The Fear Of Faith [2]

12. Cal

'Yeah well as soon as they saw my fucking wallet they were all kiss-asses,' I told him.

'What stores were these?' Tori asked.

'Tiffany and Chanel, wasn't it?' Charlie asked.

'Yeah,' I replied. 'I've been judged plenty in my time but nothing like the faces of those women when they saw me enter their store; fucking bitches.'

'That's fucking hilarious,' Charlie laughed out loud.

'I sometimes shop up there,' Tori said. 'Not that I can afford the likes of Tiffany or Chanel but I've window shopped a few places; they certainly are judgmental when they see the ink.'

'Fuck them,' I said. 'It was what she wanted so I don't really care.'

'That's cute, bro,' Charlie chuckled.

'Yeah, very cute,' Tori said before turning to tidy her station.

'Anyway,' I said. 'I ended my bookings early today because I'm taking her out so, you guys mind locking up?'

'Sure,' Charlie said and I threw him the keys.

'Thanks,' I said before grabbing my things. 'See you tomorrow.'

'Have fun tonight, man,' Charlie said. 'Tell Bethan hey.'

'Yeah,' Tori said softly. 'I hope you both have a good night.'

I nodded, unsure of whether she meant it but thanked her anyway. I headed out of the shop and towards my car, hoping that pretending I was working all night to Bethan hadn't backfired on me. I prayed she hadn't made plans with someone else and that she would be home. I'd planned to finish early so that I could get home before her and surprise her; I just had to make one more stop to pick something up on the way.

...

I pulled open the door and stepped into the apartment, glancing around and listening for any sign of Bethan being home. It seemed pretty quiet and her bag wasn't thrown down on the floor like it usually was when she was home. It was almost five so I knew she'd be on her way home if not already in Inwood by now.

I headed for our room and placed the large, flat French Connection box on the bed. Another item off the wish list; as Bethan's mom had informed me on the phone that she'd been after this dress for a while and hoping to have money left from her student loan to buy it.

Money was no object for me now that the business was thriving and our living costs for our one-bed studio in Inwood weren't too bad, especially with Bethan insisting to pay half of everything. I didn't care what it cost me to give her what she wanted; I'd give her the whole fucking world if I could.

I grabbed my jeans and shirt from the closet and headed to the bathroom where I took a quick shower and got myself half ready for tonight. I had booked a table at some restaurant called La Famiglia; an Italian place that she had mentioned to me when we moved here. She had been there with her family several times when they all lived in New York and she'd told me a thousand times that she wanted to re-visit the place.

As I was just sliding into the jeans I planned to wear for the night, I heard the door slam.

'Cal, is that you?' she cried. 'Are you home?'

She had expected me to be working late and I quickly opened the bathroom door so she knew it was me here and not some random breaking into the apartment.