She looked at me incredulously, “Er Wade we don’t have to keep pretenses, Jude isn’t here”
“Well he may be your pretend husband but I am your true friend. So we are going to my place. Oh yippee we will have so much fun. Lets see a movie and then some good old gossip and”
“Oh and swapping ghost stories”
I looked at her in alarm, “gh-ghost stories?”
“Oh my God! You’re scared too!” she started laughing.
“Hey! Not funny. Jude and I saw The Exorcist when we were wee kids.
We were scared for months!”
She started laughing harder, “O yeah we are so gonna swap ghost stories”
I smiled and said, “Alright if that makes you happy”
We reached home soon enough. The weather was chilly. I tidied up the spare bed room so that Natasha could sleep in there. She kept her bag in the room and changed. By the time I had changed and come out she was going through my DVD collection. She kept shaking her heads at all the movies, and finally picked one. Speed, my all time favorite. “The rest have too much blood and gore for me.” She said. We watched the movie in comfortable silence and as the end credits rolled I yawned and glanced at Natasha. She got up and went and sat in one of the bean bag chairs in my balcony. I followed her after switching off the TV.
“What are you thinking about?”
“What my life has become, you know sometimes I wonder if my parents ever thought that their daughter would be in a situation like this?” “Well I don’t know about that Tasha but I know that they would be really proud of you”
She laughed bitterly and said, “Proud of what? Proud of the fact that the only way I am earning money is by being someone’s pretend wife?”
Uh oh she’s really moody and emotional right now. All my male instincts were telling me to run away, soon the crying would start, no sooner had I thought that I saw tears roll down her cheeks. I was really bad with this, I looked at her helplessly as she vented out her feelings.
“Natasha they would be proud because of the person you have become. You are strong and you do what it takes to keep your loved ones happy”
She smiled tearfully and said, “You think?”
“I know” I got up and hugged her. I sat down next to her with one arm around her shoulder and she leaned in and put her head on my shoulder. “Thank you Wade, you are a good friend” “You’re most welcome”
“So about those ghost stories..”
“Natasha!” I groaned but she just laughed and started, “Well have you heard the urban legend of a Japanese woman who face was disfigured by her husband?”
I jumped as there was a breeze and said “No”
“Well they say that her husband caught her cheating on him and slashed her face with a sword and disfigured it”
“oh kay” I really didn’t want to hear the rest but it seemed to distract Natasha so I went along with it. “He then told her now no one will find you beautiful. Legend has it that she roams the streets of Japan till date and wears a mask”
I looked at her disbelievingly, “No listen, in Japan a lot of people wear surgical masks when they have the flu, so then she stops strangers randomly and will ask ‘Am I beautiful?’ If you say yes she will kill you for lying, if you say no she will kill you in rage. They say that the perfect answer to give is average because then it will confuse her and give you time to escape”
“Wow I sure am glad that I don’t live in Japan, but I wish Stephanie did”
Natasha stared at me for the longest time and then busted out
laughing. “oh God Wade, you are so funny!”
“I know right?”
“Yeah now you go next!”
“Er I don’t think so I am pretty sure I am going to have nightmares about women with disfigured faces”
Natasha giggled and said, Oh you are so funny Wade! Are you sleepy yet?”
“Nope”
“Me neither. There are so many stars tonight! Just like yesterday! Lets just stay here”
“Yeah its cold though let me get some blankets” I got the blankets and we lay on them and covered ourselves with a quilt. We lay there in silence staring at the sky when suddenly Natasha started singing,
“Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now.”
I glanced at her and realized she had been crying silently.
“Don’t worry Tasha he will come around”
“Yeah one can always hope right?”
“Right”
We lay there staring at the sky and I didn’t even know when we fell asleep over there. I was woken up in the morning by a very harassed Sean.
“OH MY GOD!!”
Both Natasha and I woke up with a start and looked around. Natasha glanced at me and sat up blushing. Sometime during the night her head had landed on my shoulder and my arm around her waist. However I didn’t feel anything wrong. We were good friends and none of us had dirt on our mind.
“On days like these you make me regret giving you a key to my
apartment”
“Oh no no no. No mister you do not get to say that. I got to Jude’s and I saw him and Stephanie on his couch, I come here and I see you and Natasha in each other’s arms! What is the world coming to? Is it apocalypse?”
