This was the third day Gus had noticed the man leaning against the wall of the building across the street. For some reason he couldn't see what Ruby saw. He studied the man some more. Tall and awkward, a man who didn't seem to fit in, like many of the customers who came into Ruby's.

Gus chuckled. Though she didn't know it, Ruby had a way of drawing the odd balls of the world into her circle. He let his eyes roam around the room. Mal, a bulky man who was always dressed in a suit, had been coming in since he and Ruby had taken over the café years ago. Mal never spoke about himself. In the ten years Gus had known him, he had never seen Mal with anyone. He came most days making small talk about the weather or politics. On other days saying nothing, and then on some stirring the crap out of Ruby.

Then there was Harry Butler a retired barrister who had plenty of stories to tell. Some horror filled and others joyful. Harry had no family, never had time for it apparently and was alone in the world.

Sid Collins sat across from him. Gus chortled, Sid the comedic ex-ambulance officer. He'd seen too much horror and too much death for one life time so he'd retired. When his wife died Sid had been drawn to Ruby's.

Even Annie was an outcast of sorts. Her caring nature to those worse off than herself made her a freak in the eyes of some.

There were others who came and went. They hid in the safety of the booths keeping to themselves and peering at others with anxious eyes.

Eyes, which held secrets of their own.

Gus let his gaze fall on his wife. Beautiful ebony skinned Ruby who had befriended him when he desperately needed a friend. He murmured drolly. Ruby looked up at him puzzled.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing, honey. Nothing at all." He shook his head and headed back to the grill so Ruby followed him.

"I know you, Gus Williams. When you laugh or do anything at all there's always a reason."

"That fellow." Gus pointed across the road with his tongs. "I think you got it wrong, Roobs. Sid and Harry haven't seen him following Annie. I've been thinking about it. About you and me. I reckon he's in love with Annie."

Ruby laughed and shook her head. "Have you been drinking in here, Gus? What's he got to do with you and me and besides, he's only been in two times how could he be in love with her?"

"Because I know." Gus put down his tongs and wrapped his arms around his wife. "I only saw you twice in that pub up on Thursday Island. That's all it took for me to fall in love with you, honey, so why couldn't that be his problem. Annie's a pretty girl, just like you so why not, hey? You didn't think I was a nutcase, did you, when I went into that pub to stare at you?"

Ruby felt her face heat. She glanced across the road, and then back at her husband. "But, Gus, you didn't look as... well... as weird and I knew where you worked and the men you worked with."

"Yeah, but I wasn't happy. You know how they treated me. Called me neut and lard arse. Just because I was a big guy didn't mean I was a fighter. You know me, Roobs, gentle giant. Because I didn't live up to the expectations of how others thought I should be they gave me shit. Bullied me. That is until I met you. They all wanted you. Did you know that?"

"No, they didn't." She chuckled and slapped him lightly on the arm. "If they did I'd have known about it."

"They were scared of you." Gus raised his eyebrows at her. "Because you weren't the sort of girl to take any crap, not one of them had the guts to go near you. I did, and you took notice of me." He bent down and kissed her cheek. "You know what they called me after that?"

"What, honey? You've never told me any of this before." She reached up and rubbed her husband's cheek. "What did they call you after that?"

"They called me lover boy or stud. Then things got better. They lay off with the taunts because you befriended me and gave me a chance at life." Gus glanced up at the man leaning on the wall. "If it was now, Roobs. Me standing over there looking at you. Does that mean you wouldn't give me a chance?"

She studied the man. "That depends. Would you be dressed like him?"

Gus followed her gaze and grinned. "Probably not."

Ruby stood on tip toes and kissed him. "So there. See. That's the difference. He's weird and you're not." She let him go and headed toward the counter beaming.

"So, you're judging the man on the way he dresses?" Gus held his palms out with a bewildered look on his face. He watched Ruby wink.

"You've always been a smart dresser, Gus Williams. For all your other faults I can honestly say I've never had any complaints about the way you dress."

"Faults? What other faults?"

Ruby laughed and blew him a kiss as she moved out of sight.

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