The Life of Angel. Chapter Three
June 2013.
On the first day, I head straight to Angel's bar. But I cannot find her. What the hell. I don't bother to ask anyone. She must have quit I say to myself. I'm not planning to barfine her anyway. I actually brought her the t-shirt she asked for. I go to La Pasha to get the same girl. This trip is fun, so I kind of forget about Angel. On my last day, I decide to give it one more try. I actually hope she's not there. I don't want to go back to the hotel to get the t-shirt I promised her. I go inside the bar. I don't see her again. After about 20 minutes, as I'm about to pay my bill, I see her coming out of the dressing room. She doesn't see me. I look away as if I didn't see her. Then, I hear a loud 'Hey'. I look up and it's Angel smiling and waving at me. So she does show some emotions after all. I call her over and she seems genuinely happy to see me again. Of course, she didn't forget about the t-shirt. I tell her it's in my hotel. Other girls would tell me to go get it right now. Angel doesn't. It's my last night, so I go back to the hotel to get the t-shirt anyway. Fortunately, my hotel isn't far. I actually got her two t-shirts. She seems to love them. Now, this is where she should say that she wants to go out with me. But she still doesn't. I wasn't planning to take her out also because another girl was waiting for me at Texas bar. Angel tells me she's planning to quit in two weeks. She even cites the exact date. I ask her what she's planning to do next. She says she may look for a job as a saleslady. For me, a saleslady is someone in her forties with two or three kids. But I guess there are no decent jobs in the Philippines, especially if you don't have a good education.
That night, I'm out till late with my Texas girl. I want to go home but she wants to continue. Out of pure coincidence, we end up right outside Angel's bar. The Texas girl wants to go inside saying she's never been there. So we go inside. Angel probably won't be there anyway. We go in. Angel is dancing on the stage. When she sees me, she has trouble hiding her smile. She's looking on straight, perhaps out of respect for the Texas girl. I ask the waitress to call Angel, and she ends up sitting between me and the Texas girl. The two of them have a chat. I have no idea what words were exchanged because I don't understand tagalog. Anyway, the Texas girl and I leave after a drink.