The Mirrors of Fate (22 page)

The door to the diner opened. Mr. Lohan’s gaze shot up and he grinned when he saw a nicely-dressed Maria enter quickly.

“
I suppose your company has arrived,” the waitress said. She disappeared with an angry air around her and Mr. Lohan took to his feet.

“
Well, hello, Ms. Punctuality,” he greeted her.

“
Oh my gosh, I’m sorry sir,” she said, giving him a quick, affectionless hug. “I tried to get here as soon as I could.”

“
It’s no big deal. You came anyway. You look very nice.”

“
Oh, thanks-thanks,” she said quickly and casually. “So let’s get down to business, shall we, sir?”

“
Yes...of course.”

Without any more delay they got to work. Mr. Lohan took out brochures from his briefcase and scribbled down information on scraps of paper for Maria to take a look at. There soon came to be much more before her than she needed—piles of papers, pamphlets, and books. She was flattered he had done so much.

“
So basically,” he said after about twenty minutes of looking over the information with her, “it’s more than possible they will take you. And if you have a damn good portfolio to show them, each item with a grade above what we discussed, I’m sure they’ll let you in.”

Maria smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll give them something pretty good to look at. Honestly this is the best news I’ve had all day.” She muttered to herself, “This can help me get through the next couple of days.”

“
What do you mean?” He made a show of straightening his expensive shirt on himself.

“
Tomorrow I have to meet up with...Louie Singh.” Just mentioning it aggravated her beyond belief.

“
Louie Singh? Who’s that?”

“
He’s one of the suitors. He works with my father. He’s coming to see me again tomorrow and I have to be all prettied up, according to Mother.”

Mr. Lohan picked up the menu and smiled. “That doesn’t take much, Maria.” He looked at her intently but she did not return the gaze. “Anyway, I’m not worried about you, and you want to know why? As stubborn and dogmatic as your father is, he can’t make you marry anyone you don’t want to. You know that. You’re a stubborn girl when you want to be. He can’t force your signature on those papers. He can’t force you into bed with that man.”

Maria lowered her head and grinned proudly. “That’s true.”

Mr. Lohan was smiling warmly when suddenly he gasped, “Acchk!” and held his side.

“
What’s the matter!?”

He hissed and rubbed the spot. “Damn. Of all the places to have a muscle spasm. Right on my injury. I should’ve skipped teaching for now. I’m not fully healed yet.”

“
Maybe you should have stayed in the hospital,” she said with a teasing lilt.

“
What? Stay in that hospital for any longer? No thanks. I swear the atmosphere in that place is...I don’t even know how to explain it. Hospitals are supposed to be cheerful, or at least a little. But when you’re there it’s like there’s such a sad mourning. You don’t feel encouraged at all to get better. I felt like there was someone waiting for me to die in there.”

Maria stared at him. Her body became rigidly unsettled. “Your imagination, sir.”

He laughed. “Oh geez, I’m sorry I keep scaring you. I seem to be making that a habit.”

Maria looked at her watch. It was getting late fast, and dark too. She had gotten what she had come for. “Well, sir, I think I better be heading home now.”

“
What? Already? But there’s still a bit of light out. You came late, you have to stay late.”

She looked at him firmly. “I’m sorry but I really must head home. Thank you for the information.”

“
Wait, at least have a sandwich here before you leave,” he said indignantly. “Engage me in some enticing conversation. I beg you. Give a lonely man some company,” he joked.

She considered the proposition for a minute and finally agreed with a smile. “All right then. I guess I’ll have something.”

“
Atta girl,” he said with an enthusiastic tap on the table. He stood up. “My Maria never lets me down. Listen, I’m going to the bathroom, so you just go ahead and order whatever you want.”

But before he could stand up, Maria’s shoulders went tense. She looked up at him, her expression openly vulnerable. The reason suddenly hit him—she didn’t want to be left alone.

Alan was still on her mind.

He went around the table that separated them and stood by her side. “Hey, don’t worry, okay? What did I tell you about not worrying? He’s
not here, all right? He wouldn’t dare show his face in public.”

“
Just hurry, okay?” she asked him.

He couldn’t help lingering over her. The compulsion to kiss her came over him and he gave into it. Without much warning, he bent down and kissed her on the side of her mouth. “Soon be back,” he said.

Maria’s hand rose to wipe the kissed area away, but instead she allowed it to fall to her side again as she looked at the menu.

Mr. Lohan walked around the corner and entered the men’s room. He bit back a smile while he adjusted his collar in the mirror by the sink. The waves of attraction thrumming through him were very real for that girl. If only his useless wife could see him “chasing skirts” again, as she called it.

He began unzipping his pants in front of the urinal. He looked down at his hanging member and grinned. Maybe he could put it to good use that night. He sure looked good enough for it. His hair smelled good and it was glistening with gel; his cologne was strong and attractive; his face, looking particularly youthful that day, was cleanly shaven and overpowering with aftershave. If he could slip her something, then he’d been in for a good time.

As he was about to do his business, there came a faint whistling. Mr. Lohan turned his gaze to the door, expecting to see someone come in. But no one did. Only a catchy faint whistling tune on someone’s lips outside the door.

The noise went on for longer than he expected, to the point of being annoying. Why didn’t the idiot just come into the bathroom if this was where he was going?

He tried to ignore it, but gradually the whistling became louder and louder. He looked around the bathroom, wondering if he had been mistaken on being alone and maybe someone was in a stall. But he was alone, and the whistling became so clear in his ears they started ringing. The catchy tune descended into something haunting.

Echoes filled the small, enclosed bathroom, the sound seeming to come in through the cracks and crevices of the white-tiled walls. His throat tightened along with his chest as the whistle drowned out the noise of people chatting in the diner. Soon he and the bodiless tune existed alone. A tension in his chest made him hold his breath. What the hell was—?

