It Happens in Threes

A warning whisper in the back of her mind didn’t stop Ruby from pushing open her fiancé’s bedroom door.
“Thomas? Where the…” Her voice broke off at the sight of her fiancé under the covers, in a position that told her he wasn’t sick and he sure as heck wasn’t alone.
Shock bolted her to the spot. Her stomach cramped. Ruby wanted to heave. More than anything, she wanted to get the hell out of there.
“I guess I should have made dinner for three.”
Startled in mid-thrust, Thomas fell out of bed. Groping around the floor for his pants, he hit his head on the nightstand. “Shit.”
Good, she thought as she pivoted and ran from the room.
“Ruby, wait…”
“Go to hell!” she yelled back at him as she raced down the stairs.
Before she reached the front door, Thomas grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. Rage shook her but Ruby managed to shoot daggers at him until he released her arm.
“What? What could you possibly say that would make me feel any better? Don’t give me some cliché about it not being what it seemed. Do I look that stupid to you?”
“Let me explain. You have to listen to me.”
Stabbing a finger at his chest, she said, “No I don’t, you despicable, slimy, two-timer!”
“I’ll fix it. You know we’re perfect together, sweetheart. I love you.”
“But you don’t love me enough to keep it in your pants! How do I know you will once we’re married?” She thumped her palm against her head. “What the hell am I saying? Of course you won’t. If you’re doing some bimbo now, you couldn’t possibly be faithful—ever! Once a louse, always a louse.”
“I needed…I just needed…”
“It looks as if your need was taken care of, and since you don’t need me,” she set the paper bag down. “Here.” She struggled to get the engagement ring off before it burned and branded her.
“Ruby, don’t, please don’t. You’ll change your mind, I know you will.”
She stiffened, looked him straight in the eye, and kneed him in the groin. Thomas screamed in pain, grabbed himself, and fell like dead weight to his knees.
“While you’re down there, here’s your ring.” Ruby ripped the offending band off her finger and threw it at him.
She bent down, pulled the lasagna out of the bag and with the aim of a Harlem Globe Trotter, dumped it over his head.
“There’s your surprise dinner, you son of a bitch.”
Yanking the mahogany door open, Ruby heard it bounce off the interior wall as she flew out of the traitor’s house and to her car. She listened to the click of the locks, shoved her key in the ignition, and started it up. The engine roared to life. She paused, looked at the boxes of personal possessions that came from her office desk, and then beat her forehead against the steering wheel, trying to make reality disappear.
Through tear-blurred eyes Ruby saw Thomas exiting the house, hopping on one leg, still zipping up his pants, tomato sauce dripping down his face. Noodles slithered down his bare chest like the snake he was. Slamming the car into reverse, she revved out of the drive and back onto the main road.
“This can’t be happening! I don’t deserve this. First, I’m fired from my job. Then Thomas slips the big-one to some ¬bimbo, ¬giving a feeble excuse of needing. What did he need? More of her time and attention? According to the boss who fired her that couldn’t be true. According to her ex-boss, she was too pre-occupied with her personal life to do her job. What the hell is next?” Two down and one to go. She knew there would be something, because ¬everything happens in threes.