A different tale

The rest of the evening went by peacefully and went by with laughter, jokes and Noah's story of his date with Olivia. While Olivia was at home brimming with joy and using her evening to brag to Jake, Noah was telling a very different tale, namely the one from his perspective.

"It was absolute madness. She kept trying to grab my hand, trying to touch me. The only thing I could do to keep her hands away from mine, was to order as much food as I could and eat even more. I am feeling so stuffed and it is taking all of my might to fight back the urge not to throw everything I ate back up."

Hearing this, Laila felt a bit bad for Noah. Though he had caused her to have a day full of worries already, she couldn't help but worry some more when she heard him say things like that. She glanced up at him with a look of worry, which he replied by briefly glancing back with a gentle smile, before looking back at Steve and Maria as he was in the middle of telling his date story. In hopes that it would help ease his discomfort, Laila started rubbing his stomach gently as she continued to listen to his story of the evening's events. Laila's action seemed to be helping, or at least was being appreciated by Noah, because he squeezed her arm softly before pulling her closer against him and placing a kiss on the side of her head.

"As we were eating, she wasted no time to trash-talk about both you and Laila. Though she was trying to be more subtle about her insults of Laila, blaming most of what she was doing on Maria's influence, it was easy what she was trying to do. Using her judgment of the two of you to humble brag about herself. How she hadn't been raised with morals like that."

"No, she is right. She was raised with no morals at all. No argument from me there." With each chance Maria and Laila got, they would either jab back at Olivia's words or simply rolling their eyes, if they weren't busy laughing at it all along with Steve and on occasion Noah himself. Maria's comment caused for all of them to let out a chuckle, before Noah told them what kind of things Olivia had been saying about her and Laila.

"She would say things like how she would certainly experience physical discomfort if she would ever hear one of her friends say the things Maria was supposedly saying about me. Saying that it was Maria's words about me and her teachings to Laila about how she should treat me, which was causing Laila to act the way she was currently acting." Laila interrupted the story here by chiming in with a, "She shouldn't lie. If she is going to talk about Maria's teachings, she should at least make it sound realistic. If it were up to Maria, I would have either left you because you are unworthy or you would have been beaten after any little mistake and be considered nothing more than my living credit card."

While Noah was hiding a chuckle, Steve was simply in shock as Maria confirmed Laila's version of her teachings as the truth. "True. I have made my contempt for Noah pretty clear over the years and I have told you to make it clear to him who is the boss in this relationship. But, Laila being the kind-hearted princess that she is, somehow insisted that she loved you and that you weren't that bad. How she didn't want to be your boss, just your equal." This last sentence was said with rolling eyes, causing Laila to join Noah in his little laughing spree and even Steve letting out a chuckle as he shook his head.

After the laughter calmed down a bit, Noah tried to finally finish his story. "Well regardless of who the real demon spawn is in this story, you or Olivia, let me tell you about the one we are currently suspecting. Because after comments like that, in one swift move, she would switch that blame from Maria to Laila's personality, nature or upbringing. Saying that although it isn't Laila's fault for becoming this way, that most people are unable to change. That this might have been in her all this time and that I should consider if she was really a good fit for me. Topping her words off with words like, 'Oh, I am so glad I don't really have any exes. I would hate for my future husband to have to experience what you must currently be going through'."

Under her breath Laila would curse at Olivia from time to time. This time cause her to blurt out, "Oh my gosh, what a b**ch". But all of them let her comments slide as they couldn't blame her and Olivia had certainly earned each and everyone of them. "She was using these little jabs to open wounds she thought were there and hoped to increase my fake dislike for Laila. This was just one of many of such odd little 'facts' she would use as a step up leading to her own wonderful self."

With a chuckle Noah added, "She even made sure I knew that she was okay with having step-children. That she considered herself a wonderful mother and had no qualms in having to fill that role in children that she hadn't birthed. That birthing the child isn't what makes a person a mother. How it is better for the child if they are introduced to a parent's partner at an early age. Only then can they truly form that deep step-parent/-child relationship. Basically telling me that I had better hurry up with my break-up, before my child is too old and it becomes difficult for him to accept another person as their parent. If it wasn't so sad and aggravating at times, it would be funny."

Steve added to that final remark by saying, "Tell me about it. Despite everything, this story has certainly managed to make us laugh plenty of times this evening. Hopefully she will continue to stick to things that can make us laugh and nothing more." To which Noah replied, "Amen, my friend. Amen."