Chapter 3 Dinner Talk

Housekeepers delicately set beautiful plates and exquisite glasses on the dinner table. One by one, they filled the table with food. As soon as they were done, the family were called to the table. Ruth and Matt were the last ones to arrive. Matt pulled a chair for Ruth and she sat down. He then proceeded to sit next to her.

The dinner was surprisingly quiet. The sound of forks hitting plates was all that was heard. Matt tried his best to hide the fact that he was feeling extremely awkward. He caught Ruth's father glaring at him more than once. Matt decided not to look in his direction anymore. A maid came and started to pour wine for everyone.

'Good, I could use a drink.' Matt internally commented.

"So, how has life been since you got out of jail?" Ruth's dad suddenly asked after a swig of his glass.

"Eugene!" Muriel called out against him appalled.

"Mom? You told him?" Ruth protested next, annoyed.

"I'm sorry, honey." Muriel admitted, and lowered her gaze ashamed.

"I asked you a question, boy." Eugene continued with a death stare.

"Well, it is going good to say the least." Matt responded and ate the lattice off his fork.

"What were you in for?" Talia innocently asked next to Ruth's annoyance.

"Unfucking believable." Ruth expressed her disgust with a scowl.

"Language, missy!" Eugene blurted out and diverted his eyes to Matt. "Well, Talia asked you a question."

Matt observed the tensed look on Ruth's face and gave her an assuring nod. "I was locked up on rape charges." Matt finally said.

"False rape charges." Ruth defensively added in almost a hiss.

"Must be difficult living with such a record." Eugene smirked with a dimple out.

"Yes, it is. Even when we are proven innocent, society tends to judge us harshly. There's always that element of doubt especially if you are a person of color." Matt responded with maturity.

He cleared his throat and continued to eat. Ruth, on the other hand, put her fork down and crossed her arms bearing a prominent scowl. Muriel kept her gaze low and spooned some of her soup.

Eugene wiped his mouth with a napkin and stared harshly at Muriel. "All this," he twirled his finger around, "is your fault. Our son is a useless junkie, our youngest daughter is a disgrace and now this tattoo loving Jezebel is sleeping with a nigger." Eugene got up and threw the napkin on the table.

"I am so sorry about that." Muriel shamefully apologized to Matt.

"Don't worry about it." Matt insisted and cleared his throat.

****

Ruth sat on the bed in silence as she listened to Matt showering. She was feeling so angry with her father but even angrier with her mother for telling him about Matt's past. She told her everything in confidence.

Her anger suffocated her so much that she wanted to scream. Ruth desperately needed some air. She got up and went out to her balcony. She took in the cool wind blowing in her face. It gave her the illusion of soothing peace. Ruth hugged herself and looked at the stars in the sky as the wind blew her hair back.

Ruth suddenly felt a familiar presence and her heart dropped. It intensified, giving her sharp headache. Before Ruth could do anything, cold hands wrap around her body. The feeling of paralysis took over. Her heart dropped even further at the croaking sound she learned to fear.

A tongue licked the side of her face. Ruth muffled at its coldness. She desperately wanted to scream but couldn't find her voice no matter how hard she tried. Her tears dropped when she heard a cynical laugh.

"Just one more day and you will be mine." a whisper met the wind.

Matt out of the shower. He didn't find Ruth in the bedroom so his gaze shifted to the balcony. He dropped his brows surprised to see her standing still and with her shoulders up. Matt could see that she was shaking in place as trying to get her body to move. He heard muffling sounds and he tilted his head confused.

"Ruth?" he called out to her but, she didn't turn back.

Matt sensed that something was wrong. He rushed to Ruth and got hold of her. She fell into his arms shaking violently with her eyes rolled up to the back of her head. Matt panicked at the white foam coming out of her mouth.

"Help!" he exclaimed.

Muriel and William burst into the room. Muriel screamed when she realized what was happening. William dashed back out in a haste while Muriel rushed to Matt's aid. She knelt down beside Ruth and raised her hands to her head in fear.

"She is having a seizure. Please call 911." Matt impatiently told her.

"William has gone to call the doctor who lives next door." Muriel quickly explained.

****

The old doctor sat beside Ruth on her bed. Her family surrounded her; completely worried about her unconscious state. Matt stood away and looked on in silence with his arms crossed.

The doctor wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to Eugene. "She'll be all right, don't worry." he said and tension left the room. "I have prescribed some drugs that will do her some justice." he smiled.

"Thank you, Dr. Edmond." Eugene expressed his gratitude.

"Please, I'm just doing my job." he politely dismissed and got up. "I should be on my way now." he picked up his bag.

"Oh yes, allow me to escort you out." Eugene offered and left with him.

Talia and William soon followed out leaving Matt and Muriel alone with Ruth. Muriel looked painfully at Ruth. She heard Matt draw closer to her and, she involuntarily let out a sigh. Matt quietly sat on the bed and held Ruth's warm hand.

"I just don't understand why this happens every year." Muriel voiced out.

"What do you mean?" Matt asked, feigning ignorance.

Muriel sighed again. "Whenever her birthday is close, all sorts of bad things happen to her."

"Is there a reason why you think this is so?" Matt probed.

The door flung open and an irritated Eugene was revealed. He looked right at Muriel and she stood up. He shot daggers at Matt before turning his attention back to Muriel. To Matt's surprise, Eugene didn't say anything. He just walked away leaving the door wide open.

"Good night, dear." Muriel softly said to Matt.

"Good night." Matt replied, feeling frustrated that Muriel didn't tell him what he needed to know.

As soon as Muriel closed the door, Matt's eyes set on Ruth again. He lovingly cupped the side of her face and pressed his lips in thought. Matt got up and went to his side of the bed where he laid down. Staring at the ceiling, he thought back to the previous night and the entire day after. Surely, there was something strange about Ruth.

"Tomorrow is another day. I have to get to the bottom of this." he resolved.