Chapter 78: If You Insist
Then he walked up to Mrs. Riley, patted her on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "Let's go out for dinner after work tomorrow afternoon. Then when we are finished, we are going to see the movie our daughter acted in." Mr. Riley looked at his wife, sat on top of her desk, and continued, "All I am asking is for just one night, please? After all, you go out every evening to dance, and I don't say a word. I am only asking for one single night!"
He then breathed a sigh of relief, and a faint smile appeared. Mrs. Riley pretended to be reluctant and replied, "Well, okay. If you insist."
Mrs. Riley went straight home after work and changed her clothes the next day.
She wore a dark red dress with a camel coat, she looked very charming. After dinner, they went straight to the cinema. Among the crowd of young people, Mr. and Mrs. Riley were the oldest ones in the theater, and they felt a bit out of place.
Mrs. Riley didn't care, she looked at the screen and ate her popcorn. Halfway through the movie, Mr. Riley said excitedly, " Look, look! It's Cathryn!"
On the screen, Cathryn was arguing with the bus conductor. Seeing Cathryn complain about the conductor, Mrs. Riley's face turned pale. Then after seeing the son being trafficked and seeing the audience full of tears.
Mrs. Riley felt she could hardly breathe, she stood up and left without a backward glance. Mr. Riley caught up to her, and she was sitting in a chair with a bottle of water in her hand.
"Do you not want to finish watching it?" Mr. Riley asked while observing the expression on his wife's face. Mrs. Riley had already concealed her mood and regained her usual indifference.
Mrs. Riley nodded her head and put her fingers together, apparently immersed in her own thoughts. Finally, she smiled and said, "I thought Cathryn did really well in the movie."
****
As soon as Cathryn finished talking to her mother and father, she waited patiently for Keith to come back. She tried studying for her exam but became too restless to sit still and started pacing back and forth. 'I can't bear this waiting, I wonder when Keith will be home.' Cathryn glanced at the clock on the wall behind her, and after staring at it for two or three minutes, she went to the kitchen and grabbed a quick snack. Cathryn sat down on the sofa and anxiously glanced at the clock again.
Shortly after, Eva, who had been in the kitchen preparing dinner, shouted, "Miss Riley, Mr. Clarkson is back."
The second Cathryn heard Eva say Keith was home, she immediately rushed downstairs and accidentally bumped into a man. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I wasn't expecting anyone else," Cathryn said, with a tone of embarrassment in her voice.
Keith was beside the man, and he immediately gathered her into his arms and pulled her close. Cathryn could feel her heart beating wildly against his chest. She looked up and saw that he was looking down at her. "Cathryn, be careful. You could've hurt yourself," Keith said with a smile.
Cathryn hastened to stand up straight, smiled, and nodded. They stood there gazing into each other's eyes. Jeremy was standing beside Keith, and after watching them, he finally had enough and said, "Hello, excuse me! You two lovebirds, but I'm still here. Did you forget about me?"
Cathryn raised her head and quickly looked at Jeremy and thought. 'He looks familiar. I may have met him somewhere before, but I can't recall where?'
Keith had briefly told Cathryn about Jeremy, and she wondered if this was him. 'I remember Keith saying Jeremy is such a fickle man, and he would never settle down with one woman.' She quickly looked at him up and down. 'He's a ladies' man, well dressed, tall and handsome.'
Jeremy never said anything, he gave Cathryn a sly grin that made her feel uneasy.
Cathryn was just about to ask Keith who it was, and Keith said, "Cathryn, this is Jeremy, and Jeremy, this is Cathryn. I completely forgot to tell you. I asked Jeremy to join us for dinner this evening," Keith informed Cathryn. "You two wait for me in the kitchen, I'll be right back. I have to go and change my clothes."
Cathryn and Jeremy sat at the table, and Jeremy immediately started to look Cathryn up and down. Cathryn lowered her head when she noticed how he was looking at her.
"No wonder Keith is in such a hurry every evening to get home. You are exceptionally beautiful. If I had someone like you waiting for me when I got home, I would do the same," Jeremy said, then he burst into laughter.
Hearing Jeremy's laughter, Cathryn summoned the courage to speak. She said with a smile, "The way you're looking at me makes me feel a little awkward." The sensation of unfamiliarity confronted her.
Jeremy felt a little hurt. Then he smiled and said, "I'm sorry! That wasn't my intention at all! I'm just a little surprised that you don't remember me."
"Have we met before?" Cathryn asked doubtfully. "I'm sorry, but honestly, I don't remember you," Cathryn said with an apologetic smile. She carefully looked at Jeremy again. She searched her memory for an answer, but there was none.
"Don't you remember? The first night that you met Keith. You threw up all over Keith and me," replied Jeremy. As soon as Jeremy mentioned this, he recalled the events of that night Keith, and he had encountered. The stain of red wine was on Keith's shirt, looking like blood. When he and Keith went back into Keith's room, the woman he spent the night with had asked them if they were sick. Jeremy quickly felt a bit embarrassed while Keith looked at Cathryn pitifully. Jeremy's smile faded from his face. He never said another word, he lowered his head and took a drink of water.
Seeing Jeremy instantly become so quiet, Cathryn mistakenly assumed that Jeremy thought she was rude, so she hastened to apologize, "I'm sorry. I was very drunk that night."
Jeremy quickly restored his previous manner. He smiled at Cathryn and joked, "Oh no! Never mind. That's all in the past. Although I think if you want to apologize to someone, it should be Keith. After all, well...I'm sure you remember what happened between the two of you?"