GoodRead"Fancy fruit?" Everett was clueless about what the joke meant.
Jeffrey snorted with derision. "Your wife's bestie had regarded me as a fancy fruit for a fun try! You've been too busy mooning over your wife to care about me!" Everett was speechless.
The news didn't escape Kenneth's radar. They had just arrived the city before sitting down for a meal when Kenneth's call came through.
Instead of confronting Karen directly, he phoned Dorothy.
When she saw the caller ID, she stood up and made a beeline for the exit, cautious not to take the call in front of Everett, just in case it was something serious from Byte 7.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtOnce outside the restaurant, she answered.
"Kenneth." "Karen's parents called me earlier, said she's got herself a boyfriend, and they've already had the meet-the-parents dinner. Did you know that?" That was the news of the day.
"Yeah." And they were in the middle of dinner together.
"What's the guy like? They say he looks like a playboy, not the reliable type. Karen's parents are worried she's being blinded and asked me to get the scoop from you." Dorothy was at a loss for words on how to accurately describe Jeffrey.
Paint him in too good a light, and what if he ends up hurting Karen? It would be like giving her endorsement for their relationship.
But to speak ill of him when Karen was seeing Jeffrey would be like pushing Kenneth to force Karen to break up.
After a few seconds of thought, she finally said, "He's been good to Karen, otherwise she wouldn't have agreed to date him." "But Karen never mentioned any of this to me before, not a hint of happiness or a word shared. Isn't that strange?" Kenneth paused before adding, "Dorothy, tell me the truth. Who is Karen's new beau? It's someone | know, isn't it?" Otherwise, Karen wouldn't have kept it a secret from him.
"Well... you could say that." But Kenneth and Jeffrey had never really clashed.
"What's his name?" "Jeffrey." Dorothy was cornered into revealing it.
There were a few seconds of silence before Kenneth's tone grew noticeably serious.
"The same Jeffrey who once sided with Heather against you?" Silence fell on Dorothy's end.
"How could Karen do something like this! I'm going to question her." Kenneth was about to hang up before Dorothy added, "Kenneth, let bygones be bygones. Jeffrey was misled back then, thinking Heather was a friend, and that's why he helped her. I've moved past it." "Anyone who's backed Heather can't be a good egg! After all they had put you through, and Karen's dating this guy? I will never approve.” With that, he hung up.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmHis anger was palpable. Otherwise, Kenneth was always a gentleman.
Dorothy knew this secret couldn't be kept under wraps for long and it was bound to cause a stir.
As she turned to give Karen a heads-up, she saw Everett standing by the restaurant's entrance, at a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
The breeze played with the hem of his jacket and his hair, yet he was still, just looking at her with a steady gaze.
Everett seemed on edge now more than ever, almost afraid that a single phone call would chase her away.
He didn't know when Dorothy planned to leave, or on what day. He just felt she was always ready to exit his life at a moment's notice.
"Was it from Kenneth?" Everett asked, advancing with a few long strides as she ended the call.
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