Chapter 3

3

Ruth’s head pounded as the police officer’s words played like a broken record, repeatedly echoing in her ears.

“We still have no lead on your husband’s disappearance, Miss Eduardo. The people who took him remain unidentified, but we’re doing everything we can.”

“Useless!” she angrily exclaimed at the officer before being grabbed by her cousin, who shook her and shot her a disapproving look.

Despite knowing she was being reprimanded for her words against law enforcement, Ruth couldn’t help her frustration.

“Miss Eduardo, we’re doing our best, give us time to do our job. We can’t provide information right now; it’s only been three days since your boyfriend went missing,” the officer reasoned, but her temper remained hot.

“Say it, I don’t have money, that’s why!” she retorted, annoyed, Glancing at the cop’s surname as Jimenez.

Rosemarie quickly pulled her away, saying, “Thank you, sir. We’ll come back when El Niño phenomenon ended in my cousin’s head. Sorry, sorry.”

As she was dragged out of the precinct, tears streaming down her face, Ruth forcefully withdrew her arm.

“Why are you apologizing, Ate Rose? It’s their job!”

“Are you foolish?” Rosemarie asked, “By acting like that, they’ll be less inclined to help. You’re worse than a Hamas member with your explosive words.”

“True,” she muttered, wiping her tears.

Looking into the distance, Ruth pondered on her first meeting with Baron. She met him at the market. He was a rice vendor at Lagoste’s rice store, while she was a mere employee at Montevez PC, holding the lowest position as a janitress in the bathrooms. Her daily wage was 533 pesos, with a 150-peso meal allowance, cleaning the restroom multiple times a day.

She earned around seventeen thousand a month, but rent for her apartment was three thousand five hundred. Calculating everything, she was left with about five thousand a month, barely enough considering the cost of living.

Ruth had been an orphan since childhood. Her father was struck by lightning in the fields, leading to his demise. Her mother had long passed away, poisoned during her pregnancy with Ruth’s supposed only sibling.

Her only guardian was her aunt Mening, Rosemarie’s mother. Mening recently moved to Manila due to her marriage to Baron. Rose used to work at Macho Café and became a temporary cashier when the owner went abroad. With a degree in Business Management, Rose was accepted for the position.

Ruth, on the other hand, had temporarily halted her studies to save money for her wedding with her boyfriend. It was a simple ceremony, just wedding attire for her and a Barong Tagalog for Baron, devoid of flowers and attendants.

It was akin to a civil wedding, but they chose to do it in a church. For them, their love was what truly mattered.

They had planned to go to Batanes for their honeymoon, but everything changed with the groom’s disappearance. Three years into their relationship, Baron decided to marry her. She couldn’t understand the rush and the reason behind it. Despite her love for him, she agreed, but the joy of their wedding was abruptly shattered as Baron was taken by unknown men on their way to the reception.

The harrowing scene of those men assaulting her husband haunted her. It happened so suddenly. Why was Baron kidnapped? What could the kidnappers gain from a rice mill worker and a pushcart driver of cooking oil in the market?

Lying helpless outside the church, she felt like the vehicle that took Baron had vanished like a bubble. Initial police findings suggested that Baron might have enemies or significant debts. However, he had no recollection of any such issues.

Who could be an enemy to her husband, who dealt only with sacks of rice in Lagoste’s store? Every day, he faced nothing but rice or oil at work. She couldn’t believe it. Baron wasn’t a gambler, and he had no outstanding debts; he was busy saving for their wedding.

“Stop crying. You won’t think clearly like that, Ruth. Mother has left, and it’s just the two of us now. I’ll accompany you in dealing with Baron’s disappearance. I’ll find a job where I can and will not go back to the province for the meantime. You might end up committing suicide.”

Rosemarie’s irritation was evident as she spoke, biting her lip.

“I’m still sane, you know, Ate Rose.”

“For now,” Rose replied, “When you collapsed, I do nkt know if we should admit you to a mental institution.”

Hmp.

“You outdid Nora Aunor in your collapsing skills at the church,” Rosemarie said, trying to lighten the mood, but she couldn’t find a reason to smile.

How could she smile when the man she loved was missing, and she didn’t know if he was still alive?

“Stop it,” Rosemarie said again, wiping away her tears.

She nodded.

She felt embarrassed. Even though she was in the province, her cousin sent her half of the rent for her boarding house. Her cousin is still unmarried and didn’t want to get married. She was 35, while Ruth was 21. Her cousin worked as a cashier in a paint store owned by a Chinese in the province and that’s the job Rose left there.

Rose's support for her was unlimited, so when Baron offered marriage, she agreed. They could help each other, and it would relieve Rose of her obligations.

Although it came from the heart, it was also so much.

In return, she allowed her Aunt Mening to manage the small rice field her father left her. During harvest, her aunt sent her rice, which she shared with their neighbors in Aurora, Quezon, their province.

“Sort your life out, Ruth,” her cousin lectured, “You have a job. How will you find Baron if you’re like this?”

She remained silent. The only way she could think of to expedite her search for her husband was to hire a detective to help her.

She might lose her sanity if she will not find her husband.

She had to find a way to earn money quickly to aid in the search for her missing husband.

After regaining composure, she and her cousin walked towards the road to wait for transportation.

Standing at the jeepney stop, her cellphone rang. It was Bernadet calling. Ruth hesitated before answering Bernadet’s call, her mind still clouded with fear about Baron’s mysterious disappearance. She took a deep breath and answered, “Hello?”

Like her, Berna is also a janitress in the same company where she works, but they handle different floors of the building. She is assigned from the lobby up to the third floor.

Berna immediately confronted her. It was already 10:30 in the morning, and the coffee break was over.

“Hey, you’re going to be AWOL!” Berna greeted her.

“What?!”

“Sir Dennis is angry. He’s asking why you haven’t come to work, and you didn’t even inform him that you'd be absent. You should’ve just invited him to your wedding.”

“But I don’t have much money to invite everyone. Some might get mad if I only invite a few,” she explained.

“Anyway, you better show up tomorrow because it’s the last day of the grace period. He’s so grumpy. Wilma and I said we'd clean you’re area for today, and I was willing to do it too, but that dirty old .an refused. He said, let it stink so you’ll learn. They’ll call you on the higher floor, and you might get fired.”

Oh, God.

Is fate really against her now? She lost her husband, and now she might lose her job, too? How will she continue searching for Baron if she stops working?