Trey lifted his cup in the direction of the barkeeper. "Thanks for reminding us, ol' Rich," he answered heartily. Setting it down, he turned to face Edmund.
"Shall we?" he asked his old friend.
Edmund dranked the last of his beverage down and nodded. They got up from their seats, leaving their change for their beers, before they walked out the door and out into the streets. As Edmund was about to reach for his car keys, Trey put his hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, dude," he began, a wide smile on his face. "I really enjoyed talking to you again after so long. We should do this more often."
Edmund smiled back, patting the hand on his shoulder. "It's no big deal," came his reply. "If you wanna meet up again you can always give me a ring, alright?"
Trey nodded. "Well, me and Regina are planning to have lunch tomorrow right after church. So if you wanna join us, I'd be happy to have you."
Edmund waved him off with a grin. "It's OK, guys, you go on with your plan. I don't want to interrupt your date."
Regina pouted. "Aw, c'mon Eddie," she said softly. "It's not a big deal, you know?"
Edmund kept smiling, but placed a firm hand on his friend's shoulder. "Look, it's alright," he told them both. "Besides, I've got work to take care of after mass, so I don't think I'd be free to hang out with you two."
Trey looked disappointed, but nodded anyhow. "Ok then," he said, a little sadly. He then raised his palm and added, "But if you do change your mind, you just give me a shout or something, OK?"
Eddie nodded. They shook hands firmly and said their goodbyes. Trey and Regina walked off in the opposite direction, holding hands, staying close to each other. Edmund smiled at the sight of them being so happy together. He pulled his car keys out and walked away.
He sighed to himself, and recalled how he and Trey have been long-time friends for about twenty-four years now. They've gone through thick and thin and have had a treasure trove of good memories to share whenever they met. It was good to catch up with him. After all, it's been three years since Trey left for England to work and his timely return here will do some good.
Trey and Regina, a native of Chelsea, have been together for about two years now and by the looks of it, they really are in a serious relationship. But it's funny, Edmund thought, as he remembered Trey once said he could live easy without a woman by his side. The irony of it made Edmund laugh to himself.
He reached his car and stepped inside it. Revving the engine, he released the brake and drove out onto the quiet road back home.
His mind went back to Trey as he drove. Honestly, it was a real surprise when he was informed about them starting out. That time was the first time he received a call from Trey after a long period of silence, as the both of them were busy building their careers at that point. But still, the call helped them to reconnect after a long time.
Regina seemed like a nice girl. She had the lady-like mannerisms of many British women, but she does know when to let her hair down - like when they went up to the dance floor only a few hours ago. Man, she really hit the spot with those dance moves of hers that it got everyone rocking with her!
Trey's a lucky fella to have found her. The same goes vice versa. They're really a match made in heaven.
Edmund finally reached home, pulling the car up into the porch before killing the engine. He stepped out, shut the door, made sure the gate was closed and then opened the front door and stepped inside. Mom and Dad were probably asleep by now. He went up the stairs and got to his room, turning on the lights to find his room was a mess.
He exhaled deeply. Obviously little David was here, judging by the mess left behind. It was as if a small tornado had suddenly materialized in his room. Mom must have tried to clean up some of it, but Dad probably would have asked her to get some sleep. Edmund didn't blame Dad; after all, Mom's been working hard doing up her garden and the last thing she needs is more work to do.
He began to pick up the mess, placing his novels and magazines back in the shelves and the other stuff into their respective spaces. He then realized his PSP wasn't there where he left it, and then it came to him that David must have been looking for it and then found it stashed away in the drawers. Obviously, he's still caught up with the hype of Patapon.
He picked up a pile of video games from the floor, sauntering over to the computer table and set them down atop it. Opening one of the small cabinets next to the table, he started placing them properly into the cabinet, arranging them by genre. As he was doing that suddenly a small piece of paper fell out from between two of his games.
Where did that come from, he wondered, bending over to pick it up.
He flipped it over. It was a picture of him and Emily.
