Page 49 of Five Gold Rings
‘She said so.’
‘Then change her mind?’ he says.
I stare back at him. But how? I realise we’ve changed the subject. ‘I just think you’ve immediately thought the worst of Lukas here. Maybe the truth is not as bad as you think it is.’
His expression calms for a moment as he looks at me, trying to work me out. ‘So you’re telling me there’s a secret he is keeping from me and you know the secret?’
‘Perhaps?’
‘If I pay you, will you tell me what it is?’
‘No.’
‘But he’s not cheating on me?’
I shake my head. If the little band of gold in the box in my pocket tells me anything, it’s that I can be sure of this at least. ‘I’d say that he loves you very much.’
He closes his eyes to gather his emotions, the tears starting to flow again and he leans towards me searching for an embrace. I don’t deny him the comfort and hug him, but not before glancing out the window into the cobbled streets and seeing Eve, holding what seems to be a homemade sign up into the air. What on earth have you been doing? That looks like it was written in blood. DON’T GIVE IT TO HIM. Yeah, I got that much. I half laugh, giving her a thumbs up. Theo breaks away from me to follow my gaze as Eve drops her sign quickly and waves, stumbling over her own feet.
‘I hope and assume she’s with you?’ Theo asks me.
‘She is,’ I say, curious as to where she’s found slippers. I hope she didn’t get them out of the bin where she found that cardboard. She turns the card and hastily writes another note with what I now believe to be the brand-new lipstick we only bought yesterday.
GET READY. WE’RE GOING OUT.
‘I am intrigued now,’ Theo tells me. ‘Like out-out? It’s Christmas Eve.’
‘I will admit to having no idea where but, hey, it can’t hurt to put on a coat and see what happens?’
‘And you’re not some spy/assassin who’s going to drive me to an industrial estate and kill me?’ he asks.
‘I know the outfit is a bit over the top but no. Surely I would have killed you already because this is a terrible ambush otherwise…’
His laughter in response is more relaxed, more inclined to trust me. I’m just glad he didn’t see Eve’s first sign. ‘And you are sure I won’t have to get changed?’
‘I think you look great as you are.’
He smiles at the compliment. ‘I have pork ribs in the oven. I need to take them out first.’
I don’t know if that’s a euphemism, but I nod.
As he heads to the kitchen, he turns to me though. ‘I was a bit dramatic before, thinking the worst. He’s a good man, he is. I just love him so much. Can I ask that we keep that between ourselves?’ he asks me, still unsure about me and my mission here.
‘Season of secrets,’ I say, shrugging my shoulders.
THIRTEEN
Eve
Ring 3: A 22k gold vintage band (circa 1927). For Theo.
‘Your travel sweets are even Christmas themed,’ Theo tells Joe as he sits in the front seat, looking around his very small but festive Mini. ‘It’s giving me vintage kitsch. You’re a man of many surprises, eh?’
Joe laughs. Tell me about it, Theo. It was supposed to be a simple ring drop off and I was supposed to just continue napping in the back of the car, but it’s now become a whole other mission. It would seem we have not ruined this proposal, not one bit. I took Joe aside and told him we just need to deliver Theo (and the ring) to Trafalgar Square. And Theo is going along with this. I’m not sure what words were exchanged but somehow Joe has kept the secret and persuaded him this is a good idea. It even looks like the two of them might have bonded.
‘So you’re also in on this, Eve?’ he asks me, reaching around to look at me in the back seat.
‘Yes,’ I say, trying my best to keep schtum but failing as the excitement and residual drunkenness makes me grin broadly. Instead, I giggle. And I continue to drink because I found a stash of classy cocktails in a tin I bought last night. I put a finger to my mouth and pass one to Theo in the front seat.