I'LL SEE YOU AGAIN, CAPTAIN!

It was the year 1997, Happy Hearts Day to most and Valentine's Day to all lovers, when the song "As Long as you Love Me" by the well-known boy band of the 90's came out. The most played songs at the time were playing on the radio. Annika's favorite song is one she loves to sing and dance to while putting on her cosmetics to get ready for work. She wears her pink lipstick as she feels cute and flirtatious wearing it. Annika makes sure she has her mascara on because it enhances and accentuates her beautiful eyes. Her long wavy hair gives off a sensual vibe, emphasizing her prominent shoulders.

Should I put on this olive-green dress today? Or perhaps I mix my black jeans with an orange blouse along with a pair of boots? " As she spoke to herself. She is excited to get ready for work as it is Friday, and Bruce, an American customer with whom she had a big crush, will come to dine at the Mediterranean Restaurant where she works as a receptionist.

Bruce, a Motorola the big boss will be coming that night with all his close colleagues, John and Blake, plus some other friends. Annika was born and raised in the heart of Manila. She is a dreamer and wanted to help her parents race her small siblings. Despite all the hardships in life, Annika is always happy, full of energy, she is the life of the party, loved by her family, friends, and colleagues, and she is a gift to anyone who knows her. "I'm going to wear this orange top and black jeans with my black boots today," she thought. The weather is beautiful; the sun is up, and there's a cool breeze in the air. "Oh! how beautiful this day would be!" was in her mind as she left home on her way to the bus station. "Annika is anxious to come to work today, as it is Valentine's Day and she will be greeting all the guests tonight in her beautiful red gown that her boss bought for her to wear. She will have all the red roses in the reception that she will hand over to their female guests that night, mostly couples, lovers, and partners, and tonight is a very special night as Bruce will be her very special guest. She is hoping that somehow, Bruce may notice how pretty she looks in her red gown and gold pumps. She wore red lipstick to complement her gown and had her hair up on one side only with a very small gold hairpin with some sparking stones. All the guests started to come around 8 in the evening. They were all dressed nicely. Women mostly wear elegant, nice dresses, and so do men. Annika was delighted to greet them, check their reservations, and walk them to their assigned tables, hand them the menu for their special dinner, and call the waiter and introduce them to their guest to inform them that the waiter could take their orders. The night runs busy for Annika. And around past 10 pm, at last, the man she adores so much, Bruce, came in with his colleagues from Motorola. Bruce and Annika met before Annika started to work at the Mediterranean Restaurant La Gondola. She used to work as a bar waitress at the club Industria, one of the top clubs for elites to enjoy fermented beers, other alcoholic beverages, and music. One On Monday night, Bruce came in around 7 pm when the club didn't have any other customers yet. It was Annika who welcomed him. Is there some kind of poisoning here? How come no one here tonight? " Bruce asked. Annika laughed and thought how much she loved the humor of this guy. "Where are you from?" This is the first time I've seen you here. Are you waiting for more friends to come over tonight? " Annika asked with a smile. "I can keep your company while waiting for your friends." Bruce thought it was a very nice gesture for a young lady to approach him. Annika was never a shy type and she could converse in English in such an easy manner. Annika learned that Bruce came from America. He was an ex-pat in the Philippines

leading a team for the Motorola Company. Bruce was dressed in a black shirt with the words "I am an Irish. "Annika asked him, "Why does your shirt say "I'm Irish when you are an American?" Bruce liked the way Annika had so many questions and was not afraid to ask questions and start a conversation. "I love your company." Bruce says, "I think I will enjoy coming to this club every night after work. Will you be here every night?" Bruce asked Annika. And Annika answered, "Well, I won't miss a night working if you will come here." Later that night, after an hour of waiting for his colleagues, John and Blake, came in and joined Bruce with some beers and laughs.

Bruce introduced Annika to John and Blake, all of whom are American ex-pats from the United States of America who work here for Motorola. Night after night, Bruce became Annika's regular customer. They became friends, so close that Annika started to have a big crush on him. Bruce is such a good-looking guy. He stands not so tall, around 5 feet 10 inches in height. He has this US Army look with muscles and a nice torso. He looks great even in a simple t-shirt. He gave you the sweetest smile you can see, with gray eyes and that look of a freshly shaved beard. Annika loves how fresh he smells every time. And most of all, Bruce's got this big sense of humor. He can make Annika laugh. Annika's night at work becomes enjoyable as long as Bruce is around. One night, for some reason, the DJ played the song "As Long as you Love Me" by the Backstreet Boys. Annika finds the song so interesting that she sings it with Bruce in her mind.

