Chapter 14 The Mistake
We were younger and full of love then. I remembered the way we lay side by side on my bed, our legs tangled and the room lit only by the soft glow of my bedside lamp.
“Alex,” I had started.
“What if we break up someday?” I asked as I traced the invisible patterns on his chest.
He had turned to me immediately as if he was scared by the sound of the question.
“Why would you even think of that?” he’d said, frowning.
“I’m just asking,” I shrugged.
“People ask these things.”
He went quiet for a moment, then reached for my hands and threaded his fingers through mine.
“If we ever break up… I will always find my way back to you,” he said, his voice firm and steady.
I remembered laughing softly when he said that.
“You sound so sure,” I’d muttered.
“I am,” he replied without hesitation.
“I can’t live without you Joan.”
I remembered looking at his face, trying to find even a sign of hesitation.
But there was none.
“You promise,” I’d asked, smiling softly.
“I promise.”
And that was when I believed him.
Just then, my phone beeped, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Gosh! That scared me,” I said and jumped out of bed.
I picked up my phone and stared at my screen.
It was my Theo… my brother.
“Bro bro,” I muttered as I answered the call.
“You call yourself my sister? You don’t even call me,” he said, his voice sharp at the other end.
“Come on… I’ve been busy with work, and you know I’m doing this for both of us,” I said calmly.
“It’s fine… anyway I’m at the airport. Should I take a cab or will you come pick me up?” he said.
“What!” I exclaimed.
“You didn’t even tell me you were coming,” I added.
“We are on break and I wanted to surprise you,” he replied.
“You know I don’t like surprises,” I hissed.
“Just wait, I will come pick you up.”
I took my car key from the shelf and went into the living room.
Lena followed me and we both went to pick him up.
The next morning, I woke up and got dressed for work.
On getting to the living room, Lena and Theo were already seated there.
“Good morning, my darling sister,” Theo said with a bright smile.
“Good morning,” I replied, struggling with my shoe.
“Ready for work?” he asked.
“Yes… What do you want to do today?” I replied.
“I will be inside… I might go out to get some groceries though,” he replied.
“Okay… be safe,” I said and handed some money to him.
“Uh…uh,” Lena cleared her throat.
“Am I invisible?” She asked playfully.
“Of course not,” I replied.
“Are you jealous of me?” Theo scoffed.
“Me? Jealous?” Lena countered with a silly smirk.
“Bye, guys… I will be late,” I said and rushed out.
I got to the site, dropped my bag at the temporary desk then went straight for the drawings.
“Today will be smooth,” I told myself.
Alex arrived a few minutes later. We exchanged brief and professional greetings.
A few minutes later, a loud voice cut through the site.
“Stop this work immediately.”
And that made my heart beat faster than it had ever beaten. I looked up and saw the client walking towards me, anger written all over his face.
Other workers froze and all conversations died instantly.
“What is this?” he asked, pointing at the structure that had been set up.
“This is not what we agreed on.”
I walked towards him, my heart beating fast with each step I took.
“Good morning, sir,” I said calmly.
“There must be some misunderstanding…”
“A misunderstanding?” he snapped.
“Do you know how much this error will cost me?”
My hands began to shake slightly as I pulled out the drawing.
That was when I saw the wrong measurement.
“Geez! I’m fucked,” I muttered under my breath, my chest painfully tight.
The client’s revised specifications had come in late the previous evening. I skimmed through them quickly, noted the changes, and issued instructions to the site supervisor without cross-checking one vital measurement.
“I… I’m sorry,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
“That was my oversight… we can correct it before…”
“Before what?” he cut in, his voice rising.
“Before I lose more money?”
At this moment, the workers were already staring at me.
“This is why I don’t like small firms, but I trusted yours,” he continued loudly.
“And now this?”
“I take full responsibility, sir,” I said, trying hard to stand straight even though my knees felt weak.
“That won’t fix anything,” he snapped.
Before I could say anything else, Alex stepped forward.
“It can be fixed and it will be fixed today,” he said, and the client turned to him.
He took the drawings from my hand and looked at them carefully.
“The revised specs came in late,” he continued, his voice firm.
“The error is minor and the structure hasn’t been finalized yet. No materials have been permanently changed.”
“That’s not the point,” the client said, his voice low.
“It is. Because it means there’s no loss. It’s only a delay and we will cover that delay as soon as possible,” Alex replied calmly.
The client stared at him as if he had just been defeated.
Alex didn’t flinch, nor did he stutter.
“We value your project and we value our team,” he continued.
“Mistakes happen. What matters is how fast they are corrected.”
I looked at him, not knowing what to say at that moment.
The client sighed and waved a hand in irritation.
“Fix it… today,” he said.
“Yes sir,” Alex replied and bowed slightly.
The man walked away, still muttering under his breath.
“Are you okay?” Alex turned to me and said.
“Yes,” I replied, my voice calm.
“I’m sorry… I should have double-checked.”
“Don’t beat yourself up. I’m sure you will next time,” he replied gently.
“Thank you,” I whispered, heaving a sigh of relief.
“I don’t know what I would have done without you,” I added.
“I’ve got your back,” he winked, lowering his voice.
The day passed by quickly.
All the workers left, but Alex stayed back to help me.
“You don’t have to stay,” I said as I rolled out the drawings.
“I want to,” he said, meeting my gaze.
“Thank you for standing up for me earlier,” I said.
“I’m meant to,” he said under his breath.
The room fell silent for a while as we looked at the drawing side by side.
“You know,” he said, his voice dangerously low.
“I meant what I said earlier,” he added.
“What’s that?” I asked, even though I knew what he was talking about.
“Having your back,” he replied, shifting closer to me.
“Okay…” I replied, pretending to be nonchalant.
“Okay?” he asked softly.
“Just okay?” he asked again.
“I…” I said and paused.
This time, our eyes met.
I knew something was up when I saw the look on his face. He leaned in slightly enough to make our foreheads meet.
And I closed my eyes before my mind could process it.
“Geez! What am I doing?”