Marjorie didn't push him away. She leaned into him instead, resting her head on his shoulder, one hand settling on his thigh.
The expression on her face was perfectly clear from where I stood.
Contentment.
The kind that comes from being loved. From being wanted.
After dinner, they went downstairs and got in the car.
I hailed another cab and followed.
The car finally stopped in front of a hotel. Not some budget chain. A high-end business hotel.
The two of them walked into the lobby hand in hand.
I trailed behind, watching through the glass of the revolving door as they approached the front desk. Rufus pulled out his ID. The clerk processed them. The whole thing took less than two minutes.
Smooth. Practiced.
Then they turned and walked toward the elevator.
I stood where I was, staring at the motionless floor number above the elevator doors, and I stood there for a long time.
People passed through the lobby around me. Someone glanced my way, but nobody cared who I was.
I walked to the lounge area and sank into one of the sofas.
I pulled out my phone and checked the time.
Then I called Marjorie.
One ring. No answer.
Three rings. No answer.
Seven rings. Still nothing.
On the eleventh ring, she finally picked up.
"Hey, babe?"
Her voice was tight, her breathing unsteady, like she was adjusting something.
I asked her what she was up to.
"Just out shopping. With a girlfriend."
Her tone had already leveled out, carrying that lazy, casual ease she always had when we chatted at home.
"Been at it all day. I'm exhausted."
I didn't call her out. "Where are you shopping?"
"Oh, you know... over by the Galleria."
She laughed. It sounded natural.
The old me would never have caught a single crack.
"My trip got canceled. The client rescheduled last minute." I forced my voice to stay even. "I'm at the train station now. Can you come pick me up?"
Silence on the other end.
About three seconds.
Those three seconds stretched forever.
Long enough for me to hear the gears turning in her head.
Then she spoke, a note of reluctance threading through her voice.
"Oh, I really can't get away right now. My friend and I just sat down to eat."
"Maybe you could grab an Uber..."
That was when a man's voice came through in the background.
"Marjorie, the bath's ready. Come join me."
The line went dead silent.
Four, maybe five seconds passed before she spoke again.
Her voice had dropped low, laced with panic.