Chapter 11 #2
While she was talking, I began looking at other tables and, at the table across from ours, something, or rather someone, caught my attention.
I couldn’t see her well because the man at her table was blocking my view, but I was sure that woman had to be…
Devon! She was in this restaurant. At that moment our eyes met and I couldn’t hide my surprise, though she didn’t seem surprised, so I assumed she must have seen me much earlier.
Leonor kept talking to me, but I could no longer hear her voice, I only had eyes and all my senses focused on Devon.
She was accompanied by a couple and, even though the man had his back to me, I could have sworn it was the one who was with her at the Enfoque Corp. party.
The waiter brought our plates, but I had already lost my appetite.
She wasn’t even looking at me, she only looked at her companions, talked with them and, occasionally, smiled.
She never looked at me again and that started to bother me.
Devon hadn’t called me and I could justify her because her work was very demanding, but she had gone out with other people, and that made me think she didn’t feel the same desire I did to see each other again.
You're an idiot, I told myself.
I decided not to look at her anymore, though I wasn't always successful and found myself observing her again several times. She looked gorgeous.
A while later, the three of them stood up and left the place, still without looking at me. Our eyes never met again.
Why is she acting this way?, I wondered.
After thinking about it, I realized it was logical that she wouldn't look at me. She surely thought I was on a date.
Damn it!
Leonor’s voice brought me back to reality.
“You’re a bit distracted today, Willi. Besides, you’ve been staring at that table with three people. Do you know them?”
“I thought they were acquaintances, but when they stood up, I got a better look and they weren’t,” I lied. I didn’t have to share details of my life with anyone, especially not her. “Leonor, I’ll have to leave because I can’t get home too late.”
“Already? But I thought we were going to spend some time together.”
“No, you were mistaken. Come on, I’ll walk you to get a taxi,” I said, because I wanted to talk to Devon as soon as possible.
“Aren’t you going to drive me home?” she asked, and I think she pursed her lips into a pout.
“I can’t. As I said, I need to get home early.”
I paid for dinner, we left, and the first thing I did was hail a taxi so Leonor would leave at once.
“I’ll call you in the next few days so we can go out again,” she said, hanging on my neck to give me a kiss that would have landed on my lips if I hadn’t turned my face away.
I looked at her seriously, but she smiled smugly and got into the taxi.
I went back into the restaurant and up to the nightclub because something told me I would find her there.
I wasn’t wrong. She was sitting in a secluded area and, luckily, at that moment she was alone and hadn’t noticed me. She was looking toward the dance floor, but her mind seemed to be elsewhere. Without wasting a second, I headed over and stood beside her.
“You didn’t call me,” I reproached her, because it had been choking me and I was suffocating.
I noticed she gave a start and then, very slowly, turned her body and looked at me seriously.
“Good evening, Mr. Cavaller,” she greeted, returning to formality, which annoyed me even more.
“Mr. Cavaller? I see we’re back to last names,” I said, highlighting what was obvious.
“That’s your name, isn’t it?” she said, and I felt she was mocking me.
Devon Dulcet, you don’t know who you’re messing with, I told myself.
I immediately sat down beside her.
“Setting aside your way of addressing me, because I think we’ve moved beyond the need for formal treatment, I’ll focus on what really interests me. Why didn’t you call me?”
“I haven’t been able to,” she responded very naturally, making my anger increase.
“You haven’t been able to, but I see you do have time to go out with other people,” I reproached, because it was impossible not to say what I was thinking.
“And so do you,” she said, showing me that she was also upset at seeing me with Leonor, which pleased me because it meant I provoked some emotion in her.
At that moment, the woman who had been with her at the restaurant arrived and looked at us without saying anything, and I couldn’t help but look at her angrily because her presence was interrupting us.
“Good thing you arrived, Sylvia, because I was about to come looking for you,” Devon said, letting me know she wanted to end our conversation.
“I can come back later,” her friend said, somewhat hesitantly.
“No, not at all. Mr. Cavaller was just leaving,” she indicated, dismissing me in a not-so-subtle way.
