On a sunny afternoon, the two figures sitting on the bench had their shadows cast on the floor. Everything seemed tranquil at that moment, and they both took in the view of the different people that walked by.
"I am gratefully for their nice intentions, but I don't think I am ready to let anyone in right now," a gentle voice somehow shattered the silence.
"I know what you mean. I adore the girls and know they want the best for me, but I know it would take a while for my scars to heal," a masculine voice accompanied.
Beatrice and Caleb looked at each other and exchanged understanding smiles. Although, the girls set them up, their hearts weren't ready yet.
"Do you want to tell me your story? Love might not be, but friendship doesn't seem so bad," she said to him.
"If you tell me yours first, I'll consider it," he chuckled.
She took a deep breath and looked at the clear sky, "well, it's not much of a story. It's the typical love at first sight, but the guy wasn't mine to possess. Now I'm friends with him and his wife." Yes, her failed love story was not tragic. What was meant not to be will definitely not be. Unfortunately, the heart wants what it wants. It hurt when she knew she lost Quincy, but after she took a break from her feelings, it hurt less, but it still hurt.
"No one's feeling is ever insignificant. You chose to send off your love with blessings rather than curses. Now that's maturity. Would it hurt any less? Of course not, but I promise you, it will become better," Caleb comforted.
These were the words his brother told him sometimes back. Never look down on anyone's feelings. However, how they choose to handle those feelings can result in peace or disaster. Beatrice definitely chose well. It shows that she's a good person.
Beatrice laughed when she heard him say that. "For someone who dishes out good pieces if advice, you do not practice what you preach," she said mockingly. In fact, she didn't know Caleb's story. She feared that if she asked the girls, they'd take it as her having an interest in Caleb.
Caleb picked up on her mocking tone and smiled at her. The he calmly said, "I fell for a toxic person. Good thing it wasn't mutual. I would have been dragged into the dumps by her. Still, the feelings were real for me anyway." With all those images flashing back, he had a melancholic smile on his face.
Seeing him all sad and sulky, Beatrice picked up her frappe and raised it to his face.
"Cheers to our sad love stories. Here is to a better future for both of us."
He couldn't help but look at this woman who switched from sad to happy in a nanosecond. He admired that.
Not letting her wait too long, he picked his iced drink and hit it against her cup and they both laughed foolishly.
The season changed from summer to fall. Just like they discussed, they kept their relationship platonic because they weren't ready to let anyone in. They met occasionally when the Jacob's, James, and Jenkins had their family meetings, but that was about it.
One night at a bar, Caleb was dead drunk and laying asleep on the table. He could vaguely tell that someone was close by and maybe talking to him, but he had no strength.
Seeing that her target was unresponsive, the woman sitting next to him grabbed his coat and took his wallet. She picked out his ID and read out his information.
[Name: Caleb Watkins.]
[Date of birth: August 12, 19**]
[Eye color: Brown]
[Height: 6'1"]
[Blood type: O+]
The woman had been in the bar for a while looking for her next prey. The moment she sported Caleb strutting into the bar, she was determined to have a taste of that fresh meat. She watched as he drowned himself in alcohol. She was excited as that made it easier for her to make her move. When she noticed he hadn't moved for a while, she approached him.
The woman smacked her lips together and uttered lewdly, "just what I needed to warm my bed." She caressed his laps and sniffed him weirdly. She lifted his head from the table and made him rest his head back. She started rubbing his chest and enjoying herself with a man that had lost consciousness.
No one dared to approach as the woman was the bar owner, and it was widely known truth that she preyed on younger men to tend to her weird fetishes. Poor Caleb just happened to be another target.
The not-so-attractive guys inwardly thanked their parents for not passing on superior genes to them.
Time passed by slowly. The woman was in no rush because she knew he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Suddenly, footsteps came approaching. The rubbing action on Caleb's chest stopped as the woman look up at the approaching figure.
"Caleb! Caleb!!" Beatrice totally ignored the old woman and hit Caleb twice in the face. Originally, she came in for drinks with her beauty enthusiast friends about some minutes ago, so she had assumed that the woman next to Caleb was his partner, so she didn't dare disturb. It wasn't until she heard some guys remarks about the woman that she became alert and knew he was being taken advantage of.
"Wake up stupid! Some old hag is about to take your virginity." She finally spared the woman a look, but quickly recovered it and landed more hits on Caleb.
