Chapter 8 - On hypocrisy and humility.

“Hey you don’t look like in a good mood today.” Josh told Andie, as he saw her so quiet while on the truck.

Andie started weeping after Josh greeted her. She covers her face with her hands not letting him see her tears.

“What happened to you?” he asked while gently taking her hands away from her face. Josh took out his hanky and offered it to her. As he sees her sobbing heavily, he wrapped his arm around her and let her face rest on his chest. She’s still not talking.

“Hey, tell me, did I do something wrong again?” he asked in concern.

Andie straightened back and started talking but her words were garbled, so he let her rest on his chest again to pacify her.

Shen felt ready to talk.

“My friends accused me of leaving them in between. They’ve thrown harsh words on me again when I visited the clinic yesterday. I didn’t know what to say. They’re accusing me of something I didn’t purposely do.” She told Josh while still sobbing.

“Do you want me to hear the story?” he asked.

She didn’t reply. She just wipes her tears. A couple minutes of silence passed. Josh let her calm down for a moment.

“Remember my two friends I’ve told you before in the cafeteria?” she asked.

Josh wonders, as he’s not sure if he remembers their names and faces correctly.

“Okay?” he added.

“We’ve put up a rehab clinic before and of course the finances were from our own pockets. We’ve spent great amount of money but we didn’t get vast revenues to recover our capital from the time it started until this time. I’m taking the position as staff therapist that time but because of the need to earn more than what I’m receiving, I was forced to do the process of applying work abroad, until I found this employer from New Jersey. I’ve told them my plans just before the Americans interviewed me but they’re not happy with my decision, now they’re coming back at me. They’ve told unkind words to me but I didn’t retaliate. I just let them speak. I humbled down but they kept on blurting right to my face how disgraced they were. I know my faults also but I was left no choice. My family would die in hunger if I don’t work out. And this great opportunity comes only once so I can’t afford to miss it. Tell me if I’m really wrong, please tell me.” She said while still crying.

“I’m not really good at giving advices but I’ll try,” his first liner said.

“First off, you know this can be a biased opinion, but take this,” he added. “They have no right in speaking harsh words to you, they weren’t your boss and you weren’t their employee either. As far as I can tell, you can talk it out plainly, no shouting, no fowl or below-the-belt remarks, but I think they didn’t display professional attitudes here, more so you were their friend, but the root of all this is money, right?” he remarked.

“Yes,” they think it’s understatement whenever I tell them I have to find another job but then again I ended up applying abroad, which will take me a long process to walk. What I’m really worried about was their hatred, I know they won’t forgive me for this, but I will never ever sacrifice my family’s welfare for anything else.” She told him.

“Then you better tell them to stop bugging or you will break their neck,” he teasingly told her.

Andie laughs after hearing his statement.

“You really don’t get it, do you?” she asked.

“Of course I do, I just want you to loosen up.” He added.

“But really, it hurt so bad when they just told me I’m selfish, immature, obstinate, and inconsiderate.” Andie said while she continued to cry.

“They what?” That’s hitting below the belt Andie. Manny Pacquiao wouldn’t even let that happen, why did you tolerate that?” he asked seriously in spite of his funny remarks.

“They even told me why I had to always tell them how unfortunate our family had become whenever I only receive small amount of commission from the rehab, that I should pay for this and that, then argue about the money that I’m only getting,” she added.

“If they only knew,” Andie didn’t continue her words.

“I don’t really know how I can comfort you, but you can lean on my chest anytime you want to,” he told her while grinning.

Andie pokes him whenever he cracks jokes to her and she feels it really helped a lot, even if he didn’t say any words with substance. The fact that he listened, it became sensible.

“So when did they fire you?” he mockingly asked.

“Josh, it’s not helping.” She said.

“Ah-I mean, when did you leave your position?” he asked.

“Four months ago, a month after my interview with the Americans and the start of my review class.” She told him.

“So what happened to their clinic?” he added.

“I’m not quite sure, they won’t allow me to go there even if I still have stuffs left on my desk, plus they’re requiring me to pay for the “damages,” they said. I told them I couldn’t afford it, I’ve already squeezed all my savings for this process.” She told Josh.

“My goodness, they’re cruel!” “Which part of hell did you find those losers?” he asked in dismay.

