Page 56 of The New Girl

Robbie scrunched up his nose. ‘Es, bye bye, kank you.’

Ruby had no idea if Robbie understood a word she’d said. She prayed that he’d be good and stay calm. There was no way Mr Karim could cope with one of Robbie’s fits. The poor man was still so weak. Ruby crossed her fingers.

She felt her mum’s hand on her shoulder. ‘Nervous?’

Ruby nodded. ‘Very.’

‘Don’t be, sweetheart. It’s going to be wonderful. This is going to be the happiest day of Safa’s life.’ Mum got choked up and dabbed her eyes with a tissue.

Ruby reckoned that her mum had cried more in the last few days than in the last few years, and that was saying something. Since Fiona had found out that Robbie had a place in Grangepark and that Ruby had led the search for Safa’s dad, she hadn’t stopped crying. Ruby had also never had so many hugs. Every time her mum or dad had seen her over the last few days, they had thrown their arms around her. It was nice and all, but it was a bit intense.

‘Oh God, Mum, please stop crying,’ Orla pleaded. ‘We’re all going to drown if you don’t stop. For once everything is actually good. We should be laughing and celebrating.’

Fiona nodded. ‘You’re right, but these are happy tears. Such happy tears. I feel so lucky to have such a ... such a ...’

‘Yeah yeah, such a brave daughter, I get it. You’ve only said it a zillion times. I’m still here, you know. I am also your child. Between Robbie and Ruby I might as well be invisible.’

‘No one could miss you with that tan.’ Dad grinned. ‘They can see you in space. Luminous, you are.’

‘Ha ha.’ Orla pretended to push her father away as he pulled her in for a hug.

Ruby looked at her watch. Fifteen minutes to go. She could feel emotion rising up through her chest. Her head was pounding. So many feelings were spinning around – joy, fear, excitement, nerves, relief, worry, happiness ... it was a whole mixture and it was churning around and around. She so badly wanted this to go perfectly.

She took deep breaths and tried to keep calm.

The doorbell rang. They all jumped.

‘Helloooooo, it’s us! Sorry we’re late. Clara insisted on getting changed three times!’ Denise shouted through the letterbox.

Ruby opened the door and the three friends hugged and squealed. It felt good to release some of the tension.

Annabelle shooed them inside. ‘Quick, Safa will be here soon.’ She closed the front door and went into the kitchen.

‘Is he here?’ Denise whispered.

‘Yes, he’s in the TV room,’ Ruby said.

‘What does he look like?’ Clara asked.

‘Well, he looks kind of old and sick, but happy too.’

‘Can we meet him?’ Clara asked.

‘He’s resting. He has very little energy. And he really wants to be able to stand up and walk when Safa arrives.’

Clara was not letting go. ‘Can we peep in? I just want to see him.’

Ruby knew Clara would keep pressing, so she and her two friends tiptoed towards the lounge and peeped in. Mr Karim still had his eyes closed.

‘He looks like my granddad.’ Denise was shocked.

‘Yes, well, he’s been through hell, remember, so obviously he’s not looking his best,’ Clara reminded her.

‘I know that. I’m just saying,’ Denise hissed.

Rima spotted them and came to the door.

‘Sorry, Mrs Karim, we just wanted to say hello,’ Clara whispered.

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