"And just who are you calling old? And a hag?" The woman stood up fuming.
"If the shoe fits, rock it elegantly." Seeing how the dumb guy wasn't responding, she pulled on his head firmly. How could a responsible man drink himself to stupor in this dangerous atmosphere? He must really have no regards for his life and his body.
Feeling some pain on his scalp, he finally responded.
"Cubby be good. Dad is tired now. Go back to your bed. I'll play with you in the morning." After comforting his 'pet,' he attempted to rest his head back on the table.
At this moment, Beatrice was totally furious. Did this dude just take her as his dog? Oh hell no! He definitely deserved a beating. She rained down blows on him left and right.
Taking in this scene, the old woman knew this prey was inaccessible, so she picked up her purse and snuck away. She was afraid the blows would fall on her next. Prey is good but life is better.
"Cubby! Quit being naughty now. I must have fed you too much. Look at how bulky your hands are. You are currently beating the hand that feed you, do you know?"
Caleb grabbed the petite hands that were touching him all over and tried to pat his "pet's" head to pacify her.
Beatrice was on the verge of losing it. "You want a puppy? Okay, I'll give you a dog."
She bit down on his ear, threatening to pull it off.
Pain shot through Caleb's body and his eyes instantly popped open ready to scold naughty Cubby. He raised his hand to pull her up by the head. The he noticed the texture was different.
"Cubby, when did you go from fluffy fur to silky fur? I don't remember that happeneing."
Feeling her hair being pulled at, Beatrice screamed and let go his ear.
"Are you freaking crazy?!"
"Do you know how much energy I put into getting my hair laid?"
"I must have been possessed to entangle myself with such a strange man."
"My good deeds have harmed me. Go to hell Caleb."
She gave him a fierce knock in the head before storming off to the bathroom.
After receiving a concrete blow to the head, Caleb woke up and stared at the retracting figure in a daze.
"What did I just do?"
"I AM DOOMED!"
After calming down and prepping her face again, Beatrice left the bathroom only to meet an unpleasant looking somebody outside the door.
Instinctively, she backed up, "Don't touch my hair."
Caleb laughed at her frightened face. Now he knew how much her hair meant to her.
"I am sorry. I didn't know it was you. I was very drunk. Still am. My head hurts like crazy."
He didn't know if his head hurt from the alcohol or the blows Beatrice gave him earlier. He gently kept that thought to himself.
Beatrice rolled her eyes at him with no intention to reply. She was going to hold on to this grudge forever.
Sensing her displeasure, he maintained a straight face also.
"When you were away, I asked around and got the gist of what happened. Thank you, Beatrice."
"Who knew what that weird woman would have done to me if you hadn't showed up?"
"You are my superhero."
"My SHero."
Hearing him say words like that seriously, her mood lightened a bit. No one ever called her a superhero before.
"Who told you to drink like a thirsty nomad uhn?" She retorted lightly.
He let out a heavy breath, "I was just thinking about the past again."
The grudge Beatrice held melted away like butter. She finally understood that he was numbing his pain with alcohol.
"So stupid," she chided.
"I'll drive you home. You stink." She walked past him to bid her group goodbye before grabbing Caleb to leave. She didn't bring her car since they carpooled here, so it was convenient for her to drive.
Being dragged along, Caleb's heart felt a lot lighter. He also felt protected. He had always done the protecting. This was such a nice change. Who knew Beatrice had a wild side to her!
"What her you looking at? Are you hungry for some more blows?"
Unknowingly, he had been staring at her the whole time.
"Oh! My head hurts. The address is in the GPS. I'll take another nap." Not wanting to be fed with her fist, he feigned ignorance and turned to sleep.
Beatrice lips curled up uncontrollably. Who knew Caleb had such a cute side!
Ever since the bar incident, the two grew closer. They no longer met only at the three amigos family meeting, but they had also started to go on hikes together.
At the Walters' home, Beatrice was currently resting in her mother's embrace.
It was Springtime. Everything looked so beautiful.
"So, tell me about this guy who puts a smile on my daughter's face," Mrs. Walters teased.
"Mom! Caleb and I are just friends with similar experiences. So, we get along well," she blushed slightly.
"You are sure you don't carry a torch for him in your heart?" The mother asked seriously.
She knew how much her daughter liked Quincy in the past, and as a parent, it also hurt her to see her daughter hurting. These past months, she noticed that Beatrice mood got better, and she was always texting and laughing all the time. It definitely wasn't a girl friend.
