One Girl's Story (Richard)

He had eyes that laughed. In fact, everything about Richard was laughter. He did ludicrous impersonations and actually thought Paulo Coelho was a tequila brand. He was living proof that funny men don't have to be chubby or ugly.

There were several things which made him irresistible. Richard knew when to get off the comic act and play bartender instead. He knew how to listen. He also knew what words to say and when exactly to say them. He was a rarity--the type of man who would take half a day off from work whenever his best friend caught the flu. He would show up unannounced at the doorstep with a bowl of chicken soup, which he made himself.

That doorstep was hers, and she was the best friend. He remembers how, at one time, he had wiped vomit off her face with his own tie. He recalls how he looked sadly at her fragile face and tried to think how long he had known her. A long time, he had told himself, as he took in her red-rimmed eyes, disheveled hair, her bed-marked cheeks, and the rumpled, oversized shirt. Those were his last thoughts before he kissed her. It was a perfect scene straight from a romantic comedy, he mused wryly. Richard was in love with his best friend. And he was also cheating on his wife.