The door swung open. He looked. A man with a baseball cap hung low over his face and a bulky red and blue jacket entered, whistling the same tune. Mr. Lohan let out a mental sigh of relief.
Stupid, whistling, voice-throwing weirdo
.

Mr. Lohan returned to his original thoughts, ignoring the stranger as he came up and started using the urinal right next to his.

“
Dere’s a very lonely-lookin’ girl sidding outside in a booth. Tha yur daughter?”

Mr. Lohan looked at the unintelligible, boldly inquiring man who, upon closer inspection, had a head swaying from inebriation. He couldn’t even stand up straight without teetering from side to side slightly.

“
Mind your business, okay?” He was more insulted by the notion he looked old enough to be her father than the fact he was wasting his time conversing with the likes of a drunk.

“
I’m jus’ making convah-sation. I saw you sidding back there with her. She’s hot, man.”

“
Yeah I know that already, buddy.”

He could almost hear a smirk form on the person’s lips but could barely see a mouth through the black hair that hung over the man’s face.

“
Sorry, it ain’t my place to say nuttin like dat. If is yur daughter I didn’t wanna offend you. But if she ain’t, looks like someone’s gonna be knocking some serious boots tonight.”

“
Hey man, shut up all right?” He zipped his pants and reached into his pocket. He took out a crushed five-dollar bill. “Go somewhere cheap and buy yourself a meal. A meal, you hear me? Not booze or anything you can shoot up, you get me?”

He cringed when the stranger, after just touching his privates, accepted the money from him and brushed his fingers in the process. “You’re too kind,” the man replied.

Mr. Lohan crossed to the sink to wash his hands. The stranger finished up and followed him to the sinks.

“
I used to be married, you know?” the stranger said. “How about you? My wife caught me wid someone else.”

“
Wonderful...And I’m sure you’ll say she was pretty damn hot, won’t you?”

“
Not as hot as the one youse got,” the man replied, bumping shoulders with Mr. Lohan in boastful male fashion. “You’ll be getting some tonight.”

He couldn’t help but smirk. “Yeah, well, if I’m lucky, brother.” He started chuckling.

The stranger responded with a delayed laugh. Finally, the stranger asked, “So wah ’bout you? You married, man?”

“
Yeah.”

“
Damn, I would kill to get ass like the one out there. Doesn’t een help me that I’m hung like an elephant.”

“
Yeah, all right, all right, I saw you’re packing some heat there. Buy a girl on Trailman Lane. Everyone knows the place. You should.”

“
Nah.” His hand drunkenly made circles in the air.

“
I’m ways, ways, waaays too poor. Even prostitutes nowadays just talk shit about the
older guys
this and the
older guys
that wid money.”

“
There’s nothing wrong with that,” Mr. Lohan said. “You’re just mad because we’re stealing away your pussy.” He tilted his head back and his laugh bounced off the walls. “Aw damn, I better control myself.” He rubbed his slightly dizzy head. “I’ve had some
special
cheery smoothies and I can’t have her knowing, y’know?”

“
You mean cherry, man.”

Mr. Lohan’s smile disappeared completely. “What?”

“
I said, you mean ‘cherry.’”

“
I said that. I used to teach English so I don’t need correction from you.”

“
But you said ‘cheery.’”

“
Pft, screw you. Serves my ass right for talking to a drunk. Go screw whatever I said and get yourself some real—”

He caught a sly sideways grin appear through the man’s hanging hair. “Jesus Christ, Mr. L,” the stranger said normally. “You never could keep it inside your pants, could you?”

Mr. Lohan’s heart stopped. His eyes widened in fear.

•

Having already received her sandwich, Maria looked toward the men’s bathroom for the third time. Where was Mr. Lohan? It couldn’t take that long for a man to pee, could it? Too many minutes had gone by.

She got up from the booth and went to the counter to the same waitress who had been speaking to Mr. Lohan.

“’
Scuse me, but did you happen to see that guy I was with come out of the bathroom?” Maria asked.

The waitress, who was chewing on a straw, stared at her for a long, uncomfortable, sickening moment. “I dunno,” the woman finally said with her twang. “Somebody went outside not too long ago, I think. But I’m not sure who it was...Hey, aren’t you that student from the—”

“
Okay, thanks for the help!” she said quickly and walked away. She returned to her seat and decided to get on with eating and wait for him.

But two more minutes passed. Five. Eight. Ten. Worry started to set in. Something was wrong. Did he eat something bad earlier? Could he have felt sick from his injuries? Or had he already come out without her realizing it? But where would he have gone? And why? He wouldn’t leave her intentionally waiting like this, would he?

In mounting paranoia, she came to her feet. She wouldn’t wait any longer and decided to go look for him. Maybe he really was the person the waitress said went outside.

She went to the exit door and stepped outside. Night had fallen. The lights of the city were already illuminated, but the diner’s outside lights kept the part of the sidewalk it stood on dim with a simple, quiet ambience. She glanced at the busy people coming and going, at even the vehicles on the road, but she saw no sign of him amongst the activity. His black jeep still sat across the road.

“
I guess he must still be inside.” Relieved, she was about to return to the diner when the full moon above caught her attention.

The white-blue majestic orb seemed to magically levitate in the night, illuminating a wide expanse of gray clouds brushed with murky blue paint. She stared at the moon, comforted and captivated by the sight of such beauty. She hoped from now on every night would be like this one and she could enjoy it.

A shuffle came from behind her.

“
Mr. Lohan?”

Maria was turning to look, but a firm hand grasped her shoulder and whirled her back around in a motion so swift she saw nothing but spinning sidewalk. Strong hands wrapped around her waist and a body pressed into her back. A chin came to rest on her shoulder.