Unbroken Pleasures (17 page)

Thankfully, Ben
was on board for my plans of getting Sylvia and him together in the same room.
We sketched out the details together and by the time I hung up the phone, I was
feeling pretty good that our plan might just work, well, to the extent that I’d
get the two of them together in the same room. Beyond that, I didn’t know. A
lot was going to depend on whether or not Sylvia made the choice to give
relationships a chance.

The next few
days passed without incident. I didn’t get any phone calls from Sylvia, which
was odd considering that I knew she was excited to meet Adam so I hoped that
she wasn’t on to me.

More
importantly, I hadn’t received a late night visit from Reese, which is what I
had been hoping for. I had spoken to Adam a couple of times over the course of
the week but had managed to avoid seeing him.

By the time
Thursday came, I needed a night out to raise my spirits. It was difficult to
accept that Reese would disappear without contacting me again. Every night that
passed without hearing from him tore another piece from my soul. I felt like I
would go insane. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t concentrate. More
than anything, my matchmaking efforts with Sylvia had to work just to remind
myself that peace and love could still exist in the world. I knew that I
couldn’t keep expecting Reese to show up in my bed and I was crazy to want it
so much but I couldn’t seem to let go. I needed things to work out between
Sylvia and Ben just to give me somewhere else to place my energy and
enthusiasm.

By Thursday
evening, I was a basket case. I ended up downing two drinks just in the process
of showering and getting dressed to go out. I still hadn’t heard from Sylvia. I
double checked my phone three more times in the span of thirty minutes just to
make sure I hadn’t somehow missed her call. Each time I tried to call her
number, it went straight to voice mail and I’d tired of leaving messages that
she clearly had no intention of answering.

I double checked
my hair and make-up. I hoped that this evening would go better than the rest of
my week had gone. I arrived at the restaurant at precisely seven o’clock and
had the hostess show me to our table. Adam was already waiting for me with a
drink ordered for both of us, for which I was very grateful. I already felt the
need for another since the first two had long since worn off, especially with
my nerves.

“This was
probably a really dumb idea” I said taking a drink, “I thought that she would
have called me but I haven’t heard from her all week. I think she’s on to me.
She’s probably not even going to show up, not even to meet you.”

“Relax,” Adam
said putting a hand over mine to calm me. He was smiling, trying to make me
feel more at ease.

“She doesn’t
believe it, does she? She probably could see right through it. I should have
known she would have never fallen for anything crazy like this. God knows that
I’ve known her for long enough.”

“Seriously, Alex,
relax. The evening is going to be just fine. Besides, it’s not a total loss.
You and I are finally out again. I’ve missed you. I get the impression you’ve
been avoiding me lately.”

“What? Don’t be
silly. Why would I be avoiding you?”

“That’s what
I’ve been trying to figure out.”

“I’ve just been
really busy,” I lied but I could feel my cheeks flush bright red.

“She never
called me. I don’t even know if she’s still planning to show up,” I continued
trying to turn the conversation back to Sylvia and Ben rather than face the
conversation with Adam that I didn’t want to have.

“Well, I don’t
think you have to worry so much. And for what it’s worth, you look beautiful
tonight. I was hoping that maybe after dinner, you and I could go back to my
house.”

“Adam, I don’t
know. It’s a work night and all.”

He shrugged off
the disappointment and took another sip of his drink.

“It was only a
thought. Let’s see where the evening takes us, shall we?”

“Yes, let’s,” I
said nervously taking another sip of the fruity white wine that Adam had
chosen.

“To us,” he said
lifting his glass to meet mine.

“To us.”

The waiter brought
us refills on our drinks and asked if he could take our orders but we waved him
away, letting him know that we were still waiting for our friend to join us.
Twenty minutes later and feeling quite tipsy, I was convinced that Sylvia would
be a no-show. I sent Ben a text message update. He was patiently waiting in an
obscure part of the parking lot to make his grand entrance sometime after I
made sure that Sylvia was here to stay. I was really hoping that I hadn’t
wasted everyone’s time by dragging them out here this evening.

