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So instead of texting her back, I do the very unusual thing for me and dial her number.
“You know, I’ll be honest, you don’t strike me as the I love to chat on the phone kind of guy,” she says when she picks up.
I laugh. “That’s because I’m not. But I wanted to hear about your dad, so I decided to make an exception.”
Ruby hums softly into the phone, and again I get the distinct impression that she doesn’t want to discuss this.
“What happened?” I prod.
She lets out a long, quiet sigh, something I can barely hear from my end, almost like she’s gearing up to tell me.
“He’s not here.”
My brow furrows in confusion. “What?”
Another pause. “His wife is here, and so are their two kids, but apparently dear old dad had a last-minute business trip he had to take and he won’t be back until Thursday.”
I remain reclined on the couch in the living room of the home I grew up in, a place where I’ve made a million memories surrounded by the family I love so much, and I wonder what could possibly be going through Ruby’s mind right now.
To travel across the country in the hopes of building a relationship with her father only to arrive and have him not even be there?
It must feel like a slap in the face.
“So, I’ll be spending the first half of my twelve-day trip by myself.”
I wish there were something I could say to make her feel…anything other than what’s probably going through her mind right now, but I stay silent, letting her figure out what else she wants to say about it.
She lets out a humorless laugh. “Like, if I’d fucking known he wasn’t going to be here, we could have rescheduled, you know? But instead I’m just going to be stuck in this little town all alone and I just…”
She pauses, and I can tell she’s trying not to let her irritation overrun her. I can tell just from the short time we spent together that Ruby isn’t the type of person to let things get her down, and to hear her so frustrated and dejected makes me sad for her.
“I’m so sorry, Ruby.”
She huffs. “I’m fine. Linda clearly doesn’t want me here, but there’s nothing to be done about it. I’ve been relegated to their guesthouse where I can sit out on the porch and look at the lake, so I’m just gonna go to the little store I saw as I drove into town to grab some snacks then I’ll sit outside and watch the sunset. It’s not anything too horrible.”
“That sounds like a great night,” I say, suddenly wishing we could sit out on her porch and watch the sunset together.
“What are you up to this evening?” she asks, and I can hear her tone turn teasing. “Your family suiting up to play the 49ers tonight?”
I roll my eyes, holding back the bit of laughter that bubbles up. “Okay, my family isn’t that big.”
“Meh,” she says, and I just shake my head. “I can’t imagine having so many siblings. Have you ever seen those shows where families have like, twelve kids? I remember the first time I saw something like that my mind was absolutely blown right out of my skull. I mean, here I am, me and my single mama, just the two of us barely making rent in a tiny apartment in Chelsea, and these families have literally fifteen fucking people living in one huge house.” She laughs. “That’s totally how I picture things where you are, some gorgeous mansion and everyone posing for a huge family photo like the Kardashians. Ugh, this is what I get for allowing myself to watch reality TV when I’m on my period and too exhausted to go spend time outside.”
I’m just about to tell her about our infamous Halloween costume when my mind rewinds to something she said earlier, about the house she’s staying in and the view.
“Wait, back up a second—did you say you have a view of a lake?” I ask, my heart slowly increasing in tempo, the thud of it echoing slightly in my ears.
“Not just a view of the lake—I’m literally on the lake. There are people out there right now tubing and partying and having a good time. I’m kind of in a quiet corner, though, which is nice. I probably won’t have to worry about a group of college kids parking their pontoon out front and blasting music until I want to strangle them.”
There’s no way. Right?
No way she’s…
“I should have asked you if you’d heard of it since you grew up in California. Have you ever been to a town called Cedar Point?”
The pulsing beat in my veins throbs to life so all I can hear is the sound of my own heartbeat in my ears and the sound of her voice telling me she’s…
“It’s super cute, and the way it smells here is amazing, like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. I mean, I love going out in nature back at home, but these pine trees smell like the most delicious, mountainy goodness. The air is so crisp and clean…”
