The Words Shimmer

by Jenn Matthews

  “Sometimes. Not all the time.” Mel crossed her legs. “Won’t be cycling for a little while though.” She patted her belly. “I’m going to have to find something else to do to keep the weight off.”

  Ruby allowed her gaze to wander up and down Mel’s body; she felt a flush in her face, and other places, when she really, truly took in the long legs, wide hips, and small bosom on her friend. That’s it; your friend. So stop ogling. “You don’t have anything to worry about.”

  “I eat a lot. It’s usually healthy but I get low blood glucose if I don’t eat well.” Mel narrowed her eyes. “What do you do for exercise?”

  “Walk the dog,” Ruby replied, her lips twisting in thought. “I swim on occasion.”

  “Maybe I should come with you.” Mel’s gaze was steady on her, but Ruby had to look away as the image of Mel in a swim suit appeared in her mind’s eye. “My physio said swimming is good after an injury.”

  “If you like.” Ruby sipped her coffee.

  It was Friday afternoon, and Ruby’s classes would finish at three. Sitting in her office eating lunch, she jumped when her phone buzzed and nearly fell from her desk. She picked it up and saw she had a text from Mel.

  Fancy a drink or something later? Mx

  Ruby’s insides immediately flooded with warmth, and a now-familiar tingling began across her skin. So far, except for their drink the day Mel had started university, and the theatre, they’d only met on a Wednesday, when Mel was at the campus for her classes. This is purely social, nothing to do with the gardening project, or being at the same location just by chance. Her phone hovered in front of her face as she considered her options. Mel could drive now, so proximity to either her own house or university wasn’t important. Perhaps somewhere in town? Oh blimey, I’d better reply!

  Sounds great. How about at The Lamb, on the high street? Rx

  Tapping her finger on the desk, Ruby turned back to her computer screen, a forkful of salad half way to her mouth. She was just about to take a bite when her phone buzzed again.

  I love it in there, nice and quiet, perfect for a pint. Shall we say seven? Mx

  Ruby’s heart leapt, and she sent a quick reply to the affirmative before wolfing down her salad in a fashion she was unused to, and grabbing the things she needed for her next lesson.

  When she entered the lecture theatre, she knew something was up. Her first-year class sat stock straight, all of them with their hands folded, all of them facing front. This was not the usual gabble of disarray she was used to arriving into. What’s going on?

  She caught sight of Francesca and her friends at the front and went to turn on the computer that was set up on the left of the large screen. “Hi everyone,” she called as usual, trying to simultaneously figure out what was amiss and act like she didn’t care. “Today, we’ll be taking a more in-depth look at blood vessels. I hope everyone’s read the required chapter.”

  Still, everyone sat motionless. Ruby tried to rise above rolling her eyes but was finding it increasingly difficult. She brought up the relevant PowerPoint slides and clicked ‘Go’. The whole class erupted with laughter, and Ruby shot up from her chair before stepping out from behind the computer.

  “What’s going on?” She folded her arms, attempting an air of authority, but was met by more laughter and jeering. She turned slowly around to look at the screen, some of which was hidden by her silhouette.

  A large, explicitly photographed, depiction of an erect penis met her, the head of it almost bobbing despite it being a very still image.

  She slowly and deliberately turned back to the class. Her gaze immediately flickered to Francesca, who was doubled over in giggles, a small laptop on her knee, partially out of sight behind her wooden desk. Ruby stared at the laptop, her gaze following the now-apparent cable that worked its way from the laptop across the floor and to the socket in the wall that usually connected her computer to the projector.

  Very slowly, very calmly, although her heart was thumping loudly in her ears, Ruby walked over and disconnected the cable. She rolled it around her hand as she walked back towards Francesca, who had tears running down her face. She handed the cable to the young woman and was annoyed when she didn’t take it.

  “Not mine, Miss.”

  “It’s attached to your laptop, Francesca. Do you think I was born yesterday?”