I finished off
the last of my drink and started to signal for the waiter when I felt a hand on
my shoulder. I turned sharply, nearly pushing my glass off the table as I did
so.

“My, aren’t we a
little jumpy this evening,” Sylvia said.

I stood up to
embrace her warmly, grateful that she was here at last and she had a smile on
her lips. I saw her gaze move to Adam as I let go of her.

“I was beginning
to think that you wouldn’t be joining us this evening,” I said to her motioning
for her to take the empty seat beside me at the table. She did so gratefully.

“I’m really
sorry, Alex. I have been so swamped with work this week that I didn’t get a
chance to call and let you know that I was running a little late.” She paused
and thrust her hand in Adam’s direction. “You must be Adam. I’ve heard so much
about you.”

“And you must be
Sylvia. It’s nice to meet you,” he said.

I watched as
they smiled at each other. I tried to read Sylvia’s assessment but her eyes
were more guarded than usual. She looked worn and tired and I wondered how much
of that was the stress of working so much and how much of that was regret over
breaking things off with Ben. Then again, maybe I was making too many
assumptions when it came to her feelings for Ben.

The waiter reappeared
and asked once again if he could take our orders. Thankfully, Sylvia already
had a good idea what she was in the mood for so we didn’t have to send him away
again while we gave her time to make up her mind. We placed our orders and then
were left to sit in awkward silence trying to make small talk while I
discreetly sent a text message under the table to Ben to let him know that
Sylvia had arrived in a relatively good spirits and we should be eating within
the next twenty to thirty minutes. I wanted to make sure that Sylvia had at
least one drink down her and food to distract her before Ben made his surprise
appearance.

“You seem kind
of nervous,” Sylvia said looking in my direction. I slipped my phone back into
my pocket and took a quick drink to calm my nerves.

“Who? Me?” I
asked her. “I’m perfectly fine.”

“So, Adam,” she
said turning her attention back to him clearly unconvinced by my charade, “What
do you do?”

“I am an
accountant,” he said, “I have an office in my home just around the corner from
where Alex works. That’s how we met,” he said smiling at me, “I got a puppy and
brought him to Alex’s practice. Best thing I ever did.”

I tried to smile
even though I am sure that it came off as plastic. Sylvia looked at me for a
long time before she continued to ask Adam about his work. Adam seemed pleased
to answer and I learned a few things about him that I’d never thought to ask
myself. Listening to the two of them banter as the food arrived almost made me
forget why we were sitting there in the first place. It could have been a
pleasant evening.

“What are you
doing here?” Sylvia said interrupting an amusing tale of Tiger’s antics that
Adam was in the middle of telling as we commented on how good the food was.

I turned around
to look at Ben standing behind me and I turned back to Sylvia swallowing hard.
This was the part when I had to convince her that Ben should sit down and join
us.

“Ben, what a
surprise,” I said trying to sound the part and hoping that my voice didn’t shake.

“Hi Alex. Hi
Sylvia.” He sounded more nervous than I did.

“Ben, this is
Adam. Adam this is Sylvia’s boyfriend, Ben.” Adam stood up so that he could
reach over and shake the other man’s hand and exchange pleasantries. I took the
opportunity to try to determine just how angry with me Sylvia was at this
moment since I was certain that she didn’t buy the façade. Her face did not
give any hints to her reaction but her sudden silence did not bode well.
Clearly she was waiting to see what would happen next.

“How ironic to
run into you all here.”

Ben lied
terribly.

“Ben, why don’t
you sit down and join us for some dessert,” I said even though we were only a
few bites into our meals. I looked at Sylvia begging for her to agree or at the
very least not show any signs of running away. She did neither.

