Claire hesitated for the millionth time before she entered the restaurant. The waiter hurried towards her.
"I'm looking for a table reserved under Martin."
"This way." He led her across the restaurant. Claire was quick to spot Pierre. He was a brown-haired man with black friendly eyes. He wore thick-framed glasses, a white short-sleeve shirt, and dark trousers.
"Claire!" He stood up in a rush to welcome her.
"Hi, Pierre." She shook his hand and sat down.
"How have you been?" Pierre asked quickly, clearly excited to see her.
"Here and there but I'm still afloat." Claire smiled. "You?"
"Pretty good, thanks."
"So, what brings you here?" Claire asked curiously.
"Well, not sure whether you know but I went back to France after graduating. We expanded our business for the past five years and now we're looking for a new location around here. My parents thought it was best if I manage it as I'm more familiar with the place. So I'm here looking for a new building to open a new office for us."
"Are you thinking of sticking around?"
"Yeah, I think so. What are you doing nowadays?"
"I work for Diamond Corporate. I'm the head of our Contracts and Services Department and I'm looking for an upcoming promotion."
"Ha, I have been recommended to reach your department for the building planning." Pierre laughed. "Now, I definitely will."
"Of course! It'll be a pleasure to work with you."
"I promise to not cover you with my vomit again."
"I hope so."
"I am still sorry for that incident. I fancied you so much back then and I was so stressed out when I asked you out…" Pierre laughed nervously. "I was too embarrassed to face you for the remainder of the university."
"Yeah, I might remember that." Claire smiled. "I was so upset when you started to avoid me though."
"Why?"
"Don't laugh!" Claire warned him. "I fancied you so much that I've started learning French for you."
"I thought you learnt French for a while. You did so well with your language extra credits."
"No, it was all you. And all my efforts were wasted as you avoided me!"
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Claire. If only I knew back then…"
"It's alright. It's something to laugh at now, isn't it?"
"True. God, I was so awkward back then." Pierre blushed.
"So was I."
"Do you remember our only class together? I think it was on project management?"
"Oh yes. You did a business degree, didn't you? There wasn't much overlap between our courses."
"Yeah, I've started skipping them because I was worried about bumping into you and I barely passed."
"Oh no."
"Do you remember Professor Hugh? He gave me some tough talking to for it."
"Professor Hugh was great."
"She was." Pierre smiled.
They reminisced over the meal talking about all the gossip back in their university, including all the drama between their lecturers.
"You used to hang out with two other girls. The one with short black curly hair, and the one with a blonde long hair that always dressed as if she were to go on a fashion runway."
"Yes, Gina and Zoe. We are still good friends, and we both ended up joining Diamond Corporate over time. Zoe was the first to join and she encouraged me. Gina was the last one."
"Wasn't Gina a year above us?" "
"Yeah, she started a law degree a year before we came about. Then she swapped her degree and ended up in the same year as me." Claire smiled. "They haven't changed much since. They're both great friends, and yes, Zoe still dresses as if she were ready to go on the runway."
"You mentioned Diamond Corporate, isn't it run by the Moores?"
"Yes, Moore Junior."
"What happened with Moore Pharmaceuticals?"
"Oh, I think it still operates under Moore Senior."
"Didn't your mum work for them?"
"Yes, she did." Claire smiled. "She lost her job whilst I was still in uni and helped our dad with his restaurant."
"I see."
"What about your family?"
"Once I finished uni, I helped my dad expand his business. We are currently the most specialist manufacturer of the screw-less motherboards."
"Oh yeah, it was electronics." Claire thought for a moment. "If you seriously contemplate using us for the design of the new building, I can book you in for next week?"
"Of course! We acquired the site just a bit outside of the city over the past week."
"Oh, I'd love to see it."
"Whenever you're free."
"Now."
Pierre didn't need any more encouragement. He offered to pay for their meal and they headed towards Diamond Corporate where Claire's car was still parked.
Claire didn't notice Gabriel who just left the building himself, and so she didn't notice his face lost the smile and slowly turned stone cold.
Gabriel went home but as he waited and hours passed he became increasingly furious. He poured himself a drink to calm down but it didn't help. So he drank another one, and then another. And then he reached for his cigarettes. His mind made up the worst-case scenarios as to what Claire was doing right now.
But none of which was true. Claire walked around the land discussing her ideas with Pierre. And as she was about to leave, Pierre asked her if she was seeing anyone. She explained that although it was a complicated relationship that yes, she was seeing someone. She turned him down and Pierre gracefully accepted it even if he expressed his upset over not pursuing her earlier. Claire felt for him but over the years she put that crush behind her. And even though she enjoyed her evening, something didn't feel quite right about them being together, perhaps it was the thought that she was slowly finding the place where she belonged.
