We stepped out of a shoe store, and the harsh light of day made her makeup look like a mask. The visible line of demarcation along her jawline gave her an oddly vulnerable quality, as if she was trying desperately to hide something she hated about herself. Ruby was still a beautiful woman, but there was something discontented about her, something that screamed desperation. I felt a sudden rush of pity.
We walked past a little nail salon and she grabbed my arm, “Come on girlfriend, let’s go get a mani-pedi!”
She pulled me in and we sat down side by side while our feet soaked and our nails were buffed and polished.
“Us girls are high maintenance, right?” she winked at me.
I thought of Evie and smiled, “For sure.”
“You should have some tips put on,” Ruby said, looking askance at my short, unpolished nails.
“I don’t think so,” I shook my head no. “I’ll just break them off surfing.”
She wrinkled her nose, “I don’t know why you’d wanna be out there in the water with all those creepy fishes and octopuses and things.”
I laughed, thinking of the mermaids and whales, “They don’t bother me.”
“Don’t you ever worry about getting eaten by sharks?” she asked sarcastically.
“Never,” I replied.
I waited for Ruby to finish, watching as she got her nails touched up. It brought back memories of sitting and waiting while Evie got primped and preened at her own private salon, and I fell into a nostalgic reverie. The familiar sounds of the driers, the chatter of the women, and even the smell of the nail polish had always been like a ticket into the world of feminine mystique, something that was sorely lacking in the rough-hewn life I led with my father.
Ruby’s voice snapped me out of it, “Oops, looks like I forgot my credit card… Do you mind getting this one sweetie?”
“No problem,” I rummaged in my bag for some cash, careful not to disturb my weapons. I turned to find Ruby watching over my shoulder, and her eyes bugged out with the undue respect that money always got. I was glad the gun was tucked away out of sight.
“What’s that?” she asked, pointing to the Taser.
“Uhm, nothing,” I replied, zipping up my purse and busying myself with my overstuffed wallet. Ruby’s eyes focused on the bills as I pulled them out, and I was embarrassed, because it only served to reinforce her view of me as a spoiled rich girl.
Then I felt something else, and I froze. The tingling sensation I’d experienced on my last night of surfing had returned. There was someone watching us, and this time they were much closer. I looked up slowly, but all I could see was the street reflected in the glass window of the shop across the road.
“Come on Ruby,” I motioned for her to follow. “Let’s go take a look at those sunglasses.”
We walked a few shops down to a store that we’d passed earlier, and started trying on different pairs. I used the mirror in the store to watch the street outside, and was rewarded by a glimpse of my stalker strolling by with his hands in his pockets. He wore a khaki trench coat with the collar turned up, topped off by a knit hat pulled down around his ears. Dark sunglasses obscured his eyes, and I couldn’t tell if he was the same one from the city or not. He paused, pretending to look in the store window across the street.
“I’ll get these for you,” I told Ruby, taking the glasses she liked to the counter. I chose a pair with mirrored lenses for myself, and paid for them both.
“Thanks hun!” she said, surprised by my sudden interest in shopping, and delighted at my sudden interest in shopping for her.
“I need to pop in and see my friend at his coffee shop for a minute,” I said with a little shake in my voice, still feeling eyes watching me. My hair stood on end; there were no mermaids here to track. I wondered if he was going to try and grab me in broad daylight, and I tried to act naturally even as I broke out in a cold sweat.
I rushed Ruby down the street into Bill’s place, relieved to find him behind the counter.
“Hi Bill!” I said enthusiastically, “This is Ruby. Can you get her a coffee while I run upstairs to get some more paintings?”
Bill smiled wide at Ruby, clearly happy to see her, “Sure thing!”
I walked out of the coffee shop, strolling down the street as nonchalantly as possible. I stopped to look in shop windows, holding my new sunglasses in my hand and using them to see behind me. By the third store I spotted my tail again, and I knew for certain that it was me he was stalking. It was all I could do not to pull out my gun and shoot him where he stood, but I had to keep my head. I needed to find out who sent him, and what he was up to.
