Aileen
For now, I just decided to eat fast and head home. If I have to ask him anyway, I have to do it before tomorrow evening.
And whatever he says, I’m going to listen to him even if that makes me look not-so-cool in front of Skylar.
I went to pay the bill and Mom went to the toilet. After I was done, I went to stand outside the door on my own.
I stood at the side, checking my phone while watching the people pass by. All of a sudden, my eyes catch the car parked at the other end of the road.
It looked very much familiar to me. Where had I seen this?
I thought over it for a second and recognized it right away.
Wait, isn’t this Dave’s car? It can’t be! What is it doing here? Why would he be here at this time? Didn’t he say he’s busy today?
That’s the reason he couldn’t even come to pick me up. Then, why….
I looked back behind me. Mom still wasn’t back yet. So, I just went to cross the road and looked at his car examining it closely.
Yes, it is indeed Dave’s car. Then, he must be here as well. The door was locked so I looked around searching for him.
His car was parked in front of a restaurant. So, he’s inside. I tried to peek inside from outside the glass door.
And after a hard try, I saw him sitting in the corner with a woman right in front of him.
A woman! Who’s she? I looked closely, and she turned out to be none other than Sarah the one in question herself.
Please don’t tell me they are here to spend time off from work.
Obviously, that must not be it!
They were in the middle of eating and chatting. Just look at that smile. He’s enjoying it a lot.
She was laughing as well.
At that moment, I could feel the feeling of suspicion lingering over me. But, I knew I shouldn’t jump to conclusions right away yet. So, I decided to observe them for a bit more.
A few minutes later, my phone started ringing. Just when I was about to pick it up, he reached his hand closer to caress her face.
She looked a bit shy by his gesture. I was so much absorbed in the moment, that I literally forgot about the call.
As if that wasn’t enough, she placed her hand on top of his which was on the table, saying something which I couldn’t figure out.
I stood there for at least ten minutes. And even though they had finished eating, they continued to talk with no interruptions.
Should I text him right now to see where he’s at?
But, what if he asks why I’m asking this? And it’s normal for friends to hang out together considering they have known each other for a long time.
I’m worrying for nothing. I shouldn’t think about it too much. Yeah.
I should go back.
And right at that moment, the hand on my shoulder out of nowhere, made me startled.
“Who?” I turned behind me to see Mom standing with a puzzled face.
“What are you doing here? I’ve been calling you for so long. Why didn’t you pick up my call?”
“Mom? Oh…uh….”
I checked my phone, I had kept my phone on silent mode without realizing it.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t notice it,” I replied. “How did you manage to find me though?”
She sighed, folding her arms. “When I returned from the toilet you were all gone. So, I looked everywhere for you. It was then I saw someone like you on the other side of the street. That’s why I crossed the road to see if it was you or not. And to my surprise, it is you.”
“Aileen, what are you doing here? Mind explaining? And why were you peeking from the glass window? Who’s there?”
What? Should I even let her know about them? Won’t this cause even more misunderstanding?
But…. what am I even going to say to her?
“Why are you silent? Tell me who is inside that you came to look from the other side of the road? Who’s this important person more than your mother?”
She kept demanding me for an answer but I was at a loss of words.
“Uh…. I…I’m here….”
“Aileen, I asked you a simple question. If you can’t answer this, I’m going to head inside straight and yell loudly asking if anyone knows you or not. Does that sound more reputable to you? If yes, I don’t mind resorting to that,” she added. “Now choose, what you want to do. Answer me or I go”
“No! I’ll answer!” I interrupted.
I don’t think she’s planning on listening to me anytime soon. I have to do it this way. That’s the only way here.
“Should’ve done that beforehand before making me mad. Now, start talking.”
“Actually….. two of my friends from college are there. And they are the ones I least get along with. But, the problem is, that guy inside is cheating with the other girl whom he calls his friend. And they are on date possibly. That’s why, I was feeling bad for the other girl from college.”
She believed it straight away. “What? He’stwo-timingg them? What a player he is!”
“I know, right?”
“This isn’t good. We need to do something about this boy right away. Come with me, Aileen. I’ll teach that boy a lesson after a hard slap for playing with girl’s fragile hearts!” she said in a convinced tone.
It took me a minute to process what she said just now.
“You want to do what?” I asked.
“Go inside and slap that boy, then expose him in front of the other girl. That’s going to teach him a lesson of a lifetime not to cheat on anyone again.”
“What? But why do you want to get yourself involved in their affairs? You don’t know this boy, do you?”
Oh, no. I didn’t think things would head in that direction with my lies.
“So, what if I don’t know him? It’s still my responsibility as an adult to stop this boy who’s setting a wrong example to society. I hate two-timers, you know that very well.”
“Uh, yeah, I know. But, still!”
“No buts! And why are you stopping me now? I’m trying to do a good thing right?”
I gulped seeing her resolution. My made-up story sounded so real to her that she believed it right away.
I should be afraid of my own powers.
“Yes, you are doing a good thing. But, you don’t have any proof against him. The other girl isn’t aware of the girl he’s here with. You need her to be here to be able to expose him. Going inside won’t solve anything. They are the ones in the relationship in the first place. Not us.”
If she goes inside and sees them, I’m going to be exposed for my lies. And she might have the idea that Dave is hiding something from her and I’m supporting his behavior by lying.
I’m getting fucked up on both ends.
She listened to me and thought over it for a few minutes very carefully.
“Well…. you do seem right after all. Cause we aren’t involved in the relationship without any proof, we can’t expose him.”
“Yeah…that’s what I’m trying to say here.”
“Then, I shouldn’t head inside blindly and slap him?” she asked.
“No! You aren’t doing any of that,” I replied, looking into her eyes. “Whatever I’ve seen, I’ll deal with it myself. You go on with your day.”
She nodded. “Alright. Let’s go home then.”
“Yeah, sure.”
We turned away to leave. I glanced behind me for one last time. They kept talking without even noticing us.
“Aileen, what is Dave’s car doing in here?” Mom’s question caught me abruptly.
“Huh?”
She stood in front of the car, examining its features.
“Do you think he’s here or something?” she asked.
“Uh…”I rushed over to her side right away. “No, why would you even think that this is his car? I don’t see him anywhere.”
She looked at me with a deadpan expression. “Yes, that’s the same question I have. I don’t see him anywhere. But, what would his car might be doing out here on his own? If he’s not here? It can’t run by itself, can it?”
“Uh…no, it definitely can’t. But, that doesn’t mean he’s here. Cause it’s not his car in the first place!”
She furrowed her brows at me with that comment.
“What? Do you think this isn’t his car? Are you kidding me? This is totally his car. In fact, this is one of his favorite cars. He uses this almost all the time. How can I not tell it apart, huh?”
Yup, she figured it out. She knows him too well to my surprise.
“I’m not denying that he uses this car. I’m saying that just because it looks like his car, doesn’t mean it has to be his car only. It can be someone else’s car too which looks just like his car as well, right? There are so many types of cars with the same model. It’s as simple as that.”
She looked at me puzzled. “So…. you are saying this may look like Dave’s car. But isn’t not but only a same model car?”
I nodded. “Yeah!”
She folded her arms, staring at me. “And how can you say so confidently it’s not his car? Is it written anywhere with the name of the owner? No, it’s not right. It may be Dave’s car. He’s out here for some work that’s why it’s parked outside. How can we know whether he’s here or not without asking him about it? This isn’t right. Let me just call him to make sure just to be safe.”
What? What was the need for me to persuade her in the first place if she was going to call him anyway?
My efforts are in vain.