My Sweet Escape

Icing

Dave’s POV

“What is this driver doing?” I honked my car horn to signal the driver of the car in front of me. I scratched my head in dismay about how slow this day is. I need to rush but things around me are keeping me from doing it. I took a U-turn and voila! A bottleneck that is impossible to subside in the next thirty minutes. I looked at my grandma, sitting quietly beside me as she looks around probably wondering what’s going on. My grandma is suffering from Dementia since three years ago. The only thing amazing about it is that, I am the only person that she can remember and trust.

Yes, me. The spoiled brat Dave Lee. Just as how everyone in my father’s company (including my father) doubt my skills, my grandma on the other hand completely believes in me even at this moment that she can’t remember her only son, my dad.

Grandma is the only thing precious to me. She practically brought me up like her own son and grandson in one. Because my mom passed away when I was two and I can’t barely recall anything about her anymore. It was always grandma who stood by me in my life’s ups and downs. She is my defender and ally. There were times in my life when I almost want to quit but she made sure to comfort and bring me to the realization of my goals.

Goals? I question myself. Do I really have one? In the eyes of everyone, I am just a lazy, dependent and useless heir who will inherit the company without doing contribution to its growth. Like it will just be given to me on a silver platter and I will take it effortlessly then bring it to its downfall.

It is hard to prove oneself when the people’s minds have been conditioned to think as such. But I know someday I can prove my worth.

Ring,ring,ring…

“Sir, President Lee came by to tell me that you cannot miss the shareholder’s meeting two hours from now. Can you make it?” Alex, my assistant’s voice was heard from the other end. He sounds worried and scared for me. He knows how my dad will treat me if I don’t show up. This is why I like him. He is trustworthy and transparent. He is my silent defender, a sincere ally.

My father is the president of the premium…or I must say, the best chocolate distributor in the country, SweetLee Manufacturing Corp. Our business started from scratch when my mom and dad were still young. They met each other in a chocolate plantation in Davao and the rest was history. My dad being a genius businessman was able to make a small chocolate business into the envy of all in the industry. We have our own plantation, manufacturing and distributorship in this business. We practically do it all and not outsource from others. This is why our products are exquisite. We ensure the quality control from raw materials up to packaging.

Upon hearing the panic in Alex's voice, I immediately went out of my car. Worried that grandma will sense that she is a burden to me. I don’t want to make her feel that way.

“I will do my best. Grandma’s check-up is due 30 minutes from now. I hope that her doctor can check her quickly then I can make it on time.” I said calmly though I am in doubt looking at the traffic situation. This might last for another hour as the traffic enforcers are just arriving. Just before I could end the call from Alex, I saw a lady rushing hurriedly towards my car…to grandma. I curiously looked at her wondering if there is something wrong with my grandma. I saw her silky hair fly from behind as she run. Her almond shaped eyes surrounded by thick lashes show deep worry. I got more curious as she knocked on grandma’s window. I can barely make out what she’s saying because of the noises from the other impatient drivers. I can just hear the sound of desperation from her soft voice. Then she held her head and looked away in dismay. I guess, she now realized that she is speaking to a Dementia patient. She walked away slowly without noticing me. I felt the urge to ask her what’s wrong and if there is anything I can do. But I stopped myself.

“Why get into other’s business when I have my own problems.” I slowly entered my car and sat. I checked on grandma and before she could answer me, I heard a soft knock from my car window. To my surprise, it was" that" lady. She was even prettier from up close. Her innocent eyes were pleading. I wanted to ignore her but could not. So, I slowly opened the window leaving about 5 inches of gap, enough to just see her red lips and perfect set of teeth. I could not really understand the words that she was saying because I was enchanted by her innocent look. She is just like the pretty lead characters in the t.v. dramas grandma watched. Then she shoved her ID in front of me. Candy Park, OB-Gyne. United Medical Hospital.

“Thud!” is all I heard, then found a car key on my car floor. She was already running away when I looked up and was not even able to respond.