Edmund was surprised. He thought he had burned everything after they broke up. He remembered watching the picture album burn to nothing but ash.
Then he looked closely. It looked as if it was very old, a yellow discolouration to it. There were some black stains on the left edge of the photo, as if it were singed by the heat. It felt brittle at his touch, like they could just break off at any time. Yes, this must have been from the album. He wondered how this ended up here when it shouldn't even exist anymore.
He looked longingly at it. This was a photo the both of them had taken when they had gone to Miami to meet up with some friends of theirs during the university's summer vacation. It wasn't exactly supposed to have been taken, but cheeky ol' George couldn't resist snapping the camera at them, as they smiled to the camera, her arms wrapped around him.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose as he reminisced those times.
Like how they met. As if it were out of some storybook. He had managed to get her away from a crazy hobo, and they ran all the way from the South Gate of the campus all the way to her dorm, which was almost a mile from where they were. Who knew that from there it would become much more than simple friendship?
He never expected it to happen at all. Not in his life did he actually think of starting a relationship when he got into university. He was actually more focused on doing well and coming out with a degree before pursuing his career as his father's successor to his advertising company.
Never did he thought Fate would have delivered him her along the way. But in any case, it happened. Eight months after the meet, he confessed everything to her. And surprisingly, she agreed. It was a mutual feeling.
Maybe he was a fool to think that it would really last.
Sure, they had a good time throughout their relationship. They were always seen together, whether they were discussing about their assignments or out in the city, holding hands and having a ball of a time. A lot of their friends really thought they could last. They really did look like a perfect match, didn't they? That's what they used to say. That's what they thought.
She was always with him. Whenever she was feeling lonely, she would call him and they would talk for hours as they sifted through their notes. Whenever she was sad, he always knew just how to make her happy again. They could easily lose themselves from reality just by looking at each other. And in fact, after they came back from Florida, they met their respective parents - and both parties seemed pleased about it.
A fairy tale ending, they predicted. But a year and a half into it, she suddenly called it quits.
But why?
Edmund found out the hard way: she was cheating on him, secretly going out with one of his coursemates. One he thought he could trust.
That would explain why they rarely saw each other. But who would have guessed? No one saw this coming. No one expected her to say she had a 'change of heart'. The confrontation that followed soon after he found out turned quite ugly. But thankfully, no one got physically hurt.
She told him she changed. She didn't find their relationship was going in the right direction. And the more she thought about it, the more it convinced her that she wasn't going to be happy with him in the long run. But that was what she said, not him. He truly did love her with all his heart. Wasn't he there for her all the time, even when she almost felt like killing herself? And now all that was left between them was nothing at all? He didn't understand. He couldn't fathom her motives. And he thought she was just lying.
But she wasn't.
She said she couldn't live with all the love she was being showered with. She wanted some freedom. And she found it in the arms of another.
So finally, she decided they had better gone their separate ways. And he agreed.
When he got back to his room later at night, he burned the album. One picture slipped out of its page, God knows how, but it escaped the fire. And he didn't discover it until the next morning.
He looked at the picture again. There may never be a time where he'd be like the Edmund in the picture anymore. Maybe that would be better.
He crumpled it and threw it into the basket, reclining in his chair and sighed heavily. It's been quite a long time since those days. He's put the past behind him. And he's promised himself he wouldn't make the same mistake again. So he chose not to fall in love anymore.
Then it hit him. Didn't it just seem like Trey back in those days? Trey had told him exactly the same thing. But look at him now. He's found someone that changed him. And perhaps even made his life much more enjoyable. Despite what he had said in the past, he ultimately proved himself wrong. "Sometimes, you just can't resist," he said only a few days ago, over a cup of tea. "No matter how much you resist it, once it takes root you can't pull away from it. It's like a parasite, but it doesn't kill you. Instead, it makes you stronger - stronger than you ever thought you'd be."
He considered Trey's words for a while. Maybe he had a point there too. Maybe now just wasn't the time. Was it? Would it?
As he continued to ponder these questions, he began to drift into sleep until finally all he thought of was nothing.
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