Chapter 82: Chapter 82
RUBY.
Our little staring contest continues for the rest of the night. They call out letter after letter and we stamp our cards but her eyes don't leave me for more than a moment. It began to creep me out, what the hell?
It was at the moment when the winner of the bingo tournament was announced that she finally communicated with me. Amid the excitement and disappointment when everyone around us was distracted she turned her bingo card to the back and peeled a layer off. I can't explain how I knew to do the same but something in her eyes urged me to do it. I flipped the card in my hand and scratched at the sides till the upper layer peels off. There's a map sketched at the back and below it, tomorrow's date is written. I look up at her and she puts a finger to her lips. Just like that she was gone, I tried to follow after her but it seemed like she had slipped into thin air. I slipped the card into my bag and headed back inside.
"Hey, what are you doing outside? I was looking for you so we could head home," Toby said.
"Yeah, let's go," I said, pulling him away from the door where we were blocking traffic.
"No extra long speech on this leg of the trip," I joked, trying to distract myself from the card in my bag.
"Mhmm, senior citizens have no respect for that sort of thing, the hall started to empty when the game was over." I zone out after that, I couldn't keep my mind from wandering to what the hell the card was about. It must be connected to the call right, how else could the scenario be explained? This must be the meeting the strange caller talked about.
"Ruby, I've been trying to get your attention for a bit, " Toby said when I snapped out of my thoughts.
"Oh, what were you saying?"
"I was asking if you would like to make a stop for dinner before we head back to the apartment."
"I'm starving so that would be nice but we do have all that food in our fridge."
"I want to take you out for dinner. We can give the food away."
"Okay," I said, trying to gauge the meaning behind his words.
"Ruby," he called out softly, reaching for my hand that was lying on the seat. I hummed in response and he continued, "you do know you can talk to me right? Whatever might be bothering you, we can handle it together." I contemplated sharing the issue with him and then thought better of it. He didn't press further.
When we reached the restaurant the waiter escorted us to our rooftop reservations. Toby had his hand at the small of my back as we walked past the main entrance past a small crowd of people waiting to check their reservations. I felt nervous at the stares that followed us as we walked past and as if sensing it he pulled me closer to him until we passed the crowd. The atmosphere at our table was oddly charged, the intimate nature of our table wasn't helping, it was almost kike we were cut off from the rest of the restaurant. We both didn't say a word but just ate in the uncomfortable silence till it was broken.
"Hey, I just want to say hi," a lady's voice screeched.
"We can't let you do that," a gruff voice said. We both turned just in time to see Yasmin struggle past security and march to our table. The security guard followed after her but Toby lifted a hand signalling him to let her be. Our table was already garnering the attention of other dinners, he must have been trying to avoid all the extra scrutiny. She pulled a chair from another table and dragged it over to ours so she was sitting between Toby and me.
"What a cosy couple, if only they knew that you were just a thief who couldn't get her own man so she stole someone else's, " She said," looking between the two of us and then pointing at me.
"What do you want?" Toby asked gruffly.
"Your son misses you, that's all," she said, stealing glances at me.
What did she expect? That I would be surprised at her news? She was the one who ended up looking surprised at my blank expression because I knew that both of us had a child for him. How stupid did she think I was?
Toby pulled her aside to a corner where their whispering was out of my hearing. He looked angry though, there must be trouble in paradise then. That must be why she had to chase him down at a restaurant. I tore into my food with a renewed appetite at the thought of them fighting. When did I become so sadistic?
Yasmin was the first to emerge from the shadows, marching past me but not before giving me a look of disdain. I raise my glass at her in mock cheers and she scoffs.
"Are you done?" Toby asked right after Yasmin and I's little exchange. I give a nod and gulp down the rest of my wine.
"Good, we can go then," he said. We leave the restraint with the rest of his food untouched. On the ride back home we are both occupied with our thoughts.
I apologise profusely to the nanny for arriving later than the agreed time. It slipped my mind, she probably had a family to get back to and here we were keeping her so late. I offered her the rest of our leftovers from the takeaways Toby bought last night and some money for overtime and she was so grateful.
Later that night after putting Jeremy to bed and showering and dressing for the night I sat down and stared at the map on my bingo ticket. Now I understood why it looked familiar. It led to a tea room that was just around the corner. That must be the venue for the meeting and the date on it must mean the meeting would be held tomorrow. There must be a time though, on closer inspection, I saw eleven etched lightly on the cardboard. I took that to be the time for this unusual meeting, now the question was whether to go or not.
The next morning the question was answered, I couldn't keep myself away from the tea room. A few minutes to eleven Jeremy and I were dressed and out of the house. He slept peacefully in his stroller while my heart beat at a fast tempo as we strolled to the little shop around the corner.