46
Currying Favour
It had been an odd kind of day, with one of the most bizarre games of lacrosse she'd ever taken part in, followed by the no show of Peter and Tank at the pub. Perhaps that was nothing unusual in itself, but they'd both let down their respective teams in different ways, as Tank had been due to play, with Peter supposed to have been supporting. Richie couldn't ever remember that happening before. That said though, she did appreciate her memory recently had not been that... reliable, but still... something tickled the recesses of her very being, almost whispering to her to remain alert, on guard. Her instinct was to listen, and listen carefully. Despite not really wanting to, she'd got caught up in the after match hubbub, and much to her surprise, had just walked into the favourite Indian restaurant of the hockey, lacrosse and rugby playing sections of the sports club, located almost smack bang in the centre of Salisbridge. Holding the door for the rest of the eclectic group she found herself with, she smiled politely as two of the hockey men squeezed past, then three of her lacrosse teammates, followed by two of the rugby men, and Janice, all thanking her. Janice's forced, "Thanks," stung. Despite trying her best to convince the gorgeous looking bar worker that she had nothing to worry about with regards to Peter, and that they were very much only friends, albeit best friends, things still tended to be on the frozen side of frosty whenever they were in a confined space together. Richie couldn't think of anything else she could say or do to convince Peter's squeeze (or ex-squeeze, who knew) that she was anything but supportive of their relationship. Letting the door swing closed, the ex-dragon followed the rest of the group up the main aisle of the restaurant to their normal table on the raised part of the seating area, right at the back of the room. As the smartly dressed waiter showed them to their seats, she slipped into one of the high backed chairs in between two of the rugby players, ignoring a sharp twinge of pain in her knee from the earlier lacrosse match. Slipping off her brown leather flying jacket to give to the waiter, one of its arms dragged across the front of her neck, rubbing roughly against the necklace holding the ring that Peter had given her. As it did so, a burning sensation seared into her collarbone, not for the first time today, or indeed at all. Strangely, the shimmering blue triangles lining the circumference of the ring appeared to be glowing slightly brighter today, at least she thought so. On both the other occasions she'd thought this had happened other than today, Richie had told herself repeatedly that she'd been... MISTAKEN. On one of the occasions she'd been in the ladies' toilet, and had found herself having a conversation in the mirror to deny that the necklace was doing anything out of the ordinary. But now, with it having happened on three very different days... she simply didn't know what to think. Peter had given her the ring and made her promise two things. One... to guard it with her life, telling her it held the key not only to her future, but to her past as well. And two... not to put it on her finger at any cost. At the time, she couldn't ever remember seeing him more serious. It was all very mysterious... but what did it mean?
With the group all seated, a different waiter took their drinks order and promptly disappeared towards the small bar at the front of the restaurant. The banter, and it was banter being mid evening on a Saturday, with lots of beers and the like having already been consumed by everyone with the possible exception of Richie and Janice, turned to the respective sports played by everyone. Hockey and lacrosse players ganged up on the rugby boys (except Richie, who was still considering the day's events in her mind) goading them about how slow their sport was, supposedly. Poppadoms arrived without having to be ordered, along with two glasses of water and a table full of beer. As the friends mulled over their selection of food from the worn, tattered, plastic menus, talk turned to the missing Peter and Tank.
"So Richie, what's up with the big man today? Never known him to miss training, let alone a match."
The whole group quietened significantly (no mean feat considering how many drinks they'd all had) and listened to what the lacrosse captain had to say.
"Not really sure what I can tell you Hook. I'm as surprised as you are. I've tried phoning both Tank and Peter to find out why they didn't show, as I'm sure Janice has with Peter, but with no luck," she ventured, trying not to look in Janice's direction. "It's unusual for sure, and I've no explanation. As well, I confess to being more than a little worried."
"I've phoned and left messages, but heard nothing so far," added Janice.
"In my experience, these things always appear worse than they actually are. I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation. We can't see what it is at the moment, but I'm sure in a couple of days when everything becomes clear, we'll all be laughing about this," slurred Angela, one of Richie's lacrosse teammates.
"Maybe," whispered Richie, as the waiter arrived to take their food order.
With the overpowering sound of Indian music in the background, on top of the noise from the throng of overly enthusiastic Saturday night patrons, Richie found it hard to concentrate. She was worried, and not just a little. For a while now things seemed to have been... not so much wrong, just not right! Unable to put her finger on what it was exactly, the one thing that was clear to her was the importance of her relationship with Peter and Tank. In fact, it probably went beyond important. Pivotal, instrumental, significant, key... but key to what? Recalling memories of the three of them together, things were a little hazy, fuzzy around the edges even, but even though she couldn't remember clearly, deep down inside her, her soul stirred. Just the thought of her friends sent a tingle down her back and goose bumps up both arms. Threatening to overpower her, the nagging sensation she'd been feeling all day was starting to get worse. Unfortunately for her, the only people in the world she trusted enough to confide in about it were missing and the cause of her angst. Sitting in this aromatic restaurant with teammates and friends... she felt truly lost and alone. All this and more whistled through her head as she fingered the ring which the necklace traversed. Glancing up and down the table, she felt disconnected from the group she sat with. They all looked so happy and bubbly. For the most part it was a lie, she knew, or at least an exaggeration, the alcohol enhancing the mood of everyone... well, almost. A fleeting look at the far end of the table showed Janice, looking utterly miserable. In fact, she thought, Janice looked how she, Richie, felt. Perhaps the two of them had more in common than they ever dared to admit.
As the evening continued to pass, for what felt like an age to the lacrosse captain, more beer arrived, accompanied by starters and then main courses. Richie barely touched any of hers. It just didn't seem important. By now the nagging sensation had almost turned into a compulsion, but a compulsion to do what? She could almost feel the blood pumping through her veins, her heart beat so wildly. Having spent the last forty minutes or so twiddling with the ring, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to take the necklace off and place the ring in the palm of her hand. It was dull, matt grey, with beautiful blue, tiny little triangles running around the outside of it. In fact she had barely registered that she was now holding it. If she had, then maybe her promise to Peter would have swum to the surface of her thoughts.