Page 15 of No One's Like You
Ruby throws herself at her like when she was a child and something had hurt her. She cries inconsolably, and her body convulses with each sob. Adele holds her as she always has and lets her daughter vent.
"Amelia and I broke up."
Adele can do nothing but support her and rubs her hand across her back to give her strength. She's very sure that this breakup comes hand in hand with Ellie's divorce. Ellie Trahan, her daughter's great love.
Chapter 9
Ruby sips listlessly at the coffee her mother prepared for her. She's barely slept, and her eyes, swollen from crying, sting from lack of sleep. She spent the night at her mother's house because she couldn't bear to be within the four walls she shared with Amelia until yesterday. Everything reminds her of her, and although the breakup was mutual, the pain feels so real that last night she decided to seek refuge under the same roof where she grew up.
"You should eat something, Ruby," her mother says as she places a toast with jam in front of her. "Coffee alone will just make you more anxious."
Ruby nods after a deep sigh and picks up the toast.
"How's it going with Mrs. Bergeron?" she asks, trying to change the subject to clear her mind.
Adele lets out an exasperated snort and sits across from her daughter with her coffee cup.
"She's an insufferable woman," she declares, rolling her eyes. "Just yesterday, I had to endure her telling me my shoes were outdated and in poor taste."
Ruby holds back laughter, wishing she could watch the interactions between her mother and Odette Bergeron through a peephole.
"And what did you say to her?"
"That since she no longer stands up, she shouldn't worry so much about footwear fashion," Adele replies, taking a sip of her coffee.
Ruby bursts into loud laughter, and her mother smiles proudly for managing to draw out that sound.
"Don't laugh, honey. Afterward I had to listen to a half-hour lecture about the importance of maintaining elegance even in the worst circumstances," Adele continues. "And when I told her I didn't have to meet her fashion standards, you know what she did?"
Ruby shakes her head, now more interested.
"She grabbed a glass of water she had beside her and spilled half of it on me, claiming it slipped from her hands."
"Seriously?" Ruby asks with wide eyes.
"You heard right. So I, very calmly, took the entire pitcher of water from the table and emptied it over her legs," Adele raises her eyebrows with feigned innocence. "After all, she wasn't going to feel it, right?"
"Mom!" Ruby exclaims, both horrified and amused.
"Don't think I'm insensitive, honey, but someone needs to put that woman in her place," Adele pauses after considering the irony of what she just said, but doesn't emphasize the comment. "I don't like how she talks to her son, and since he doesn't dare stand up to her, I do. You should have seen her expression when she saw her spotlesspants were wet. First, she turned white, then red as a tomato."
Ruby sits stunned, wondering how Mrs. Bergeron hasn't fired her mother yet.
"And you know what's most curious?" Adele continues.
Ruby shakes her head, mouth agape.
"Darwin arrived right at that moment, and when he asked why his mother was wet, she answered that her glass had slipped and I was going to help her change."
"Really?"
"Yes," Adele flashes a triumphant smile. "You know what I think? Deep down, she likes having someone who stands up to her. Her children are pushovers who let her get away with anything, and the previous nurses ran off as soon as she started ranting, but with me, she's hit a wall."
Ruby smiles again, impressed and satisfied that her mother seems pleased with this job where she apparently spends her days arguing with Odette.
"Today I'm taking her for a walk," her mother continues. "I've decided enough is enough with this self-imposed confinement she subjects herself to out of pure pride. She'll get some sun on her face, even if I have to drag her out."
Ruby raises an eyebrow and bites her tongue to avoid saying how much that woman reminds her of herself.
