Wilbur

"-so you should encourage Victoria to interact with kids her age. You understand what I'm trying to say here right Mr Gibson?" Tory's homeroom teacher finished.

I nodded and looked out to see Tory through the window. I came to pick Tory up when her teacher asked if the two of us could talk. Of course I knew what her teacher was trying to say. Our neighbourhood wasn't exactly an ideal environment to raise a kid. We don't have gangs or paedophiles hanging around the streets. In fact, the only joke of a mafia man we knew was James. We could have moved to my parents' house but Tory refused to leave the apartment. When I suggested it, she cried almost every night until I told her that we could stay until she decided to move at my parents' place. I remember our neighbours having kids her age the last time we visited.

"If you two don't have plans this evening, I could treat you two to dinner. I mean if -" She placed a few strands of hair behind her ear. "-you don't have any plans."

I leaned back and started tapping my fingers on the table. I was fully aware that I was being riled in. It's like a game to them, this situation that I'm in. And Tory was the bait.

I wasn't given the chance to answer when the door opened and Tory peeked inside.

"I'm hungry," she said.

Like a predator sensing its prey, her teacher looked at me.

"Can we eat at that diner with the happy chef displayed outside? The cashier told me they'll have pork ribs tonight," Tory continued.

I wanted to hug my little saviour right there and then. I turned to her teacher and thought about it for a moment. It was like one of those situations when somebody asked you on how you were doing and you felt obliged to ask them back.

"I'm vegan," her teacher quickly said when I turned to make my offer. I tried to look disappointed and told her that I was thankful for her offer still.

When Tory walked out of the door, I placed a hand on top of her head. She remained quiet the whole way back to the car I borrowed from James. It was after she put the seatbelt on, that she spoke.

"I knew she was vegan," she said with a hint of guilt.

I raised an eyebrow at her as I started the car. Tory had never done anything like what she did back there. Before, when I introduced her to a woman I was thinking of dating, she locked herself in her room and never spoke to me for a week.

She was my priority. So when that one woman I took home told me that I was spoiling Tory too much, I didn't even hesitate to let her go. She wouldn't understand the kid like I do. And Tory wouldn't let anyone understand her unless she thinks that person's worth it.

I've teased her about being an old lady before, but she not-so kindly reminded me that I was the one who had a strand or two of white hair behind my ear. Those bastards didn't seem to get the memo that they weren't supposed to appear before I was at least thirty years old.

"Don't you want free dinner?" I asked her jokingly.

She frowned and rested her chin on the palm of her hand. "I hate vegetables," she murmured.

Hearing her reply, I reached a hand towards her to mess her hair. It was funny how similar we were. When I was kid, my mother threatened to tie me down all because of broccoli. Green was a traumatizing color. "I hated veggies too," I started, "but you have to eat them. Your grandma's going to make you eat them and you know it."

She frowned but never answered back. She never complained about my cooking, where I wasn't exactly an expert on. But we survived two years without her mother, didn't we? And neither of us got too sick to be taken to the hospital. So I guess I was doing something right. Or to put it bluntly, I haven't messed up yet.

"My teacher told us some big people would be visiting us tomorrow," she said as I stopped the car in front of the diner. She unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door. "Maybe they're giants."

I laughed as she held onto the end of my shirt. "Or they're wearing stilts like the guys at the annual fair back at grandpa's," I added.

She suddenly hit my arm and I looked down to see her laughing. "Or sumo wrestlers!"

By the time we reached the door, and that now familiar bell ringing when we entered, we were both tired from laughing too much.

"Victoria!" the cashier exclaimed when she saw Tory.

"Sally!" Tory let go of my shirt and quickly ran towards the counter. "Pork ribs please," she grinned.

I smiled apologetically at the woman and carefully sat Tory down on the chair she hastily climbed on. "What the lady said," I told Sally. The woman smiled at me kindly and offered Tory a glass of lemonade. She could pass as Tory's grandmother. This was one of the concerns the teacher discussed with me. Tory preferred talking with adults. I wasn't against it, but one time during dinner, she started asking me about destitution. I was only slightly surprised. Carla used to teach at a university until she decided to choose the cat life. I don't think people would think of me the same if I told them I knew a lot of women. We were surrounded by people who were more than willing to look after the both us. Something about our lives similar to telenovelas.

"William is that you?"

I was content on listening to the two of them talking when I heard a woman's voice getting louder behind me. When I turned around, I saw Diana, in her casual clothes, smiling at me. Well not at me. It was more on Tory.

"Diana!" Tory grinned and I had to hold her by her armpits when she suddenly jumped off her chair.

"Health insurance," I reminded her and she rolled her eyes as she walked on a more reserved pace towards Diana.

Since when did that little devil learn how to roll her eyes at me? She's seven. She's not supposed to show me this for five more years or so.

My panic was short-lived when I was called again. It was difficult to picture Diana other than what she usually wore. I saw her almost every week, what with having clients going over to their company building often. I haven't really had the chance to call out to her or enter the building but I see her. Besides, with her very vocal opinion about my one-time job, I was saving myself from the humiliation just in case.

