A dose of her tough love

While Laila was lost in thought in front of the soft coloured house, Maria suddenly opened the door. Laila seemed to have startled by this and the glaze that had formed over her eyes instantly disappeared as she turned around to face her friend. As she pointed at the doorbell Maria said, "You know, neither your hand nor the bell up here are for decoration. Why are you standing here like a statue instead of letting me know you are here." Laila laughed sheepishly as she scratched her head and realized that she hadn't bother to knock on the door or ring the doorbell. Laila was surprised that Maria had noticed she was standing here, especially since she hadn't called to let Maria know that she would be visiting in the first place. "Never mind. Come in, come in." Maria said as she pushed Laila inside while complaining, "If I wait for you to answer that question, we will be standing here until supper."

After they were both inside, Maria asked "Did you have breakfast yet?" But without waiting for Laila to answer she said, "Probably not. Judging by how pale you look, I am certain that you have yet to have your first dose of calories before starting your walk over to my place. Haven't you learned anything from almost fainting last time?" Laila let out a soft chuckle. "I'm sorry. When I think of whatever you will make me once I get here, all the food I have at home just doesn't seem to cut it anymore." Maria squinted her eyes at Laila as she starts preparing Laila's breakfast, "Nice try. With two top chefs at your beck and call, I am certain that a simple breakfast like I can make you is something they can do with their eyes closed."

Laila responded with, "Yes. They can make it. But they can't add the magical ingredient of love! Only food that is prepared for free by someone that loves you, can contain that little bit 'je ne sais quoi'". With Laila's hand lifted in the air as she emphasized her last few words and a big grin on her face, Maria was forced to surrender as she shook her head and continued to cut the vegetables. In a mumbled tone of voice she did add, "Maybe I should start charging you. Maybe then you won't take silly risks like this next time." As Laila caught her friend's words of concern she replied by teasingly saying, "Go ahead. I have a rich husband and very little to do other than spend his money for him." This earned her a glare and a stern, "I'm serious!" Laila stopped playing around as she said, "I know. I'm sorry."

With the initial lecture out of the way, Maria asked the question that Laila was trying to avoid. "So, other than my amazing breakfast, what brings you here so early in the morning on an empty stomach?" Laila grabbed one of the cushions from the couch and hugged it tightly as she said, "I think Jake might be cheating on me." But instead of being surprised, Maria responded calmly as she added the eggs to the frying pan on the stove. She said, "The cat is finally out of the bag, huh." While Maria apparently wasn't surprised by her news, Laila certainly was by her reaction. "What do you mean by 'finally'? Did you know he was cheating on me?" Maria looked at Laila and said, "Well, I wasn't exactly certain but there have been whispers for a while now. But since you seemed so in love with the guy, and considering your previous reactions when it came to people accusing him, I didn't want to say anything until you brought it up yourself or I had concrete evidence."

Laila's heart dropped to the floor. The bad feeling she had in her stomach started spreading all over her body and her chest started feeling tight as she fought for each breath. Maria lowered the gas as she walked over to Laila. She took a seat next to Laila and put her arm around her. "Calm down. Breathe." Feeling bad over how deeply her words had affected her friend, Maria tried to give her words of comfort. "It is going to be okay. Like I said, I am not exactly certain..." However this comfort lasted very shortly before her true self took over. "...but he sure isn't trying to make himself not appear suspicious." After saying these words, Maria bit her tongue for saying something insensitive once more before letting out a deep sigh and giving Laila what she had probably come here for. A dose of her tough love.

"Look, you know I am not exactly good at being the kind and comforting type. So, I will stop my attempt at that and just tell you that I don't have all the answers but what I do have isn't very pretty. So, if you are ready to hear about it, I am ready to tell you what I know so far. After that, you can make an informed decision. Either way, I will always have your back and be by your side. So, just do what is best for you. But I personally think that what is best for you, is the tough decision to make and that will mean that life is going to suck for a while. However, in the long run I am certain that Jake is taking more away from your happiness than he can add to it. You see sweetie, sometimes the things and people we want in our lives, aren't what we need and they certainly aren't always good for us to have. Jake is one of those people. I have seen the effect he has had on you and that isn't an effect a person should have in a healthy relationship. He might have changed his ways for a little while but people don't change. Not really. They can adjust themselves but in their core they will remain what they are and Jake is a self righteous cheater. And a cheater will always be a cheater. Or at least a serial cheater will be."