Lei happily closed the door behind him and danced his feet and arms in frolic excitement, "Brothers." He looked at the friends in the living room of their rental house, "There is no greater feeling than kissing your girl a good night kuchee, especially if you let it a little, slightly longer."

"I told you, Ty." Michael blurted out at the seated friend with a doughnut in hand, "I said he will turn into an alien when he falls in love. Now, give me my five thousand bet."

"He is technically still a human." Tyson replied looking at him, "So, the bet is now to me." He stretched his hand to the friend, "Hand it over."

"I am going to leave you with your nonsense and go for a shower." Lei said, "This time I will take twenty minutes longer while singing Sinzia. I won't let you spoil this amazing spirit in me."

"Hold on, Lei." Tyson stopped him before he left, "I need your help in something."

"Speak to the hand, buddy." Lei gestured his hand at him, "It says never now." He resumed walking in frolic excitement.

"Lei, it is something serious." Michael plainly said, and his tone slowly turned Lei to them. He looked at the friends' expressions and noticed they didn't mean their usual jokes.

"Okay, who killed who?" He walked to them with his hands at the hips.

"Untechnically, it is a relationship matter about to kill him." Michael said and lowered the TV's volume with its controller.

"Having problems with Lindah?" Lei cunningly mentioned to the friend, "Or is it the new girl that has come with the problems?"

"Smart guess, you monkey." Michael bit his doughnut while looking at the TV.

"Mike, not the time." Tyson spoke out in austerity.

"Sorry, my bad." Michael whispered and bit another piece of his doughnut.

"Ty, a problem will always come if a third party ends up liked in a relationship." Lei informed the friend, "I know that you are smart enough to know that."

"I know, Lei." Tyson suddenly appeared downhearted, "But it's not like I am forcing myself to Nadia or following her around. What has happened between us... just happened. I feel great about her. Every time I am with her feels really wonderful, wonderful compared to how I have ever felt for Lindah. The connection I have with Nadia is greater than what I have ever had with Lindah."

"And I may know why, Lei. I didn't feel it with Lindah. I have just realized it. We don't spend time together anymore because most of the time she is somewhere else and I am also somewhere else. I have never felt for her the way I feel for Nadia. With Nadia, it is great and beautiful and magical every minute of it. We have so much in common and we amazingly understand each other. I have never felt that with Lindah." He sadly shook his head, his downhearted appearance and expression openly palpable, "Maybe I fell for her appearance and it blinded me that I fell for something special. Everything is lost between us. I don't feel anything towards her anymore!"

Lei walked over to him and took a seat beside him, "When you first started dating Lindah, you told us how wonderful she is. You spent lots of time together and I could see that you were happy. I could see that you valued the relationship. Then as time passed you didn't talk about her the way you used to. I didn't see you invested in the relationship the way you used to be. Then I shared my concerns, thinking that your busy times was getting in the way of your relationship. I told you what to do when that happens. But still, you let the spark die. It came to a time when you didn't even talk about her for a week, then you completely never talked about her."

"Ever since from the start until now, Mike always talks about Jacky, sometimes irritating us with his love life. He is doing exactly what is supposed to be done to keep the connection, bond and fire always burning."

"Tell him, bro." Michael quickly said, his eyes at the TV.

"How do you expect love to be the way it used to be when you don't work on it?" Lei posed at the distressed friend, "Action is what keeps the fire of love and grows it. And the action is the investment of both the partners in the relationship at all times. Without action, love dies. That is how it is, Ty. That is how it always is."

Tyson looked at the friend dejectedly, "Lei, you are the greatest love counselor I have ever met in my life. You are the best teacher in relationship matters that I know. Mike uses your advices and he is great with Jacky. I always see how great they are and I envy them. How will I then not use the same advices and suggestions in my relationship? You have always told us that it is action that grows and keeps love alive, and I have been doing that to Lindah, at first, then there was this loss of interest as things started to be normal and casual between us. The desire was lost. At some point I forced it. But you know that the actions need to come from the heart, from what you feel, not from an obligatory force so as to keep it alive. I have been doing it by obligation until the interest was completely lost."

"But with Nadia, it is totally different! I completely feel this girl. She is exceptional and remarkable. I even strongly believe and feel that I will never lose interest in managing our relationship and always keeping the spark alive. I believe that I will be interested and invested in her at all times. I believe this because when I met her, I not only saw her beauty and physical appearance. I felt something warm and tender in my heart. Then when we learned more about each other, I felt this powerful connection that told me she is the one. I never felt anything of the sort with Lindah. The comparison is ninety percent different." Tyson now looked desperate, "Now help me out, Lei!"