  Francesca put on a reasonable Yorkshire accent when she replied, “Not by t’look of ye.”

  Ruby pushed down the anger inside her chest as her heart rate rose a notch. She counted to ten in her head before leaving the cable on the desk by Francesca and her friends and walking back to her computer. She reconnected the projector to the computer with the university-issue cable and began the lecture.

  Throughout, Francesca continued to giggle and throw Ruby wicked looks—whispering things to her friends, who found equal glee in Ruby’s irritation.

  Ruby rolled her eyes. Perhaps that would have caused serious embarrassment in another lecturer, but I teach anatomy and work in general nursing. Do I look like I’ve not seen a penis before? She figured the girls would settle, and they mostly did, but Francesca developed that far-off look in her eye once her classmates had begun focussing on veins and arteries, and their properties.

  At the end of the class, Ruby took Francesca aside and waited until her friends had left the room. She threaded her fingers together and pulled a concerned look onto her face. “I wanted to talk to you about the joke you pulled today.”

  “Brill, wasn’t it?” Francesca waggled her head and puffed out her chest.

  “Not the word I would use. Elaborate, perhaps.”

  “Whatever.” Perhaps aware that she was not going to get an angry shouting-at, Francesca looked at the ceiling and huffed.

  “It disrupted the class’s focus. And it ate into my lecture time,” Ruby explained, her hand on her chin. “Your classmates missed out on an extra five, ten, minutes that I could have used to read through things a bit more slowly.” Does she not understand some of the things we are learning? Is that why she’s being so disruptive? “What do you think about that?”

  Francesca snorted and continued to look at the ceiling.

  “You need to get your act together and start focussing on the course.” Ruby pushed her glasses up her nose and pulled a hand through her hair. She didn’t care if it betrayed her frustration. She wanted Francesca to understand how she felt about the long-term effects of missing things in lectures, even if she wished to remain nonchalant about the actual prank. “Otherwise, you’re not going to pass and all this time will’ve been wasted.”

  Francesca stepped back. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to pass anyway.”

  “Why do you say that?” Ruby reached out to touch Francesca’s shoulder, but the young girl stepped back and stared at Ruby’s hand like it was going to bite her.

  “Because I’m too thick. Anyway”—Francesca flicked her hair over her shoulder and turned her dark brown eyes to the door—“I’ve got to go.”

  She turned on her heel and, her backpack thrown loosely over one shoulder, scarpered.

  Ruby stared at the door and stood for a while. What’s going on? How do I control her? She’s a complete menace. She combed her fingers through her hair, settling it back into something resembling neatness, and went to collect her things.

  Mel sipped the cool beer and hummed her approval. A nice pint, some soft music, and the appeal of a pretty woman about to join me. What more could a girl wish for?

  She’d made an effort, but not too much: clean jeans, a blue tank top, and a red checked shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbow and fastened with the handy little buttons the manufacturers had provided. She’d brushed her walking boots, and the hems of her jeans fell in a way she liked over the black laces. She’d even managed to put studs in her ears and tie her hair in a neat ponytail.

  Facing the main do
or to the pub, she watched a few people come and go. When a woman with dark wavy hair entered, holding her beige jacket around her from the chill of outside, Mel sat up straighter and held up a hand.

  Her cheeks a bit pink, Ruby flopped back into the chair opposite.

  Mel chuckled and reached to pat her hand, feeling the difference between Ruby’s frosty fingers and her own warm ones. “You look like you could do with a pint.”

  Ruby made some kind of acknowledging groan.

  “What’re you drinking?” Mel held up her drink. “Carlsberg okay?”

  Ruby just nodded.

  Not just a wine drinker, then. It’s nice to see some chinks in that refined armour. When Mel returned to the table, Ruby looked a little less like she’d died from exhaustion. Mel set the glass onto a beer mat and returned to her own half-empty drink, which had condensation running down the sides.

  “So, how was your day?” Mel asked, trying to brighten her voice as much as possible.

