What Becomes Of Us (An Anthology)

Introduction Anna Mae Mendez is a young single mother, who has lived in chaos her whole life. She struggles to raise her two-year-old son, Ethan. She feels hopeless after finding out that her son has a serious illness that threatens his life. During this time, she meets Dr. Allen Reacher, who has his whole life planned ahead. He sticks to his routine everyday and prefers to have things in order.  When Mae comes like a whirlwind that blows things out of order, he welcomes her and her son and helps them. He willingly throws his life plans away and raises Ethan, with Mae, like his own. What happens if another storm comes in just as Allen has already planned a life with Mae and Ethan? *** Part 1 "Facial wash, shaving cream, after shave, moisturizer, cologne, perfume... That looks about right. Moving razor and toothbrush to this side and toothpaste up here. Wait. Wiping the cap and there." Allen mumbled as he organized the items by the bathroom sink. Allen Reacher is every girl's dream man. He is tall and strikingly handsome with his fair skin, expressive brown eyes, high bridged nose, red lips, strong jawline and a charming dimple on his left cheek. He comes from a well-off family of doctors and is now himself taking his Residency in Pediatrics in a top hospital in the country. He is single by choice, commitment just isn't part of the plan just yet. After inspecting himself in the mirror, he stepped into his bedroom, opened his closet and picked out a navy blue polo from a range of shirts that are uniformly hung and arranged according to color and print. He changed into it and a pair of perfectly pressed light gray slim slacks. He donned his pristine white coat soon after and made last minute touches on his neatly combed hair. He walked over to his desk and checked his planner for the day's schedule before slipping it into his bag with his laptop. And just before he stepped out of his room, he glided his hands over his crisp white, neatly made bed to make sure there were no wrinkles left on the sheets. He made one last scan at his pad and smiled after finding everything in order then walked outside of his condominium unit. Allen was admittedly not only a neat-freak but also a control-freak, always wanting to know what's ahead, having everything in order to the T and planning every activity of the day. Everything seemed to be going as usual, he rode the elevator down to the lobby, greeted some neighbors he recognized and checked for messages at the reception area, when he heard his least favorite guard arguing with a woman by the building's entrance. Allen found himself taking a step in their direction. ["Stop, right there, this is not part of the plan. I'm sure she can handle herself. She looks like a feisty one."] He thought. He shrugged the incident off and continued to walk out of the building when he saw the guard grab the woman by the elbow and half-dragged her out of the door. "Aray, Kuya! Nasasaktan ako!" The woman complained. "Kuya, nasasaktan daw siya. Wag naman po kayong ganyan sa babae." Allen said, as he went to the woman's rescue. ["What are you doing? Okay, he let her go. Leave. You'll be late."] "Sir, kasi po nagpupumilit po pumasok. Hindi naman po siya resident dito. Wala din pong maipakitang ID." "Kuya, I already said. My best friend Colleen Lim lives in Unit 715. She owns the coffee shop two blocks from here, where I parked my car and where all my stuff is. She just asked me to get her phone from her place since she really needs it now and she can't just leave her business at this moment. So I ran here thinking, sandali lang naman to. No hassle. It's just a small favor for a friend. I never imagined that it would be such a big deal and makakaladkad pa ako palabas ng building." The woman ranted. The woman Allen noticed is really pretty. She has smooth olive skin, beautiful brown eyes with long thick eyelashes and perfectly arched eyebrows that furrowed in an adorable way as she argued. She had a cute pinched nose that slightly flared in her anger, high cheekbones, delicate oval-shaped face and noticeably full red lips. He found himself biting his lip as he stared at them. ["Why are you biting your lip? Stop staring, dude. Walk away now. You're already 10 minutes off your schedule."] "Kilala ko si Colleen." Allen blurted out before he knew it. "You do? Oh, thank God!" The woman turned to him, her face flushed with emotion which he thought made her even prettier. "Uhm... Yes. 716. I mean unit 716. That's me. I mean… That's my unit." He stammered. ["Great! You can't even say that in a complete coherent sentence."] "Doc, kilala nyo din po siya?" The guard asked. Allen glanced at the woman who he was seeing for the first time. She bit her lip, nervously waiting for his response. He felt his knees quiver a little just looking at her and her charming expressions. It was like her every move and reaction created a magic spell that made him want to do everything for her. "Yes. Opo, Kuya. I know her." He lied. "It's okay. Sagot ko na po siya."  "Okay, Doc Allen. Kayo na po bahala dito. Sabi niyo po yan." The guard acknowledged. "Okay, Kuya. Salamat po." The guard then left them and walked back to the lobby. "Oh! You're the cute doctor from across the hall! Colleen mentioned she had a doctor neighbor. I've been here a few times but I never got a chance to see you. She's not kidding. You ARE cute." The woman unabashedly said while smiling the most radiant smile that Allen has seen in his life. He felt his cheeks burn with her remark. ["You are not blushing, are you? Pull yourself together, Allen. What is this woman doing to you? You don't even know her name. Okay, Step 1 smile, Step 2 say "Thank you. Hospital duty.", Step 3 introduce yourself." Yup. Good plan.] "I... uh... " He stuttered. "Of course. You're a doctor. Hospital duties. I'm Anna Mae Mendez, you can call me Mae. My friends call me that. I guess you saving my neck earlier qualifies you as my friend, right? Doc Allen?" She extended her hand to him. ["She beat you to it. Scratch that plan. What is wrong with you? Now, just say your name and shake her hand. Simple enough, right? Can't go wrong now." Allen smiled, his dimple showing. "Dr. Allen Reacher." He shook her hand. ("Gosh! That dimple is... Gaaaah... He is REALLY CUTE. ") "Nice to finally meet you, Dr. Reacher." She smiled that heart-melting smile again. "Nice meeting you, Mae. Just call me Allen. We're friends, right?" He said, still holding her hand. "Right." They stared, smiling, at each other for a few seconds. "I should go then. Thank you, Allen." ["Why does my name sound like a song when she says it?"] "You're welcome. Ingat ka. Hope to see you again." He found himself giddily grinning from ear to ear. "Uhm... Right... My hand please?" She mentioned, glancing at her hand. Allen blushed after he realized he's still holding (possibly feeling) her soft hand in his. "Sorry... Sorry... I'm not usually so..." "Charming?" He blushed an even brighter red and released her hand abruptly. ["Man, you're hopeless and officially 20 minutes late. You are never late."] "I gotta go too. Work." "Right. Ingat, Doc." "Thanks." He said, smiling, before finally taking a few steps away from her. ["Charming? I was more charmed by you, Miss Mendez."] "Mama! Mama!" A little boy called as he ran towards their direction, Colleen trailed after him. Allen quickly assessed him to be a toddler around two or three years old. He felt a slight tug in his heart as the little boy ran into Mae's arms and she happily scooped him up. ["She has a son? She's married? Ofcourse, a smart, mesmerizing, beautiful woman can't still be single,right?"] "Hi Doc." Colleen said as she passed him. "Mae! Bakit ang tagal tagal mo? Nainip na tuloy tong si Ethan. Buti na lang, umalis na yung customer na nanggulo sa café. Iniwan ko na muna." Allen found himself looking back and watching them. His frozen planted in mid-step. ["Allen Reacher! Huy! You're late. Move!"] "Sorry, girl, nagka- problema lang ng konti kay manong guard. Bago ba yun? Di pa ako nakita dito dati kaya ayaw ako papasukin. I left my IDs in the car din. Kaya yun. Buti na lang dumating si Allen to save me." She said as she glanced at him and smiled. "So you guys finally met at close agad ha? Nickname basis." Colleen shifted her glance from Mae to Allen and back suspiciously. Allen scratched the back of his head and smiled a boyish grin. "Yes. Finally." "By the way, Allen, this is my son, Ethan. He's turning three in two weeks, that's why he's been bugging his Ninang Colleen, right?" Mae said as she tickled the boy who giggled and squirmed in her arms. Allen felt a wave of mixed emotions at the sight. There was warmth, admiration and a pinch of jealousy, heck, that's a punch of jealousy. He was envious of the man who had that family. ["Whoa! Stop right there, good doctor. This is a road you should never get on. Walk away now."] "Say Hi, Ethan." Mae told her son who waved at Allen and smiled with his fluffy cheeks glowing and his brown eyes squinting cutely. Allen smiled back. "Nice meeting you, Ethan." He then turned to Mae and said, "I really have to go now. See you again." He nodded and started walking away again when he heard Mae's desperate cry for help. "Ethan! Oh my God! Baby, wake up!" He saw her sitting on the floor with her unconscious son in her arms, frantically crying to him, with her trembling voice. Colleen was on her mobile phone calling for an ambulance. His feet instinctively ran back to them. When she looked up at him with her pleading tear-filled eyes, he knew he would never be able to turn his back away from her again and him running back to her is more than just doctor's instinct.