Zorie
Sandra was at a table when I arrived at The Blessed Cup, a briefcase propped by her chair, her auburn hair perfectly held in a bun, and her red designer glasses a bold fashion statement over her eyes.
“Where have you been, Zorie?” She scraped back her chair and half-climbed to her feet to give me a quick hug. “Let’s get you something sweet and fattening. All that swimming is making you look positively too fit.” She squeezed my biceps. “God, muscles! I’ll order a whole selection of goodies, STAT. Latte?”
Then she raised one eyebrow and smirked gleefully.
“Latte.” It was impossible not to feel some joy around Sandra. She was a welcome dose of happiness. “What have you been up to?”
She shrugged, making her ivory blouse bunch at the shoulders. “This. That. Redecorating the house in the expectation of attracting a male of the species.” She peered over the top of her spectacles and winked. “No luck so far. You?”
“Uhhh.” Downer. My stomach lurched, everything lurched. Oh yes, I’d only been off being fucked by several “males of the species.” The bad ones Sandra would find as her clients, if she were still practicing criminal law.
Now was the time to use my new-found resistance and edge out some clues.
Tell her.
“I had ... I –”
“Spit.” Sandra leaned in, eyes bright.
As before, my tongue and brain jammed. I couldn’t say a thing. Grimm? Couldn’t say we were together either. In case one of us...murdered.
Oh what a tangled web we weave.
I pulled over my glass of icy water and picked up the napkin, then pretended to be fascinated by something across the other side of the bustling café.
“Zorie? Are you hiding some hunk from me? You had a date with Grimm. The gossip has been going around. Tell!”
That Sandra knew already freed me somewhat.
“Sorry? Grimm Heller? No luck there. I know you drool on him every time you see him at the library, but it fell through.” I wrinkled my nose.
For a heartbeat, I thought Sandra might push. Luckily, she only subsided in her chair and tsked.
Well then, scratch that so-called improved resistance. It didn’t mean I couldn’t shoot him. That was a whole other ball game.
The latte arrived, along with a platter full of tiny delicacies – mini cheesecakes and other desserts, before Cherie came to our table.
A lean, dark-haired young man was at her shoulder, a man with a backpack, a serious demeanor, and deep amusement lines around his mouth, despite his age. A smile edged onto his lips whenever he looked at Cherie.
“Hello, Cherie. You wanted to talk to me?”
In her faded, body-hugging jeans and sweet, manga-themed T-shirt, Cherie almost looked too young for a boyfriend.
“Yes, I did. This is Jacob.” She indicated the man behind her and he said hi. “He’s finishing a medical degree this year, but...” She glanced at him again and grinned. “We’ve both decided to defer for a year and go overseas with Medecine Sans Frontieres.”
“Oh.” My eyebrows had risen high. Volunteering for a charity overseas was something I could easily imagine Cherie doing, but Doctors Without Frontiers... “Don’t they go to war zones?”
“Not always, Miss Brown,” Jacob cut in, politely. “I wouldn’t take Cherie anywhere like that anyway. We’ll be going to London soon, to see my parents first. Then leaving from there for, we think at the moment, Thailand.”
“But neither of you are doctors.” I cocked my head.
“We’ll be doing other assistant work.”
“Ahh. I see.”
Was marriage on their horizon? I dearly hoped so. From my brief assessment, he seemed a lovely man and suited to Cherie. For some silly reason, his British accent only made him seem more of a catch.
“I hope you both stay safe and I’m sure the people there will appreciate your sacrifice.” A little stiff, that speech. I added, nodding slightly, “I really do wish you well. The world can do with more people like you.”
“Yes.” Cherie took his hand. “The thing is, this is quite late and close to university starting. Do you think I’ll be okay deferring?”
So this was the reason for wanting to talk directly.
I thought for a second. “It’s not really up to me to decide, but I don’t see any problems. You may lose some fees but that’s it. I can put in a good word for you commencing again next year. Is that what you need?”
“That would be excellent. Very helpful.” After a second of hesitation, Cherie leaned forward as if to hug and I met her halfway, gave her shoulder a squeeze, and kissed her cheek.
“I’ll be very sorry to not see you this year.” My face set in place as reality slammed in. I would likely be in prison, or dead, or worse.
“I’ll be back. Thank you, miss.”
“My pleasure. Absolutely.” Then I stood, teary-eyed, and gave them both a cursory hug, to their surprise. “Take care of her, Jacob.”
“I will. Now I know why Cherie wanted me to meet you.”
So that was what this was about.
The glow faded as I watched the girl and her boyfriend weave around the tables and leave, his hand around her waist now and then, as if she needed steering around obstructions. Strange how much that affected me. They were beautiful together.
All the signs pointed to bad things in my own future.
How bad I would discover very soon. I sighed and wiped under my eyes with my finger.
The gun was in my handbag, on the floor, beside my foot. If bad things came in threes, did good things? Sandra, Cherie...what next?
“Where were we?” I sat again and turned to the bemused Sandra.
“Stuffing our faces?”
My giggle was forced. Threes. I’d forgotten about Grimm. I had my quota of good.
“You okay, Zorie?”
“Yeah, just feeling a little overwhelmed for some reason.”
“I understand. Seeing them together like that, wonderful, yet you want to hold them still and make them be safe.”
“Yes. Yes, you do.”
On the way home a text came, and again, and again, when I did nothing. After pulling over, I read them.
Drive to my house, now. Same message, three times.
Reuben was waiting for me.