She returned home to the smell of smoke as soon as she stepped in. She coughed violently wondering why Gabriel would suddenly go back to his smoking habit and what might've stressed him out enough. She walked across but she hasn't found him in the dining room. She followed the light to the living room. Gabriel lay across the sofa, drunk sleeping, with an empty bottle of rum and an ashtray of cigarette butts. He was wearing his suit trousers and a white shirt that was fully undone.
Claire looked at him warily. She was concerned over his state.
She came closer trying not to disturb him. She grabbed the blanket from the side of the sofa and walked up to him, covering him gently. His breathing was fast and shallow. His face was flushed, and his hair was ruffled into a mess. As she covered him with the blanket and was ready to leave, Gabriel grabbed her wrist. Claire flinched with fear, which Gabriel noticed and loosened his grip. He sat up straight and pulled her a little closer. His eyes were fiery.
"Where have you been?" Gabriel asked coldly.
"I-…" Claire stuttered. Her gut instinct fired up. Whatever was about to happen wasn't going to be good.
"Answer me!"
"I was out to dinner with a friend from university," Claire replied honestly. Gabriel wasn't satisfied with the answer. He stood up with a slight wobble. Claire managed to get her wrist out of his grip.
"What do you think you're doing?" Gabriel asked, his voice slurred and raised.
"What did I do?" Claire asked stepping back.
"You're telling me that your dinner lasted six hours?!" Gabriel was losing control, and Claire was more and more afraid.
"I-…" Claire tried to explain when Gabriel grabbed the lamp from the nightstand and threw it in vaguely her direction. The lamp smashed into the tv, causing both to shatter. Claire flinched and she stood on the shard of glass as she stepped back again. She winced in pain but tried to ignore it.
"You're drunk out of your mind. We can talk when you sober up." Claire decided to walk out of the living room.
"No, no, no," Gabriel repeated as he followed her. "You're not going anywhere until you explain yourself."
"I have nothing to explain," Claire replied sharply, making the mistake of stopping and turning around.
"Nothing to explain?!" Gabriel roared, closing the distance. "You're my wife!" Gabriel grabbed the vase that was the nearest throwing it at the stairs, shattering it.
"I haven't don't anything wrong!" Claire screamed back. Gabriel grabbed her handbag and took her keys out of them.
"You're not going to go anywhere without my permission." He walked across the hall towards the far end.
"Give me my keys back! You a*shole!"
"A*shole?" Gabriel smirked as he threw Claire's keys into the pool. "Now, I am what you thought I was all along. I've met your expectations."
Claire ran toward the pool looking at the keys at the bottom of it. She was sobbing.
"How could you?! What's wrong with you?!" She screamed.
"How could you?" Gabriel asked her with sudden sadness in his voice.
Claire stood up and marched up to him, slipping on the edge of the pool, and falling into the water. The panic set in immediately and she started frantically kicking and punching the water, without any success. Gabriel froze. It took him a few moments to realise what happened due to his drunken state. He jumped in the pool. Water sobered him up enough that he managed to grab Claire and push her up the wall.
Claire sputtered the water as Gabriel came out after her.
"Claire…" he started worriedly. Claire got up, walking away as quickly as she could, leaving a bleeding trail behind from her cut.
"Don't get near me!" She spat out in pure panic and horror.
She grabbed her handbag and shoes on the way and ran out of the house, leaving Gabriel standing by the pool. She still didn't have the keys to her car, so she did the next thing she thought of. As she walked out onto the road, she called Pattison who agreed to pick her up immediately and was there within 15 minutes.
"What happened?" He asked as he rushed towards her.
"I-…I-…" Claire stuttered in panic. Pattison got her into his car, covering her up in his jacket. Once Claire's breath steadied, he asked her again what happened. "I don't know what caused it but Gabriel had an anger outburst. He was drunk and…"
"It's okay. I'll take you to the hospital to check out the cut. Then I can get you to check in into the hotel or something."
"Thanks, Mark." Claire sobbed as Pattison drove her to the hospital.
"I'll go back and get you some luggage."
"I'm not sure if it's a good idea. Unless you want to check on Gabriel." Claire sighed.
Her foot was quickly bandaged in the hospital and within an hour she was released. Pattison helped her check in to the hotel and left her to rest. Claire swapped her still wet clothes for the bathrobe and sat down in the armchair, curled up and shaking.