Beautiful Lie

Episode 3

Alison had a mental image of herself cradling his face in her palm and rubbing away his tears of sorrow. When his words cut through her wandering thoughts, the image appeared almost instantaneously, and she immediately felt a pang of shame in her chest.

"He took you out to dinner on your birthday every year, even if he had to do it with you kicking and screaming," Wilfred said with a smile to soften the blow he was sure his words brought. "He took you out to dinner on your birthday even if he had to do it with you kicking and screaming," Wilfred said. "As your and his friend, it is my responsibility to ensure that tradition is carried on, especially this year."

Particularly this year, particularly this year... She heard the words over and over again in her thoughts.

It was the first birthday in eight years that had passed without him, and it still didn't seem genuine. Even though he hadn't been there for her for six months, she still woke up each day expecting to hear him walk in the door, laugh outlandishly loud at something foolish, or get snippy with her when she asked him where he'd been all night when she asked him where he'd been.

She was not going to let those disturbing ideas to occupy her mind in any way. No, not at this time. And most certainly not later on evening. She had already spent far too much time in recent times pondering the question "What if?" and considering the many things she may have handled differently in the past. The fact that the majority of those feelings centered on the man standing next to her rather than the one to whom she'd dedicated her heart took up too much space in her head and her heart as it was.

Wilfred was feeling the pain as well. During the preceding half year, he had been her rock, making sure that she didn't forget to eat, take a shower, or go to work, along with anything else that she might have forgotten to do when the memories and misery threatened to overwhelm her. For once, he required her to show no weakness, and she was determined to fulfill this requirement. Even if it meant that she needed to celebrate her birthday as a result of it.

“Fine. But I have a limit, and that limit is when complete strangers start swarming around the table and singing "Happy Birthday" like a bunch of idiots.

“Deal.” Wilfred laughed.

They turned around and continued their conversation about previous birthdays as they walked back across the beach and up the steps to her condo.

After an hour and a half, they were still eating when we joined them at Sorrento's. We joined them at a table in the back corner of the restaurant. On the outskirts of town was a humble establishment called Sorrento's, which was run by a family. The booths were upholstered in red leather, while the tables sported a green vinyl covering.

There were numerous pictures on the walls depicting Italy and old Sicilian families, and the white silk carnation that was covered in dust and placed in the center of their table had seen better days. Alison's favorite restaurant was referred to as a "hole in the wall" by Wilfred as a way to torment her. Thankfully, the phenomenal quality of the cuisine more than made up for the less-than-ideal environment.

Wilfred was sitting there observing Alison as she wiped the corner of her mouth with the handkerchief she had in her hand.

His best friend was lovely. That was indisputable without a doubt. When he first saw her all those years ago in the coffee shop just off campus, he was rendered speechless and dumbfounded by her stunning good looks. If it was even possible, she looked even more gorgeous than the first day he met her.

When they got back from the beach earlier, she took a fast shower at her condo, but instead of blow drying her naturally wavy hair, she just let it air dry. The golden highlights in her auburn locks were caused by the sun, and they reached down past her shoulders.

At the dinner table, he observed her as she used her fingers to move her long bangs out of her eyes. He did this as she sat there. Wilfred never lost the desire to act in such a manner toward her. How many times had the three of them, along with whatever random hook-up he'd discovered, gone out to dinner over the years when his hand would raise of its own volition to sweep the hair away from her face? At one point, he was even forced to fake it by rapidly indicating to the waiter that he needed another drink.

Even though Alison didn't particularly enjoy her birthday, she still enjoyed getting dressed up and going out with her friends. After she had finished showering, she went straight to her closet to select an olive-colored, strapless little dress with a loose top that went all the way down to her hips. It had gold-studded details that brought attention to her toned physique and embraced the tops of her thighs as well as her wonderfully round bottom in a tight embrace. When the summer sun had begun to brown her complexion and she was in the mood to feel sensual, she would reach for this dress as her go-to piece of clothing to wear.

She was relieved to see that Wilfred had also decided to dress up. When she stood up from her place on the sand earlier and spotted him, he was wearing a pair of black dress pants and a long-sleeved blue button down shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. It was enough to make her mouth water. He looked good in anything he wore.

