Shattered (Book Four)

Chapter 5: Dinner For Four

As I parked my car right besides Rebecca's, Cleo and I climbed out of our seats then marveled at the restaurant. It had an old wooden structure with lights that dazed curious customers. On top of the navy blue roof, there was a sign with two fishes with a string tied to their silvery blue tails.

Pisces, I thought. Below the icon, black letters spelled Starry Fish, probablyafter the constellation. "Mom," a familiar voice spoke up. I turned to see my daughter, Cleo shaking me out of my daze. "Mom," Cleo repeated. "Let's go inside, Paige and Ms. Clayton are waiting for us."

I flashed her an apologetic smile then followed her into the restaurant. A wave of lemon and salty aroma filled my nose with cheerfulness. People accompanied themselves in wooden tables, eating cooked fish or marveling at the old photos of fishermen hanging on the wooden walls.

The sound of filled plates sang as waitresses or waiters plopped them in front of the hungry customers. The restaurant is surprisingly large compared to its outer shell. Laughter and talking filled the awkward silence.

The worn blue carpet scraped the soles of our shoes as we cranned our necks for Rebecca and her daughter. Just then, a young man in a yellow plaid shirt, jeans, and sneakers came over to me with a smile on his face.

"Hey," he whispered in a Southern accent. "Are you lost, little lady?" I silently rolled my eyes at him. Sometimes, I wish I wore pants instead of a lousy dress. "No," I answered with a fake smile. "We're fine."

Just then, Cleo spotted her friend, sitting in a table besides the broken jukebox. Sensing her excitement, I told her to go and save a seat for me. Cleo nodded and vanished into thin air.

I wanted to go and follow her, but the creepy guy stopped me. "What's your name, Beautiful?" he asked. "Go bug someone else." I snorted, moving away from him. All of a sudden, the man grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him.

I seriously wanted to punch him in the face. He held me close to his face then leaned over to my ear. His breath smelled like foul liquor. "Listen," he hissed. "I don't like the way you talk to me. Let me ask you again: what is your name?"

The man was in his early thirties. He had a long scar across his face and a tattoo of the American Flag on the back of his hand. He looks as if this isn't his first time fighting someone. Due to the smell of alcohol, the red eyes, and his scary personality, he must be a heavy drinker.

"I'm married," I say flatly, showing him my wedding ring. The guy only laughed and said that he didn't believe me.

Without a warning, I broke his wrist. I then rammed my foot up his crotch and struck him across the face. It was so quick that no one even saw what happened. The man collapsed on the floor, uttering a quiet moan.

Sighing, I walked around the creep and came over to Cleo's table. The moment I sat down besides my daughter and her best friend, they looked like they had seen a ghost. "Mom," she began. "Are you okay?" They must have seen that guy bothering me.

Paige only stared at me in wonder with her mouth gaping. "Mrs. Hamilton," she began. "You were awesome!" I blushed at her comment. "I'm fine, girls." I beamed. "Where is your mother, Paige?"

Paige said that she was in the bathroom, making sure her appearance is tidy. "I don't know about my mother sometimes," she sighed. "Instead of acting like one, she pretends to be Miss America."

I know the feeling. I felt that way about my mother when I was Cleo's age. As Rebecca came bursting out the door, she flashed us apologizing smiles then took the menu that was sitting in the center of the table.

As we gave a waiter our orders, he vanished into the kitchen and came back with plates of cooked lobster, fish, and beverages. He set the plates of lobster and coleslaw in front of Paige and her mother, while he placed two bowls of clam chowder and tall glasses of lemonade in front of us.

He told Paige and her mother that their sodas will be here momentarily. As we began to dig in our food, Rebecca spoke up: "What's your job, Cole?" I swallowed my food and lied that I worked as an accountant.

"What about your husband?" she asked. "A contractor," I lied. Rebecca gave me a mere nod then continued to eat her food. "Have you been getting good grades, Cleo?" I asked.

She cut a piece of her fish with her fork then swallowed it. "Straight As as usual," she replied. I smiled as I stroke her hair. She will become a great detective someday. I thought.

"I think I want to go to an art school," Cleo suggested. "But there are some criminology courses that I want to take." A curious look appeared on Rebecca's face. "Really?" she asked. "Do you want to be a cop?"

Cleo shook her head. "No," she answered. "I want to be a detective." Rebecca smiled proudly as she placed her hand on Paige's shoulder. "Paige has been wanting to be an astronaut when she was five." She giggled.

"Isn't that right, Paige?" She only stared at her mother in annoyance then pulled her hand off of her shoulder. "Mom," she sighed. "You don't have to brag about it all the time."

"But isn't that what you decided to be-" Rebecca began. "I also wanted to marry Harry Styles and go to Spain." Paige interrupted. "I stopped thinking about being an astronaut a long time ago."

Cleo and I sipped our lemonade awkwardly and picked our food with forks. "Paige," Rebecca sighed heavily. "Don't do this to me." Paige gave her cold eyes. "That's the same phrase you used when Dad left you for some freak."