Tavia jumped up behind Ron and slapped him on the back, “Hey!”

“Do you have a habit of sneaking up on people?” Ron asked with amusement then took in her disheveled appearance, “What happened to you? Did you get run over by a bus on your way over?”

Tavia slapped him again on the back and ran a hand through her tousled hair, “No! I was excited to come see you.”

Ron smiled arrogantly and leaned towards her, “I didn’t realize that I had that effect on you.”

Tavia rolled her eyes upwards and said grimly, “I was excited to share some news with you not be with you.”

Ron chuckled as he took her hand and pulled her along, “What’s the big news that got you all hyped up? Is there a designer sale today?”

Tavia stopped walking and looked at him with a mischievous smile, “Guess who’s getting married?”

Ron was dumbfounded and stammered, “Not us right?”

“You wish!” Tavia exclaimed and continued walking ahead of him.

Ron caught up with her and asked, “Then who? Anyone I know?”

Tavia stopped walking and turned to face him fully, “As a matter of fact, you know both the bride and groom to be.”

Having lost interest in the conversation since it didn’t concern him, Ron asked, “Who?”

Tavia giggled, “I’ll tell you in a little while. Here we are.” She stopped in front of an old fashioned coffee house and proceeded to pull him in. She waved her hand at Jessica, who was already seated at a long rectangular table.

“It’s about time,” Jessica complained, as she removed her bag for Tavia to sit down beside her. “So what’s the big news that got you calling me at 6:00 am in the morning? It better be good.”

Tavia looked back and forth between Ron and Jessica and said, “Someone we know is getting married! It’s…”

“Who’s getting married?” Michael interrupted as he sat down on the other side of Jessica. Raymond, who looked a bit moody was also there and smiled reluctantly at the newly arrived pair.

Ron looked at his friend’s dark face and said, “Where have you been these past few days? You haven’t answered any of my calls.”

Raymond rubbed his temples with his fingers and said tiredly, “I’ve been busy.” He ignored Ron’s knowing look and concentrated on stirring his coffee. In fact, he had been busy, busy trying to locate Charmaine. Ever since that morning when he dropped her off at the hospital he hasn’t heard or seen her. She hasn’t been answering her calls or returning any of the messages that he had left on her voicemail.

“Tavia, you didn’t answer my question,” Michael said. “Who is getting married?”

Tavia smiled happily at them and announced, “Charmaine and Joe!”

Raymond stood up hastily almost causing the table to overturn. He turned and surveyed Tavia with skepticism. “You’re lying!” he spit out.

Tavia was caught off guard by the malice in Raymond’s voice but ignored it. In an even voice, she said, “I’m not. She told me so herself last night.”

Ron saw the anguish on Raymond's face and got up. He placed a hand on Raymond's shoulder and said gently, “Sit back down and let Tavia finish telling us the news.”

Raymond flung Ron’s hand away and stormed out of the coffee house.

Michael leaned back in his chair as he watched Raymond leave. After a moment of silence, he said to Ron, “Now tell me again that there’s nothing going on between Raymond and Charmaine.”

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Joe brought the car to a stop in front of Charmaine’s apartment building and went to her side to open the door for her. “I’ll walk you upstairs.”

Charmaine held up a hand, “It’s not necessary. Go home and rest.”

Joe laughed, “That’s all I’ve been doing for the past several days. Sleep, eat, sleep, eat. I’m beginning to feel like a pig.”

Charmaine smiled up at him, “You need the rest. Do you want me to go with you tomorrow for the next session?”

“No,” Joe said. “I’ll call you afterwards.”

Charmaine nodded, “Ok. I’ll call you later then.” She turned and started walking towards the entrance but halted when Joe called out to her.

Joe approached her slowly and smiled warmly at her. When she looked up at him expectantly, he said, “I want you to know how happy I am and it’s all because of you. Your love will get me through anything.”

Charmaine felt a heavy tug in her heart knowing that she didn’t deserve the credit. She was lying to him and was disgusted with herself. She was tormented with trying to support Joe during this difficult time and hurting Raymond at the same time. The latter caused her the most pain. She had been evading Raymond’s calls for days. She didn’t know what to tell him. He wouldn’t understand and she didn’t expect him to.

Joe saw the uncertainty on her face and thinking that she was worried about him, gave her shoulders a squeeze, “Don’t worry too much. I’m going to get through it.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Raymond marching towards them. Within a second, he had Charmaine in his arms and bent his head to kiss her. He felt Charmaine jump at his sudden boldness and was trying to pull away from him. He tightened his hold on her for a few more seconds then just as abruptly released her.

Charmaine looked up at Joe with astonishment and was shocked to see Raymond standing less than five feet away.