III. Headaches and Gossip

There was a knock on the door on a Wednesday morning. It was the landowner’s son. 

Essi leaned herself on the jab of the door to scrutinize the young man.

“What is it, Paco?” she asked in anticipation that the young man would exact her again for the rent of the house. She already paid the deposit and advanced fees. The boy couldn’t fool her anymore.

“Nurse Jenny is here.” He left his nurse cousin in Essi’s house.

“Hello, ma’am,” the nurse said. She was the same nurse that talked with her at the hospital. “May I come in?”

“Yeah, sure,” Essi responded. She is puzzled that she has an unlikely visitor. “Is there anything I can help you with?” she asked while heading towards the kitchen. “By the way, would you like some juice?”

“Anything will do, ma’am,” the nurse politely responded.

A pleasant smell came to the nurse as Essi headed toward her. She brought crepes, chocolate, and orange juice. The nurse cannot deny her wonder why other people still think wrongly about Essi. When she asked for her whereabouts from the known people of Bayanihan, they described Essi as that opulent noisemaker, a coquette, and a destroyer of the love team. However, she did not come to her place for such a nuisance.

“Why were you looking for me, Nurse Jenny?” Essi asked while placing chocolates on the crepe.

“It has something to do with the Mercators.”

Due to her response, Essi halted and stared intently at Nurse Jenny. She asked boldly, “What do you know?”

“I found out that the Oneil I asked you to send regards is here in Bayanihan,” she said. “He was also in the hospital. When I checked on him for a nurse report, I was astounded that he called himself Riley Ramirez. But I am sure, Miss Essi. He is Oneil.”

“No one believes such claim here, Nurse Jenny,” Essi replied, almost whispering. She stopped when the nurse stared at her.

“I know that you are his fiancee,” she revealed. “I found it out from Miss Gwyneth.”

“What else do you know?”

“Nothing else ma’am. I just considered their claims that he had amnesia and inquired a municipal doctor about his case. Oneil’s amnesia might be longer or gets permanent.”

Essi felt the churning on her stomach, calling her to worry. Oneil’s case would only mean that the Paulssons and the Mercators will find out soon what happened to him. She is not ready to carry such shame. Essi preferred for her problems to be solved first before they would know it, that she may boldly say, “Let bygones be bygones.”

“Why are you telling me about this, Nurse Jenny?”

The nurse smiled at her. “It is because I believe you. I support you on returning Oneil to his home.”

Essi held her head while processing Oneil’s situation. His amnesia made all his interactions and moments with Essi null and unbelievable. He might see it unreasonable to get together with her. 

However, such a scene only made the speculating eyes fuel gossip about Essi.

“Look, a nurse is with her,” an old woman commented. The speculators are outside a nearby shed. Even Riley passed by and was able to glance at Essi and the nurse. 

“What is going there, Ale?” Riley asked in a broken dialect.

“Riley, that crazy girl who thinks you are her boyfriend seems already going out of her mind. Perhaps, she gets loco,” she revolved her fingers near her head to emphasize her claim. “Look, even a nurse has to visit just to check on her,” the old woman said. “I am telling you, in a relationship, there are new people who would come to challenge it. So don’t let that woman ruin your relationship with the daughter of the Kapitan. You are better off without that new girl.”

Oneil only smiled, implying no rude thoughts toward the girl. “Let us consider her situation, Ale. She is still our neighbor. Be friendly to her,” he said then left them stunned.

“How can he not be threatened by such a vixen? If he would not listen, it only means that Essi has already got him on her fingers,” they speculated without knowing what ordeal is surrounding Essi now.

Inside Essi’s house, the nurse still talked with her about a few things concerning Oneil. She even let Essi recollect her memories with Oneil for the conversation to go through.

“Nurse Jenny, I want to ask a favor,” Essi appealed.

“I will gladly extend my help so, Miss Essi. Spill it.”

“Can you please keep this a secret for now?”

“How do you want me to keep it?” the nurse is confused.

“Don’t let anybody else know that Oneil is in Bayanihan. After all, they are calling him Riley. We can let them be. But for now, we cannot let such news reach our families yet. I am still not ready. I should at least return to them with Oneil by my side.”

