We were so different. In age. In our likes. He was a stone-cold killer and I had no place.

Silence fell between us.

Slavik like always, held his cell phone, typing away.

Other couples were looking at each other, swooning. Or at the very least with lust. What did I get? Sat at a table, pretty much ignored. Slavik refused to give me the time for strained conversation.

Time ticked by, and along with it, my patience.

All my life, I’d been told to be quiet, to not make waves. I was nearly killed a week ago, and I’d followed all the rules. Not once had it helped me.

Sitting up, I put my arms on the table and looked at my husband. “Did you talk to my father?” I asked.

I must have taken Slavik by surprise because he finally looked up.

Silence.

I would not look away. This time, in a restaurant, we would at the very least pretend to want to be around each other.

Not that I should care. I was already a mockery wherever I went. For some reason, I felt rebellious tonight. Like I wanted him to notice me. Sergei had terrified me, to be frank. The only person offering to be my friend was the one person who could get killed for being so.

“I don’t talk business,” he said.

“Then what would you like to talk about?” I asked.

“What is this?”

“You drag me out of your home. Dress me up. Sit me here, for appearances’ sake. Am I right?”

He didn’t say anything.

“Then we sit here and you make me a complete laughing stock because you cannot even give your wife the time of day. You’re always attached to your phone. Are you, like, addicted to social media? You do the endless scrolling?” I needed to shut up. Clearly when I was attacked, something went wrong inside my brain because my lips kept on working when they should stay shut.

“Are you on social media?”

“No,” I said. I wasn’t allowed an account. My sister had been until she did the stupid thing of taking a selfie at a private party. Guess who got the punishment for that, little old me. Daddy didn’t like to punish his sweet girl. “Just because I don’t have an account doesn’t mean I don’t understand it. I don’t know you or what you do, but I can guess. If you don’t want to talk shop, fine. Just don’t ignore me. I’d rather eat at home if that’s what you want. I’m sure you have a lot more to do other than this.”

“Women like being taken out to dinner.”

“This woman likes to be acknowledged as actually existing. You’ve ignored me all week.”

“I’ve been busy.”

“With work you won’t talk about.” I shrugged. “We’re running around in circles right now.”

The waiter came, and I stopped, taking a deep breath. What the hell was wrong with me?

“Excuse me.”

I got to my feet, ignoring my husband, and walked to the ladies’ room. Entering, I saw there was no one there. I had no need for the toilet, so I went straight to the sink.