“They’re my old friends but I don’t think we’ll ever grow old together now, I just screwed up, but I don’t feel sorry for it. I’m just worried I had to surrender our friendship. But people like them need to learn their lessons, bit by bit.” She remarked.

“Yes, bit by bit, fragment by fragment, they’ll feel the agony until their flesh were rotten, until they feel they needed to kneel down to you asking for your mercy, har har har.” Josh said and laughs at the same time.

“Stop cursing Josh, that scares the hell out of me.” She told him.

“Oooppppsss.” “Honestly, they don’t have to be as cruel as that. Yeah, we’re human capable of doing impolite things, but to hell with that, you can always talk with diplomacy. It’s not always the Big Guy up there would let them get away with it, they’ll surely be castigated in time, trust me with this one.” He told her.

Andie looks at him in astonishment. That’s one of the rare statements he would comment but surprisingly he did.

“And you, I think at some point, you made a mistake. If I’m in their shoes, I would also tell you how inconsiderate you are for leaving us, but I’m not, so I’m sure I can understand you.” He added.

“Sure you do coz you don’t have problems with finances, unlike us, problems with money adhered to our system.” Andie said.

“I disagree! I also had problems with money, FYI. I don’t always bring cash with me, so I need to use my cards, but some useless merchants that I frequent don’t usually accept cards so I need to withdraw cash first….arrgghhh…it’s annoying you know, and that’s always been my problem.” He sarcastically answered.

“Josh that’s too shallow.” She just frowned.

“But you know, this statement they say is true, I guess, “Don’t hook up with the ladies who are more complicated than you are; don’t go for girlfriends who have more problems than the guys know of. This means guys are better off of me, coz I’m intricate. I’ve always been a fan of problems so I never mind not having any boyfriend. I’m sure they won’t mind me either.” She said in conviction.

He just nods but is not considering the fact now that he’s in advantage of cheering her up.

“I just remembered how they look whenever they kneel passing Baclaran church’s aisle or raise their arms up praising our Creator. They used to do that because they declare they’re religious. I’d say, you need not brag about your Christianity and faith if you’re doing otherwise. Hypocrisy is the right term for that,” Andie told Josh.

“How does your friends look like again?” he asked her.

Andie described them and told him where they can be located. She didn’t realize that Josh is planning a payback plot.


**********

“You are Elizabeth and Diane, right?” Josh asked the two ladies who approached him when he entered the clinic.

“Yes, I’m Diane and this is Liz,” the other lady said.

“How do you like this place renovated?” Josh asked as he walks around the clinic checking the area.

“What do you mean?” Liz asked.

“I’m already considering to buy the right for this lot, but I’m reluctant to do so coz your clinic is still up here, so I just need to coordinate with the legal authorities about this property if I might want to abolish this room,” Josh told the ladies.

“Uhmm mister…..”

“Call me Mr. Singson,” he said.

“Oh yeah Mr. Singson, ah-I-I think you’d like to reconsider first that we’re still renting the place…..” she was cut.

“I can always do that but if I get impatient sometimes I tend to think impulsively. I may or may not let you stay at this place farther than you like through my discretion, but there’s always an option.” Josh told the ladies.

“What option?” they asked.

“You can convince my girlfriend not to take this room off our lot,” he told them.

“Okay please, when can we meet your girlfriend?” they asked him.

“I’ll get back to you later, go figure out how you can satisfy her so this clinic will not be closed.” He told them.

“Okay, thanks a lot!” they said.

The two got scared after learning that they’re finally put into that difficult situation.


**********

“Hello?” Andie’s mom said on the phone.

“Hello, mom, this is Josh. Is Andie there?” Josh said on the other line.

“Oh Josh, she just left,” said mom.

“Where did she go?”

“She went to her other friends to sell her stuffs like clothes, shoes, bags so she can have the money to pay for her friends’ demands,” mom said.

“She what?” Why did she have to do that?” he asked.

“She has no choice. Her friends from the clinic demanded her to pay for the “damages” they told her. They said there’s some guy who’s going to buy the clinic’s lot so they need to get the money so they can buy it before him.” She told him.

“So that’s what it’s all about? She has to sell her things for those people who demanded her to pay?” This is outrageous!” Josh remarked. “Okay mom, I’ll try to catch up with Andie, thanks for telling me, bye.” He told her.