Though Annika enjoyed her work so much, it has not been an easy process to deal with the owner of the company. The business owner has not always been straightforward. Pay is occasionally late, and wages are too low. The workday is longer than the typical eight hours. Months after month, Annika has had her decision to leave the company and look for another job as a receptionist in a five-star restaurant or to work in a five-star hotel. Annika thinks she needs a more decent job than working in a bar or club.

It was very hard for her to just leave Industria as she knew Bruce would come one night and she was not there anymore. She did not tell any of her club colleagues where she will be transferred for her new job. She doesn't even know if she can find work. All she knew is that she wanted to apply for a job as a restaurant receptionist in a hotel or a five-star restaurant. And what's hurting her is how much she will miss Bruce as her customer, as her friend. Annika always asked herself, "Will I ever see him again?"

Annika began to submit employment applications. She had interviews with restaurant managers, owners, and executive chefs left and right. There are days when she just wants to give up after a long day waiting for her turn to be interviewed by the managers and doesn't get to pass the interview. She comes home sad that she did not get the job she's applying for and much sadder knowing she misses Bruce so much. "I wonder how he is doing?" she asked herself. "I hope he is doing fine, and I hope he misses me too." Just the thought of it gives her a smile.

After a week of applications and interviews, she finally got hired as a receptionist at a five-star Mediterranean restaurant in Makati City, La Gondola. It was run by renowned Irish chef Bill, a celebrity chef for local celebrities, politicians, and ex-pats, and Chef Jessica, a native of Germany who specializes in desserts. The restaurant looks classic with a lot of paintings hanging on the white stone walls. It is divided into 2 big rooms, one for upon entrance from the reception area, where a big round bar with all the expensive alcohol they can offer. Customers can have a before-dinner drink here and then transfer to a bigger room for their formal dinner. It is located in the center of the city, where all the big hotels and businesses are situated. The La Gondola is on the second floor of an old standing building along Greenbelt, Makati.

It is Annika's responsibility to receive reservations made by the secretaries of ambassadors, house managers of celebrities, and secretaries of politicians. Very seldom does she get a reservation directly from the customer themselves. She welcomes all incoming guests and VIP VVIPs. Check their reservations, lead them to their desired tables, give them the menu, and call a server to help them with their dinner order. Her responsibilities include arranging all of the lovely flowers, and she chooses which blooms she believes the visitor will appreciate. Without a doubt, Annika naturally has a great fondness for peonies. She is also in charge of marketing the wall paintings for sale.

It is exactly the job she is looking for. What Annika adores about her new job is that she will wear business attire, usually a pencil-cut shirt and a jacket to match it, and heels. She works a split shift to cater both lunch and dinner in the restaurant. She can't wait to start her new job. The following week, Annika receives a call from human resources secretary Pipa asking her to start working by Wednesday morning. She was instructed to don professional clothing, do excellent cosmetics, and put on heels. Annika waited weeks to begin a new job since she was so excited to get that call.

On Wednesday, she woke up early and looked for her favorite set of skirts and jackets. No one had given her any instructions on what color to wear, so on her first day she decided to wear a gorgeous lavender blouse, a pair of black jackets, and some skirts to match it. She wore her long, curly hair in a side braid, just like a princess. observes a sequence. She intended to wear minimal makeup during her first shift at the restaurant's lunch shift and more formal makeup at night, when the majority of the VIPs and VVIPs guests would arrive. She thought of how she missed Bruce. It had been almost 7 weeks since she had last seen him. How she wishes that Bruce would see her in more decent clothing and a more decent environment and maybe see her in broad daylight. She used to work in a bar, and she only works at night, just wearing a black plain t-shirt and black jeans with white aprons wrapped around her tummy down below her knees. Annika thought Bruce would love to see her looking nice. She left home early that Wednesday, took a bus, and was just excited for the day. She had a lot of thoughts in her mind aside from missing Bruce. She hoped that her new colleagues were nice guys. She hoped that her new bosses were very nice people and friendly to their employees. She hoped that they were kind enough to look after all the employees. She also thought about what free lunch and dinner would be served to her. Will it be from one of the menus that the restaurant serves to their guests? Wine? Or will it be a typical Filipino food you can have at home served daily? She laughed thinking about it. There is too much to expect and hope for that day. For Annika, it's another beautiful and adventurous day to look forward to. Outside, the sun is up, and the sky is blue. Is there anything better than this?

