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As I watch her reach over to touch the window shade then pull her hand back again with an irritated little huff, I smile, realizing there are a lot of layers to Ruby. And for the first time in my life, I’m desperate to explore more than one.
chapter four
Ruby
When the attendants finally come around to collect our trays, I feel thankful to stretch out a little bit again. I grab the blanket that was sitting on my seat when I first boarded and unfold it, tucking the soft fabric around my legs.
I’ve always been one of those people who gets cold no matter what. I’m like a walking ice cube most of the time. It frustrates my roommate because I always keep the temperature in our apartment at about 75, and she’s one of those people who hates the sun. In her ideal world, she’d be living in the snow year-round.
“So what takes you to California?” I ask, curling up slightly and resting my back against the wall of the plane. “You said you live in Boston, so…are you visiting someone?”
Please not a girlfriend.
Please not a girlfriend.
He nods, something like happiness coming onto his face.
“Yeah. Heading back to my hometown to stay with my family for a couple weeks. I do this every year. All of us do.”
I smile. “All of us? Sounds like you have a big family.”
I know I’m prying, pushing my luck with this man who seems to constantly battle with whether or not he wants to talk to me, but he’s been indulging me so far—hesitantly at first, but with more interest as time has gone on. I give myself the excuse that I’ll quit talking to him when he asks me to.
“It doesn’t feel big to me, but I guess it’s all based on what you know. I have four siblings—three sisters and a brother.”
My eyes widen, the idea of that many people in one house completely outside my realm of understanding.
“I bet the wait to use the bathroom in the morning was crazy.”
Boyd laughs. “You have no idea.”
“How was that growing up? Did you ever get time alone?”
“Well, no, actually. I have a family who likes to get into each other’s business, whether I like it or not, and I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m a man who likes his alone time.”
I blush slightly at his vague insinuation that I’m interrupting his quiet time on the plane, but thankfully he doesn’t dwell on it.
“Having four siblings was a little rough when I was going through my moody phase.”
“Is that why you’ve never grown out of it?” I tease.
He shakes his head but doesn’t lose the smile at my joke. “You make a habit of poking most bears you come across?”
“Come on. You know most bears are big softies.”
Boyd chuckles softly before continuing.
“I’m the oldest, which was the only thing working in my favor since I was able to leave for college first. The next oldest is Briar. She’s 27, two years younger than me. Bishop and Bellamy—they’re twins—are 21, and Busy is 19.”
“Your family went all in with the B names, huh?”
He rolls his eyes. “Yeah. It’s always been our least favorite thing. Some people think it’s so cute—like my mother—but it gets really confusing for people who aren’t in our family.”
“So you’re going to visit them for the end of summer?” I ask, resting my head against the seat.
He nods. “Yeah. It’s tradition. All the Mitchell kids go home for the last two weeks of August.”
“That’s really cool,” I say, realizing with a wistful kind of wonder that I’ve never had something like that in my life before. “I’m assuming you guys are all really close if you get together?”