He kept on texting and calling Andie, but she’s nowhere to be found. Josh returned home and asked Manang to help him investigate on the ladies at the clinic.

**********

Manang and the driver arrived at the clinic at 1 p.m. the following day. The lady about 5’6” tall, fair complexion with a shoulder length hair approached her.

“You are a new patient, right?” she asked the old lady.

“Obviously I am,” she scorned.

“Can you wait for a minute ma’am, I have to get your personal infos first,” she told Manang.

“Okay hurry up, I don’t want to stay long here, your place is so hot and ugly, it needs a makeover. Don’t you have any air-conditioned room here, coz I tend to hyperventilate if it’s really hot?” she scornfully told the lady who is obviously irritated. That’s her plot.

“Oh no ma’am, we cannot afford to install air-condition at the moment……” she was cut.

“I can’t believe you’re telling me that! You look like you’re earning a lot and why don’t you use your money to accessorize this clinic? Gosh, it was really irritating why my driver brought me here!” she mocked.

The lady left in disgust so she called the other to attend to her.

“Liz, can you please speak to that grumpy old lady out there, I almost lost my patience,” Diane told Liz.

“Relax, let me handle her,” Liz said.

When Diane went out to talk to Liz, Manang had the chance to investigate and she was able to ask the patients from the clinic.

“What can you say about those ladies who own this clinic?” Manang asked some of the patients who were sitting next to her.

“They’re not as good as the other PT who used to work in this clinic,” the other told her.

“They don’t really care about the patients here, they just cared about getting paid.” The other said.

“Who’s that other PT you said?” she asked the first one.

“Her name is Andie,” the daughter of the other patient answered.

“She used to be my mom’s PT. My mom’s condition became favorable when she’s treating her, but when Andie left, she regressed. Those ladies don’t know how to handle her. They don’t show care and concern to her but we can’t do something about it. This is the cheapest clinic we can get, plus this is where my mom’s insurance referred her to so they can pay for it coz we have no allotment for her treatment. But you know what? Andie came to me. When she was still treating my mom, she did the best she could to restore her and if we cannot afford to bring mom here in the clinic, she would visit us in our house so she can continue her treatment to my mom for free. She didn’t ask for anything in return. She just told me not to tell those ladies that she’s doing it coz if they find out, they’ll transfer my mom’s care to them. That continues everyday. That’s how good Andie is and how evil those ladies are,” the patient’s daughter told Manang.

Manang just nods.

What about you?” she asked the other.

“I heard that they’re into some anomaly that they ask for donations and solicitations from other institution. They would commercialize this clinic and hold “rehab mission” so they could acquire sponsorship. I heard Andie strongly disagrees on this but there’s nothing she can do, so what she did after the rehab mission was, she secretly packed the stuffs they got from the sponsor and distributed them to us. Good trick! We all get the pleasure of it.” The other patient told Manang while laughing.

A lot of things were revealed to Manang that afternoon and so she acted grumpily to the ladies even more.

Liz went out of the staff room after hearing Manang tapping the door through her cane.

“Are you going to treat me or what?” she angrily asked the lady who’s coming.

Liz sighed deeply. “Okay ma’am, let me get your informations,” she said.

“Don’t you really care about your patients?” You have the nerve to get your pen and paper for my informations when I’m already here whimpering in deep pain?” she said in a high tone.

“Okay ma’am, let’s go inside the treatment area,” Liz said while shaking in nervousness.

The other patients who just saw them laughed so hard.

Inside the treatment area, Manang was positioned on the plinth so she could be examined. She fakes every moan she makes. She shouted every time her knees were palpated. She just scared the lady so she ended up the treatment already. Manang chuckled after knowing that she already finished her duty that calls her for.


**********

“I really can’t believe you actually acted like that!” Josh told Manang.

“Ha ha, their tails didn’t wag,” she said.

Manang told Josh everything she learned about he clinic, the ladies and Andie. He was worried about her but he knows soon she’ll find out what he does for her.

A couple of days passed, Josh didn’t hear from Andie. She can’t be reached at home, by cellphone and by phone. Her mom told Josh that her friends still trouble her so she’s out to look for buyers of her stuff and she also goes to her sister’s shop for sideline after her review class. Her mom said that she already had a few but still not enough to pay for what those ladies are requiring her. This made Josh really enraged. He’s certain he needs to confront the ladies with Andie already.

