Something Missing_ A Novel - Matthew Dicks [128]
“And what about Laura?” Sophie asked. “You said that you might love her. Do you plan on lying to her forever?”
“I… I don’t know,” Martin answered, suddenly feeling defensive.
“Martin, from what you’ve told me, I think this woman might be falling in love with you, too. But you won’t have any future together unless you tell her the truth.”
“I can’t tell Laura the truth,” Martin protested, the mere suggestion sounding ridiculous to his ear. “She’d leave me in a second.”
Sophie reached out and took Martin by the hand again. “If you don’t tell her the truth, she’s going to leave you anyway. Your lies are just holding back the inevitable. And in the end, they will hurt her more than you can imagine.”
The thought of hurting Laura stung Martin more than he’d have thought possible.
“But you may still have time,” Sophie continued. “You’ve only been together for a few weeks. I’m not going to say that your odds of staying together are good, but if you don’t come clean now, you’ll have no odds. If you want a future with this woman, you need to tell her the truth today.”
Martin knew that Sophie was right. He had known it from the moment that he and Laura first met. Sooner or later, Laura would demand to meet his imaginary parents or his fictitious sister, and when Martin couldn’t produce them, she would know that he had deceived her, and she would leave him. He had known this for a long time but had been avoiding it until now.
“What should I say to her?”
“Tell her exactly what you told me today. Everything. Leave nothing out. She’s going to be angry at first. She’ll probably storm out of the house before you finish. But she may come back after she’s had some time to think. I can’t promise that she will, but she might. And if you need my support, I will be there for you. I can make a hell of a character witness, especially for a guy who saved my life.”
“Thanks. I might need one,” Martin said, realizing that, without any deliberation, he was going to follow Sophie’s advice. In the end, he knew that it was his only chance to be with Laura.
“And you realize that if she decides to give you a second chance, you’ll have to change careers. If she loves you, she can’t let you continue on as you’ve been. It’s going to mean a lot of changes in your life. Is she worth it?”
“I think she might be,” Martin said. “I never thought that I’d meet anyone more important to me than my job, but Laura might just be the one.”
“Then you’re a lucky man, Martin. It may sound strange, but you’ve got it pretty easy. You don’t have to worry about making the right decision. It sounds as if you only have one choice.”
“I think so.”
“Good,” Sophie said, standing up and reaching for her purse. “Then I think it’s time for me to go.”
Martin stood as well, meeting her eye to eye and reaching out to shake her hand. Sophie swatted his hand away and hugged him instead with her one free arm.
“Thank you, Mrs. Pearl.”
“No, Martin. Thank you. You saved my life. Never forget that. I certainly won’t.”
Martin nodded, unable, for the moment, to speak, distracted by the vaguely formed notion that Sophie Pearl may have just saved his.
Sophie turned and walked to the front door, leaving Martin standing beside the couch, overwhelmed with the knowledge of what lay ahead of him. At the door, she turned and said, “And Martin, just because I’m walking through this door doesn’t mean I’m walking out of your life. Sherman doesn’t know about you yet, and I’m not sure if I’m going to tell him. I can keep secrets too, you know. But I’ll be here for you if you need me. You made a new friend today, and I’d like to think that I made one too.”
“You did.”
“Good,” she said. “Then call me Sophie. And call me when you have some news about your lady friend, okay? I assume you still have my number?”
Martin smiled. “I do. And I will. I just hope it’s good news.”
“Me too, Martin,” she said with a smile.
With that, Sophie turned and left. Martin remained standing in place for quite a while before deciding upon his next course of action.