It brought to her mind that it had been far too long since the last time she saw him dressed formally in his Navy Service Dress Whites. This fact jogged her memory. His powerful legs were highlighted by the jeans, which featured a permanent military crease that ran down the front, and his well-defined chest and broad shoulders were accentuated by the tailored jacket that embraced them. How many times had she watched him shoot his cuffs and adjust his collar while she stood there in rapt attention?

It was a good thing that Wilfred selected that time to lay a small gift-wrapped box in front of her as the waitress cleared their plates since she was in danger of being consumed by her perilous thoughts. The waitress had just finished clearing the table.

Alison's eyes brightened up as she clapped her hands together. She was so excited that she was virtually bouncing up and down in her seat.

"You despise having a birthday but you get excited about getting things. It is abundantly evident that there is an issue with you "Wilfred laughed.

She responded in a condescending manner by saying, "Shut up and give me my present."

As he moved the box nearer her on the table, he laughed and gave a shake of his head before doing so.

She immediately reached out and grabbed it into her hands, and then tore the wrapping paper off the present in under three seconds.

"Hey, I put a lot of effort into wrapping that present, and you didn't even appreciate it," you said. Wilfred displayed a scowl.

"You are so clueless that even if your life depended on it, you wouldn't know how to wrap a present. Whom did you manipulate into carrying out your nefarious plot on your behalf this time?" She inquired while c*****g one of her eyebrows to the side. "Tiffani with a 'I,' Bambi, and Destiny......"

Wilfred put on an act of wrath to give the impression that he was offended by her suggestion, but the reality was that she was correct.

Over the course of his life, he never ran out of available women to sleep with or sleep with him. Some would say that he was attempting to make up for the fact that the one and only lady he had ever desired was out of his reach and that he had to settle for other women. However, Wilfred would never say something like that. Simply put, he was uninterested in anything, and he quickly became exhausted by doing the same thing over and over again. He craved variety. It was the variety that made life interesting, wasn't it?

After Alison opened one of the flaps on the package, Wilfred stopped looking at her and gave up the competition. In any case, he had no chance of victory. Her familiarity with him was excessive.

"Okay, everything is good. It was Buffy all along "'I'll admit it,' he said while rolling his eyes.

She couldn't help but chuckle at his attempt to keep her in the dark about his true identity. She'd seen so many ladies come and go from his life over the years that she couldn't keep up. Even though it caused her chest to hurt simply to think about it, she was never able to understand why he didn't just find a decent girl and settle down.

The moment she peeled down the final piece of packaging and discovered what was contained within the box, the smile vanished from her face.

Wilfred's anxiety about what she would think of the gift caused him to anxiously bite his lip. Every year for her birthday his buddy had gifted her with luxurious, expensive jewelry: diamond earrings, a ruby necklace, an emerald bracelet. Wilfred made the same argument to him every year, urging him to give Alison a present that had deeper significance. Something that she desired and hoped to obtain. Something that genuinely indicated he cared and not how much money he shelled out. Although Alison wasn't the kind to wear ostentatious jewelry, Wilfred was often surprised to find his wife covered in pricey gemstones that he rarely, if ever, saw her wear.

While he deliberated about his choice for one minute and forty-eight seconds, Alison looked down into the container without making a sound. Was she disappointed that she didn't receive the jewelry that she usually receives as a gift? Did it make her miss him even more? Wilfred wanted to do his best to maintain the status quo for her this year, but he couldn't bring himself to purchase her the kind of present he always does since it simply didn't feel right. That was one thing that he was unable to accomplish.

Before he could panic for another second, Alison’s voice rang out, causing several of the other diners to gaze their way.

"Oh my God. Wilfred, can you tell me where you got this? I just can't believe you went through with it!"

Alison's grin grew so large that she began to worry that she would pull a muscle in her cheek as it continued to expand. She had spent the last three years seeking for a lens that would work with the camera that belonged to her mother. After calling every photography store in the entire world, she discovered that none of them stocked it any longer. She knew her camera was a dinosaur, but she couldn't bring herself to part with it. Since her father had made the decision to donate everything to Goodwill two days after her mother passed away, the only item she had left of her mother was a camera that she had inherited from her. Praise be to God that her mother had already handed her the camera well before that point in time.