I was going to catch him this time, and just the thought of it made my heart beat faster. The blood pounded in my ears, the rush was the same as the one I got dropping down onto a towering wave. My predatory instinct had been activated; I was too excited to be afraid.
I took a deep breath and steadied myself, trying to keep my walk loose so as not to betray the tension coiling up inside of me. I sauntered over to the familiar surf shop, looking in the window until I saw him again, reflected in the convex lenses of my glasses. I went into the shop and pretended to look at the boards against the walls.
I felt more eyes on me and glanced up to see the two familiar clerks staring intently at me. I smiled at them, going up to the counter, “Is there a back way out of here?”
They exchanged a surprised glance, and the white blond one answered, “Uhm, yeah, but it only goes out to the dumpsters.”
I started moving to the back of the store and the tall one called out, “It has an alarm on it.”
I stopped and pivoted back, leaning towards them with a conspiratorial tone, “This is kinda embarrassing, but my ex-boyfriend is following me, and I could really use some help slipping away…”
“Sure thing,” the blonde boy said with a knowing smile, grabbing a set of keys. “But I need to turn off the alarm first.”
I followed him through the racks of wetsuits, casting wary glances behind me. I stood shifting from foot to foot while he disabled the alarm.
“It’s not Kimo, is it?” he asked.
I laughed, “No, just someone who won’t take no for an answer.”
His brow knit together, “You should call the cops.”
“Thanks,” I breathed, rushing out into the alley, “But I can handle it myself.”
“No problem,” he called after me, watching me race away down the alley.
I stopped before going back up to circle around the front, reaching into my bag and getting out the gun. I checked the clip, turned off the safety, and kept my hand on it inside my purse. I was ready to shoot it right through the designer leather if I had to.
When I came to the corner I held the glasses out ahead of me, and was rewarded by a view of the trench coated man going into a camera store just across from the surf shop. I waited until he was inside and darted across the street, hugging the wall until I was right next door. I squeezed my body into a small alcove between the two storefronts to wait.
I could see the blonde boy from the surf shop step out front and look up and down the street suspiciously. I cringed, stepping back into the shadows. At that precise moment my stalker came out warily, looking up and down the street and backing up into the same niche right in front of me. I couldn’t believe my luck; I stood within three feet of him.
“Put your hands up,” I said in a low voice. “One step and I swear to God I’ll shoot you right in the back.”
He nearly jumped out of his skin, and then I saw his shoulders shake as his hands slowly came up. I pulled the gun out of my purse and pointed it at him with two hands.
“Who sent you?” I asked harshly, “What do you want with me?”
His shoulders started shaking even harder and I realized he was laughing.
“Turn around!” I barked. My hands started shaking.
“Take it easy,” he said. He reached up to remove his glasses, holding them up. When he slowly rotated arou
nd, both of our eyes flew open wide with surprise.
“Paul?”
He was staring at the gun in my trembling hands with shocked eyes. I lowered it slowly.
“What are you doing following me?”
He drew a breath, dropping his hands and pulling off his cap, “I was testing you,” he exhaled, shaking his head in disbelief.
“I almost shot you,” I said numbly.
He started to explain, his eyes following my every move as I engaged the safety and slipped the gun back into my purse.
“I thought since you missed this week’s lesson I’d check on you… see how careful you were being… I figured I’d tell you all the places you went– just to make you think… I thought I’d point out your carelessness…” He smiled faintly, “Nice work.”
I heaved a sigh, my shoulders slumping, “Don’t do that again! I could have killed you.”
“Hey– I thought the worst that could happen would be a mild Tasing!”
Our eyes met and we both cracked up with relieved laughter.
“Come on,” I gestured towards the street with my head, “Help me carry some paintings.”
Paul followed me out into the street, and we walked past the surf shop. Both of the clerks stood in the doorway with incredulous eyes and open mouths. I wondered if they had seen me pull the gun on Paul. I shrugged as we passed by.