  The effect was instant: Ruby’s eyes met hers and she smiled. She seemed to think hard for a few seconds before saying, “Penis-filled.”

  Mel spat a mouthful of beer onto the table, her hand flying to her mouth. “I’m so sorry,” she said, grabbing a napkin from the little caddy on the table and mopping up. “But what?”

  Ruby appeared chuffed to bits with her shocking revelation but grabbed a napkin too, to help. “My lovely student from hell managed to hack into my projector in room seventeen, and up popped the most distasteful picture of an erect penis I’ve ever seen.” Ruby’s expression was much more placid than Mel thought her own must have been. “Honestly, it barely looked real.”

  Mel spluttered and took a restoring mouthful of beer, this time without spitting it all over the table. She swallowed carefully and then looked back up at Ruby, who was smirking. “I’m going to need more detail.”

  “She thought it was funny.”

  “Oh, a prank.” Mel coughed, some residual beer lingering in her windpipe. “Hope you gave her hell.”

  “I did speak to her about it, yes.” Ruby’s mouth became a thin line, and Mel’s body felt heavy. She works hard at teaching others to nurse; she doesn’t deserve that kind of joke to be played on her.

  “Did she apologise?”

  “Nope.”

  “Hm.” Mel leant an elbow on the table and rested her chin in it. She idly played with a single droplet of condensation that was making its way to the beer mat under her glass.

  “She seems to want to humiliate me at every opportunity,” Ruby sighed, mirroring Mel’s stance and drinking heavily from her pint.

  “Good job you’re well acquainted with male genitalia,” Mel said, but then sat up, biting her lip. “I didn’t mean—”

  “I know you didn’t.” Ruby smirked again, apparently amused that for once she was not the one blushing. “And for the record, my ‘acquaintance’, as you put it, during the last fifteen years has been purely professional.”

  Finally, she tells me. Their gazes locked. The music playing softly in the pub ended and began again, something slower and more peaceful. A slot machine chimed musically from the other side of the room, and a couple more patrons entered from outside, their voices muffled.

  So she’s gay, then. Or she is now. Or she’s bisexual. Why am I labelling her? Mel blinked a few times to clear her thoughts before sitting back against the bench back and regarding Ruby with interest.

  “That’s good to know.”

  “I thought you might say that,” Ruby said, pink blossoming on her cheekbones.

  Mel spent a beat longer smiling at Ruby before remembering the topic in hand. “So, this student. She’s still being a nightmare?”

  “Yep. There isn’t a single lesson I have her in where she doesn’t do something disruptive. Rude pictures and comments, trying to get me off-topic, making fun of my accent…”

  “I like your accent,” Mel said plainly.

  “Do you?”

  “It’s nice.” She shrugged and looked away for a minute, deciding this wasn’t exactly the context to be telling Ruby she thought her accent attractive. Focus. “It suits you. Do your girls have the same accent?”

  “I moved down here before I met their father, so no, they are very much south-westerners.” Somehow, Mel got the feeling this was a bone of contention between mother and daughters.

  “She needs sorting out,” Mel said, referring to the student.

  “You offering?” Ruby asked, and Mel nearly spat her beer out again.

  “If you like. You could tell her I know how to kill someone as well as how to save them.”

  “Is that what they teach in the ECP training?” Ruby laughed and lifted her glass in a salute. “Who’d have thought?”

  “Those advanced assessment skills aren’t just for the poorlies. They come in very handy as assassination techniques.”

  They ended up clinking pints, just because…and settling into small talk again. By the time eight o’clock rolled around, they were drinking coke and laughing into the cheerful air between them. Mel was warm all over, despite the draft every time someone entered the small pub, and she was feeling a sort of pull toward Ruby that she hadn’t felt in a long time.

  In the end, Ruby leant forwards on the table, her hands clasped. Mel’s gaze tracked from her elbows, down her slim arms that held a scattering of dark moles, to her hands. Her nails were neat; her fingers neither long nor short. She wore a single silver ring on the middle finger of her right hand, and a simple watch adorned her wrist.

