When we start a new relationship, we usually have expectations. We may be looking for a lifelong partnership or a non-exclusive fling. Most of the time, if there should be an end to that relationship, we know when it should be. For those looking for lifelong partners, the end is till death takes one of you out of this world when you’re both old and grey.
Love is a beautiful thing. It makes the world go round. It puts butterflies in our stomachs and we float on the clouds. We feel warm inside at the mention of the name of our beloved, and when we remember them, we smile to ourselves. We are happy. Love makes us happy. It’s even better when we are loved back. In that regard, we want to let the whole world hear when we find that special person. We take pictures to immortalize the memory and include them in all our plans and activities. We want to spend every waking moment with them.
When he raised his head, his eyes were glistening and his heart was thumping a little faster. The events of the past few hours kept replaying in horrible detail. What he should have done when Delilah walked into his house uninvited played out in 3D in his mind and he felt his heart tear a bit. He had to find Bech and tell her his side of the story. He should have done that a long time ago. He recalled one instance when they had been alone in the open-air bar and he had opened up about his childhood. He had seen the compassion in Bech’s eyes. He knew she would have understood him but he had been too timid to let it out.
Jade looked at Delilah, his tormentor. Indeed, not all women are to be messed with. Some of them are more venomous than the fierce snake. He had bitten more than he could chew. Why would she show up just when he had begun to put his life together? How had she even found him? His tracks were well covered. He shook his head. Indeed, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Love is tricky, Lily thought. One moment, it’s all breeze and bliss; the next moment brings anguish and agony. Lily didn’t know where to place her friend Bech on the love radar. Why was she crying right now? Surely, she didn’t love Jade, did she?
Bech had chosen to stay away from Jade for a while. She avoided places she knew he would be, like the public library, the open-air bar, or the washing bay near the open-air bar. She did not answer his calls or messages, even though she read each of his messages twice, first for an overview, then for context. Today, she was at home, trying to catch up with her reading. But she just couldn’t keep him out of her mind. It had been a week since their last encounter but every day felt like a loop, replaying until she fell asleep. Once or twice she had had the same dream as the first one, but this time the dream began with Jade confessing his undying affection for her and kissing her passionately.
Maureen’s hope of getting married and having children with Raymond was dashed the night that Raymond announced that he was going to spend the night and several other nights with his wife. The information did not register immediately, and she made jests of waiting for him till he got back. Then the reality of the
While Bech and Lily were chit-chatting in Lily’s hall, Jade was alone at their table, contemplating his life. He could not believe his luck, that a woman he wanted did not want him back. It had never occurred in his life. He was the ladies’ man; other men came to him for tips to win a woman, and they had returned with appreciative testimonies. Had he assumed too much?
Three weeks after that night, Bech, Jade, and Lily met for their usual get-together. They met at an open-air bar in the afternoon. It had rained the day before, the atmosphere very refreshing. It was a good day to be outdoor, and the three friends always looked forward to their meet-ups. This is how their friendship had survived all these years. Even though they had been in the same university, they had had to make time consciously to get together to draw support from one another and study with one another.
Lily was sitting on the bonnet of Bech’s car when she saw the pair approach from the lane. She had been waiting for close to thirty minutes. She had searched the external premises for her friends but she did not find them. She had heaved a sigh of relief after she saw Bech’s car still parked in the lot. For a few moments, she had assumed they had left her too. How ridiculous.