We went around the back of the coffee shop and up the metal staircase. I opened the door to let us in, busying myself with gathering a few canvases.
“This is a good defensible space,” Paul said, looking around with strategic eyes, “But the one way in also makes it a trap.”
“I’m aware of that,” I grimaced. I still couldn’t forgive myself for leading Cruz here on that fateful day. I handed Paul a couple of paintings to carry and tucked a few under my arm as I locked up.
“So… where did you get the gun?” Paul asked as he followed me down the steps.
“Yuri gave it to me.” I looked back up at him, “He overheard me asking Boris and surprised me.” I set my jaw in defiance, “I’m not giving it up.”
He pressed his lips together in irritation, “Alright, but Marina…”
“What?”
“Never draw it unless you’re prepared to shoot it.” His eyes met mine with a question.
“I didn’t,” I said steadily, adding, “It’s a good thing you didn’t make any sudden moves.”
We walked into the coffee shop to find Bill sitting down with Ruby at a table. She looked up at me and her eyes flicked over to Paul.
“Who do we have here?” she smiled flirtatiously.
“Ruby, Bill, this is my friend Paul,” I introduced him and took the paintings to start putting them up to fill in the bare spots on the wall. I could see Paul and Ruby talking, noticing how she twirled her hair flirtatiously. Somehow, I didn’t think that Ruby was his type, and her lips tightened with irritation when his gaze kept returning to me. Paul finally excused himself, and I walked him to the door.
“See you next weekend,” I told him, holding out my hand.
He flashed me his charming lopsided grin, surprising me with a sudden close embrace, bringing his lips close to my ear, “Listen… You be extremely careful with that firearm,” he whispered gravely. I nodded to reassure him, and he turned briskly and marched away with purpose in his step, like a soldier going off to do battle.
I turned back to see Ruby watching me with narrowed, suspicious eyes.
When I finished with the paintings, I looked at the clock on the wall, “Ethan should be done at the farmer’s market,” I said, thinking I was finally off the hook. We thanked Bill, and he slipped me another wad of cash for the paintings that had sold. It did not go unnoticed by Ruby’s gimlet eye.
We climbed into the car and she turned to me, “So… Does Ethan know about your…uhm… friend?”
“Paul works for my aunt,” I explained.
“Oh really?” she said sarcastically.
I ignored her tone, pulling out into traffic, “Really.”
“Exactly what does he do?”
I paused, “He’s a personal trainer.”
“Well, he could train me anytime!” she said with a laugh, “That Paul is one tall drink of water.”
I didn’t want to discuss my weapons training, or the reasons behind it, so I tried to change the subject, “You and Bill seemed to hit it off.”
“That guy?” she was dismissive. “What a total looser! Skinny hippie guys don’t do it for me. I only go out with the high rollers.”
“Wow,” I recoiled. I didn’t know what to say. Try as I might, my face couldn’t come up with a look to conceal my distaste. The more time I spent with her, the less I liked her.
“I suppose he was alright,” she said, trying to walk it back.
We drove along in silence. I don’t know what I expected from her, but Bill was my friend, and I didn’t appreciate her unkind remarks. I was exhausted from my sleepless night, and tired of keeping up the façade of pleasantness. I stopped trying to make small talk.
My mind was racing, running over and over everything that had happened in the past few days. I was certain that I was missing something, but I couldn’t quite pin it down. I was relieved to see Ethan’s truck parked at the apartment; I sighed as I pulled in and parked.
“I wasn’t born yesterday you know,” she snarked.
I turned to face her, “What?”
“I’m aware of how the game is played…” she smiled cynically at me. “I know what’s going on with you and that Paul guy.”
I’d had just about enough, “You don’t know anything at all about me.”
“I know more than you think,” she said cryptically. “I’ve been around the block a few times. Where there’s smoke there’s fire.”
“I told you,” I was exasperated, “He works for my aunt.”
