My friend and I crossed paths unexpectedly at a party, and I managed to pull him aside almost immediately.
"Jason, you're exactly the guy I need to see! I need your help tracking someone down."
He nearly choked on his cocktail. "What, do I look like a private investigator now?"
"I know you're on the force," I said. "And I really need to find this girl, as soon as possible."
"Alright, alright. Give me the details."
"Emily and I did everything together. We hung out, studied, cooked dinner, the whole nine yards. We were crazy about each other. It felt like it was going to last forever. The only thing was, she absolutely hated surprises or practical jokes, and well... I loved them. But that kind of thing never really got in our way. Until our first big fight. She just ran out, slammed the door, and vanished. That was the end of it."
"Why do you even want to find her now?" he asked, sounding curious. "One love ends, another begins. That's life."
"You wouldn't understand. I'm begging you, help me find her. Please. You've been in love before, Jason. You know how it is."
He just shrugged, looking skeptical. "Maybe she moved out of the country. Or maybe she's been married for ages and has a minivan full of kids."
"In eighteen months? Even if she is, find her first, and then I'll tell you why I need her."
"Fine," he sighed. "I'll see what I can do. Give me everything you've got on her."
***
Some time passed. I'd call him every once in a while to check on his progress, but he'd always give me some vague answer.
"It's a slow process," he'd say. "Just be patient."
I kept waiting. Four months went by, and I had just about given up hope when Jason finally called.
"I found your girl. Where should we meet?"
"Oh, man, thank you so much!"
"I'm not so sure you're going to be thanking me," he said, his tone incredibly grim.
And that was all he said.
***
I invited them over to my place. I could hardly wait for the evening to arrive; I was a nervous wreck.
"Is this another one of your jokes?" Emily asked sharply the moment we met.
"Hey, Emily," I said, looking at her. She hadn't changed a bit. "Actually, I have a bit of business to discuss with you."
"What kind of business?"
I practically forced them both to sit down on the sofa. Jason wasn't looking particularly friendly either, but I wasn't about to stop now.
"Do you remember the promise we made to each other? Well? About being honest? Remember?" I turned to Jason. "We promised each other that if we ever stopped loving one another, we wouldn't hide it. We'd say it right away. Just like that—clean break—so we wouldn't end up dragging things out and making each other miserable."
"And?" Jason asked, blinking nervously.
"And that's it. I had to find Emily so I could tell her that I've fallen in love with someone else, and we want to get married. But I had to put the wedding on hold because my promise hadn't been fulfilled yet. Now, my conscience is completely clear! As for that fight we had... forgive me, okay?"
The two of them exchanged a very strange look.
"What's up with you two?" I asked. "Did I say something wrong?"
"No, it's not that," Emily said, biting her lip.
Jason finally spoke up. "Why couldn't you have just told me that from the start?"
"Why? What happened?" I asked, confused.
It turned out Jason had found Emily quite quickly. He'd gone to her house and realized almost instantly that she was the girl he'd been waiting for his whole life, though he couldn't explain why. He wasn't sure how it happened, but they met up the next day. And the day after that. And the day after that. His conscience had put up a fight at first, but it was no match for how he felt.
He'd wake up in the morning and she was his first thought. He'd go to the precinct and sit at his desk all day, but he couldn't get any work done. He even started seeing himself through her eyes. He didn't know what to do. Had he really just stolen his friend's girl? It felt wrong. But apparently, happiness has a price you have to pay. He'd hesitated for a long time before finally calling me.
"I'm worried about Mark," Jason had told her. "How can I tell him? How do you even explain love? I'm going to lose a friend... he'll never forgive me."
"Maybe he will," Emily had said cryptically.
And then they had come to see me.
"I'm really happy for you guys," I said. "But are you at least coming to my wedding?"
They both broke into wide smiles.
"Of course," Jason said. "As long as I can bring a plus-one. You don't mind, do you?" He took Emily's hand.
"I don't mind at all—in fact, you have my blessing!" I replied.
And then, all three of us started laughing.
0 comments