Sadie and Lori’s friendship spans years of shared experiences, from childhood to adulthood. Their bond is so strong that they have become sisters, with Lori’s presence in Sadie’s house expected as family. This deep connection extends to their husbands, Ben and Keith, who are not just friends, but an integral part of their intertwined lives.
A weekend getaway to celebrate Keith’s birthday symbolizes the closeness of their friendship and the joy they find in each other’s company. However, Ben’s cryptic message to Sadie about a secret he’s keeping casts a shadow over the celebrations and forces Sadie to face a moral dilemma.
When Sadie, Lori, and their husbands go away for the weekend – eager to celebrate a birthday – Lori’s husband Ben gives Sadie a cryptic message about a secret she’s been keeping. Sadie struggles between keeping a secret or telling her best friend – maybe some secrets aren’t worth keeping.
Sadie and I have always been best friends since high school. We grew up in front of each other and we grew together. At home, Lori was considered another daughter. “Lori,” Mother asked every night, “is Lori joining us for dinner?”
So we’ve been through everything together, including dating and now being married, two best friends – Benjamin and Keith. I still remember meeting them at school.
I was convinced I was going to end up with Benjamin, but Keith eventually won me over and Lori and Benjamin found their soulmates in each other. Of course, we were each other’s bridesmaids and our bond grew stronger as our lives continued to intertwine. As time went on, Benjamin and I also grew closer and formed a quartet of friendship and love with our husbands.
We are now a couple who love to do everything together – from birthday dinners to holidays. So to celebrate Keith’s birthday we rented a little cottage because we wanted to celebrate somewhere else. “Reserve a seat, Sadie,” Lori said. “You arrange the accommodation and Ben and I will take care of the food.
We were both childless and more than excited to get away – even if it wasn’t far. Keith’s birthday was coming up and we arrived at the venue early, ready to party. I ordered a birthday cake that Lori picked up along with enough food for two weeks even though we were only supposed to be there for the weekend.
Things were great until the evening took an unexpected turn. We were all drinking – no one was on the road. We were safe. But Benjamin, who indulged a little too much, sought solace with me in the cool night air on the balcony.
Lori and Keith were inside singing along to YouTube music videos. “You know, Sadie,” Benjamin began, his words trailing off, “there’s something I’ve been working on for Lori.
Intrigued, I nudged him for another. “Ben, what are you up to?” “It’s a surprise! But if I tell you, you’ll have to keep it a secret. It was so hard to hide the bottles from Lori . . .” “What bottles?” | he asked. “Oh, you know,” he said, his voice trailing off as the alcohol took hold of him.
Lori and Benjamin weren’t big drinkers – they drank with Keith and me sometimes, but it wasn’t something they did alone. It all stemmed from Lori’s father being an alcoholic, so she was uncomfortable having alcohol in their house.
“What mischief are you two up to?”
Lori’s voice, light and playful, failed to mask the sharp edge of curiosity.
Benjamin quickly recovered and told the story of how he and Keith got stuck in the elevator earlier in the week.
“We just sat on the floor and waited,” Lori said.
“I know,” she said with narrowed eyes.
“You told me this story as soon as you got home.
My best friend smiled before going back inside.
I spent the rest of the night trying to figure out if I should tell Lori about the secret bottles of alcohol Ben was hiding around their house.
On one hand, they had a great relationship and Ben was always doing things for Lori. He managed to make her happy.
But on the other hand, Lori’s father used to visit their home. If he relapsed, Lori would never forgive herself.
“What should I do?” | Keith asked as we went to bed.
“You think Ben meant it?” he asked. “He was pretty out of it.
“Wouldn’t he just be telling the truth?” I asked. “More oiled to the truth.”
Keith laughed.
“Sadie, if you’re worried about this, if you think maybe you should talk to Lori? If something happens, you’re going to blame yourself for knowing.”
Keith was right. I would blame myself if something was wrong – even if Ben didn’t give me enough information.
I couldn’t keep it to myself.
The next morning Lori and I went for a walk and had coffee on the way. As we walked I told her everything Ben said or implied.
“Are you sure?” she insisted. “Are you sure he said ‘bottles’?”
