17. Rohit
W e return to the table just as the salad course is being served. Ruby and Miley chat in hushed tones for a moment, and then Ruby addresses me, asking for my life story.
Luckily, before she can ask any more questions about our “relationship,” the main courses are served.
“Thank you,” Miley whispers to the server who places her filet mignon before her. The server continues to place my lobster linguine in front of me and I give a small nod of appreciation.
The emcee has just announced that during dinner there will be a keynote speaker. Miley is enthralled by the celebrity extolling the virtues of Planned Parenthood. I totally agree with the message, but I’ll be honest, I have no idea who the speaker is. I’m just enjoying my lobster linguine and champagne.
The speech is short and the emcee returns to the podium just as I finish my pasta. She thanks the speaker and then pauses dramatically.
Ruby and Miley squeal and hold hands.
“What’s going on?” I ask quizzically.
“They are going to announce raffle winners.” Ruby leans in to whisper, “I put my tickets in for a spa day, and Charlie put them in for the U.S. Open tickets. He loves tennis.”
Before I can jump in and geek out on how much I love tennis, the emcee starts announcing the raffle winners.
The spa day that Ruby wanted was the first announced, and unfortunately, it went to a blonde woman sitting at the next table whose face was so frozen by Botox that she couldn’t even smile when she won. The only reason I could tell it went to her was because her tablemate screamed ‘congratulations’ loudly.
A month-long membership to a country club in Westchester with a fancy golf course and a set of golf clubs was the second prize announced. Quinn’s dad has been a member of that club as long as I’ve known him. The gentleman who won that raffle looked like he’d fit in just fine with Quinn’s dad. Better him than me.
After that, a few prizes that none of us had an interest in were being announced, so Ruby took the opportunity to continue chatting in a hushed tone.
“I hope Charlie gets the U.S. Open tickets,” she whispers. She looks at me. “He loves watching tennis. He wants to play more, but he has no one to play with.”
“I’m a tennis coach, actually, and I’m always looking to play with someone who doesn’t need to stop every five minutes for a lesson on racket grip,” I whisper back.
Ruby turns to Miley with a stricken look on her face.
“You know Charlie has been looking to get back into tennis and you didn’t tell me your boyfriend plays?” Her voice is no longer a whisper.
Charlie smiles as he touches Ruby’s hand gently. “It’s okay, sweetie, it’s not a big deal.”
Just then, the emcee begins to announce the string of prizes that Miley is interested in. Miley waves off her sister to pay attention to the emcee.
The ballet tickets go to a gentleman across the room who is accompanied by either his daughter or a date young enough to be his daughter. One thing I’ve learned is to never assume how two people are related.
When the museum tour winner is announced, Miley shakes her head and sighs. “See, I told you. I never win.”
“It’s okay, I threw a couple of tickets in the bowl for the Philharmonic for you,” I reply.
“What do you mean?” Miley asks, putting her hand on my arm.
“Well, you were so worked up over messing up with your tickets, and I had two tickets left I was going to put in for the U.S. Open, so I just put them in the Philharmonic bowl instead.” I shrug as I reach for my champagne flute.
“That was really nice of you,” Miley says with wide eyes.
“Don’t sound so surprised,” I mutter as I listen to the emcee. Unfortunately, the number called is not ours. I give Miley an apologetic smile and she shrugs her shoulders.
“I told you, not even you can charm yourself into a win.” Miley smiles.
Having lost interest in the raffle announcements, she takes a long sip of her champagne and covertly pulls out her phone on her lap. The bright light of the screen draws my attention and I notice she’s texting with Dylan, but I return my focus to the emcee as she announces the U.S. Open tickets. I know that Ruby and Charlie are also paying close attention.
“Our final raffle prize of the evening is four courtside tickets to the U.S. Open Women’s Final!” the emcee announces excitedly. She looks at her paper and with a flourish brings the microphone closer to her mouth. “And the winner is… 943501.”
I look over to Charlie, whose face falls as he gives Ruby a little shake of his head. Ruby’s brows are furrowed as she asks, “But that number sounds so familiar. Are you sure it isn’t yours?”
Charlie looks at his raffle ticket and confirms he did not win. Ruby bumps Miley’s shoulder. “Miley, pay attention! Did you just win?”
Miley jerks to attention and places her phone face down on the table. She locates her discarded raffle tickets. She looks down to examine the numbers, and then up to Ruby, and then to Charlie.
“Winner 943501, please claim your prize!” the emcee repeats.
“Shit,” Miley says. “I did win. I didn’t even want to put my tickets in this bowl,” she complains as Ruby squeals.
“This is so great!” Ruby cheers. “Rohit and Charlie love tennis! And you won four tickets so we can all go. This is perfect.”
Miley looks dumbfounded, but Ruby pulls her to stand and ushers her to go collect the prize. While the two of them are away from the table, Charlie leans in to me.
“I know Ruby can be a lot, but she’s great.” Charlie smiles like a love-sick puppy. “I think she’s a little surprised Miley didn’t tell us about you.” He shrugs his shoulders apologetically. “They have a close relationship, but Miley often keeps parts of her life private and Ruby never seems to understand.”
“It’s no big deal. I keep a lot of things close to the vest also, so I totally understand, but I also know not everyone is like that,” I answer truthfully. Before I can say anything else, Miley and Ruby return.
The server comes around with dessert. I can’t help staring as Miley moans with her first forkful of chocolate lava cake. My eyes dart from her crimson lips, wrapped around the silver fork, to her graceful neck as she leans her head back in pleasure, to the swell of her breast above the neckline of her deep green dress. For a split second, my mind wanders to other things that might elicit this kind of response from Miley.
“Ahem, do you want to be alone with your cake?” Ruby jokes, pulling my thoughts back to reality.
Charlie and I chuckle, and Miley smiles, not even a little embarrassed.
“At least I know how to pick a dessert,” she chides, nodding towards Ruby’s fruit plate.
“I have a wedding dress to fit into,” Ruby whines as she spears a strawberry with her fork with more aggression than necessary.
Miley grabs her sister’s fork and dips the end of the strawberry into the melted lava of her own desert. She hands the fork back to Ruby and says, “There, best of both worlds.”
Ruby takes the fork back happily, and I smile as I finish my cheesecake. It’s nice to see Miley relaxed with her sister. It reminds me of how Reena and I tease each other.
As the guests around us finish their desserts, the room begins to empty.
Ruby looks around for her purse, then she and Charlie stand to leave. Miley starts to scoot her chair away from the table, and I quickly stand and pull her chair out for her. Miley gives me a small smile and then turns to hug her sister goodbye.
Then Ruby turns to me and embraces me warmly. “See you on Friday,” she says as she pulls away. Ruby must see my confusion, because she continues, “Friday, dinner at our place? For the bridal party to get to know each other. The wedding is only four months away, after all.”
“Rohit’s not in the bridal party, so…” Miley sputters.
Ruby rolls her eyes at her sister. “Miley, he’s your date and you’re the maid of honor, and my sister . Obviously he’s invited to my house for dinner. I’m not rude!” She shakes her head and bids her farewell, leaving me wondering exactly how many times I’m going to be Miley’s placebo boyfriend.