A privilege isn’t something you can earn; it’s inherited from some extravagant, wealthy, good-looking family. Something that Charles Archibald (not his actual name) inherited. A young good-looking man comes from a rich family, has a good education, and has a promising career. Plus, he owns his business and runs multiple family assets. Too good to be true, right? Only small proportions of men on this planet have something like Nate has. But this story isn’t about privilege; it’s about heart, something that privilege can’t buy.
I would say to describe him as ‘a million girls would kill for that man.’ Since I have known him for several years, I understand why many of my friends try to set him up with their friend. I got it when Cassie, madly in love with him, tried to seduce him or even, the worst, do voodoo to tie him up. But it did not work at all. Minnie is another story; she had talked to him and texted him, feeling that they had a connection, but at the end of the day, they are just friends. Well, I don’t know how many pairings had been setting up behind the wall, but I know none of these pairings succeeded.
We, as friends of Charles, also do try to pair him with Maddie; they walk together, Maddie so in love with Charles. They see each other; we have a mutual friend, so we know how cute they are and are always smitten when they are together. But eventually, as in many stories before, the relationship is broken. We had been crying for several days; why did the story of the white-horse knight and wounded princess end so quickly?
The answer is clear and certain: Charles wants a beauty princess with a high degree in education who has sex appeal and maturity of a rare-medium quality and the feeling of ‘click and match,’ and he found it in Sally’s persona. Sally is a paramedic, a long-lost friend from the same high school, and they are genetically matched to each other. When Charles’s love story lingers in our workspace, people are talking about it, and when Charles proposes to Sally, the faculty and all the neighborhoods are cheering up and celebrating it. Finally, Charles, the most wanted bachelor, is tying the knot with Sally.
But nonetheless, not all people are happy; some people are mourning because they lost the prince, and some people are trying to connect with me and asking the validity of the news, and I answer that the news flash is true. Some ladies are crying; they feel that they have a connection with Charles, but it turns out they were just friends. Most of the tragic story comes with Maddie; she is not only crying but also grieving. They just had light talk a few days ago; they ate together last Sunday and then it looks like nothing. I’m not blaming anyone in here; it is just not working since Charles is not finding a click and match with Maddie.
And just like that, for a couple of weeks and months, our screen and our talks are in and all about Charles and his fiancée. At one time, when the wedding was being set up, it became a celebration and wedding of the year in our circle. Everybody has become so obsessed with this wedding; my girls’ friends are trying to dig every piece of Sally’s. But, indeed, we were supporting and happy for this wedding and trying, as long as we could, to help Charles’s wedding.
Day after day, Charles’s and Sally’s wedding dominated our screens and conversations—whether they were running, shopping, or dining together. It’s just so sweet, and, honestly, it becomes so brutal when we’re trying to make a joke with Charles.
Trouble in Paradise.
Sometimes, an amazing love story comes to an end when its actor is too good-looking. It’s obvious sometimes where good looks can be a disguise. History told us when a man is a heartthrob and a woman is a sweetheart, it leads to divorce or separation or even death. Look at Romeo and Juliet or Elvis and Priscilla, their perfect romance ending either in death or divorce. So it does apply to Charles and Sally. Their perfect marriage went down to spiral when Sally, at one time, betrayed Charles’s love. She has an affair with Felix two times (at least, that’s what Charles knows).
So, five months later, that fairytale is ending; Charles files for divorce, and that paper circulates in the staff office, and it becomes a headline. And once again, the ballad of Charles Archibald has become the crème de la crème in our daily conversation. People are wondering why Charles, a rare breed—handsome, tall, smart, rich, and independent—a green flag for recent times betrayed by Sally. Why Sally is throwing this stud to trash? What’s wrong with Charles? Back to the first question, what is in the blank space that Charles didn’t fill.
Sally is the most prominent bachelorette in the city; she’s pretty, has a meaningful career as a paramedic, and also has a long history on the dating scene. Her ex was Felix, also a paramedic; they had been together for more than five years. Charles is way better than Felix; Charles outnumbers Felix in charms, charisma, and coins. On paper sheets, Charles and Sally are perfect for each other, but we don’t know what is still empty on the blank sheet.
As a man, I asked Charles once, “Did you satisfy her in bed? Did she get her orgasm? As a gentleman, Charles did not answer that question; he just stated that as a man, he had provided anything that Sally wanted. So what’s the blank space then? We are guessing that Felix outnumbers Charles in one thing, fulfillment of joy. Sometimes man can be very flat, and that is so frustrating. Charles is one of them.
