Stories

"Are you a doubter, Eddie?"


Edmund came back to reality as Trey asked him that question, his glass still firmly in his hand. He looked back at his close friend, who was looking back intently, and realized he was supposed to answer.


"A doubter of what?"


Trey swirled his drink slowly, his eyes still on Edmund. He took a small sip of his tequila, wincing as he gulped it down his throat.


"The way I see it," Trey added, "you seem to be doubting the fact you'll ever find someone compatible ever since you and Emily broke off all those years ago."


Edmund did a double take. "Excuse me?" he asked, stunned.


Trey shrugged his shoulders in a way that implied 'obviously' to Edmund, setting his drink down on the bar counter. He turned his body to face Edmund directly, eyes not lifting away from him at all.


"I would say you're a doubter," he then continued, nonchalantly.


Edmund chuckled and shook his head. He sipped his orange juice and asked, "What makes you think so?"


"Every time I talk about how happy I am with Regina," Trey answers quickly, "there is a certain glint in your eyes that tell me something is amiss. And from what I deduce, it's because you feel lonely."


"Lonely?"


Trey nodded confidently. "That would be you, my friend. It's time you found yourself the right one to keep you company."


Edmund's fingers began to strum lightly on the counter. Sighing, he said, "I think that can wait."


Trey snapped his fingers, and a 'eureka' expression formed on his face.


"There, you see?" he pointed out. "What did I tell you? My deduction was right after all."


"Can we talk about something else?" came Edmund's reply, sounding rather terse.


"No we will not talk about anything else, Ed," Trey replied. "We need to resolve your problem as best as possible-"


"I don't want to waste my time on this crap!" Edmund suddenly shouted. The patrons that sat close to them began to stare, worried if something bad was about to happen. One customer began to edge away from Trey. The bar continued to be filled with sound and dances, unperturbed by the sudden outburst Edmund displayed.


Edmund cooled down almost instantly. He sighed sharply and added, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."


Trey patted him on the back. "I know you didn't, bro."


"But face it," he continued, hand still on Edmund's shoulder. "It comes and goes. But if you really think it will stay that way, you might just miss out on the real deal. Your true love might just slip from your hands without you even realizing it. And by the time you regret, there's no turning back."


There was a moment's pause, as the bar continued to groove with life around them.


"How did you and Regina meet again?" Edmund asked.


Trey took a moment to arrange the facts in his head. He seated himself comfortably on the stool before he started speaking.


"When I moved to London I never expected much," he began. "I was there to start up my career with my uncle before I moved back to the States to help out with the family business. I started about a week after I arrived, since Uncle Jim wanted to take me around London and the nearby cities, towns and local sights before I began. And I can tell you, I got along very well with the rest, and soon enough I was everybody's friend.


"I met Regina on my second day of work, actually, because she was on leave the day before. We clicked pretty well, as she shared a similar passion I had for photography. As the days went by, we began to spend more time together - talking about cameras, photos, famous photographers and all that sort; be it during lunch break, or when we left for home, we were always conversing. Then our range of topics expanded - and we began to talk about current issues, celebrity gossip and the like."


"Celebrity gossip?" Edmund smirked.


Trey shrugged it off with a wave of his hand.


"Anyway," he continued, "our friendship began to develop over the course of a few months and the next thing I knew, I'd already been snagged. I never did expect to find myself in this situation, nor was I planning to pursue it. But... I guess love has its way of chipping away pieces from a heart of stone."


Trey's eyes seemed to be gazing out into the distance. But as Edmund was deciding whether or not to bring his friend back to reality, Trey looked back at his drink and drank it deep.


"So... you asked her?" Edmund ventured, drinking from his own glass.


"It wasn't until a week later that I gathered the guts to. By sheer coincidence, we were celebrating her birthday with a couple of colleagues. We had good fun at the restaurant, but they had to leave early. So I offered to walk her home - because where we were, it was about fifteen minutes walking distance from her house.


"And yes, I did ask her the question. I almost slipped, and I almost blew my chance. But, I don't know how, the words came out of my mouth. And after a moment's pause, she smiled. And told me she felt the same.


"And the rest, I guess, is history," Trey finished, the last of his drink down his throat.


Edmund nodded, quite enthralled. "Like it was out from a story book," he remarked, grinning sheepishly.


"Every one has a story book ending," Trey simply answered, "and there will be a day when you finally reach it."


"Are you really sure?"


Trey gave him a look. "If it worked for me," he quickly replied, "then why not you? Stop being a pessimist, man."


"I'm not being pessimistic, Trey," Edmund defended himself, waving to the bartender for another round. "I'm just being... realistic... in hindsight."


Trey bumped his friend in the shoulder with a laugh. "Keep on coming up with excuses like that, and they'd probably be giving you an award for being the lamest excuse-giver."


"Shut up, Trey...:" Edmund murmured, thanking the waiter who served them their second go.


"Are you trying to hide something from me?"


Edmund almost spat out his beer. How did he come up with such thinking? he began to wonder. What did he have to hide anyway?


"What, do I look like I have something to hide?" he replied hastily.


Trey took a good look for a while. Seconds later, his answer was: "Definitely."


Edmund rolled his eyes as Trey began to laugh out loud. Raising their glasses with a hearty "Cheers!" they knock their drinks together and gulp them down satisfyingly.


Trey's phone began to ring, and he excused himself to the washroom.


Edmund sat there and began to wonder if Trey was right in the end. There was a chance, but Edmund didn't know what to make of it. Would he blow it? Or what?


He sighed and knocked back another draught.