Chapter 7

'So he's married and has two kids?' Ed asked as Ava explained the events that happened the night before to Ed and Charlotte.

'I really can't believe it! He didn't have basic courtesy to let us know?' Charlotte asked as she sat beside Hazel in the living room.

'I was supposed to be his best man, Char; that idiot promised me and now he didn't even invite me' Ed screamed in distress.

The other three gave him an "Unbelievable" look.

'Come on guys, won't you feel bad if your only best friend got married without telling you?' he asked looking at the three.

'Come on Ed, we all feel bad, so for now let's just not focus on you, ok? Let's worry about Haze. Just look at her she looks dejected' Charlotte replied.

'I don't think Haze should feel bad' he said looking at Hazel.

Before anyone could interrupt he spoke again;

'Look Haze, from the beginning Chris was clear that he didn't want a relationship with you. And all these years neither of us heard from him. So it was really stupid of you to hold on all these years and now why are you feeling bad? He's been away for five years and now that he's back did you expect him to be single? None of us expected him to be married but at the same time I didn't expect him to be single ok?' Charlotte and Ava were staring daggers at him but Ed continued, he knew Hazel needed a reality check.

'Look Haze, I know you since childhood you too are like my own sister but you are being unreasonable. See all of us know that, but Ava and Char didn't tell you because they didn't want to hurt you but someone had to tell you, let me be the bad guy. Wake up Haze! He has a wife and two kids. He's a family man now and he's your boss. Move on and get a boyfriend, cause till you get one you are never really moving on' he finished.

Hazel got up from the sofa and ran inside her room. As the girls were about to follow Ed stopped them.

'Stop pampering her, both of you. Let her be alone she really need to sort this through' he told them sternly.

They both sat down surrendering.

'But you didn't have to be this blunt with her' Charlotte said angrily.

'Well you both won't be so I had to. Plus she didn't have a reason to hold on, she was being irrational' he replied looking at the two.

'Or maybe she did' Ava replied quickly.

'What reason?' They both asked in unison.

'Well, yesterday she did mention some conversation between Hazel and Chris back in college. She told me that it was the reason for her hold on for these many years' Ava replied.

'But if it was that important then she would have mentioned it to me, right?' Charlotte asked doubtful.

'Yeah that's true. But even if Chris did say something related to holding on then why is he married?' Ed asked puzzled.

'Did she tell you what they spoke about?' Ed asked Ava.

'No, she told me that it doesn't matter anymore' Ava replied.

'Maybe she misunderstood. Chris is not someone who backs out of his words' Ed said after a moment of thought.

As the three continued to think, they heard Hazel's room door open.

She came out and sat down on the sofa. Ava opened her mouth to ask something but Hazel stopped her.

'I am fine people. Maybe I needed someone like Ed to blurt out the truth so that I could wake up. Thanks Ed!' she said smiling.

'You are ok, right?' Ed asked concerned about her.

'I am' she replied giving them a genuine smile.

Though Charlotte was worried about Hazel, she kinda felt that Hazel will not keep thinking about Chris after this. She knew that if Hazel was ready to move on then she will not look back again.

'So today I am making it clear that I am officially moving on and will not think about Christopher Finch' Hazel announced looking at the three.

'Got it!' the other three responded laughing.

They spend the rest of the day watching a movie and chatting for some time and after dinner Ed and Charlotte were getting ready to leave.

'Ed' Hazel called out as they were heading towards the door.

Ed stopped and turned to look at Hazel.

'You told that you wanted to meet Chris, right?' she asked.

'Yes, I have been calling your office for a week to get an appointment but they keep turning me down. They tell me he's busy and all kinds of other excuses' he replied.

'Maybe I could get you to meet him tomorrow' she suggested.

'Really? ' Ed asked his face brightening up.

She nodded smiling.

'That's great, but make sure I meet him, ok?' he told her before waving them goodbye.

'You could do that?' Ava asked quite unsure how Hazel was gonna do that.

'Why do you ask?' she asked Ava.

'Well, maybe what if he is busy tomorrow? They told Ed that he was busy the entire week' Ava replied.

'I am having my doubts about that Ava. I don't think Chris was busy the entire week. I think he is purposely avoiding his meeting with Ed, just think Ed told us that they were always building up excuses instead of giving him an appointment. Usually no matter how busy they are they give appointments even if it's after some days but they never cancel on someone till the boss says so' Hazel told Ava.

'Well when you put it that way, I think Chris is intentionally avoiding Ed' Ava accepted.

'Well we'll know the truth tomorrow, won't we?' Hazel said smiling cunningly at Ava to which Ava responded laughing.

'Come on now, let's clean up and go to bed early' Hazel said as she collected the wrappers scattered in the living room.

'You take care of the living room, I will take care of the kitchen' Ava said and moved towards the kitchen.

'Ok' Hazel shouted from the living room accepting the offer.

It was quite late before they finished cleaning. As they were about to go to bed, Ava stopped Hazel;

'What?' Hazel asked looking at Ava.

'You are ok, right?' She asked projecting a concerned look at Hazel.

'Yes, I am perfectly ok.' She replied smiling.

They both gestured each other good night before going to their rooms.

The next day Hazel left early to office because she had to write a report on her new project that has to be turned in today.

She reached the office by 8 a.m.; she settled at her desk and switched on her computer when a voice called out,

'Ms. White'

She turned to find Chris standing behind her desk,

'Good morning Mr. Finch' she greeted smiling.

'Good morning Ms. White' he greeted back. He sensed that something was unusual about her behaviour today, she seemed kinda different. She seemed herself, usually she would avoid being herself in front of him but today he didn't seem to bother her anymore.

'You are early today' he asked her.

'I had work on a report' she replied looking at him.

'It's just a report, you could've done it from home, right?' he questioned.

'Well, the files related to the project were in the office and I didn't have a copy in my laptop, so I had come early today' she answered as she turned to look back at her computer.

'Well ok Ms. White, continue' he said before turning back to leave.

'Mr. Finch' she called out.

He turned to look at her;

'Well are you free today at 1 p.m.?' she asked hesitantly.

'Why?' he asked bemused.

'I wanted to discuss about another project' she replied after a pause.

'Oh ok, sure meet me at 1:30 p.m. in my office' he said going back to his office.

"Yes, my plan worked" Hazel thought as she took out her phone to text Ed.

'Ed, make sure to be here by 1:30' she texted.

'Ok, thanks Haze' he replied back.

She continued to work on her report keeping her phone aside. By 8:50 a.m. Ava reached the office.

'Hey honey' she called out as she sat in her chair.

'Hey' Hazel greeted back saving her report.

'Are you done?' Ava asked moving her chair towards Hazel desk.

'Almost just a little bit more' she responded closing the file.

'Ok, Haze I am still having second thoughts about Ed meeting Chris today' Ava said as Hazel searched for a file on her desk.

'No worries Ava. I spoke to Chris he seems to be free today afternoon and I asked Ed to come by 1:30 p.m. so just don't worry' Hazel guaranteed.

'I hope so too' Ava responded before returning to her desk.

'It will go great, just stay positive' Hazel replied confident.