Twice The Trouble Book 2 of 2: Twice The Love

Chapter 66: Advice

Lucas

I sped blindly through town, not knowing what to do and where to go.

I didn't want to go back to my apartment yet, nor could I imagine heading back to the office. I shook my head, attempting to clear my mind of cluttered thoughts. Despite my anger and the evidence, I couldn't bring myself to believe that Sophia had a secret affair going on with Liam. There were a lot of faithful people on earth, and Sophia Ann Sta. Ana was definitely one of them.

And so was Liam Garcia.

Even when I had just become Sophia's friend, I could see the one-sided love that Liam never failed to show Sophia. Everyone in Orion University knew about Liam's romantic feelings for his best friend because he always made a point to speak his mind and heart, especially where Sophia was concerned.

And although Sophia continuously rejected Liam's charms and advances, Liam was always there for her through thick and thin. I guess that was one of the reasons I sometimes felt intimidated by him--He had known Sophia for five years while I only met her recently, and though she's been my girlfriend for five months, there were still many things I didn't know about her.

There was something going on between Liam and Sophia, something the latter felt uncomfortable talking about. And then, of course, there was the email..

I shook my head again.

After circuiting the town for the third time, I headed into a different route. I drove in silence for a few minutes, then turned again, and a few minutes later pulled to a stop in front of a convenience store commonly known as Seven Eleven.

"Lucas De Los Reyes?" a voice called as I entered the store. "What are you doing here at this ungodly hour?"

I looked at the source of the question. My gaze met the beaming smile of Bob Meiji, the owner of Snack Attack and the boss of my girlfriend. The black-haired man of twenty-eight years had a friendly face, which made me feel at ease around him, and he wore simple clothes that wouldn't make anyone believe that he owned a chain of several successful restaurants all over the world.

"Just wandering," I said, hating how vague and evasive that sounded.

Bob approached me and patted me on the back. "Why don't you go pick out whatever you like?" he said, ushering me to the junk food aisles. "My treat," he declared with an affable smile.

"No, that's fine--" I started to object.

"Nonsense, boy," said Bob, perusing the row of chips and biscuits. "It's not every day the boyfriend of one of my industrious employees winds up in my neighborhood."

I exhaled audibly, then swept my brown eyes over the display of delicious snacks. I reached out for a large bag of potato chips, a couple of chocolate bars, then stalked over to the row of refrigerators for a bottle of cold apple juice.

After Bob paid at the counter, we shared a two-seat table which overlooked the empty darkness outside. I let my shoulders droop as I looked out the glass wall, both my mind and my heart feeling confused.

"What are you doing here, Lucas?" he asked, propping his arms on the small square table.

I looked at him. "With all due respect, sir, I'm not in the mood to--"

"Call me Bob," he interrupted, widening his pale brown eyes. "You're only nine years younger than me, boy. No need for honorifics. I never was a fan of formalities."

"Bob," I said in an awkward manner. "I really prefer not to talk about it."

The well-accomplished entrepreneur gave me a hard stare. "I want to tell you a story, Lucas. And it may do you some good to pay attention to it."

My eyebrows furrowed in bewilderment. "Okay."

"I had a good friend named Jon," Bob started. "I knew him all his life. He had the prettiest wife for miles around. Her name was Sheri, and though all her belongings were lost in a fire caused by faulty electronic wiring, Jon was able to salvage at least one album full of their most cherished memories together."

I shook my head. "Bob--"

"Let me finish now. I think this might shed some light on your little problem."

"What problem?"

"Why, the problem you're having with Miss Sophia. If I were you, I don't suppose I'd be to thrilled to find out she'd been spending time with another man."

I blinked my brown eyes in shock, rendered speechless.

"But as I was telling you, this Sheri was one beautiful lady,and before she married Jon,he had courted her for years. Pretty much everyone in the county was courting her--and she loved the attention--but old Jon won her heart in the end.. and their wedding was the biggest the county had ever seen.

They could have lived happily ever after, I suppose, but it was not to be. Jon was the jealous type, you see, and Sheri wasn't the type to be rude to those other young men who had been courting her. Jon just couldn't take it."

Bob shook his head. "They ended up having a terrible argument with Sheri walking out on Jon. Sheri was so brokenhearted that she didn't see the truck speeding towards her. She was declared DOA, leaving Jon wretched with pain, guilt, and regret."

"Is that a true story?" I asked.

Bob raised his right hand as if taking an oath. "May I be struck down if it isn't."

"How did you know about me and Sophia?"

"Simple deduction," answered Bob, peeling the wrap off of his sandwich. "Sophia is a kind, amiable girl who has a lot of supportive friends who often visit Snack Attack for lunch. One of them was a blond boy with amber eyes. I remember he was called Liam, and that he was Sophia's best guy friend since high school.

It wasn't hard to know that he used to be in love with her. He still cares for her like every friend should. It wasn't impossible for his presence to cause some quarrels and misunderstandings. I saw you circling around town, driving too fast, your expression heavy with stress and sadness.

But the main reason I sat you down here was to tell you a story about women."

"Another story?"

Bob raised both his hands. "Well, less of a story than a lesson.It's about my wife. Now, she's as fine a woman as you'll ever come across, but there have been times when she's been less truthful during the course of our marriage. For a long time it bothered me, and there were actually instances when we raised our voices at each other, but what I eventually came to understand was that if a woman truly loves you, you can't always expect her to tell the truth.

"You see, women are more attuned to feelings than men are, and if they're not being truthful, more often than not it's because they think the truth may hurt your feelings. But it doesn't mean they don't love you."

"You're saying that it's okay for them to lie?"

"No, I'm saying that if they do lie, it's because they care."

"What if I want her to tell me the truth?" I tore open my bag of chips and began to gobble them down, realizing I hadn't even gotten any dinner in my stomach.

"Well, then, my boy, you better be prepared to accept the truth in the spirit with which it was offered."

I thought about it but said nothing.

Then something dawned on me. "Bob, what was the name of your wife?"

Bob smiled a melancholy smile. "Sheri."

It was then I discovered his full name was Bob Jon Meiji.