“Actually, I’d
love to,” he said eagerly taking the empty seat across from Sylvia. She refused
to make eye contact with him but she didn’t move or say a word in response to
his addition to the table either. Adam and I tried to include both her and Ben
into the conversation but Sylvia kept her head down and ate, only speaking when
we asked her a direct question and even then, keeping her answers short and to
the point. I felt her eyes dig into me when I was turned away from her but when
I tried to meet her gaze, she looked away. I had it figured that she was
seething inside but doing her best to keep things together for the sake of not
appearing terribly rude to Adam. I was starting to think that maybe it wasn’t
such a wise move to interfere with her love life, despite the fact that my
intentions were good.

The waiter
cleared our dinner dishes and I still hadn’t managed to draw Sylvia out of her
silence. I silently pleaded with Ben across the table to say something. Now was
his chance. If he didn’t, then she was going to take the first opportunity to
excuse herself and leave.

“How have you
been, Sylvia?” he asked softly.

“Fine.”

“Sylvia has been
really busy at work this week,” I offered, “so she’s a little tired. Isn’t that
right?”

“Mind your own
business, Alex.”

“I was only
making conversation,” I said.

“I was hoping we
could talk,” Ben said.

“Is that what
this is about?” Sylvia asked looking directly at me.

“I just thought
that if you two sat down together and talked about how you’re feeling, then
maybe you could work things out,” I said knowing it was fruitless to deny that
she’d been set up.

“I can’t believe
my own best friend would lie to me like this. How could you stoop so low?” she
accused me.

“Sylvia, wait,
don’t blame Alex,” Ben said reaching out to touch Sylvia’s arm. I held my
breath as I watched them. Sylvia didn’t pull away.

“She is trying
to get us back together,” Ben continued, “She is trying to help.”

“I just thought
if you two sat down together and talked then maybe you could work things out. I
know about the proposal.”

“What?” she said
stunned.

“I ran into Ben
at the grocery store. He told me that he asked you to marry him. He was so
heartbroken that you broke up with him that I agreed to help. Just give him a
chance.”

Sylvia stared at
me for a long time without saying anything. I couldn’t read the expression in
her eyes, whether she was still angry, hurt, confused, or a mix of all of the
above. None of us knew what to say. She pulled her hand away from Ben and stood
up. My heart sank. She wasn’t ready to listen to reason.

“Adam, it was
very nice to meet you. Alex, goodbye.”

She turned her
back on both of us and walked out of the restaurant. Ben got up without a word
and ran after her, leaving Adam and me to stare at each other dumbfounded in
the awkward silence that they left behind.

“Well, that
could have gone a bit better,” I said with a sigh.

“It’s not your
fault, Alex. Like you told Sylvia, you were only trying to help. It’s up to her
if she wants to hang on to a good thing or not.”

The waiter
reappeared with dessert menus. I didn’t have much of an appetite but Adam
convinced me to share a slice of chocolate cake with him and I finally agreed.

I let my head
collapse into my hands with my elbows propped on the table.

“It was a disaster,”
I said ignoring his earlier attempts to make me feel better.

“It wasn’t that
bad.”

We didn’t say
anything as we waited for the waiter to return with the cake. We were each lost
in our thoughts.

“Maybe he
convinced her to talk to him. You don’t know. They might work things out,” he said
as we picked up our forks and dug into our cake.

“I don’t know if
she’s ever going to talk to me again.”

“Of course she
will. She’s your best friend.”

“I shouldn’t
have got in the middle. It was none of my business what she did with Ben. If
she’s not ready to get married or if she doesn’t think he’s the one she should
be with then who am I to try to push?”

“Don’t be so
hard on yourself, Alex. I think it’s really sweet what you did. You’re a
romantic at heart, even after what happened in your past, you obviously still
believe that true love will prevail.”

I looked up at
him and he smiled at me and in that moment, I knew he was right and I knew what
I had to do. I couldn’t sit here pretending any longer.

“Thank you, Adam.
You’re a really nice guy.”

“I’m glad you
think so, Alex.”

Once again,
silence filled the space between us as we continued to eat and find ourselves
immersed in our own thoughts. By the time we’d finished, all I could think
about was getting out of the restaurant. The waiter brought the check and I
paid the bill before Adam could try to take it from me.