BETRAYAL

8

Henry watched his father humming as he made dinner. He was used to seeing his father happy especially when he was home but that day it was different.

"Did something good happen today?" he asked him.

"Mh?" He looked up and saw his son. "Why? Um...how long have you been there?"

Henry jaw dropped, "You didn't even notice I was here!?"

"How can I notice when you merely made a sound?" He shrugged.

"What!? I merely made a sound!! I opened the fridge and took the water bottle out, I then sat opposite you as I drank it. It has been almost ten minutes!!"

"Oh really! It has been that long?" Martin laughed awkwardly.

"So....what happened? Something good must have happened."

"Does it show?" he asked him with a grin.

Henry sighed, "Well..considering the fact that you have been humming and dancing around the house ever since you arrived, smiling to yourself, not noticing your only son and the stupid grin you have on your face right now I think it would be right to say yes it does show. Now tell me what got you this happy?"

"Not what, who" he stated not even bothered by Henry's remarks. He switched off the stove and put the garlic pasta shrimp he just finished making in two plates. He then carried the plates and placed one in front of Henry and one in front of him as he sat down opposite Henry. Henry thanked him for the food.

"My first love," He told him with a smile on his face. Henry choked on the pasta he just put on his mouth and started coughing. Martin squeezed a glass of water in front of him. Henry took the glass and gulped some water down.

"Your what?? Do you old guys also use those words?" he exclaimed after the cough died down.

"Hey you're the one who kept telling me I was not old, plus what does age got to do with that!?" Martin pouted.

"Okay so what happened?? Did you guys reminisce old times," He asked as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Haha very funny. We weren't like that. It was more of one sided. She was my unrequited love," he answered with a sigh, saying it out loud made him sad.

"What!? How can she do that? What's there not to like about you? You're tall, handsome, rich and charming. What do you lack? Was something wrong with her eyes??" Henry asked as an attempt to cheer him up but deep down he meant all those things. Even in his fifties Martin was still handsome and had a well built body.

"I know right, I should've convinced her to get her eyes checked or something," they both laughed but Martin suddenly stopped and looked down to his food as he twirled the pasta on his fork. Henry could see sadness in his eyes.

A moment of silence passed before Martin spoke again, "All these years I thought I have forgotten about her but today when I saw her I remembered why I avoided meeting her all those years," he looked at his son's eyes. "She still looked so beautiful. And I'm not saying this because she is my first love. She is indeed beautiful. She was beautiful then and she is beautiful now. She hasn't aged at all. Even personality wise she hasn't aged, she still acted like a cute bubbly little girl she was back then."

Henry looked at his father and just smiled at him. He could tell he really loved her.

"I knew her ever since I started elementary school. We used to move a lot when I was young, my dad was trying to find a perfect place to grow his business. We moved to their neighborhood and I was registered to her school. I was supposed to be a grade higher than her but with all the moving I ended up the same grade as her. We immediately became friends, then became best friends. We did everything together. I don't know since when but at some point I could no longer see my future without her. I pictured us getting married and have beautiful children. I was in love with her. I was going to propose when we got accepted in the same university and make her mine forever."