Eventually, Angel and her father arrived at McDonald's.
Angel had thought they'd go to some government building, but as it turns out—they'd meet in an informal place. Then again, this is a fixer we're talking about.
「I guess if you're meeting someone who does shady stuff, you don't do it in a government office.」
Angel thought to herself. Perhaps, even if a thing is tolerated, it doesn't mean it's condoned—like jaywalking.
You can cross the street whenever, wherever you feel like it, but there'll come a point when you get a tap on the back and a police officer gently smiles at you like—
"Huli kang tarantado ka!"
Stuff like that.
In any case, nothing much really happened while they were walking from Bagumbayan all the way to McDo Centro—which basically has Quince Martires Plaza right in front of it.
The stares were almost becoming normal despite the discomfort, and Angel could hear people murmur about her father. Not-so-good things, like—
"Sino kaya 'yang lalaking 'yan? 'Di kaya…"
"Hoy! 'Wag mong sabihin 'yan, dalagita 'yang babaeng 'yan, ba't diyan ang isip mo?"
"It's true naman kasi, why is such a beautiful girl following such a… yeah, that man, basically."
There was a lot of gossip like that. Honestly?
To Angel?
Her father was handsome—of course, not like the celebrities here—but her father's face was decent enough to be photogenic. Probably more so than herself as Joseph.
So in a way, it did hurt her, hearing those words about her father, especially since she was making it clear she was comfortable with him.
All she could do was glare at whoever talked shit about her father, but when she looked at him, he didn't even seem fazed by it.
Was this the extent of a father's patience?
It's incredible.
Come to think of it, during family gatherings he—
"Good morning! Ma'am / Sir!"
Angel's thoughts were quickly broken by the greeting of the cashier, who gazed at her with pure awe.
"…"
Angel couldn't help but awkwardly smile.
"Dito."
Angel's father gently pulled her inside the restaurant. It was already packed—it always was.
Whether there was an event like the Peñafrancia Festival or Holy Week, this place is always packed even with no holidays at all.
There were plenty of reasons, of course. Most people would rather spend time in a cold place than their houses that look like shit and have no aircon… at least, that's what Angel thinks.
As they went deeper into the store and climbed upstairs, Angel pointed at a man in his 30s? Or 20s? The dude was quite young, surprisingly, and looked like a normal, uptight citizen.
"'Yan, kakilala ng pinsan ko."
Angel tilted her head.
"I see," she said softly as they approached him.
"Hello po."
At Angel's soft words, the young man almost forgot the rice in his mouth—it fell right onto his plate.
Long silver hair that looked so soft and delicate, eyes so beautifully blue you might get lost staring into them for days, and skin so white—she isn't a typical Filipina! No! This must be a foreigner!
So, to put on some face, the fixer immediately chewed and swallowed his food—then he straightened his posture and smiled stickily, causing Angel to smile back just as awkwardly.
"Ito po pala 'yung anak ko. Siya 'yung client."
Angel's father stepped up, causing the fixer to look at him.
"Ah, siya po? Sige, sige po. Ano po ang kailangan natin para sa kanya, sir?"
Something in the fixer's eyes changed. Angel could clearly see it—despite the calm and unserious vibe earlier, when it came to business, professionals at the end of the day are professionals.
"She needs a birth certificate, a Form 138, and Form 137."
Hearing the father's words, the fixer's eyes became softer, less tense.
"Ahh, ganun ba. That's easy! Do you have any files at all? Like from abroad?"
The fixer's eyes laid upon the beautiful young woman, who jolted as if the gaze was hot.
"Uhm… that is…"
"That's the problem."
Angel's father interrupted her, seemingly because she couldn't talk for herself.
"These are the only files we have."
Angel's father laid down Joseph's paperwork… though, in this case, only a birth certificate, since the grades had yet to be received.
Upon closer inspection, the fixer's eyes contorted into many funny shapes—one showed confusion, another denial, then acceptance.
"So your… 'son'… he transitioned?"
"W-What?!"
Hearing those words, who couldn't scream?!
Before she knew it, Angel had screamed in the cutest, highest-pitched voice.
"H-H-How could I transition?! These are all na-tu-ral!"
Angel pointed with a finger, her face red as a tomato, while her father could only sigh.
"Sit down, Angel."
"Yes, Father…"
Angel responded fairly quickly, though she sulked.
"In any case, as we were saying—Angel had recently come from Russia."
Angel's father glanced at her.
"Does she know Russian?"
"No…"
Angel responded weakly, averting her eyes from the two at the table looking at her like hawks.
"Then why did you claim to be from Russia?"
"Because I was born there! Hence my beautiful genetics!"
"Whatever helps you sleep at night."
Guhh! Angel couldn't help but pout even more. What could she possibly reason out?!
"If we state you are from Russia, it would be a pain if someone investigated you further. What if you are asked to speak Russian? You can't fake it till you make it," the fixer said simply.
"Look, I don't know your situation, but this is a big leap—even for me. We are forging here."
With a low and silent voice, the fixer said it resolutely.
"Then what do we do?"
Angel asked with concern, her blue eyes shimmering with unshed tears.
"We simply do this locally."
"Locally?"
"Yup."
The fixer sighed.
"No."
Angel's father stepped into the conversation.
"Let's do this—let's keep the lie. Let's say she was born overseas. Her mother was an OFW from Camsur who migrated to Russia decades ago."
Hearing Angel's father, the two couldn't help but nod.
"And we could just say that Angel was brought here at the age of eight, but went back to Russia to study at a school in Moscow that exclusively uses English."
"That… makes sense."
Angel became very cheerful at her father's explanation, clapping her hands.
"Would this work, Mister??"
Angel tilted her head.
And the fixer couldn't help but scratch his head.
"Er… I guess…"
Now, the time to discuss the price has arrived!