And I had my pride, so I stood up, looked at her seriously, and then looked at her friend to say goodbye because I was polite.
“Good night,” I said, and with that I left the place.
When I got to my car, I was truly furious. That night it had become clear that Devon wanted nothing to do with me and that she was angry with me. Wait a minute—why was she angry with me? I hadn’t done absolutely anything to her!
The image of Leonor hanging on my arm came to mind. What if Devon was upset because she thought I was dating Leonor? I had to clear this up. The only way was to wait for her and approach her again.
Where’s your pride, you fool?, I asked myself.
I didn’t recognize myself in the pushover that woman had turned me into, but I wasn’t a coward and I was going to confront her so she could tell me to my face what the hell her problem was with me.
I had to wait quite a while. Several times I was about to start the car and get out of there, and just when I was about to do it, I saw her leave the place, staggering and laughing non-stop. Was she drunk? The proper and sweet doctor was drunk?
I didn't even think about it. I got out of the car and headed toward her. She saw me as soon as I got out of the car, said something I couldn't hear, her friend replied, and they burst into laughter.
“Are you drunk?” I asked, when I stood in front of her.
“That's none of your business,” her friend responded.
“I'm not talking to you,” I stated, looking at him as if he were an insect in my food.
“Mr. Cavaller, as my dear friend Orson just told you, my condition is none of your business. You'd better get back to your car and…”
“Get in my car and I'll take you to your building,” I ordered, interrupting her.
She looked at her friends as if I were speaking to her in an incomprehensible language and asked ironically:
“Am I being clear or is my drinking making what I say unintelligible?”
“I understand you perfectly clear,” this Orson guy replied.
“Devon, don't make me lose my patience and get in my car. You can't drive in that state,” I stated, because I wasn't going to let her leave in a car driven by her or any of her friends who were in the same terrible condition.
“Enough! I'm going to hail a taxi and…” She couldn't finish whatever she was going to say because she stumbled and ended up in my arms.
“What the hell!” I exclaimed, because she took me by surprise, but I didn't hesitate and took advantage of the situation to pick her up and walk toward my car. I felt an extreme need to protect her, to make sure she was okay, even though I knew I was behaving like a madman.
“Put me down!” she shouted, her face red with anger.
“Put her down!” Orson shouted, standing in front of me to prevent me from walking any further.
“Don't get involved in our business,” I stated, impassive but serious.
“Our business? We don't have any business together!” she exclaimed, furious.
“Keep quiet,” I said.
“I'm warning you, Cavaller, leave her alone or I assure you you'll regret it,” threatened the idiot who called himself her friend, but who obviously wasn't taking care of her because he had let her drink until she was in this state.
This guy didn't know who he was dealing with. I glared at him.
“Orson, it's okay. Don't worry. I'll let Cavaller take me home. We'll talk tomorrow,” Devon stated, and I assumed she did it to prevent me from confronting her friend, but I didn't waste time and continued walking toward my car.
“Are you sure?” he asked her.
“I am.”
“Alright. Let me know as soon as you get home.”
“I will,” she said, then looked at me and added: “What is this spectacle supposed to be, Cavaller?”
“William.”
“I'll call you whatever I want. Tell me what this means. I'm warning you that I allowed you to take me because I didn't want you to have problems with my friend, but…”
“I wasn't going to have problems with your friend; if anything, he was the one who was going to have problems,” I stated, confirming what I thought—she was letting me take her to avoid a confrontation between her friend and me.
“And there he is, 'Mr. Conceited,'” she stated, mocking me.
“Mr. what?”
“That's what you are! A pedantic, arrogant, and vain man who can't stand being contradicted,” she exclaimed, and I realized she was quite upset, but rather than worry me, it amused me because it was the first time I'd managed to get Devon Dulcet out of her prim and proper demeanor.
I merged into traffic thinking about everything she had said to me.
“So that's what you think of me,” I stated, but I continued driving without looking at her, and I kept it up for a good while during which she didn't speak either. “Why didn't you call me these past days? We had agreed on that,” I finally said.
“I don't want to talk about that. And I'm going to make it clear that I don't plan to ever call you and I don't want to see you again.”