She was wearing a light blue polo shirt and those jeans that never quite reached the ankles. She looked nice - better even, compared to how she was a few weeks ago. Maybe she thought it over. Probably got herself some pizza and ice cream.

I felt someone tug at my shirt. I looked down to see Tory frowning. "She's asking you what we're having for dinner."

I was still a little confused when I faced Diana, completely unaware that I must've looked like I was upset. "Pork." A sudden nudge on my side made me give a forceful smile. "Ribs."

She gave me an awkward smile in return before talking to Sally. She ordered the same and we sat in awkward silence as Tory spoke with Sally.

"I'm going to the restroom," she said after a while and stood up to leave. It was only when the theme song for friends played that I noticed that she left her phone, and someone was calling her. I looked over the corner where the ladies' restroom was but saw no sign of her. I picked her phone up and saw a familiar name. Smiling, I swiped to answer the call.

"Is this James' wife Megan?" I asked. I heard a soft laugh as an answer.

"Is this the dancer at a certain bachelorette party that my husband forced him to attend?" she asked back in a playful tone.

I grimaced. This was going to be my life now. Whoever was there during that night would remember me as the stripper who danced and got threw up on. Maybe I'll be turned into an urban legend to beginner strippers as Vomit Valor, the guy who was brave enough to agree to dance as a walking burp bag.

"I'm not even going to question why you have her phone but I need to talk to her," she continued.

I get it that I was trustworthy, but Diana should have some mean moves to defend herself if the people around her think that it wasn't alarming that a stranger just answered her phone. I told Megan that I was going to give Diana her phone and excused myself from Tory.

When I turned the corner to the ladies' restroom, I immediately hid myself when I saw her talking to two of the waitresses. Now I'm not going to lie that there were times when I found myself eavesdropping. The only difference with me was, once I heard, it never came out of my mouth.

"We heard that you were giving Jenny a hard time at work," the waitress with red-dyed hair stated. I heard a sigh before Diana replied.

"Jobs aren't always easy," she replied. She sounded tired. Not just physically, it's as if she was accused of this before and she was tired of giving the same answer.

"I don't know how heartless you can get," I peeped to see the one with dark brown hair staring daggers at Diana, "but our friend's happy and you shouldn't mess with them anymore."

Nobody seemed to notice me - they were all so caught up in their confrontation that a guy listening to them couldn't seem to break them off their concentration.

Diana lifted her chin before eyeing both of the women. She looked annoyed - insulted even. "Do you even know who I was before your so-called friend waltzed her way into our lives? Benedict and I's?" she asked.

The women looked at each other, clearly shocked that the lady in front of them didn't just lower her head and went on her merry way. Diana waited for their answer. The two tried to look tough and just stared at her. "Well?" Diana questioned them again.

Nobody answered and Diana took it as the time to just let all the frustration out. "Your friend either failed math and/or logic when she was still in school," she started.

"Math, because she didn't seem to know that unless she's family and there's a reunion, a relationship was meant to be for two.people.only," she said, smiling.

"And logic!" She added, shocking the two women that it was as if they were going to jump off their skins any moment now. "Because unless she's family and there's a reunion, a relationship was meant to be for two.people.only." When she was finished, she looked at the both of them and opened her mouth. "I'm not a bitchy mistress that tries to look right for the wrong people so don't try talking to me as if I'm one. I came here to eat, not to be criticized by people who don't know the whole story," she finished. She turned around and was walking her way towards me when I decided to take a couple of steps back and pretended that I was just about to walk towards her.

She looked surprised when she noticed and tried smiling at me when I handed her the phone. I wasn't even sure if Megan didn't hang up while I was listening to Diana stand up for herself. Maybe it was a little too much but the women should have even an inkling of an idea that Diana was a walking landmine when it came to the subject of who's the villain in this love triangle.

When Diana excused herself, I heard the women starting to blabber about her again. I prepared a smile before approaching them. They were shocked when I went over to say hi.

"Word of advice ladies," I said, "it's never a good idea to talk about strangers behind their backs. You just never know the whole story or - I'm not saying she is, but she might be friends with the mafia. She might be - again, I'm not saying she is, calling someone to follow two women who thought they knew things when they actually do not know anything about her to begin with." I grinned before giving them a small bow.

I found shy women attractive, sure. They awaken the knight in shining armor in men. But strong women, make you question yourself. You just don't want to surpass her kind. It was more on trying to be her equal. Maybe her ex-boyfriend wasn't up for the challenge.

We both returned to a table Tory found for us.

The waitresses always walked away quickly when they passed us as Diana told us their company was going to visit a school as thanks. Something about a project to improve the classrooms and the school facilities.

She still looked a little annoyed but with Tory asking about her job, she was at least distracted.

When we were done eating, I offered that we take her home but she firmly denied. She bid us goodbye - patting Tory's shoulder lightly and telling me the words 'See you around William.'

While Tory and I were on the car, I remembered a client booking for tomorrow about going to Tory's school and Diana's last words. Maybe we'd meet and I could talk to her for a while. Maybe practice my skills on talking to women aside from people who babysit Tory for me.

Now who the hell was William?