Birds of A Cage

"...a mass of gauges, and dials, and registers"

Like I suspected, there was nothing wrong with my heart. After the checkup, Edward whisked me into a small, intimate local restaurant with nice wooden chairs, linen tables - with floral arrangements strategically placed in the spaces between- and bright yellow walls. Music played in the background softly.

His gaze scraped me all over. Appreciation replaced the anticipation sparkling his eyes. My breath caught and suddenly my dress felt tight around my warm neck. Heat filled my body despite the nip in the cold air.

"I can't eat with you looking at me like that. What's wrong?"

I placed my spoon down, next to the gravy bowl, pushing my half-full plate away. He didn't say anything and continued to glare at me for a few more seconds. Reluctantly, I lifted my knife and fork and sliced into my steak.

"I don't know, trying to figure out a few things about you."

"And you think by staring at me a light bulb will go on?"

His mouth pressed into a hard line. He ran his hand through his hair, placing his elbows back on the table. "I want to ask you a question, but don't be offended."

"Meaning you're going to offend me worse than you've offended me before."

He laughed. "It depends on the perspective you look at my question from."

"Ask." I shrugged. "It might surprise you, but I'm not easy to offend."

"I can guess a few things about you. You grew up in a well-off family with parents who probably did everything they could to take you to the best schools. An only child, pampered and spoiled by your mother. Your vocabulary and demeanour tell me that you started struggling recently. What happened to your family?" 

I stiffened. The breeze lifted my hair away from my face It was the last question I expected from him. "Just like you, I had a family and I don't anymore."

"What happened?"

"If I tell you will you tell me what happened to your wife and kids?"

He gazed at me impassively. "Does it have to be a game of tit for tat?"

"No, but if I'm going to bear my soul to you about my past then I'd require reciprocity from you. I think that's a decent request."

A slow smile started in his eyes and spread to his mouth. The combo of gleaming brown eyes and white teeth stole my breath. I leaned back in my chair, putting as much distance between us as possible without leaving the table.

"There is something about your doctor I don't like," he said, changing the topic.

I smothered a growl of frustration. "You're jealous?"

"I don't know you enough to be jealous, Maria. So, no. I'm not jealous. I, however, can read people very well given my line of work. There is something off about him."

I glanced around nervously, debating on whether to respond to his atrocity with honesty or to be smug about it. "Men don't get any better than Ken. If there is something wrong with him, it's that he cares too much about other people and not enough about himself."

"I'd take your word for it if you were objective, but you're not. How long have you been in love with him?"

"My personal life is none of your business."

"He doesn't feel the same way, does he?" he asked. "At least that's what you think because you haven't told him about the way you feel. Why? You seem to have a personal relationship with him."

"Because women like me don't get men like him," I blurted out.

The silence between us stretched as stared. I shrugged off the wasted emotion.