Chapter 3
Sakura woke up to the phone ringing. Looking at the clock on her nightstand she saw that it was 2:00 in the morning. Reaching over and answering the phone she mumbled a hello. When no one answered she tried again. This time hearing the clicking signaling the caller hung up. Giving a sigh she set the phone back down. Once again looking at the clock it she gave an even heavier sigh. She had to get up in two hours anyways to get ready for work. Throwing the blankets off of her she went into her living room and switched on the T.V. Then walking to her kitchen, she brewed some coffee. After it was done brewing, she poured herself a steaming cup and walked back into her living room and sat gently on her sofa. Grabbing the remote, she flipped through the channels until something caught her eye. She sat there silently and watched it until it was time for her to get ready for work.
Sakura wiped off a table for the next person to sit down. She then went back and started on refills. Thomas told her that starting today she was only working 5-8 hours a day. It depended on how busy they were. Sakura found it both grateful but yet troublesome. She was expecting a baby in about 6 months and she needed to save up money. Most of her paychecks were going into a baby fund that would allow her to buy baby items when it was born. It isn't easy being a single mother. Which wasn't by her choice. More painful memories started to come forward. Like before, Sakura quickly pushed those back. Quickly putting herself back to work she cleaned another table that a couple was sitting at and got ready for some more refills. Today wasn't going to be a bad day Sakura wouldn't let it be.
Eli woke up in a nice ranch house that he and Madison bought right after they were married. He brewed some coffee and sat in the kitchen alone. Last night, he had a lovely time with his Madison at a nice restaurant. There they talked about their day at work. Madison talked about her new clothing line that just came out. This new line just started her new summer series and it was very exciting for her. When asked how his day at work went, Eli couldn't help but give a heavy sigh and then a weak smile.
"That bad huh? Let me guess, Li was having another bad day." Madison said jokingly. Eli gave a small laugh gently squeezing his wife's hand.
"Yeah I wish that was the case, but unfortunately its not. One of our businesses burnt down last night, costing us millions" Eli replied sadly.
"Wow, that's terrible. Are you sending a team to rebuild it?" Madison asked. Eli nodded and smiled gently.
"Yeah, I'm sending them off tomorrow. I had to make Li realize though that if we didn't rebuild, it would put thousands of employee's out of work." Madison gave her husband a sweet smile and said,
"So I'm guessing Li wanted to go out for a drink." Eli couldn't help but laugh, though it was sad. Their life long friend had a reputation with them; he turned to drink every time things got bad. Eli stopped laughing and nodded his head slowly.
"Yeah, he wanted me to go but I told him I had arrangements with you. I asked him if he wanted to come but he told me that it was our time alone. Then that's where the night got ugly." Eli said, his eyes going distant for a minute or two. Madison looked at him worriedly.
"You'll have to explain dear." Eli looked at his wife and sighed. He wasn't sure on how she would handle the name of her best friend that she only lost a few months back.
"I told Li he needed to start looking for a girl that he could get into a long-term relationship with since his last one only lasted a few months." Madison looked at him while it slowly sank in. He was talking about her best friend. The one she lost after the wedding.
"How could you bring up something so painful for him and also me? You know I miss her dearly. Was Li ok or did it really hurt him?" Madison asked holding back the tears. Eli looked at her very sadly.
"I'm sorry babe. It just slipped out before I even thought about it. I really didn't mean any harm. I just want Li to be happy and obviously he isn't. He told me he was ok though. But I could tell in his eyes that he wasn't. I just didn't want to push the subject. Madison blinked back her tears that were threatening to fall. She leaned over and kissed her husbands cheek.
"I understand Eli, and your right. He is miserable without a girlfriend. But not any girl will heal his heart, just one. We got to get her back Eli. For him." Eli knew this could turn out bad, but what other choice was there to restore his best friends happiness?