"Well," Lei had listened intently, now ready to give his advice, "If you feel stronger for Nadia than Lindah, then you need to be where your true feelings are, not where you feel an obligation to love. But take responsibility for the matter and talk to Lindah. She deserves to know the truth. Of course she will be crushed, that I am sure. So, don't look for ways on how to tell her. Either way, she will be hurt. You will focus on making her understand, and wanting the best for both of you. And you will have to be patient and give her time to get the sense and understanding of it. That is what you are going to do." He gave out the advice cannily, "Everything will be alright. Now, worry less."

"Thank you." Tyson nodded understandably, feeling the weight of the dilemma that was upon him reduced. He strongly hoped his current lover understood the matter that laid heavy in his soul, even if it took time. He was ready to be patient.

Lei stood up from his seat and started walking away, but suddenly, he stopped, realizing he should at least bring about their banter spirit, "By the way." He turned back to the friend, "What I have done for you is pretty big, and I need something from you in return."

Tyson stood up about to go to his room and stared back, "You have never asked us for something in return when you counsel us, ever!"

"That, my friend, is because times change." Lei said, "Now, in eight or ten years to come, because I will really disturb Kate before she pins me down to the marriage thing, I will need something... a favour from you, when she will be about to have our first baby."

"Okay..."

"You will, of course, be the... main doctor to... get the baby from her..."

"Labour doctor." Tyson offered, now his arms crossed over the chest.

"Yes, that is how they are called." Lei smiled implicitly, "So, inside the labour room, you will allow me to be with her... you know, during the push moment."

"Lei, husbands are allowed to be with their wives in the labour room."

"Really?"

"No." Tyson patted the friend's shoulder while walking past him.

Lei turned to him, "Come on, Ty. I would want you to do that special favour for me."

Tyson turned back, "Lei, when men are with their women in the delivery room, oxytocin hormone won't be released. It is a shy hormone that needs silence."

Michael turned to the friends, "Do we usually have silence in the delivery room?"

"It's not that type of silence." Tyson said looking at Michael.

"I have an IQ of 175 and yet I only know of one type of silence!" Michael said with brittle sarcasm, "Enlighten me."

Tyson looked at Lei, "Did you really have to bring this? With Michael around?"

Lei glared at Michael, "Mike, stay out of this. We don't need your nonsense." He came back to Tyson, "So, you wouldn't do me this favour?"

"Lei, I am a good friend, so here is another reason why you shouldn't be in the room; without oxytocin, women shout at their husbands with words they wouldn't like to hear. Trust me, you wouldn't wish to hear the names she will be calling you."

Lei gave the friend a long look and put his hands in the pocket, "So, movies don't lie?"

"They don't, my friend." Tyson shortly said and walked away, leaving the friend speechlessly looking at him go.

"Some people are looking forward not to even be at the hospital while other monkeys want to be in the exact room." Michael said with eyes at the television.

Lei only looked at him for a second before as well leaving the sitting room.

Tyson dropped to his bed thinking about how the lover would react when he told her the truth. She will be hurt. Broken! He always saw how the lover looked happy and radiant whenever they were together. She still called him every now and then, wrote him messages and regularly reminded him how she loved him. She still had feelings for him, but he didn't. He wondered what went wrong.

At first, he found Lindah beautiful and felt an emotional impact with her, making him feel pleasurable having her as his girlfriend. The feeling satisfied him whenever he saw her and when they were together. Now the feeling had vanished, replaced by a sentiment of conjoint disposition. He didn't feel any type of special feeling towards her anymore, and it saddened him, because the lover on the other hand, certainly felt something for him. But he knew even if he would hurt her, it would be for the best. I must make her understand that it is for the best. She deserves to be where she is truly valued and cherished, just like where I am.

He reached for his phone in the pocket and dialed a number that he knew would at least cheer him up and make him have a good night.

"Hallo, Tyson," Nadia answered her cell phone, sounding pleased and cheerful.

"Hallo, Nadia. You are not yet asleep?"

"No, not at all. I am still working on the notes we discussed."

"That is lovely."

There was silence for a moment.

"Let me know if you come across anything that you don't understand." Tyson said.

"I will, thank you." Nadia pleasantly smiled on the phone.

There was another short silence before Tyson spoke, "It is always lovely to hear your voice, Nadia. I am thankful I hear it every day."

Nadia felt her heart warmed by the gesture, "I am pleased to hear that."

"I am happy you are pleased." Tyson cheerfully said, "Have a wonderful good night."

"You, too, Tyson." Nadia replied and slowly took her phone from the ear, then sighed, the breath distributing pleasure within her. It was now that she accepted her heart had been touched, and strongly. She closed her eyes and silently began a prayer; Oh, Thee, let the feeling not lead me astray from your path. Guide me and give me strength. Direct my path and forgive all the shortcomings in my life. I trust and believe in You, Amen.