Arriving at the La Gondola, it appears that everyone is busy getting the restaurant ready for the day. Waiters are setting up the tables, and the workers in the galleys are all busy preparing all the ingredients that will be used to prepare food for any upcoming food orders for the day. It seems like no one noticed her entrance at all. Then the owner's secretary, Pipa, came down from the office, welcoming Annika and accommodating her. "Hey Annika, come and follow me.

I'll show you around and introduce you to everyone." Annika just followed Pipa is a tall woman with light brown skin, a very slender build, and very short, curly hair. She showed her the locker room, where Annika could leave her belongings and keep them, as well as the employee's comfort room, the employee's pantry room to eat lunch or dinner, and the nap room, where employees could take a nap in the afternoon because they work a split lunch and dinner shift. Afterward, Pipa showed Annika where the bar is for before and after dinner drinks, the main dining area, the cashier, and the kitchen where the food is cooked and prepared. She also introduced Annika to all the waiters and the restaurant manager, Larry, and the Captain Waiter, Syd. There were some waitresses too. She remembers the names Maryanne and Jenny, as they were so welcoming and so friendly to Annika. Pipa then led Annika to the reception area and showed her the reservation book. It's a nice big blue book of the daily reservations of the customers. Pipa showed her the list of extension numbers for the office, HR, kitchen, waiter station, cashier, and most importantly, the extension of the two owners of La Gondola. And finally, Pipa told her that if anyone is interested in the painting, she just needs to advise Pipa, as easy as that. Pipa then gave Annika a final word, that she could start to work by arranging all the flowers in the vases and putting all the vases with fresh flowers on each table. It is past 10 in the morning; customers will be coming in an hour for lunch. Annika then finished putting all the vases on each table and then proceeded to put the reservation notes on each table based on the list of the names on the reservation book.

As the lunch guests began to arrive one by one, Annika smiled warmly to greet them. "Welcome to La Gondola! , " Please provide your name so I may make a reservation." She leads the guests to their respective tables and wishes their guests to enjoy their lunch. When all the guests are sitting and served, the main dining room becomes a little quiet. Some are doing business while waiting to be served, some are just having fun just to be out of their office. Annika just looks and observes each of her guests. She then thought about Bruce again "Where can he be at this time?" Bruce doesn't know where Annika is working now. Annika was standing at the entrance of the main dining area just watching the guests, if anyone needed any assistance from the waiters. It'll be nice to have Bruce as one of my guests here. She whispered to herself. Annika thought she would be on cloud 9 working if Bruce came to dine in. Bruce would see how pretty she is in business attire and heels.

Time goes by quickly, and the majority of the guests have finished their lunch, paid their bills, and are departing one by one. Annika is standing at the reception area right across from the steps where the guests walk their way out of the building. Annika has survived her first-ever shift at La Gondola. She enjoyed it so much that she forgot how time passed. She decided to change after her split shift and wander around the city and look at some items in the mall. She returned to La Gondola in the afternoon to prepare forher night shifts. She wonders how the night runs at La Gondola and what and who will be the celebrities, ex-pats, or politicians she will serve for the night. At 6 pm, Annika is already standing at the reception area, just waiting for some guests to show up at the steps.

A popular celebrity first came in with a well-known government officer, followed by a famous celebrity dermatologist, and then some ambassadors from different countries. Annika then pondered how popular this place is. She has never seen so many famous people in her life. The night goes on as usual, busy inside the dining room, where all the waiters are in action serving their guests; the kitchen, where you can hear Chef Bill's voice in command. The bar is also busy with all the guests standing around it is asking for drinks from the bartender. While Annika stood at the corner observing, looking for someone she could help and paying attention to everyone.

Larry, Annika's manager, came up and told Annika, "Good Job!" She then smiled back at Larry and responded, "Thanks Boss." Annika loves it when her boss can see how she loves her work. For her to do the job that you love doesn't feel like work at all.

Annika went back to the reception area to check her schedule of reservations for the next day. She always makes sure that before the night ends, she has assigned seats for the next day's reservation. She wants everything ready for the next day. She jots down notes on whom she needs to call back to confirm their bookings. She stopped then and looked outside the window, where she could see from a distance all the beautiful lights on the streets. She then remembered Bruce and thought maybe he was in Industria with his friends. She still longs to see him one day. When will that be? No one knows when. No one can tell. She can only hope for it.