After ringing two cycles, finally, Andie answered.

“What took you so long to answer?” he asked in a high tone.

“What made you so mad this time of the day?” she asked.

“Nothing, I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, I guess,” he answered. “So, what’s all the missing-in-action thing is all about?” he added.

“You stole my line!” she diverted.

“It’s not funny Andie, answer me,” he said.

No sound from her. She’s thinking.

“Was it about your old friends again?” Mom told me you sell stuff to pool enough money to pay for them, is that right?” he asked.

“Yes, but let’s not talk about it, I just had some, but I think it’ll be fine,” she told him.

“If you only told me your plan, you wouldn’t be selling your soul for that,” he remarked.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Meet me at Coffee Plus around 1 p.m., okay.” He said.

When they arrived at the clinic, Josh waited until Andie entered the room.

“Well, well, are you going to pay for the “damages” now?” Diane asked Andie while approaching her.

“Uhmmm ah, see I only have……” just before she could finish her lines, Josh came in catching her.

“Actually, you’re the one who needs to pay my girlfriend for the damages,” Josh declared after hearing what Diane told Andie.

Liz came out of the staff room and was shocked to hear what the guy had said.

Andie became confused how they actually know each other. She just conspired on his scheme.

“You mean you’re the girlfriend that this guy is telling us?” Diane pointed to Andie.

She was left unspoken.

“Now, major harms you made to my girlfriend will not be left over and done. I told you before that if I get impatient I would not hesitate powdering these concretes down, but your option would be my girlfriend’s mercy, so start kneeling,” Josh commanded them.

“Wait, wait, no way will I ever do that! Do you have any proof that you already bought the rights?” Liz asked Josh.

“You’re really cunning, I like that,” he told her while handing Diane the document stating that Josh already has the rights of the lot.

“Now, what would you like me to do, get my men to shove you off or kneel you down in front of my girlfriend?” he seriously told the lady.

When they were left no choice, Diane started kneeling and asked for her forgiveness, Liz does the same, but Andie disallowed them. She pulled them up not to do it then started to speak.

“I remember you both kneel in Baclaran and I know whom you’re kneeling to, I’m not God, you are not to kneel to me. You asked for forgiveness and I forgive you. I hope you’ll both learn your lessons. The wheel rolls in favor of me this time, the same way it did to you before, but I hope soon you’ll realize that every people you encounter will leave marks into your life. They may hurt you or please you, the same way you did to me, but you have to learn to handle people like me because I know exactly how to handle people like you. One thing I’ve learned from you that I’m really thankful for, “humility doesn’t equate hypocrisy.” Goodbye to you and I hope you’ll take care of this clinic and the patients the way I did when I first establish it.” Andie told Diane and Liz then turned toward the exit.

“Josh, don’t abolish this place, this is for the patients,” she commanded him while moving out from the room.

He just nods then they turned to leave.

Diane and Liz kept quiet then entered the staff room to hide away from embarrassment that the patients witnessed during the confrontation.

“Wheew, I can’t believe I was able to confront them like that.” She told Josh while palpating her chest in nervousness.

“Yeah you did good really,” he answered.

“You did better,” she replied.

“By the way, how’re you able to get the rights of the lot, I know they aren’t for sale. And that girlfriend thing again?” she said while her one brow was raised.

“Ssshhh quiet, I only paid a small amount. I told the authority that I’ll be donating it to the patients soon if I already paid the whole amount so they agreed, but I won’t do that coz if I do, that only means Diane and Liz will be my tenants, I don’t like that. I don’t like to deal with them anymore,” he told her. And about the girlfriend thing…you know I can’t think of a better plan, but the good part is you rode on it,” he added while smiling at her.

“But what about the patients?” she asked.

‘That’s been taken care of. I told the authorities to keep an eye on the two. If they still keep the clinic in their advantage then I might have to tear it down or I’ll be passing it to other’s supervision, perhaps, you.” He told her.

She just smiled at him and pinched his cheeks telling him how he made things right yet a little complicated.

“We’ll just leave them the supervision of the clinic, so they’ll learn to deal with people of different sorts.” She added.

“Now everything is settled, are you ready for our Subic trip?” Josh asked her excitedly.
“Yes, yes!” she replied.