“Yeah, right,” she smiled smugly, climbing out.
I trudged up the stairs behind her, completely drained.
“Sweetheart!” she threw her arms around Ethan when he came to the door, launching into a tale of what a fabulous time we’d had. She gushed about how nice I was, showing him the glasses I’d bought for her and praising my good taste. Ethan looked so pleased to hear it that I wished it was true.
I set my purse down on the counter and Ruby set hers right next to it, digging into it for a phone. She excused herself to go into Ethan’s room, saying she needed to put a call in to the office. The second she left, he was all over me, pulling me close and kissing anything I had to say completely off my lips.
He drew back and took my face in his hands, “Thank you.” He kissed my forehead, “I was so worried you wouldn’t get along. Thanks for being so nice to her.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I just nodded, “Sure.”
“What should I make us for dinner tonight?” he asked.
“I can’t stay,” I blurted out. “I have to get ready to get ready to go back to school tomorrow… I’m going to be really far behind.”
His face fell, “Just for a little while?”
The thought of watching her suck up to Ethan all night made me shudder, “No, I’m really tired, and I have a lot of things I need to take care of.”
Right then Ruby came out of the room sneezing theatrically, “Can you take that… thing… out of here? I can barely breathe!”
“She’s allergic to Stumpy,” Ethan explained, “But we can’t seem to keep him out of the bedroom.” He went to get the kitten, bringing him into Dutch’s now empty room. I followed, sitting on the floor and playing with him for a minute. His food and litter box were the only things in the room.
“She puts him in here while I’m at work,” Ethan explained.
I thought about Ruby abandoning Ethan when he was a helpless child and felt a sudden rush of anger. It was as if all the terrible things she’d done in the past were symbolized by the poor little quarantined kitten.
“I’ll take him with me until she’s go
ne.”
“Are you sure?” Ethan asked. “Her allergies are really bothering her.”
“No problem,” I tried not to sound as aggravated as I was. “I’ll just need to pack up a few things.”
Ethan started boxing up Stumpy’s bowls while I went to the kitchen to get the cat food, surprising Ruby with her hands in my purse. She withdrew them quickly, pretending that she looking through hers.
“What are you looking for?” I asked.
“My allergy medicine,” she wailed.
“Don’t worry,” I said coldly, “I’m taking the cat.”
She smiled at me with a triumphant gleam in her eyes, and Ethan came in the room with Stumpy trailing along behind him. I snatched my purse, picked up the cat, and made for the door.
“You’re not leaving so soon… Are you?” She was as sweet as pie.
“I’m afraid so,” I said without looking back. Ethan followed me down to the Rover with a box of the cat’s things, and I made plans to meet him at school. He seemed puzzled at my haste to get away, but I knew I had to leave before I snapped at Ruby. She was doing a great job of making me look like a crazy person. I got in the car, gave Ethan a quick hug, and pulled out in a hurry.
Once I got a good distance away, I turned to look at the little cat sitting in the passenger seat, my fellow refugee. I smiled wryly, “Looks like it’s just you and me, kid.”
He squeaked out a tiny meow, and I didn’t feel quite so alone.
~
Chapter Thirteen
DOUBT
~
I woke up early the next morning, a soft little black and white cat curled up next to my ear. An autumn chill hung in the air, and I pulled the throw blanket tighter around me. After hightailing it out of Ethan’s, I’d taken Stumpy to the studio, deciding Abby had enough to take care of with one new baby. The kitten was my responsibility, and I could use the company while I painted. Until Ruby was gone, I planned to make the studio my home.
Now that I could defend myself, I wasn’t afraid to be alone anymore, and I glanced over at the coffee table where my gun and Taser were arranged within arm’s reach. If anyone tried to lay a finger on me they were in for a faceful of lead. I got up to brush my teeth, laughing as Stumpy bounded along behind me. His twisted back legs gave him a bounce like a rabbit.
The Turning Tides (Marina's Tales) Page 12