"Mom. If I carried a torch for him, wouldn't that make my affection for Quincy seem fickle?" she rose from her mother's embrace.
That was what she was afraid off. After spending more time around Caleb, she knew she didn't view him as just a friend anymore, but she was concerned that people who knew about her one-sided love for Quincy would label her a fickle woman who couldn't persist in pursuing her love.
"Baby, of course not. You have the freedom to love whoever you want. No one can quantify love. Only the one who feels it knows what is being felt. As a mother, I can tell it's different with this Caleb guy. You laugh more and you're confident and comfortable." She comforted her daughter, wanting her to open up more.
Recalling the bar incident again, she couldn't help but laugh out loud and narrate it to her mom.
"Wow! He found out about your fierce temper and didn't run away? That guy is a keeper. Bring him home for me to access," she tickled Beatrice.
Laughing hysterically, she begged her mother to stop and promised to bring Caleb home.
On the other side, Caleb was eating lunch with his brother.
"We've been together since 10am and it's currently almost 2pm, and all I have heard today is Beatrice this and Beatrice that."
"Why did you insist on having me over when you could just have easily had her over ehn?"
He couldn't take it anymore. Even before he came over, all of Caleb's text had something new to say about Beatrice.
"Joe, I think your brother is in love," Caleb declared.
Joe, Caleb's younger brother, rolled his eyes at him.
"Tell me something I don't know, bro. Even an ignorant person would know that."
"But I don't know how to go about it. At the beginning, we both concluded that we weren't a good fit for love because we were hurting. What if she thinks I'm a fickle person who moves on quick?"
That was his worry. Would she look down on him for moving on so fast after he had declared that he wasn't ready yet?
Joe dropped his fork and stared at his brother for a while.
"Bro, you did not move on quick. The whole family was worried about you for years. You pursued that demon for years. She hurt you. She drained your love and hurt you. If Beatrice thinks you're fickle, then she doesn't know you. She doesn't deserve you."
"I am happy for you. I'm happy that you're happy. Even if it doesn't work out with Beatrice, I am assured that my brother knows how to move on."
Caleb did not want to think about old memories, so he cheekily rubbed his little brother's head.
"Am I the older brother or are you the older brother?"
Joe picked up his fork again. He smiled, "I don't mind if you want to sell me your birthright for a plate of porridge. I don't like porridge anyway."
The brothers laughed, and it wasn't long again before Caleb continued with his "Beatrice's tales."
Having confirmed their personal feelings, the two lonely hearts sought out ways to come together.
A week later, Caleb invited Beatrice on a library date. Beatrice had told him that she always wondered what it was like to be lovey-dovey in a library, and that she envied the couples whenever she those scenes in a drama or movie.
Of course, Beatrice was excited. Although no one labelled it a date, since they both had feelings for each other, they thought it was so in their hearts.
Caleb had planned to confess to Beatrice in the library by reading her a handwritten poem. They both arrived promptly and found empty seats.
"It's so nice here," Beatrice's heart thumped with excitement.
"Let's look for something to read."
They both strolled around and joyfully peaked at each other through the openings of the bookshelves like high school lovers.
"What do you haeve there?" Caleb asked as they walked back to their seats.
"Summer camp series. I like these."
He nodded while placing his book on the table.
"Shakespeare?" She asked interestingly.
"Yeah. I wanted to see if I could write my own poem."
The two exchanged words back and forth until they got scolded by the librarian.
"Shhhhh!"
It seemed that love made people chatty. The couple once again started talking about random things until they got another "Shhhh" from the librarian.
After multiple "Shhhh," Caleb finally completed his poem.
Unfortunately, the librarian wouldn't let him be great. As long as either of the spoke, she'd caution them to keep quiet.
It got to the point where a student actually "shhhh" the librarian herself.
When that finally got out of the way, Beatrice got a message from her mom urging her to return home. The couple parted sadly, and Caleb's first attempt failed.
He looked at the note in his hand.
[Roses are red, Violets are blue}
[I say I love you, and I want a "me too"]
He laughed at how ridiculous that was. All that Shakespeare just to come up with this. It was a good thing her mother called.
On another date that wasn't a date but was really a date, Caleb invited Beatrice to an amusement park. She had complained to him once that her friends thought the rides were childish, so she had no one to come with.