  Fiddling with her glass for a second, Mel reached out to touch a fingertip to Ruby’s silver ring. She had an overwhelming urge to take her hand and fit their fingers together across the table, but she refrained. “Where’s your ring from?”

  “My mother bought it for me after I got divorced.”

  “From the girls’ dad?” Mel bit her lip and hoped she wasn’t delving too deep.

  “That’s right.” To Mel’s surprise, Ruby stretched her fingers out to touch them to Mel’s. “She said one should always have a ring on, even if one isn’t married.” Laughing a bit, she gazed down at their touching hands. “I forget what her explanation was, but I like it.”

  “It’s simple, classy,” Mel said, and cleared her throat when she heard her own voice was scratchy. She took a chance and tickled the skin of Ruby’s finger, right by her ring. Then, with a burst of courage, she reached to gather Ruby’s fingers in her own. Her heart pounded and her hands felt sweaty, but she didn’t want to pull away. “Listen…” Their eyes locked again, and Mel opened her mouth to ask the question she’d been wanting to ask since October.

  Ruby’s phone rang.

  Mel sprang away, rubbing at her upper arm as she wrapped an arm around herself. She threw her head back and sighed.

  A flicker of something that looked like regret moved over Ruby’s features, but she took her phone out of her pocket and the moment was lost. Rolling her eyes, she answered the call. “Yes, sweetie?”

  One of her daughters, perhaps. Or maybe her partner? She’s told me she likes women, not that she’s single.

  Mel stared down at the table as she pretended not to listen to the one-sided conversation taking place three feet from her. She drained her coke and set the empty glass back on the beer mat. She rubbed at her forehead.

  “I’m sorry,” Ruby said after she hung up. “Jasmine wants some kind of special pasta for dinner. Her friend apparently has it ‘all the time’ and she’s convinced it will help her lose weight.”

  “She thinks she’s overweight?”

  “She does. And she’s not one hundred percent wrong. She’s teetering on the edge.”

  Mel looked around her, her knee bouncing.

  “Sorry, I should go.”

  Mel’s heart fell into her walking boots. “Okay, that’s fine.” She forced a smile onto her
face. “We should do this again. Outside of uni, I mean.”

  “That would be nice. And, if you have any thoughts about my unruly student, please don’t hesitate to tell me.” Ruby huffed as she scraped her chair back and pulled her jacket back on. “You don’t think she has things going on at home, do you?”

  Something inside her is switched on. Mel shrugged. “Good thinking, but the only way to find that out is to ask her, and for her to tell you.”

  “Not blooming likely,” Ruby replied, her expression sad. “She thinks I’m the devil, or something similar. I’d be incredibly surprised if she opened up to me.” Then she reached forwards to touch and squeeze Mel’s shoulder.

  Prickles of pleasure swirled down Mel’s arm. “See you soon.”

  “See you after reading week.”

  Mel’s heart fell a little bit more when she realised it would be over a week before she saw Ruby again. Damn it, why didn’t you ask her out earlier? Like the minute she came into the pub?

  “Pasta’s arrived,” Ruby called as she swung in through the front door, shopping bag in hand.

  Jasmine’s face poked around the door from the living room. “Is it the right one?”

  “You’ll have to see for yourself, oh loveliness.”

  Jasmine allowed her mother to kiss her cheek in greeting before pulling the bag from her hands. Ruby followed her into the kitchen, where Jasmine lifted the bag onto the work surface and delved inside. The squeal that travelled up from the depths of the bag suggested that she had made the correct purchase.

  “Don’t get used to being catered for separately.” Ruby shrugged her jacket off and went to hang it in the hallway. Her shoes joined the high heels and trainers already side by side under the coat hooks. She shook her shoulders up and down a few times to loosen the muscles there before sliding her slippers on and returning to the kitchen.