Chapter 1

Abbey Moran was worried. There were several things that she worried about constantly, but right now, her most pressing worry was that she might be late for work. If she was late again, her boss had told her that he would fire her.

Abbey worked as a waitress in a ChowKing restaurant in Makati, and although it did not pay much, she really needed the job. Abbey was 33 years old and single, but like many pinays, she was the only support her extended family had.

Abbey’s older brother had been a user of the drug known as shabu in Philippines, and he had died during the government’s crackdown on drug use. However, his death had left his widow trying to raise their two daughters aged 12 and 14 when their father had died.

That was two years ago, and the girls owed their schooling and daily subsistence to the help that their mother received from Abbey. That was the Filipino way – family members had an obligation to help. However, if Abbey lost her job, she would no longer be able to support her nieces or their mother, and she would also find it difficult to pay her rent or provide for her own needs.

So, Abbey was worried at the slow speed of the jeepney she was riding in on her way to work. Fortunately, the jeepney managed to arrive at her destination with about 5 minutes to spare before the start of her shift. Abbey ran from the jeepney and just managed to be on time when she entered the restaurant. The manager looked at his watch and told Abbey to hurry up and change into her uniform and help to set up the tables for the breakfast service.

Breakfast service was from 8 to 11 am, and the customers were a mixture of local Filipinos catching a quick bite on their way to work, and local residents who preferred the ambiance and the service of a restaurant to eating breakfast alone at home. There were several foreigners among this last group of customers, and Abbey knew all of them and what they usually liked to eat for breakfast.

Joe White was one of the foreign regulars who Abbey often stopped to chat to. He was about 65 years old, and he had told Abbey that he had just recently retired from his post as Chief Financial Officer for an American multinational. As part of his duties, he had had to visit different branches of the company, and he had been impressed by the quality of life in Philippines when he had visited his company’s office there. Now he was considering moving to Philippines for his retirement, and he had rented a two bedroom apartment in Makati while he decided where he would like to settle.

Joe was aware of Abbey’s family situation, and he admired the way that she was so willing to sacrifice her own life in order to support the family of her dead brother. At 33 years old, Abbey should have been married or at least in a stable relationship, but, from conversations with her, Joe knew that she was still single and that she had no boyfriend.

Joe also knew that she was constantly worried about money, and that she had no savings to fall back on if anything unexpected happened. That morning, Joe noticed that Abbey seemed very preoccupied and that she was not her usual smiling self.

“What’s wrong?” Joe asked.

“Oh, nothing” Abbey answered weakly.

The truth was that Abbey was very worried. Her oldest niece was about to graduate from school and she needed to buy new clothes for her graduation. In addition, Abbey’s landlord had told her that he had sold the building where she lived in a room she shared with 3 other women, and they had one week to leave and find a new accommodation. Finding accommodation that was affordable was not easy in Manila. Abbey knew that she might have to quit her job because rents in Makati were more than she could afford, and the places that were affordable were very far from her work.

Joe could see that Abbey was not telling him the truth, so he pressed her again to tell him what was troubling her. Finally, Abbey explained her situation, and how whatever she did would have an impact on her family. Joe reflected on whether he should offer to help, and finally he told Abbey that there was one way she could keep her job and also have a place to live.

Abbey’s eyes filled with tears as she listened to Joe’s suggestion.