As soon as he got into the lobby of the building, John called Stuart's office from his cell phone.  Stuart and John had been best friends ever since they played football together at Denton High.  "Celia, patch me through to Stuart, please."

            "I'm sorry, Mr. Trafford, he's not in right now.  May I take a message?"

            "Is he on a job?"

            "Yes, sir."

            John became a bit annoyed.  "Can you tell me where?"

            "He's at his site on Orchid Drive."

            "Thank you, Celia."

            "You're very welcome, Mr. Trafford," she giggled.

            John raced to a development just outside of the city.  Within a few minutes, he was pulling in front of an almost completed home; he spotted Stuart right away.  He honked his horn and got out of the car.

            "John?" Stuart said to himself.  John trotted to his side.  Stuart's voice had a concerned tone to it when he asked, "What are you doing here?"

            "What do you know about Falconer?" John asked abruptly.

            "Huh?"

            "Frank Falconer, I know you knew him before he took Eva away from me."  John was acting a bit colder than usual, even for John.

            "Whoa, calm down, John.  Ya, I know Frank, but it's not like he's my best friend or anything."  (Actually, Stuart had become quite a good friend to Frank.  Frank had fixed him up with a woman from work.  They had been spending quite a bit of time with Frank and Eva.)

            "I need to know more about him, Stuart!"

            "Why?  Why now?  He and Eva have been together for over a year and…"

            "I met him today."

            Stuart's eyes widened.  "You what?"

            "Met him…tried to be a nice guy, but he got all cocky with me and…"

            "What did you say to him, John?" Stuart asked.  "Frank never loses his cool unless…ugh…what did you say about Eva?"

            "Whaddaya mean?"

            "You must've said something pretty awful about her because that's the only reason I've ever seen him get upset.  Some guy that had a bit too much to drink made a pass at Eva in a restaurant; she politely blew him off, but he had to go and open his mouth calling Eva some lewd names…Frank had a few choice things to say to him…"

            John interrupted.  "And you know this how?"

            "I was there with Amanda," Stuart lied; he was there with Amanda, but they were having dinner with Frank and Eva.  "Anyway, you must've pissed him off.  So again I ask, what did you say to him?"

            "Well, he was acting like he was all better for Eva than I was.  I thought pushing the guy's buttons would be fun…so I may have said something about Eva just being a sl…"

            "A what?"

            "Um, slut.  I didn't mean it though, you know I'd never mean that."

            "Oh, God, John, you're an idiot.  There had to be something else though if he really got on you."

            "Well, ya, but only because he…"

            Stuart couldn't help but smile at John's stupidity.  "Spit it out, John, this ought to be pretty damn good."

            "Well, he was all," John tried to sound like Frank, "'I gave her what you couldn't, I gave her a child.'"  His voice returned to normal.  "So I said something like, 'Big deal, you screwed her and she got pregnant.'"

            "You brought the baby into it?  Be glad he only uses harsh wording."

            "That's just it, that's why I'm here!  He told me to be glad he was with Eva because before he met her, he was a different person.  He said he would have liked to have seen me in some serious pain."  John then tried to sound concerned.  "What kind of guy is my baby with?"

            "Jesus, John, she's not your baby.  Face it; you treated her like she wasn't alive.  You're still screwing her sister and…"

            "Oh, please!  You wouldn't be saying any of this if it wasn't for the fact that you wanted Eva so badly yourself!  Half the guys in Denton wanted to get into her pants, and you were one of them!  And why not?  She's perfect."

            Stuart became a bit defensive.  "You're right.  I won't deny that I was attracted to her, but I didn't just want 'down her pants.'  You had her, the whole amazing person.  And if you thought she was so perfect, why did you treat her the way you did?  You only wanted her when you couldn't find any other woman whose legs were spread."  Stuart shook his head at John.  "God, John…you cheated on her so many times.  Eva is my friend and I never said a word to her."

            "You're a more loyal friend to me, Stuart…well, except for the fact that you knew that she slept with someone and you played dumb for a while.  Guys have to stick together and…"

            Stuart's tone became icy as he interrupted John.  "That night at my party, when Eva saw you and Sarah, my loyalty changed."  John looked at him, bewildered at what he might say next.  "I knew that she slept with Frank, and yes, Frank had a questionable reputation that Eva's fully aware of, but I didn't feel any need to be loyal to you by telling you about it.  Aside from the fact that I figured you were most likely too worn out from Sarah to care, I knew that Frank would have at least made Eva think that there were some feelings between them - she deserved that, even if it wasn't true.  Lucky for both of them it was."

            John rolled his eyes.  "What are you blabbing about, Stuart?"

            "Frank never went looking for someone after he'd had them, but he seemed a bit rattled about Eva.  She had already left…However, I spoke to her before she made it out the door.  She told me about seeing you and Sarah, she told me about sleeping with Frank, and she told me she was going to have everything of hers out of your place the next day.  She was a wreck.  The only thing I told Frank was Eva's last name.  He took up the initiative to find her and he succeeded.  They were made for each other, John, don't try to tear that apart."

            "Wait a minute," John started.  "Just because Eva is this guy's exception to a one night screw, they're made for each other?"

            Stuart was beginning to get angry.  He let out a disgusted sigh.  "You truly are dense, John.  What they did that night was the beginning of something that has drastically changed both of their lives for the better.  Let it go, John.  Let her go."

            "You know a little too much about this whole thing, Stuart."

            "You know what?  You're right, I do.  You wanna know why?"

            "That is why I'm here," John said rudely.

            "I'm their friend, John."

            "Your Eva's so-called friend."

            "No, I'm their friend.  Eva's and Frank's.  Why should I give a damn about your opinion about it anymore?"  John couldn't believe the stand that Stuart was taking against him.  "You see Frank as someone who stole your property; I see him as someone who makes one of my closest friends happier than you ever did and ever could."

            Unlike a normal human being, John wasn't hurt by Stuart's harsh words; he was more shocked that he had confronted him at all.  "Well, with or without your help, I'm going to find out what this guy's deal is.  Since you claim to be his friend, you're obviously no longer mine."

            Stuart turned and began to walk towards the house.  He only walked a few steps before turning back to John.  John waited for an apology, but instead heard Stuart say, "I don't know why I ever was."