Page 41 of Love's a Script
She thanked him and draped the material over her legs.
“How are you?” he asked.
“I’m fine. Nervous about all this.”
He nodded and didn’t attempt to make her feel differently. “You’re going to work directly after this?” he asked.
“Yes, I’ll probably stop at a coffee shop before and get a drink. I didn’t eat a big breakfast, so I might also pick up a pastry. I’ll see…”
She was talking nonsense, but Ruben listened like she wasn’t. Eventually, she fell quiet, and the gentle cracks and pops of nature took her place. She had an urge to ask him about his matchmaking progress, but before she could succumb, a tall, broad, hooded figure appeared in the opening of the plane. From the way Ruben casually stood up and greeted the person, Mary knew the PI had arrived. As if it were routine, Ruben lifted his arms from his side, and E traced a block device around his body. Mary followed, but during her inspection, the block beeped when it reached her left coat pocket.
“You have a phone on you?” E asked.
“I do.”
“That’s on me,” Ruben said. “I forgot to tell her not to bring it.”
“I can run it back to my car,” Mary said quickly.
“Just leave it out beside you,” E said, settling onto the bench across from them. He pushed the hood from his head to reveal a handsome angular face, a stern expression, and locs pulled into a low ponytail. “So you’re trying to find out if someone is who they say they are.”
“Yes, my father’s girlfriend.” Mary produced the envelope from her purse. “They met on a music subreddit.”
E shook the envelope before pulling out the papers it held. There wasn’t much, only basic information she and her sister had gathered from conversations with their father and one grainy picture of who they thought might be “Aurora.”
“I’d like whatever investigation you do to be as noninvasive as possible,” Mary said.
E didn’t respond but continued to go through the documents. She looked to Ruben, who assured her with a nod that her parameters would be respected.
Some time had lapsed when E stood up without warning.
“Is it enough?” Mary asked, rising as well.
“Yes,” E said. “I’ll be in touch.”
“Wait,” she said. “How would you like to be paid? I’m assuming cash, but I can also do e-transfer.”
“Payment’s been taken care of,” E replied as he and Ruben exchanged a look. The bulky man left the plane before Mary could ask him further questions.
She looked at Ruben. “You paid him?’
“No, not technically,” Ruben said, standing to fold his blanket. “He owed me a favor.”
“What did you do for him to owe you a favor?”
“It’s a long story.”
Her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t push the point. “I could’ve paid.”
He shrugged. “You needed it, and it was going to waste.”
“Okay, but?—”
“Just say thank you, Mary.”
“All right, thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he replied before gesturing for her to exit the plane first. The air had lost its bite as the sun continued to crest, and the once eerie barren surroundings now sparkled like the inside of a snow globe. They didn’t speak as they shuffled over the ice toward land, but as they crossed the snow-filled shore into the parking lot occupied by only their cars, Mary surrendered to curiosity and asked, “How’s matchmaking going?”
