Something Missing - ONC 2024

Chapter 6 - Causing a Disturbance

AN: I've changed where Alfonso's brother lives from Acton to Plumstead as it is a lesser known part of London and further from the hotel. :)

'Let me remind you again. I was found innocent. After wasting away ten years of my life, no thanks to the smear campaign against me,' Jon hissed.

'Slander is a crime. And Britain has some of the strictest libel laws in the world. You would be wise to remember that.' He stepped right up to Sandra until he was in her personal space, almost stepping on her feet. Rita replaced the tray with the coffees she had picked up. Her heart was in her throat.

'Are you threatening me?' Sandra shouted.

She stepped back and swung her fist at him, smacking his cheek so he staggered backwards into a table where two elderly men were sitting playing a game of chess with a full pot of tea on the side. The pieces spilled into their laps, then onto the floor. The teapot landed in the lap of one of the men. Sandra continued shouting, 'How dare you? After everything you did! How dare you threaten me?'

The man who had had the tea spilled on him got up slowly, cursing under his breath in Arabic. His trousers were soaked with the scalding liquid. He took a step and almost stumbled, grasping the back of a wobbly chair for support. Rita abandoned the coffees on an empty table and went to help the old man. He was wincing and had trouble walking. She put her arm around him and walked him to the back of the cafe, helped him sit down on a chair by the toilets.

'Do you need help?'

The man shook his head.

'Get out,' the woman who owned the cafe was shouting at Jon and Sandra. 'Don't ever come back here. You're banned.'

'I am deeply sorry,' Rita heard Jon saying in a tone that was well spoken and smooth. 'Sandra has mental issues. If I had known...'

'I don't care what kind of issues you both have. Out.' Jon's shoes clattered as Rita heard the woman shoving him towards the door.

'I need a taxi,' the old man said in a tremulous voice from behind the toilet door, as the cafe owner walked up behind Rita. 'Help me, please. I need to go to hospital.'

Rita ordered a taxi on her phone. She and the cafe owner stayed with the man until the taxi arrived.

*

In the tube, Rita and Alfonso managed to find seats near the back of the train. The tube was lined with seats on each side stretching down in a long line, covered with purple fabric. It was a new design where there were no dividers between the carriages and it was hard to see the end.

Rita laid her head on Alfonso's shoulder. 'I hope that old guy is OK. Being burnt with that much hot water at his age can be devastating. I wanted to give him some first aid but he wouldn't let me.'

'You helped him a lot, Rita. You got him away from any more injuries and also got him a taxi to the hospital. How shit for the cafe owner for that lot to fight in there.' Alfonso stroked her hair.

'I'm glad we ate a meal in there afterwards,' Rita said. The breakfast they had had had been tasty enough. Despite putting on a hard front the cafe owner seemed like she was incredibly relieved they had stayed.

'Me too, it was good, and I wanted to show the cafe some support after that fight.' He held her close. 'Sandra doesn't seem well, does she? It's sad when you meet people like that.'

'Unfortunately, I encounter many,' Rita said. 'We end up having to act as mental health professionals a lot of the time, or step in when they have failed. And if Jon Phillips really did kill her sister, or she believes he did, and he's walking free, that would have tipped her over the edge. Didn't you say that she'd written to Eloise in prison? That's not going to help her wellbeing.'