Introduction:

Now we’d like to complicate Blaise’s dilemma just a bit more by telling you what happened next…

Need to get up to speed with the first part of the dilemma? Read it here and vote/comment before moving on to the Wrinkle. Then, move on to our expert’s analysis.

THE WRINKLE

Blaise decides that it would be best not to confront Roger immediately at the Kamikaze so he heads back to his hotel. His head spins while he’s walking back; he can’t believe what he just saw. What was Roger thinking? His wedding is only two weeks away and his fiancé and her family have practically bankrupted themselves trying to pay for the whole affair! Part of him wants to call Kate immediately and make sure she doesn’t put the final payments down on the various wedding plans; she would be devastated emotionally but at least she and her family could avert a financial calamity.

After he’s had a little time to collect his thoughts Blaise decides he needs to confront his brother about this in person and ask him for an explanation before he goes any further. Back at his hotel room he calls Roger on his cell. He’s surprised to hear from Blaise but seems excited at the chance to hang out with his younger brother.

“Let me buy you a drink” Blaise tells him. “I’ve heard about a great place called the Kamikaze Café that I’d like to try.”

Roger pauses on the other end of the line.

“Sure, I know it” he says after a moment. “I was just there, but if you’d like to check it out I’m game.”

Blaise gets there 15 minutes early for their meeting and asks to sit at the same table he saw Roger at that afternoon. When Roger finally arrives he gives Blaise a big hug and sits down across from him. They exchange pleasantries for a moment but at Roger’s first mention of the wedding plans Blaise blurts out “Look Roger, I’ve got to talk to you.”

Roger is taken aback at his brother’s abruptness but manages to squeeze out a confused sounding “Ok.”

Shifting Uncomfortably

Blaise tells him he had stopped in the café earlier and recounts everything he saw. The frustration in his voice is mixed with a sense of astonishment. He speaks in quick, measured tones for about a minute, his voice becoming increasingly precise and monotone.

Roger is stunned at what he’s hearing and tells Blaise that he must either be joking or losing his mind. Roger tries to play it off with a laugh but he sees that Blaise isn’t buying any of it. His eyes are fixed on Roger and he wants some answers. After shifting uncomfortably in his chair a few times Roger struggles to put a sentence together “Look, it’s not what you think…” he offers weakly. “It’s…it’s complicated, Blaise.” He then mumbles something about it being “no big deal. You don’t understand.”

After a few failed attempts at explanation Roger bows his head toward the table. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath and is silent for a few moments. “It’s really none of you business Blaise” he says with his eyes still closed and his head in his hands.

“None of my business?!” Blaise says barely able to contain his anger. “You’ve got a fiancé who loves you and is about to become your wife in a few weeks!”

Roger picks up his head slowly, opens his eyes and stares back at Blaise, “she knows” he says.

“What?!” says Blaise.

“We’ve talked about it and she’s aware that it can get tough when I’m on the road so much. She doesn’t really want to know about it but says it’s ok

as long as I’m safe and not fooling around near where we live.”

Blaise is speechless. He doesn’t know whether to believe Roger; it all seems a little too convenient. But if he tells Kate what he saw and Roger is telling the truth, both of them will be angry that he’s poking his nose in their business. If he chooses to say nothing and Roger is lying, Kate will be entering into marriage with a husband who is clearly cheating on her.

Time for you to decide again. What’s the right thing for Blaise to do now?

Click here to read our expert’s analysis.

Read the original dilemma.