Angelo

"What the fuck do you meant by that?! I paid thousands for my wife to give birth here, and my baby's being handled by some jungle Asian? That ain't right!"

Angelo kept his jaw clenched as he stood behind Dr. Morelo, who was trying to calm down the angry new parents. He'd been through this kind of confrontation before, but it still stung like the first time. "Susmaryosep... (Jesus-Mary-Joseph), as if I swam here myself," he thought, simmering in silence. With a tense nod, he avoided the parent's eyes, reminded of the last time he'd let his smart mouth ran resulting a formal warning.

Once the parents were calmed down and sent on their way, Angelo was quickly redirected to assist in the NICU. Only later, after his shift had run into a long, draining six hours of overtime, did he finally get a moment to breathe and notice the time almost 10 PM. "Ay, nako! I'm gonna miss Alberto's party." He punched out, quickly changed into an oversized white tee and sweatpants, and jogged out to catch the last bus, hoping he wasn't too late to the party.

Arriving at Alberto's yard, he was greeted with an array of familiar smells—barbecue skewers, lumpia, and pancit. The yard lights were warm, and the music was blaring a karaoke favorite. Alberto noticed him right away, laughing with a hearty, "Thought you'd ditched us!" Angelo just grinned and headed over to the table to grab a drink.

But as he scanned the small crowd, something felt off. Was it that person standing near Janet, who he didn't recognize? Maybe he was wrong. Just as he thought to ask, Janet sidled up beside him, shoving a microphone into his hand.

"Hey, Angelo, meet my friend. Now come on—duet time! Sing 'Alone' with them!" Janet's grin told him there was no way out so he took the mic deciding to go with it. The music began, and he took a deep breath, diving into the lyrics. "I hear the ticking to the clock, I'm lying here in the room's pitch dark..."

His eyes stealing glances at the person, watching their body language if they going to jump in to any verse soon as he took the lead.

It was a brief moment of peace in Angelo's otherwise relentless shift—a break he'd earned after hours of hustling between patients. Just as he sat down with his packed lunch, his phone buzzed. Seeing Johan's name, he sighed, feeling the familiar knot in his stomach tighten. He knew this wasn't going to be a casual call.

"O, Johan, ano na naman? (What is it now?)," Angelo asked, trying to keep his tone neutral but bracing himself for the usual request.

"Bro, I need cash. For Lili's school uniform. You know how it is—school's about to start, and she's got nothing decent to wear." Johan's voice had that same slick tone it always did, like he was trying to play some angle.

"Hah. School uniform, talaga? (Really?)," Angelo replied, a dry laugh escaping him. "So why'd I already send money last month for 'school supplies' then, ha? That just evaporated, did it?"

"Come on, Angelo. I mean, what's a few bucks more? Don't be so stingy—Lili needs it, and you've got enough over there in the States, don't you?"

Angelo's grip tightened on his phone. He bit his tongue, but only for a moment. "Stingy? You think I'm living like some rich American here? All you do is take, Johan. And for what? Another tattoo or some nonsense?"

There was a pause on the other end, then a mocking laugh. "Tattoo? You really think I'd be dumb enough to spend my money like that? No, bro. This is for Lili. You're just paranoid."

"Paranoid? Ay, nako," Angelo muttered, rolling his eyes. "Tell me this, Johan—if you're so concerned about Lili, why don't you get a job? Maybe then I wouldn't have to be the only one paying for everything!"

"Oh, so now you're too good for us, huh? Since you're over there making big American dollars, it's easy for you to judge me." Johan's voice grew harder, laced with bitterness. "I'm family, Angelo. Family looks out for each other."

"Oh, yeah? Then maybe you should start acting like family," Angelo snapped, his patience wearing thin. "Instead of always coming to me with your hand out, guilt-tripping me. I'm tired of this, Johan. I'm not sending you anything."

Johan's voice rose, laced with a threatening edge. "Fine. But remember who's still back here, huh? Just know things might get rough for Mom and the girls if I'm not around to help."

Angelo's jaw clenched, the threat hitting him like a punch in the gut. But he held his ground, his voice cold. "You know what, Johan? Go ahead. Do what you want. But I'm done playing this game. Find someone else to fool."

Without another word, he hung up, staring at the phone, his heart pounding as the frustration and guilt simmered beneath his resolve.