The nurse nodded although she did not understand why Essi took this kind of plan. Hence she suggested, “Why not just grab him back to you? Do you know what I mean, ma’am? Like, you have all the rights to bring him because you know him. You are engaged to him.”

Essi sighed. “I cannot take him with this situation we have. He might despise me or accuse me of kidnapping him. He was so into believing that he was Riley. He would not buy any of my claims.”

“What should you do next then?” the nurse asked. “Perhaps, I can help you.”

“I take this experience as a revamp of our relationship.” Essi would make him know her again. Yes, even if it meant pursuing him. Looking at the nurse unconvinced, Essi continued, “Actually, my method is quite effective. He allowed me to call him Oneil when we were in the hospital. Sooner or later, he would take it wholeheartedly that he is Oneil Mercator.”

“I hope that would be a good thing, Miss Essi.”

For Essi, it is. But for Marika, it is not. 

Marika stormed toward Riley’s hut after Riley allowed Essi to call him whatever she liked. She entered the place with anger and jealousy.

“Riley, why did you let that spoiled brat call you Oneil?” she confronted without any exordium to orient the innocent man. “You are not Oneil. Don’t take that name casually because you’re never sure–the real Oneil might be a lawbreaker at large. If you concede to her manipulations, you might get in trouble.”

Riley handled her tantrums gently. “Marika, hear me out first. Please.”

Marika calmed down to listen to him.

“I am only friendly to her because she might have a mental condition. Do you know? Maybe she cannot accept that her fiance had departed from her, and she takes all means to aid her feelings.”

“No way, Riley!” Marika yelled. “Just because you think that woman is sick, you would yield to her deceptive appeals? Wake up! You owe nothing to be good to her. You’re just harming your relationship with me. Everyone knows that I’m your girlfriend. What would you wish them to think of us?”

Riley held her shoulders to stop. “Will you not be considerate? It is just a little thing for her to call me Oneil. It is meaningless, nothing else.”

“That cannot be!”

“You were considerate to me when I was lost and of no idea about everything around. Why not to Essi?”

Marika gritted her teeth against his contention. “Are you accusing me of being partial?”

“No, I just want you to consider her. Look, she helped me. Why won’t you just take it as a return and favor to her?”

By that, Marika got silent. Not with the fact that Essi helped Riley. She was puzzled that Essi seemed to know better about the man she had been in love with for three years. She kept staring at Riley and suddenly say, “Don’t tell me you’re starting to believe her.”

Riley smiled with confidence. “I am Riley Ramirez. Just like you said. I am Riley and we have known each other for three years. We should have our first date downtown but I could not come because of family emergencies.”

Marika stared even more intently at him. These were the things that she told him first. Why was he reciting this again?

“Because I don’t want to forget anything, anymore,” he said. “Whether new or old memories with you, at least I am happy. Shouldn’t that be the thing to matter more?”

“Right, new memories should matter more.” 

Marika left the hut with renewed confidence and a better position than Essi. She is the winner. So Marika is no more afraid to challenge Essi. She does not need to do anything. Gossips made it more favorable to her. 

Essi found that people feasted on other gossip. It worsened to the point that she had a mental condition resulting from the breakup. They call her a desperate, brokenhearted woman.

“How far would they get me wrong? First a mafia and now, a desperate woman?” 

Essi could shrug off their words. However, it meant for her to understand what was Riley’s intention to allow her on calling him Oneil.

“No way. I thought he was already starting to believe me,” she said in disappointment.

Her remaining choice was to provide every little proof to Oneil about his real identity. Where can she begin? A single photo is not enough either to change Oneil’s mind.

Now, to make her situation worse, a call was able to reach her phone even by the elusive mobile signal in the town. She answered it, forgetting to check that it was an international call.

“Hey, future cousin-in-law. I want you to know that I will catch up on your vacation with Oneil. Coach Geovensia allows me to have a three-week break. I will tell you once I arrive there.”

Before Essi could even protest, the call went out. She is doomed.