Love Is Black And White

24. Green, Yellow, Red

It was a typical autumn afternoon in New York. Some leaves were flying in the cold breeze, the sun was hiding in the clouds, but sometimes a shaft of sunlight managed to escape and reflect its brightness on the Central Park lake.

Sitting on a bench, I was writing in a notebook all the possible endings for my story, both the real and the book.

My book could get published or not. I could tell Jade or not. These were the two main decisions, which could be combined, and each combination would result in a different ending. It was pure math. But, despite these different possibilities, all of them would lead me and my character to only two destinations: a happy ending or a broken heart.

"Lion?" A voice shouted, a few steps away from me.

As it sounded familiar, I lifted my head, looking for the owner of the voice. My eyes spotted a bearded man who was holding a baby in his arms. I narrowed my eyes, trying to recognize the face when he got closer to me.

No way. I frowned and I got up from the bench, "Chad?"

"Yeah!" He said excitedly. "Oh, man! I haven't seen you in ages!"

Still surprised, I smiled. "Yeah! It's been a long time."

I looked at the baby in his arms until he noticed my curiosity. "Oh, this is the love of my life..." Chad said, referring to the baby. "My daughter Holly."

I raised my eyebrows. "Your daughter?" I asked, surprised, and he nodded, "Whoa, I had no idea."

Chad laughed. "She was a surprise for me too, you know?" He said, jokingly. "But she was the best surprise ever."

I smiled. "She's beautiful."

"She is." He kissed her on the forehead. "And how are you doing?"

"I'm fine." I replied, still looking at the baby.

Before we could say another word, Holly woke up and slowly lifted her head from his shoulder. Chad looked at her with a sparkle in his eyes, and laughed when she touched her face with her small hand.

I watched the scene with wonder, he was not the Chad I used to know.

"I gotta say, you changed a lot." I commented.

Chad smiled, "I know, she changed me." He looked at Holly. "And thank God, I mean, now I realize that I definitely needed some therapy when I was younger."

I laughed, and then looked at the floor. There I was, talking and laughing with Chad, who was now a loving father. What a crazy life.

"And how is Jade?" Chad asked, bringing me back to reality. "Are you still friends with her?"

"Yes." I replied, not thinking too much. "We're still friends..." I frowned, "I think."

He laughed. "You think?"

"Yeah..." Uncomfortable, I looked at the floor. "It's nothing, um, we're still friends."

Chad smiled. "Is she still dating Kyle?"

I shook my head. "No, they broke up."

"Oh..." He raised his eyebrows, but then frowned. "I thought as much, I mean, Jade always had high expectations, it's pretty hard to be the perfect guy for her."

"It's probably because she watches a lot of movies." I said, jokingly.

Smiling, Chad shook his head. "No, Leon, it's actually because of you."

With narrowed eyes, I gazed at him. "What?"

"Well..." Chad thought for a moment, "I think Jade tends to compare all men to you. At least, she used to." He spoke with conviction. "She used to think of you as the perfect guy, and it was hard to compete with that... It was hard to compete with you."