“Yes, but listen, I’m just speculating. I wanted to tell you in case something happened. I know how you feel about these things when your father is around.”
Lori looked at me for a long time.
“Ben has been secretive lately,” she agreed. “But it can’t be what you think!”
We walked back to our rental, talking about everything and nothing – specifically nothing about the bottles and what we both thought they were.
Lori didn’t seem as phased as I thought she would be. But still, I was relieved to tell her what I knew.
It was up to her to be ready for whatever came her way.
We returned to the rental to find Keith packing our clothes and Ben mopping the floor.
“We should be leaving soon,” Keith said.
Before leaving for home, we checked out and went to a small cafe for lunch. I didn’t expect Lori to ask Ben with Keith and me around, but I wondered what she was thinking.
I wasn’t prepared for the text Lori sent me the next day.
You saved my life. I will call you later.
The words echoed in my mind. I had no idea what he was talking about, but it was ominous enough to make my blood run cold.
Later, when she called, Lori told me how during the day she decided to have an early lunch during work.
“I just wanted to get home and dig around a bit. For bottles or whatever, you know? I needed to find what Ben was hiding at our house.”
So she walked into their house and was immediately met by the smell of gas – as they rushed to work in the morning, neither of them had checked to make sure the gas was turned off.
“Can you imagine me coming home and turning on the stove, Sadie?” Lori continued to babble. “Our house would be on fire. Probably with us in it.”
I could hear the tremor in her voice.
“Did you find anything?” I asked curiously as Lori calmed down.
“Me,” Lori said. “They were behind the towels in the linen closet.
“What it was?”
“They’re bottles,” she clarified. “But they’re not alcohol.
I sighed in relief. I hated being in the middle of the situation. I hated to betray Ben’s trust, but at the end of the day – Lori came first.
“Sadie,” she said. “They’re antique perfume bottles. Well, not all of them. There are a few bottles and there are other antique bottles. I’m not sure why Ben has them, but they’re worth a lot.”
There are labels on each of them.”
It didn’t make sense to me. I knew Ben was into antiques – he sometimes bought them to collect and stored everything at his parents’ house. But sometimes he bought them only to sell them at a higher price.
When Lori confronted him that evening, Ben’s confession revealed the depth of his love for her.
“Lori, every bottle sold was one step closer to our dream. I wanted to surprise you with a trip to Paris for our anniversary. So I bought the old bottles online and sold them for a profit,” he said.
“What about the perfume bottles?”
Lori asked.
Ben said they were for her – straight from the set of one of her favorite old movies.
“They’re supposed to be the first gift,” he laughed. “Paris was second.
I couldn’t understand how Ben had the time to find, buy, and sell these items. They were ridiculously expensive. Keith would be impressed if I took up this hobby.
“Maybe it’s just his way of showing his love,” Keith said when I caught up with him at dinner that evening. “Lori loves her old movies.
I ended up feeling ashamed of myself for ruining Ben’s surprise—though Lori hadn’t actually revealed that I’d told her about our conversation. She just said she came across them while doing laundry.
“He has no idea,” she assured me.
But I still felt justified in telling her – What if Ben had been hiding alcohol at their house during the events? It could have had dire consequences.
Everything is fine now and it looks like my best friends will actually be going to Paris in a few months. Keith and I made a bet to see if they would invite us on the trip.
Do you think I was wrong to tell Lori?
Here is one more fairy tale for you. Ann is excited to start the next chapter of her life. She moves into a new apartment with her boyfriend Josh. But when they start living together, she learns things about him that lead her to run away.
In conclusion, the dilemma of whether to reveal Ben’s cryptic message to Lori presented a moral dilemma for Sadie. In the end, her decision to confide in her best friend was driven by her desire to protect Lori and keep her safe, even if it meant potentially betraying Ben’s trust. However, the revelation of Ben’s true intentions, rooted in love and consideration, highlighted the complexity of human relationships and the importance of communication and trust. While Sadie may have been acting on incomplete information, her intentions were rooted in concern for her boyfriend, highlighting the delicate balance between loyalty and honesty when navigating interpersonal dynamics.