CLAUDE
“Your mansion is already huge, so why are you still looking for another house? Are you planning to house another woman there? Since when did you start doing such foolish things, Claude?” Arlo questioned me one after another when he learned that I am looking for another house. He had called me to his office to talk properly, but now that we were face to face, he seemed like he wanted to shake me. His questioning was akin to a reporter’s, with the number of questions he asked.
“I need a house because Sia doesn’t want to return to the mansion. So I’m looking for another house for us to live in, where I can bring my wife and son,” I explained.
Arlo furrowed his brow. “Your wife and son? Who are you referring to?”
“Are you not listening? I just said. Sia and our son will live with me in the house I am considering buying from you. But if you don’t want to sell to me, I’ll talk to Monte,” I replied with a scowl.
I had two options for buying a house. One was the Azure Realty owned by Arlo, and the other was the Lamar Homes owned by Monte. Lamar Homes is farther from my office, so I chose Azure Realty. But I didn’t realize that dealing with Arlo in the transaction would be difficult. He had so many questions, as if he doubted my intentions.
“Oh! Have you reconciled with your wife? Did she agree to come back to you?”
I raised an eyebrow at Arlo’s question. “Yes, Sia has agreed to come back to me. We’re okay now, and I can take them back home if you give me the house you’re selling. But if you don’t want to, I’ll just buy from Monte. It seems he’s easier to deal with than you.”
“Wait, Claude. I’m just asking. Here, let me find the e-brochure on my phone so you can choose. I have many newly constructed houses ready for occupancy. If you want, I can even give you a tour right now,” Arlo said, looking through his phone.
“Let me see some samples first.” I wasn’t sure what Sia would prefer, but I thought maybe she would want to move her small business, so I needed to find a house close to the business district.
Arlo handed me his phone, and I smiled when I saw the pictures of the houses in Azure Realty. I scrolled through all the pictures there, even scrutinizing the interior of each house until something caught my attention.
It was a three-story house with a medium-sized backyard. Four cars could fit in the garage. Almost all the walls of the house were made of glass panels. It had four bedrooms and five bathrooms. There is only one problem. Where could Sia put her bookshop here?
“I like this. Can we have an extension here?”
“Extension? For what?”
“My wife has a small bookshop. Maybe she can set it up here in our house so she doesn’t have to go far,” I explained to Arlo.
Arlo shook his head. “That’s the problem, bro. In the contract you’re about to sign, it’s not allowed to build an extension or any permanent structure on the perimeter of the house. It would ruin the design. But you can change the interior of the house if you want, but not the exterior. You can only add plants or have it landscaped if you want to improve it.”
“Oh, is that so?” I scratched my head. Where could Sia set up her bookshop if it’s not allowed in our future home?
“Why don’t you put her bookshop at the Artisan Pavilion instead. That way you’ll be working on the same building. If you miss her, you can visit anytime. That’s good, right?” Arlo tapped my shoulder.
I grimaced. “How is that good? People might think I can’t work properly because Sia is nearby. I might always go to her shop because she’s nearby and easy to reach.”
“Don’t you want that, bro? You’ll have plenty of time for quickies,” Arlo joked with a grin.
“That’s disgusting. Your mind is filthy.”
Arlo gave me a look. “Wow! For someone who just said that, you don’t seem like it, huh? Who do you think has a newer and dirtier mind between the two of us, huh?”
I let out a sigh. “I admit, I am the biggest jerk among our friends. But that was before, when I hadn’t met Sia yet. Now, not anymore. I’ve changed, bro. Sia’s love changed me. I became a better person because of her.”
“Our friends noticed that too. In the past five years, you didn’t even look at other women once. We thought maybe you’ve changed your ways. But Monte said you were like that only because your wife left. He said you fell deeply in love with your wife, so even when she’s not around, you can’t look at other women,” Arlo reminisced.
I smiled bitterly as I remembered the time Arlo referred to. I really couldn’t shift my attention elsewhere even when Sia wasn’t around.
“I admire you, bro. You’re strong. You managed to reject all the women who approached you back then. How did you do that, considering you were free to flirt because your wife wasn’t around?”
I smiled. “I don’t even know how I managed to reject all the women who approached me back then. All I know is, I didn’t like any woman except Sia. I couldn’t feel attracted to any other woman. Maybe that’s how it is when you truly love someone; you don’t want anyone else but the person you love. Even when she’s not with you, you’ll remain loyal to her. You don’t want to hurt her, and you can’t even think of deceiving her, not even in your thoughts.”
“Oops!” Arlo raised both his hands suddenly. “Alright, bro. You’ve given me a long lecture. I don’t want to think I’ll reach the point where I’ll go crazy for Ingrid. We should take it slow, especially me. I’m not sure if she’s really the woman I’ll wait for at the altar. I don’t want to think about that now.”
I just shook my head, hoping my friend wouldn’t end up like me.
“Okay. I hope what happened to me won’t happen to you. I only realized I love Sia when she was already gone. Don’t let your girlfriend slip away from you before you realize how important she is in your life.”
“Huh? I don’t want that to happen, bro. It’s better if we just talk about the house you’re interested in. Don’t involve my love life. She’s not related to my business.”
“Sure. Can we visit the houses you’re selling now? I’d like to see them,” I said, pointing to a picture on Arlo’s cellphone.