‘My real name is Quaddra Buckner,’ he revealed, tapping his index finger on each of the three credit cards that he had placed on the table. He then returned to his wallet, this time retrieving his driver’s license and placing it just above the row of credit cards.
Mary angled her torso slightly forward to read the information on the credit cards and on the driving license. The name matched – Quaddra Buckner – and so did the photo on the license.
‘For this next part,’ Quaddra said, ‘I think you’ll be more comfortable if you sit down, Mary.’
Mary poked the inside of her left cheek with her tongue once again. ‘What do you mean – this next part?’
‘Please, have a seat,’ Quaddra urged her. His voice was back to its calm, almost serene tone. ‘And I’ll explain. You’ll see how all this was, once again, just a big misunderstanding. I’m not who you’re clearly imagining I am.’
Mary hesitated for a quick moment. While she did, she noticedthat several pairs of eyes, not only the ones belonging to the couples sitting on the tables to their left and right, had settled on her… and that was definitely unwanted attention.
We either sit the fuck down or we leave,the voice inside her head warned her.Because any second now people will start reaching for their cellphones and filming everything for their social media… and we really don’t want that, do we?
Mary finally sat back down, but as she returned to her seat, she was careful to slide her chair a couple of feet away from the table, so that her legs wouldn’t sit completely under it, in case she needed to get up and run… or kick the table into Quaddra.
Forty-Two
The restaurant that Mary and Quaddra were in wasn’t exactly full to capacity, but it was busy enough for a Wednesday evening, and their argument had already attracted plenty of attention. But as Mary returned to their table, she noticed that all the extra pairs of eyes that were on her just seconds earlier, had slowly begun moving their attention back to their own businesses. Nothing to see here, really – just a couple having a quick disagreement. Thankfully, no one seemed to have been filming any of it.
‘Thank you,’ Quaddra said, as Mary took her seat, placing both of her feet flat against the ground and keeping her back straight, not quite touching the chair’s backrest, in case she needed to quickly get up and go.
‘You can check my driver’s license for signs of forgery, if you want.’ He nodded at it.
Mary had no idea of how to check for a forged driver’s license, but still, she picked it up and ran the tips of her fingers against it, maybe looking for some sort of roughness or anything that felt odd. She got nothing – no dents… no boldness… no unevenness… nothing but a perfectly smooth document. She checked the photo – everything looked one hundred percent legit. She returned the driver’s license to the table before fixing Quaddra with a solid stare.
‘So? Your real name is Quaddra, not Thomas, but I still haveno fucking idea of who the hell you really are, or why you lied about your name.’
‘That was going to be my next step.’
‘Was?’
‘I mean… is.’
‘OK, so let’s hear it then.’
Quaddra nodded at Mary’s handbag, which was still slung over her right shoulder. ‘You’re going to need your phone for this.’
‘What?’ Mary’s brow creased. ‘My phone?’
Quaddra nodded.
‘Why?’
‘You’ll see.’
Mary made no motion for her handbag.
‘This isn’t a trick, Mary,’ Quaddra said, nodding at his breast pocket. ‘I could lend you my phone, but you might think that it’s somehow rigged. By you using your phone, it lends credibility to what you’re about to see.’
Mary studied the man sitting across the table from her. He seemed relaxed, his tone confident. She, too, acted as calm as she possibly could, finally reaching into her handbag to retrieve her cellphone.
‘OK, now what?’ she asked. ‘Take a selfie?’
‘No,’ Quaddra replied. ‘All you need to do is google my name.’
‘Excuse me?’
‘Just google, or use whichever search engine you prefer, and search for Quaddra Buckner… see what you get.’