Yep that’s why we all love Sean, forever the dramatist, I sighed and
got up.
“You saw Jude and Stephanie on the couch together?” asked Natasha. I winced, she could’ve done without knowing that.
“Yes and”
She didn’t let him complete, “were they you know?”
“No they weren’t thank goodness for that!”
“Sean buddy Stephanie and Jude are back together and Stephanie knows about their arrangement”
“Uhuh I already figured that out Mr. obvious”
“Dude stop with the yelling early in the morning” I said.
“Don’t call me dude”
“Ok. Hold on let me brush my teeth, lets all have breakfast together.”
“Sounds good to me”
Natasha was silent, she went to the washroom and I pounced on Sean. “What did you have to mention Jude and Stephanie sleeping on the couch together in front of Natasha for?”
Sean stared at me and said, “Damn! I didn’t realize. You guys startled me! What were you guys in one blanket for?”
“Dude we were star gazing, we didn’t realize when we fell asleep”
“Oh star gazing” he said sarcastically, “why on earth why were you star gazing like a love struck couple?”
“Long story” I quickly brought him up to date on the situation and told him about the whole fiasco.
He smacked his palm to his forehead and said, “this just keeps getting worse” Just then Natasha came out and asked us “So what are you guys going to have for breakfast?”
“I’ll have French toast and a glass of juice” said Sean, Natasha nodded. “What about you Wade?”
“um I will just have a cup of coffee but I will make breakfast while you catch up with Sean, what are you going to eat?”
“I am not very hungry, I’ll pass”
“Nonsense” said Sean, “you will eat. Just make French toast for both of us Wade”
“sure sir” I muttered and started cooking.
Jude’s P. O. V:
The scene from the evening kept playing in my head. Wade licking chocolate off Natasha’s fingers. The way they jumped apart when I came in. He even bought her a damn jacket! I was going to buy her one. Then I realized what am I doing? She seemed happy with Wade. I was annoyed with Stephanie for putting me in a spot. I hated telling Natasha to leave but it wouldn’t have been fair, after all I wasn’t happy with the idea that she would have been living with Nick. I hated myself for making Natasha feel dejected but if she liked Wade then I guess it was ok right? I glanced at Stephanie thinking yeah it was ok. Natasha liked Wade so I guess I was giving them a fair chance to work something out. Stephanie and I had fallen asleep on the couch and were awakened by Sean entering and yelling, “Surprise!” but he stopped short when he saw Stephanie.
“Jesus Jude!”
“Hi Sean” said Stephanie waking up and leaning into me.
“I wasn’t talking to you” said Sean rudely.
“Sean let me exp-”
“Er no I think I’ll pass but you know what Jude you are an idiot” and he walked off.
I looked at Stephanie who looked at e and smiled, “Don’t worry we will win them over”
We? Did she just say we? I didn’t have to win them over she did and she had better start quick. I needed my cousins with me on this. I still had to go ahead with my crazy scheme and I would need their support.
I had just gotten out of the shower when I got a call from Sean.
“Jude we are all at Wade’s place drop in for lunch”
“Sure. Who is all?”
“Nats, Wade and I”
“Wait a minute what is Natasha doing there?”
“Oh well” gushed Sean and lowered his voice, “she stayed over here”
“WHAT?”
“Ow! What did you yell for?”
“Sorry but how did she end up at Wade’s?”
“Dunno. All I know that they looked really cute all snuggled up in a blanket on his balcony when I came here this morning. They apparently fell asleep while star gazing! Isn’t that cute?” Silence
“Jude?”
“Yeah its cute” I whispered.
“Come drop in for lunch and just for your information, Stephanie
isn’t invited”
“Yeah I’ll meet you guys there”
I hung up and stared at my phone for a minute. I got up and went to my closet I searched for my clothes I began pulling them out then stopped as I thought Natasha will kill you and then I realized with a pang that she wasn’t here. I glanced at her clothes that were folded neatly and kept one the other side. I touched them and sighed, she was gone one day and I missed her already. Fair chance said a voice in my head; I am giving Wade and Natasha a fair chance.