong Kong. 4 days. 3 nights. Eat. Drink. Sleep. Little shopping.

Then the emails started.

Assistant: “Ma’am, please answer. Boss has a very bad temper.”

Assistant:”Ma’am, your mother called. The boss said he’ll pay for the J.Lo ticket. He said if you want to buy something... even a bag, any bag — it’s ok.”

I replied the next day: “Not the bag. If we fight, he’ll snatch it again. He snatches it anytime he likes. Are you sure he told my mom ANYTHING was ok?”

- YES.


After that, Tanny and I were in the Central. Eating ice cream. Cold and sweet.
Then she saw the Christian Louboutin store.

- Hey Jap, will you use those super high and sparkly Ms. Universe shoes?

- Hell no, those are red carpet shoes. Not practical. I don’t know how many minutes you can walk in them..

She insisted. We went inside. There was a Chinese festival. The shop had discounts.

- It’s a good price. If you don’t want it, we’ll resell it.

I don’t do that. But anything was ok as long as the board meeting reports were complete. We bought the shoes. Tanny could take the profit.

On the salary day, he asked why he got less money. Payroll explained about the peace offerings: the shoes and the concert.

- I did agree to it, but what kind of shoes? Why that much?

Then I heard him complaining to the office:

- She is not Ms. Universe. She’s not going to Hollywood’s red carpet. Who likes such expensive shoes?!

Everyone laughed.

- You want to have another fight with her?

He went silent.

- Nobody likes an expensive fight.

That was my papa. He said that.

- Nobody likes an expensive fight.

That was our 1st fight. Never fought like that again. No time. That was the last fight too, then.

During his eulogy. His last night. I mentioned that HY LV bag at the airport and everyone there said that they felt some coldness.

A sudden stillness of the overcast sky.

He is there with us.