City of Ruin - Mark Charan Newton [33]
Knowing each other’s moods so well, Zizi took one look at the expression on Beami’s face, and the brunette woman immediately suggested they sit down and talk. While Rymble slumped into a slumber, Beami informed her friend in rapid whispers that Lupus was back.
A startled expression came over Zizi’s face, then she said jokingly, ‘Honey, you’re far too pretty to be a one-man woman.’
‘I’m not like that,’ Beami snapped.
‘Easy, darling.’
‘Sorry. I’m just not that kind of woman. I know Malum and I have had some problems—’
‘Problems? You bloody hate the man.’
‘That’s not true.’
‘Well we all do. He’s so weird, so sinister.’
‘He’s not. You just don’t know him like I do.’ On more than one occasion, the others had encouraged her to leave Malum, and one night Rymble had even kindly offered to venture into their house and stab him – then immortalize the act with poetry.
More seriously, Zizi continued, ‘Look, I know you have your problems, but you either walk away from Malum now or you stay with him.’
Beami’s mind was drifting.
‘These situations can become increasingly dreadful if . . .’ Zizi’s expression softened as her intensely green eyes focused on something deep within her. ‘Hang on. Why are you here? You didn’t come all the way just to get some advice – especially if you’ll be seeing him shortly.’
After a moment of reflection, Beami finally confessed, ‘Perfume. I want to find one particular scent I liked to use. It was one Lupus adored me wearing. That sounds stupid, I know.’
Zizi grasped her hand. ‘It says you’ve made up your mind already. But I say never let a man stop you – I say it all the time. I never knew Lupus, but don’t give up everything for him. Don’t let your passion for him ruin your life.’
‘He’s not that type of man. I’m already involved with one of those.’
‘Well, there’s your answer.’
‘Lupus is . . . something else.’
Zizi’s gaze softened. ‘Tell me about him.’
Beami’s mind drifted back through time. ‘One night I went up to the bar just as they were closing, spoke his name when I shouldn’t have known it, gave him the wildest smile – then tripped, spilt my drink all over the floor, and started laughing.’
‘Smooth,’ Zizi remarked.
‘He used to clear tables and serve drinks at what was once considered the smartest bar in Villiren – although that’s not saying much. It’s not there now; it’s long gone. All that’s left is what’s in my head – echoes of a younger life, of simpler times.’
‘You’re hardly that old. Just you wait until you get to my age. Then things can be as simple as you want them to be. So, you went to his bar?’
‘Well, I went in from time to time with a few of the girls, an ambitious young cultist with a taste for bad wine.’
‘Some things don’t change,’ Zizi smiled.
‘No, I guess not. I suspected he had developed feelings for me, you know, aside from the usual lingering glances, holding mine for as long as possible. I would then chat to some other man who approached me, sometimes looking at Lupus, sometimes not. Love feeds upon jealousy – that’s what he himself told me once. Working in taverns, he said, you see that behaviour so much. Anyway, he picked me up off the floor, gave me a large mug of water and waited for me to sober up. He had such lovely eyes – just like a wolf.’
‘Honey, that sounds wonderfully romantic. You got pissed and he mopped you up.’
‘Shut up, Zizi! It was good, you know