Page 96 of Fling

‘There’s only one Al Fresco in Dublin. Relax, we’re early,’ Rory said, turning off the engine of his Range Rover.

‘I can’t believe my marriage has come to this. My wife cheating on me in broad daylight!’ Colin said.

‘She’s obviously trying to get back at you. You said she saw you meeting Claire?’ Rory asked.

‘She didn’t see me with Claire, thank God. But she saw me going into the hotel room. The hotel room you told me to get by the way!’ Colin said snidely.

‘Oh come on, how was I supposed to know Tara would find out! What kind of psycho follows someone to catch them cheating?’ Rory asked.

‘You mean like what we’re doing right now?’

‘No, this is totally different,’ Rory said. ‘You’re reclaiming your manhood. You’re fighting for your wife!’

‘Yeah. I’m trying to stop her from making a mistake she’s going to regret. I didn’t even technically cheat. I decided I couldn’t go through with an actual affair while I was in the hotel room. But if Tara goes through with this, our marriage might be beyond repair. And I’ll be damned . . .’

As Colin was speaking, Tara’s blue Nissan Micra passed by Rory’s side window.

‘THAT’S TARA’S CAR!’ Colin said, ducking down in the passenger seat. Rory ducked down with him to avoid detection. They both peeked above the dashboard. Thankfully, she hadn’t noticed them. She indicated to her right and began to park on the same side of the street, just one car in front of them. She moved forward and tried to reverse into the spot.

‘Oh God, we could be here forever. Tara can’t parallel park,’ Colin sighed.

‘Is there someone else in the car with her?’ Rory asked, thinking he saw someone in the passenger seat.

‘I can’t tell,’ Colin said, squinting.

After a few clunky manoeuvres, Tara eventually got into the parking space, although she wasn’t exactly inside the white line. She got out of her car and crossed the quiet street towards Al Fresco.

‘Look at her, all dressed up for her mystery man. I feel sick,’ Colin said, watching her. They had a clear view of the entire place: they could see Tara checking in with the hostess and then being seated at the table by herself.

‘Hmm, no mystery man so far,’ Rory said.

‘I’m going to call her,’ Colin said, taking out his phone.

‘What? Then we lose the element of surprise!’ Rory said.

‘I’m not going to tell her we’re here. I’m just going to ask her where she is. Maybe there’s a reasonable explanation for her being here,’ Colin said. He pressed her name in his contacts and waited for her to pick up. In the distance, he could see Tara reaching into her bag and taking out her phone. She looked at the screen and winced when she saw who was calling her. She answered the phone and put it to her ear.

‘I’m at work, Colin, don’t call me again,’ Tara said, hanging up before Colin even had a chance to say anything. He was in shock.

‘What did she say?’ Rory asked, curious.

‘She said she was at work and then she just hung up. Well, we know that’s a lie. We can see that with our own eyes. She’s clearly not working. And working is what I said I was doing when I was really meeting Claire at the hotel!’ Colin said, furious.

‘Did you see her face when she saw you were calling her? She is out for vengeance. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,’ Rory said.

‘Look!’ Colin said, pointing.

A man in a black suit approached Tara’s table and she got up to greet him. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and put his hand a little too low down on the small of her back for Colin’s liking.

‘Who the hell is that creep?’ Colin said, squinting.

‘I can’t make him out. Use your phone and zoom in on the camera,’ Rory suggested. This was clearly not his first private investigation.

Colin opened the camera on his phone to get a closer look. The image wasn’t crystal clear but it was certainly better than Colin’s eyesight.

‘Who is he?’ Colin asked.

‘I’m not sure, but his suit looks expensive. Whoever he is, he looks like a big shot,’ Rory deduced.

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