Page 43 of Class Act

“Too bad it wasn’t the beginning of something wonderful,” Ruby sighed. “But it was nice of him to check on you.”

“And it was good for Ford to see he has competition,” Lizzie said knowingly with raised eyebrows and big eyes.

“Stop that face,” I said to her. “Ford doesn’t want to date me or anyone else. You two know this already.” Lizzie and Ruby exchanged a look, and I chose to ignore them. “What’s this movie about?” I asked instead.

“So in this movie there’s a couple, and the wife starts getting haunted by a female spirit,” Lizzie said as she settled into her seat. “The wife thinks it’s the next-door neighbor lady because she hasn’t seen her for awhile. But it turns out that it’s the spirit of a girl who had been having an affair with her husband, you follow?” I nodded, realizing that the more I let her say the more she’d spoil and the less tense I’d have to feel while watching it play out on screen. “Anyhow, he was cheating on her, which is, you know, the worst. Could you imagine?”

“Nope. Seems like a pretty big violation of trust.”

Lizzie poked her finger in the air. “Exactly. I totally trust Jackson, and if I found out he’d been cheating on me because I started being haunted by the ghost of his lover, I don’t know what I’d do.”

“I’m assuming it was a ghost because the husband killed her to keep the affair secret?” Ruby asked, smothering a yawn.

I looked at her face and realized she’d probably sat up most of the night listening for me. I hoped there would come a time when I could repay her for the kindness.

Lizzie giggled. “Yes. Exactly. It was so tragic. He threw her in a lake, but then the couple ends up in that same lake.” Lizzie paused to look at me. “Well, I don’t want to give too much away.”

I bit down a smile. She’d given away about 99% of it already. “Do you believe in spirits haunting the wife of the guy who killed them?”

She shook her head. “Not really. But if it did happen, I’d kill the guy, and they could travel the spiritual void together.”

Ruby and I laughed. “Something we can agree on,” I said.

“Ford doesn’t seem like the type to cheat,” Ruby stated.

I choked on my own spit and had to cough a couple of times. “Why are we back to him again?” I rasped out.

She shrugged. “He brought you home last night. That was a solid move.”

I gave them both a look. “You’ve never even met the man.”

Ruby gave me a look back. “I’m good at reading people.”

“Uh-huh.” I folded my arms.

“And I’m telling you, he’s legit.”

Lizzie made a noise of agreement. “He was out ice skating with his kids on a Friday night. That’s not the way a disreputable man spends his weekend nights.”

I waved a hand. “It doesn’t really matter if Ford is the cheating type or not because I am not dating him. His weekend activities are none of my concern.”

“But you are open to dating him, right?” Ruby asked.

“No,” I said. “I’m not. I ruled him out weeks ago.”

“Because of the mean things he said?” Lizzie asked.

“Yes,” I cried. “I believed those words. Can we please watch our movie?” My voice was climbing, and Ruby sat up to watch me closely. I took a breath, knowing she was worried that a change in behavior could signal a worsening concussion. “I’m fine, Ruby. Just . . . tired of Ford this and Ford that. He’s a friend of Leonard’s. That’s all. A good Samaritan who happened to be in the right place last night.”

“If you say so,” Lizzie said in a placating tone.

“I do.” I tugged the throw blanket up under my chin and nodded toward the screen. “Now let’s watch this movie before one of you ends up in the spiritual void.”

Not five minutes later my phone rang once more, and Lizzie paused the movie while I answered. Her eyes took on a glow that told me she’d seen Ford’s name flash at the top of the screen, and I ducked my head as Lizzie mouthed ‘It’s Ford’ to Ruby and pointed at the phone in my hands.

“Hello?” I answered, my voice sounding strained.

“I wanted to check on the local ice-skating champ and see how she’s holding up after last night’s performance,” he said, his voice different from other times we’d spoken. More friendly, more open. Chummy, maybe?

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