Again, Beatrice couldn't hide her excitement. She was going to her favorite place with her favorite person. What could possibly go wrong?
Little did she know.
Caleb also prepared his second confession attempt. He was going to confess to her on her favorite ride.
"So, what ride do you want to start with?" He asked as they walked in.
"The SPINNER," Beatrice exclaimed.
Caleb's lower jaw lost strength and his mouth was left ajar. The spinner was just like the name. It spins people; 90 degrees to the left and right while moving upward and downward.
Recovering from his shock, he had only one question.
"Why?"
Beatrice didn't let him down.
"I get an adrenaline rush from it. Let's go."
Before he could object, she dragged him along and he reluctantly oblige. At least if he died, he died next to the person he loved.
Once more, Caleb's second attempt went down the drain along with all the food in his stomach.
For his third attempt, Caleb invited Beatrice to the movies. She had told him that she was curious about what the theatre looked like at night. This time, he picked her up from home, hoping to confess to her while watching the movie.
He chose a romantic comedy. Once the male lead confesses, he would do the same to the woman next to him. He was feeling giddy from thinking about it. This was the most perfect way. He had no idea why he wasted time on the 2 former ideas. Love does lower one's IQ.
He got his girl settled in first before heading back out to get the snack and drinks. While watching the ads, Beatrice casually brought up a topic she tried so hard to shy away from.
"By the way, my mom wanted to treat you to dinner once. She knows we've been hanging out and wants to thank you for taking care of me."
She said all that while trying hard to focus on the ads on the screen when really her heart was thumping wildly.
Caleb's brain went into overdrive.
[My mother-in-law wants to meet with me? How amazing!]
Calming himself, he said coolly, "she doesn't have to do that. She has a daughter who is easy to care for and pamper."
They both went quiet for a while.
"Since it is aunt's goodwill, how can I turn it down? I'll be available in two weeks. I'll give you a specific day later."
Feeling his gaze land on her, Beatrice nodded shyly without moving her eyes away from the screen.
Soon the movie started. The storyline was typical. Rich guy, poor girl, guy's mother offers girl money to leave her son, then there's a twist. Girl takes the money and spends it with the son.
Beatrice was already engrossed at this point. Caleb was waiting on the confession.
From the screen, the couple embraced each other in a room.
[I feel bad for deceiving your mother, but you are my one and only.]
[It's okay. One has to be deceived once or twice in this life anyway.]
[I love you so much, Hugh.]
[I love you back, Mel.]
Just about the time Caleb was about to utter the leads words to Beatrice, moans came through the speaker. He hurriedly turned his head back to the screen to see two bodies entangled.
[Just saying it isn't enough. I have to show it by my action. Fell my love for you, Mel!]
[Faster, harder, right there, Hugh. I feel your love!]
Caleb was shocked to the core. The synopsis fooled him. This wasn't what he signed up for. He was robbed.
'I want a refund on my ticket!!!!'
Beatrice wasn't any less shocked. She hurriedly looked away on to see that they were surrounded by couples who had no propriety.
Not waiting for Caleb to finish his internal sobbing, she dragged him out of the room.
Third attempt – canceled.
Both of them acted like that day never happened.
The next day, they met for lunch. Since Caleb had to come up with another plan, he was absentminded throughout the meal.
Beatrice called out to him a couple of times but didn't receive a reply. All of a sudden, a thought popped into her mind. It was now or never.
"Caleb!"
"Caleb!!"
"Caleb!!!"
She called him repeatedly. Confirming that he really wasn't listening, she tried her luck.
"Do you like me?"
"Yes."
They were both stunned. They looked at each other.
The moment Beatrice put down her fork before she asked her question, Caleb had regained some awareness. When he heard the question, he replied without thinking.
Beatrice also wasn't expecting an answer. She hurriedly broke eye contact and resumed eating, looking at the eggs like the most interesting thing in the world.
A while later, Caleb spoke up.
"So?"
Not looking up, Beatrice replied, "So what?"
"I like you. What about you?"
She looked up at him, "I like you too."
Forgetting they were out in the open, Caleb grabbed her fork, placed it down, the dragged the girl in for a long kiss that took both their breaths away.
Nobody was sure how long the kiss lingered. No one was keeping track. Only the two hearts mattered.
So this is what love really feels like.
It was the beginning of a new journey.
2 broken hearts had finally healed.
No more hurt, no more, pain, no more scars.
Only love and hope and a future to look forward to.
This is love.