Chapter 6

"Are you suggesting that what you two did was for my own good?" spoke Sophia in a voice that sounded half offended, half amused.

Seated across from her was Amelia in a red shirt with a leather jacket over it, complimented by black jeans. Next to Amelia was Estelle, who was wearing a black baby doll shirt with a cartoon kitten on the front. The kitten, while drawn with a cute grin, had freakishly large and bloody fangs. Naturally, her waist was sporting a black and white checkered skirt. Sophia herself could find no room to judge, for she had simply worn what Amelia suggested, which was a black tiered dress with a belt. Clearly everyone's perception on what proper attire was for a somewhere nice to eat was very different.

"As a matter of fact, yes I am," retorted Amelia in a voice that slightly mocked Sophia's, "that boy-toy was broken and it was time to throw him out!"

"He wasn't a toy!" said Sophia in her loudest quiet restaurant voice, "I loved him. Yes, he made a mistake, but I forgave him. That's what you do for love."

"No, that's what FOOLS do for love. Sophie," Amelia's voice changed from stern to sympathetic, "don't you get it? You don't mean to him what he does to you."

"How can you say that? You barely even know him!"

"Where is he then?"

"What?"

"If he loves you so much that he can forgive your mistakes, where is he now?"

Sophia stared at Amelia with the cold eyes of defeat. She knew that she had no argument against her point, though she was determined not to give in. Her eyes stared down at the forest green tablecloth, then wandered into the aisle beside them. It was a secluded area, a fact that was accentuated by the dim lighting. If it weren't for the two girls sitting across from her, the atmosphere might induce a strong feeling of isolation. She searched the empty seats across the hall for an answer. She even silently begged the soft classical music that drifted through the air for something convincing to say. Finally, after searching in vain for a valid argument, she decided to take the vague route.

"Well he was pretty hurt. Sometimes forgiveness takes time."

"You want to know what he's doing right now? He's fucking that-"

"Stop!" Sophia could take no more, and she knew that no more could be said to defend her ex-boyfriend, "Ok, you win. You're right, I was a fool." She fought with all of her inner strength to keep the tears from surfacing again. "I just... I don't know..."

"Hey," Amelia's voice was now soft and comforting, "I'm not trying to judge you, I'm trying to help you. You've been one of my closest friends for a long time now, right?" Sophia could only nod silently. "Ok, so trust me. I only want to see the best happen to you. You deserve so much better than him."

"Thank you," Sophia managed to squeak out while batting her eye lashes to keep the tears from falling down her face. "I have to go to the restroom. Order for me?"

"Sure, sweetheart."

"Hey gimme that back!" Sophia yelped in surprise.

The three girls fought over the dessert menu that had sat upright between the salt and pepper shakers only a moment ago. Estelle was taunting Sophia by waving it around and reading from it at the same time, all the while grinning mischievously. Suddenly Amelia's hand snatched it away, causing Estelle to stop dead in mid-taunt. Amelia offered only a smug grin before sticking her tongue out in victory.

"Oh bring that tongue back here! Don't you tease me like that!" exclaimed Estelle before planting her lips on Amelia's. She giggled like a giddy schoolgirl in-between kisses. At one point, her eyes widened as Amelia's arm shifted, and Sophia could only imagine what had just happened below the table.

Sophia watched them kiss with a variety of emotions. In fact, she couldn't decide which one felt the strongest; admiration for the strength of their relationship, jealousy because she no longer had a lover of her own or longing because she wished that those were her lips that were kissing Amelia's.

The waiter approached the table just as they pulled away and studied the dessert menu as if nothing had happened. While Amelia and Estelle had agreed to share their usual favorite (a slice of hot apple pie, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzled hot caramel), Sophia was fretting that she didn't get to look at the menu long enough to decide. This prompted Amelia to intervene and order the triple chocolate decadent cake for her.

"Well, maybe that's not what I wanted." Sophia pouted.

"Well, maybe you should come here with us more often so that you could memorize the menu like we have," returned Estelle playfully.

"Anyway, we invited you because we wanted to talk to you," interjected Amelia in a voice that sounded just a little too professional to be taken seriously.

"Oh?" inquired Sophia.

"We have a couple of confessions to make," Amelia glanced over at Estelle before continuing on, "Remember that e-mail that was accidentally sent to you? Well, that was accidentally on purpose."

"... Ok... why would you do that?" asked Sophia.

"We weren't sure how you'd take to what I'm about to tell you, so we figured we'd, you know..." Amelia searched Sophia's face for a glimmer of understanding, but continued upon finding none, "... seduce you."

All at once, Sophia's mind raced with more questions than even she could keep up with. She considered voicing a few of them, but didn't know where to start. After a moment of finding no response quite satisfactory, she simply stated, "Oh."

The table fell silent just as the desserts arrived. Even after the waiter left the check, nobody lifted a finger to touch the food. Sophia found it very difficult to meet either girl's gaze, as she felt as though a spotlight had just been put on her. Clearly they were waiting for more of a reaction than she had given them.

"So, what were you going to tell me about?" was all that she could think to say.

Amelia appeared to take a moment to ponder whether she really wanted to reveal what she was going to say, so Sophia offered a polite smile that was intended to show the sincerity of her interest. It apparently worked, for Amelia smiled back and began to speak.