Page 19 of The Ring Thief
“Seriously? That’s what you take issue with?” she gripes, before saying quietly, “Come to my place tonight. You can stay with me as long as you like, but I don’t want you to be alone, you know… after.”
I think about it, before dipping my chin. “Okay.”
We fall into a contemplative quiet, but the alarm on her phone breaks it, warning us that her next yoga class starts in 15 minutes.
She turns it off, eyeing me carefully. “You’ll call me,” she orders firmly. “I don’t care if I’m in class. I’ll have your ringtone on loud, and I’ll answer, no matter what.”
“I’ll call you,” I promise. “I have your spare key, so how about I go straight to yours after?”
Appeased, Sasha grips my hand one last time, and then she’s gone, striding across the road to the small yoga studio where she works as an instructor. I linger at the cafe, finishing one of my bagels, much to my stomach’s displeasure, before making my way back home.
To distract myself, I spend a few hours out in my garden, pulling the weeds and preparing the soil for spring planting. The hours pass by quickly, and finally, my stomach urges me inside for lunch.
I’ve just finished when my dad’s ringtone catches my attention. I pick it up, forcing a big smile onto my face, hoping he’ll hear it through the line. “Hey, Dad.”
“I’m a free man!” he crows instead of a greeting, his voice exuberant. “I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel, but you know what? This was the right decision. I feel lighter than I have in years. It’s time to settle down and enjoy what life has to offer before my bones are too brittle to do it.”
“You talk like you’re ancient and on death’s door,” I remark dryly. “I don’t think you’re quite ready to enter the nursing home.” We share a laugh, before I ask, “So, salsa dancing, then?” He’d told me yesterday that he was signing on the dotted line today, but it had slipped my mind amongst everything else.
“Maybe I’ll go for the tango,” he muses.
I feign shock with a loud gasp. “The tango! You’ll have all the tongues wagging.”
“Julie will be clutching her pearls.”
“Or she’ll be your dancing partner,” I suggest slyly, and am only mildly surprised when he doesn’t immediately refute the idea. “Am I allowed to know the big secret now? Who’s the new owner of your precious baby?”
“I only have one precious baby,” he counters. “And…” there’s a long, drawn-out pause, and the hairs lift on the back of my neck. “It’s actually your husband. It was Declan I met this morning.”
I’ll get the signatures when I’m back.
Once everything’s in my name, I’ll end it.
My breath comes out in short, sharp gasps, pain radiating from my chest. Dad doesn’t notice, still talking.
“We didn’t want you to worry about it, but no point in hiding it allnow!” he chuckles, before letting out a thoughtful hum. “Although, Declan seemed a little…” he trails off, and my nails dig into my palm, leaving little crescent marks in my skin.
“A little…?” I prompt, my voice only breaking slightly.
He lets out a little huff. “I don’t know, my girl. He just didn’t seem himself, I guess.” There’s a question there, and I pretend I don’t hear it.
I clear my throat. “He’s probably still tired. He was at work until the early hours of the morning.”
“He mentioned that, not that there was any hiding the luggage camping out under his eyes. We went for lunch after we signed, and his friend was at the same restaurant,” Dad adds casually. “Silvia. She told me she was at the wedding, but can’t say that I remember her.” He carries on, blissfully unaware of the picture he’s painting for me. “She seemed nice, and she was there on her own, so I invited her to sit with us.”
It would’ve hurt less if he’d shoved me in front of a bus, I swear to god.
“Oh? That’s nice…” I murmur, then clear my throat again. “Hey, I’m getting another call, and I’d better take it.”
“Sure, sure,” he says oblivious to the damage he’s just laid at my feet. “Come over for dinner on Thursday, okay? Bring Dec. It won’t feel real until I’ve celebrated with my girl.”
I quickly agree and then disconnect the call, my breathing coming too hard and fast. I force myself to slow it down, counting to six with each inhale and then another six for the exhale.
Eventually, my heart slows down to a more reasonable rhythm and a hysterical laugh bubbles out of me, unable to believe that this is my life.
Had it all been about the company?
Feeling steadier, I listen to every one of Declan’s voice messages, a whimper escaping as he professes his love, the rough timbre of his voice flowing straight into my ear. When I’ve heard every message, I delete them all. And then I delete every text message, leaving the thread completely blank, before I type one out.
