Mark fumbled with his keys and yanked the door open, darting towards the phone. "Hello?"
"Mark, it's Sarah."
"Oh, hello. What is it?"
There was a slight hesitation. "Mark… do you remember when I told you that I wanted a pretty pink pearl bracelet?"
"Yeah, what about it?" So… Karl's found it. Mark carried the cordless phone over to the door and shut it.
"Today, after lunch, I found a little gift on my table, and it was a pretty pink pearl bracelet. There wasn't a card on it or anything."
"Yes, and so…?"
"Erm… Mark, am I the girl you hope to make your girlfriend?"
Mark's jaw dropped. Karl, what on Earth have you done? "Sarah… I…"
He was interrupted. "Oh, wait, my phone's ringing, I think it's my brother. I'll talk to you later, okay?" Sarah hung up before he could say anymore.
Mark paced around his living room, then picked up the phone again and dialled Karl's office number, hoping the guy worked late. Evidently he did, as he answered after the second ring. "Hello?"
"Karl, it's Mark. So, you got Sarah the present, huh?"
"Yes, I did. Did she call you and tell you about it? Does she like it?"
"You didn't say it was from you."
"No. I wanted to, but I kind of… erm… chickened out at the last minute. What about it?"
"You know, Karl, now she thinks that it's from me."
"Oh, God."
"Exactly, Karl, exactly. 'Oh, God'. What am I supposed to tell her? She thinks that I want her to be my girlfriend or something!" Mark paused for breath. "So, you have to tell her that the gift is from you, or else I'll either have to really date her, which I don't exactly want to do because we're fine as friends, or I'll be rejected for a move I didn't even make! And seriously, I am in no need for any rejections right now."
Karl sighed. "All right, Mark, I'll find a way to tell her."
"You better do, Karl. For my sake, if not for yours. Bye now." Mark hung up the phone before Karl could make a reply, and then sat down at the table, his head in his hands. See what happens, Mark? See what happens when you're so eager to be the hero of the day? You create a huge mess, and trap yourself right in the middle of it! He sighed. He sure hoped that Karl would tell Sarah the truth. She would be happy, that Mark was sure of. The rest of the situation involving Sarah's brother was no longer Mark's problem. But right now, he was going to have a huge problem if Karl didn't tell Sarah soon.
The phone rang again. Mark sighed and picked it up. "Hello?"
"Hey, it's me again. Sarah."
Mark took a deep breath. "Look, Sarah…"
"Thanks, Mark. I really like the bracelet; it was very sweet of you. But I never knew that… that… you… you had feelings for me."
"Sarah…"
"I just never expected it, never thought about it…"
"Sarah," Mark interrupted. "Please, let me finish. I didn't give you that bracelet. I can't tell you who did, but it wasn't me. You can definitely trust me on that."
"Why can't you tell me who gave me that bracelet? You must know. That's why you wanted to know what women wanted, isn't it? You were helping someone out. Who is it, Mark? Tell me."
"No," Mark replied firmly. "I can't tell you. But I assure you that you will find out. All right, Sarah? I have to go now. I'll speak to you some other time, okay? Bye."
Mark trudged over to the couch and collapsed on it. Why do I always seem to be in difficult situations? He closed his eyes. The last thing he wanted now was for the phone to ring. Hopefully it wouldn't ring again, or he might be obliged to smash it. He was so exhausted, both from work and being helpful.
I'm helping Karl and Sarah get together, but I myself am doing extremely poorly on the relationships level. Of all the lovely women in London, he just had to go and fall in love with the unattainable one. But he had met Juliet first. Okay, that's not a fair thing to say, he told himself. It was true that he had met her first. He'd turned a corner too sharply and split coffee over her jacket, which had led to awkward apologies and making a complete fool out of himself. He had then walked away, telling himself that it was all right because he would never, ever see her again, and thus did not have to be so embarrassed.
Of course, he met her again a month later, when she just started dating Pete. Just his luck. But she had been so gracious about it, even if he had been incredibly embarrassed. Perhaps it was then when he truly started to fall for her. Her laughter was contagious, and she always had something nice to say about people. She was unique in every way, and he suddenly could not look at any other woman without comparing them to Juliet. And somehow, they always fell short. That was why he hadn't dated for such a long time. He couldn't find anyone who could match up to Juliet.
At this rate, I might as well become a monk. There wouldn't be all that much of a difference, he thought dryly.
Kicking off his shoes, he leaned his head back. Another lonely night. As usual.
Karl stopped his car at the red light, and sat patiently, waiting for it to turn green again. He thought over Mark's words, and sighed. He knew that he had to tell Sarah the truth, but he still couldn't get the nerve up. He didn't understand why either. It wasn't a secret that Sarah liked him, and now he knew that he liked her too. So what's wrong?
He kind of knew the problem. He was worried about Sarah's brother. Sarah was so devoted to her brother, and there was nothing she wouldn't give up for him. Karl was worried that he would get rejected if he tried to take one more step closer to Sarah. And he was also worried that she had simply not forgiven him for asking her not to answer her brother's call that night.
The light turned green, and he was on his way again. "I have to tell her," he said to himself firmly. "I must tell her as soon as possible. I owe it to Mark, and to myself."
If only it was that easy.
