Page 35 of No One's Like You
Ellie nearly falls off her chair hearing this and has to take a long swig of beer to try to buy time.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she says, watching Ruby from the corner of her eye, making sure she's still far from the table.
"You know perfectly well," Jerome insists. "You can play dumb all you want, Ellie, but I know what I saw the night of the party."
"Oh, really?" she challenges him. "And what did you supposedly see?"
"I saw how you practically devoured her during that kiss. I think everyone there noticed the connection between you two, and don't tell me it's not true," he points his finger at her. "And you've confirmed it now with these stupid comments you're making that are nothing but the result of jealousy you feel about Ruby tasting lips other than yours."
Ellie can't respond. She could lie and accuse him of imagining things that aren't real, but they are. Jerome is right, and Ellie feels too overwhelmed to deny the obvious.
"I won't pressure you about this, Ellie. You're a big girl who knows what you need to do, but I'll give you one piece of advice: if you really like Ruby, do something or you'll end up losing her."
Ellie's eyes lock with her friend's while she processes what he just said, but the conversation ends there because Ruby returns to the table.
"What does good old Adele say?" Jerome asks as if nothing happened.
"She called to invite us to eat with her and Odette," she says, giving Ellie a tap on the leg that her friend feels like an electric shock. "Should I tell her you're coming too?"
"Yes, of course," Ellie says, coming out of her trance.
"Give them my regards. I'll leave you two, as these hands need to keep working their magic," he says, waving his enormous fingers in the air.
When Ruby and Ellie arrive at Adele's house, they're surprised to hear the two women chatting in the kitchen. Adele has already told Ruby that her relationship with Odette has improved a lot, but she hadn't imagined how much.
"I thought they hated each other," Ellie says with a look of surprise.
"I thought they tolerated each other, but I wasn't expecting this," Ruby responds, smiling.
"Well, that's much better," Ellie says. "We haven't just gotten your mother out of her isolation, but it seems she's made a new friend."
"Yes."
Ruby smiles and they both go to the kitchen to say hello.
"Here are my favorite girls," Adele says, hugging her daughter first and then Ellie.
She wasn't in favor of inviting Ellie knowing what that means for Ruby, but Odette insisted, claiming that thanks to the persistence of both girls, Adele and she have gottento know each other and their lives are changing for the better.
"Help me carry all this," Adele says once they've greeted Odette, "the food is ready."
Ruby and Ellie obey and set the table while Adele pulls out a chair and makes room beside her for Odette.
"How are those venues you've been looking at?" Adele asks while serving the food.
"Not good," Ellie responds. "None of the ones we've seen work for us. One needs too much renovation and the other is too far from our current place and we'd lose almost all our customers."
"Venues for what?" Odette asks with interest.
She already knows what's happening with the girls' bar because Adele has mentioned it briefly, but she wants them to tell her themselves, so Ruby and Ellie give her a summary of the situation.
"What a mess," Odette says.
"Yeah," Ellie sighs.
"Well, don't worry, I'm sure it'll work out in the end," the woman says. "Can I ask you a personal question?"
Ruby and Ellie look at each other.
