"Tim left to tour the city” Ruby said
“Alone?” I asked
“He said that he needed some air” she sighed
“He doesn’t know the area, at all” I reminded her
“I know but once he set his mind, no one can really change it” she shrugged “but he said he will call as soon as he is either confused or stranded”
“Okay” I said
“Where is mom?” she asked and by that simple question I couldn’t help but get butterflies from the thought of what she had done to me the previous night.
“She is still in bed” I said
“You know she used to be an early bird?” she asked
“Yes” I said. Before she went to bed, she had expressed how tired she was but in her defence we had been at it for hours without fail.
“I hope she is not sick” she said and I couldn’t help but chuckle “What?” she asked
“Nothing, I just remembered a joke” I lied
“Care to share the joke?” she asked
“Now that I think about it, it is not that funny” I said
“I still want to hear that joke”
“Okay, what is blue and not heavy?”| I asked
“I don’t know”
“Light blue” I said and a laugh erupted from Ruby. I knew that the joke wasn’t as funny as she made it seem but I was grateful for her support.
“Oh my goodness, you are the queen of comedy” she said while laughing
“That was not funny” I said
“No it is, no one has ever made me laugh like this” she said
“Clearly you are not surrounded by comedic geniuses” I chuckled and she continued to laugh, just as hard.
“Clearly” she smiled “now that it is just the two of us, how about we make breakfast for mom and maybe get to know each other?” she asked
“I already made breakfast for everyone, oats” I said happily
“Wow thank you, I love oats”
“I know and I love it too so this is a win win situation”
“My mother hates it” she said
“I know but we already eat unhealthy this little change won’t kill her” I said
“Yes discipline her”
“I am” I chuckled “let us go sit outside” I suggested
“Sure”
==
In only a few minutes, Ruby had set the table while I prepared the food. The oats was already cooked but the fruits had not been cut so I had to handle those. As soon as we settled in, we began eating.
“How are you liking this place?” I asked
“It is a huge house, I still get lost” she said
“Oh don’t feel bad because I get lost too”
“Thank you for making me feel better” she smiled “but would you ever leave this house?” she asked
“My father built this house for me so I don’t think I would ever move, he said that I must raise my children and grandchildren in this house because this is the only true legacy he left for me” I said
“That is amazing, my father gave me his old car and I don’t think that I would ever want to get rid of it” she said, from her facial expression I could tell that the thought of her father brought memories into her mind.
“Cherish that car with all your heart because there is a reason why he believed that you deserve it”
“I know” she smiled “I cannot believe that this has become my life”
“What do you mean?” I asked
“I have always wanted to be close with my mother and I have always wanted the best for her and because of you, I have both” she said
“Well…”
“Oh don’t be modest, my mother was sad at some point but because I was so angry at her, I couldn’t even be there for her but I wanted to hold her and tell her that everything would be fine but because I didn’t, I prayed and he finally answered my prayers”
“I am glad they did” I said.
“Me too”
“May I ask you a question?” I asked
“You can ask me anything” she assured me
“Are you happy with Tim?” I asked
“I was happy with him at the beginning but as time goes people are bound to see flaws in people that they care for and those flaws can somehow ruin the perfect relationship that you once had” she explained
“I do not understand that because every day I wake up and see Angie as the goddess that I saw when I walked into her office”
“In your case, you have met your soul mate but for some of us who are only passing time, once that spontaneous spark leave we try to find it elsewhere”
“So you are looking for someone else?” I asked
“No but if someone who made me happier came along, I would leave Tim”
“Is that what all teens do?” I asked
“I don’t know but you and mom gave me hope so why should I settle?”
“I understand all that but why did you bring him here if he wasn’t making you as happy as he was?”
“I felt bad for him, he is a good person and he had been through a lot so this was to make him feel that he is not alone”
“So you pity him?”
“If you say it like that, it sounds bad but it is the truth and I intend on breaking up with him after the wedding”
“I see”
“I wanted to break up with him a long time ago but I have never found the right time to tell him”
“I don’t think there is a right time to break up with someone simply because hurting someone is not easy, I believe that by taking all this time you are actually stalling while he falls in love with you harder”
“I know”
“So just tell him how you feel, the sooner the better because I don’t think pretending is helpful neither is it comfortable”
“I just don’t want to hurt him”
“I know but I want you to be happy and I don’t think that being with someone out of pity will ever fulfil you. Your mother didn’t want to stay with your father out of pity and your father didn’t want to make her feel like she didn’t deserve happiness and it worked out because your mother got the opportunity to feel free while your father had the opportunity to make your mother happy simply because he loved her” I explained
“But he was hurt” she said
“I know but he made that decision because he believed that your mother didn’t deserve to live a lie and because Tim loves you, he wouldn’t want you to live a lie or caged” I said
“I will talk to him”
“That will be good for the both of you” I said
“Thank you for the advice” she smiled and I nodded. “How did you know that I wasn’t happy?” she asked
“You are just like your mother, you can’t really hide your emotions” I chuckled
“Wow!” she laughed
“It is true, whenever your mother isn’t really having a good day she stares at things for too long and I you have been doing that an awful lot plus I don’t think anyone would let the people they love tour alone” I said
“Tim has always said that I am just like my mother and he didn’t even know him then” she chuckled
“Your mother is somewhat famous” I reminded her
“I always forget that, do you forget that your mother is famous?” she asked
“Yes and it is so much easy because I always spend my time indoor and my mother shielded me from the world” I said
“My mother also tried to protect me but as a rebel child, people started paying attention but I made sure that it doesn’t affect my life in anyway and I thank god every day that my mother is just locally famous” she chuckled
“I wish my mother was locally famous” I said
“But you are also famous now, everyone knows that you are the gay daughter of Mary Day and the lover of my mother Angelina Parks” she reminded me. I didn’t care much about my new found fame because Angie had ensured that we don’t deal with it.
“If it were up to me, I would erase myself from the minds of all these people who are invested in my life”
“If that was possible, I would fix my rep” she smiled
“Can the scientists hurry up with that?”
“At this point, I am begging them” she chuckled
“It is so weird how similar we are” she said
“It is but I love that it makes this easy”
“It does because I know people who have mistreated their step parents because they couldn’t connect with them” she said and my heart melted when she referred to me as her step parent, as subtle as it was.
“Sometimes people know what is best for their loved ones so they try to kick them out with good intention of course”
“But they barely give them a chance” she said “anyways I actually liked you from the beginning which made it better” she said
“I like you too, you are an amazing person but I had a different view of you when I was only getting to know your mother” I confessed
“Really?”
“Yes, on the first meeting, your mother called you but she couldn’t reach you so after some time you called her back and you were the rudest person, I actually wanted to rescue your mother and maybe fill that gap because from the looks of it, she didn’t deserve such rudeness” I did not know how she would take this but I wanted her to know how I actually felt.
“I was rude to her so you are justified but I am glad you don’t feel that way anymore” she smiled
“You turned out to be a hurt teen and I remember how that was when my mother left me to deal with everything while she grieved in hotels” I said
“Look at us bonding over mommy issues” she chuckled.
“Amazing isn’t it?”
“It is and I think that perhaps I should refer to you as my other parent?” she asked
“I love that idea but don’t call me mommy” I chuckled
“Are you sure mommy?” she joked
“Oh please stop, I am still very young but parent will do for now” I said
“I still love it Jay” she said
“Jay?” I asked
“Yes”