Melodies of a stranger

Chapter 5

"Hi Maxi, lovely to meet you."

Maxi felt herself be wrapped up in the blonde woman's arms.

"You too...."

She was completely perplexed, what just happened? Why was Ruth on the floor? Why the hell was Riftan here? The woman held Maxi at arm's length inspecting her.

"Please call me Agnes. Oooooh, it's about time Ruth had a pretty lady by his side! I'm so happy for you both! You look lovely together!"

The woman's excitement was contagious. Maxi couldn't help but smile. "Uh, thanks. It's actually our-"

"Have you met my partner? His name's Riftan. Isn't he wonderful?"

Agnes bounced over into his arms and gave him a quick kiss. Maxi could feel dread in the pit of her stomach. He wasn't lying about seeing someone then. And how could she ever compare to this woman?

Maxi cast her eyes over her. She was beautiful. Her blonde hair was braided over her shoulder, and she wore a dark tank top and jeans with a plaid jacket over the top. Agnes had a body to die for. Why did she ever think Riftan would be interested in her? She felt inadequate by comparison. There didn't seem to be an ounce of fat on her. Probably because she seemed to bounce everywhere. Maxi felt exhausted just watching her.

Maxi glanced at Riftan, who looked handsome as usual in a blue shirt, jeans and a leather belt.

"Hey, Riftan sweetie, come meet Maxi."

"We've met before"

Riftan stared frowning at Maxi. She felt deeply uncomfortable, like she was being studied under a microscope.

Agnes looked happily between everyone.

"Great, since we all know each other now, I'm going to ask them to put us all in the same lane so we can play together."

Before anyone could utter a single word of complaint, Agnes ran off to the front desk. She was like a hurricane. Everyone was just swept along with her.

Riftan shrugged and started to look through the balls available to find one that was the correct size and weight for him. Ruth sighed dejectedly. He obviously wanted to keep Maxi to himself. She gave him a small smile. "She seems nice..."

"Yeah, she is. Agnes runs around like a foal with its tail on fire, but she has a good heart. Anyway, how do you know Calypse?"

"You mean Riftan?"

Ruth nodded. 'So his surname's Calypse....'

"I met him briefly when he came to perform on the ward. He has a wonderful voice."

A strange look briefly flitted across Ruth's face. Maxi wondered if she had imagined it. He turned to glance at the other man, seemingly consumed in his thoughts "Is everything ok?"

Ruth jolted slightly at the sound of her voice and began fiddling with a piece of hair resting on her shoulder. "Yeah, everything's fine, I just wish we could have spent more time alone together that's all."

Maxi opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by Agnes loudly shouting "I'm back! Now let's get this party started!"

⚝──⭒─⭑─⭒──⚝

Despite her initial irritation at the interruption, Maxi found herself enjoying her time with the group. She laughed at Agnes's jokes and bantered with Ruth. Riftan sat and watched what was going on, rarely choosing to join in.