Page 47 of No One's Like You
Ellie's jaw is about to hit the floor. Although the new sensation of starting to date Ruby has captured her senses, she hasn't been able to set aside the concern about the bar. And now, suddenly, as if fallen from heaven, this woman proposes a deal that solves the imminent closure of her dream, The Early Bayou.
"I don't know what to say," Ruby speaks and approaches Odette. She hugs her spontaneously and Odette, stiff, raises an arm and puts it on her back. "Thank you for doing this."
"Well, you have to pay rent and I'll raise it five percent from what you were paying," Odette says shamelessly.
Ellie opens her eyes. The old woman is a tyrant.
"And they say Mr. Fox is the miser," the girl blurts out.
"It's business, dear," says Odette, takes a donut, and brings it to her mouth with a delicacy that seems rehearsed.
Ruby smiles, pleased. Odette pretends again to be a stone with sharp edges, but she knows very well that's not the case. They were paying a relatively low rent because they had renovated the place twice, and raising it just five percent still keeps it far from the prices in the French Quarter.
"You've saved us, Odette," Ruby tells her, and she's not just talking about the place. It's also about everything that, perhaps without wanting to, she's given to her mother.
Odette's eyes mist over, but she quickly composes herself.
"My lawyer will send you the contract," Odette acts as if she hadn't been about to cry. "We're legalizing everything with Albert Fox and then it'll be your turn."
"This calls for a toast," Adele proposes, who until now had remained quiet. "To Odette and to you, girls."
Odette pretends to find it corny, but the smile that barely shows on her lips says otherwise. She's happy to have a new business, to help two entrepreneurs, and to have Adele by her side. She won't admit it, but her new friend has also given her back her life.
Chapter 29
One month later
Girls' Wednesday
Ruby stares at the document in her hands, unable to contain a smile of satisfaction that spreads across her face. It's the new lease for The Early Bayou, except now, the signature below the tenant's name belongs to Odette Bergeron. After so many months of stress and thinking they would lose the bar, they can finally breathe easy, knowing their business is safe.
"You don't know what a relief this is. That issue was keeping me up at night," Ellie says, sitting across from her in the bar's backyard with a beer in hand.
It's girls' Wednesday, and although they signed the contract yesterday, they decided to wait to celebrate during their favorite time of the week, something they aren't willing to give up, even though their relationship has changed. Now, the only difference is that instead of being two friends who take this moment to talk about their lives, they're a couple.
"Me too," Ruby admits, tucking the contract back into the envelope as if it were treasure. "Odette saved our business."
"We need to build that woman a monument," Ellie says. "She saved us and your mom."
Ruby raises her beer and smiles at Ellie with a different kind of tenderness. In this last month, they've not only managed to save the bar, but their relationship has gradually solidified in such a simple and natural way that neither of them could have ever imagined. As the days pass, Ruby has stopped fearing that Ellie might not feel completely comfortable, and Ellie continues wanting to bang her head against the wall for having been so blind for so many years.
"Hey, I wanted to mention something to you," Ruby says, changing the subject.
Her expression becomes so serious when she says it that Ellie sits up straight in her chair.
"What's wrong?" she asks, alarmed.
"Remember when I told you that once we resolved the bar situation, I'd go do Route 66?" Ruby asks, beginning to pick at the label on her beer bottle.
Ellie feels something ice-cold pass through her chest. With everything that's happened between them in these last weeks, she had completely forgotten that Ruby had planned to take that trip.
"Yes, I remember," Ellie responds, swallowing to try to loosen the knot in her throat.
"Well, I think now would be a good time to start planning it," Ruby continues.
"Yes, of course," Ellie says, trying to keep her voice from revealing the trembling she feels inside. "It's always been your dream. Go ahead, I'll take care of the bar without any problem until you return."
Ruby observes Ellie's expression and has to hold back laughter. No matter how hard she tries, Ellie is incapable of hiding her frustration or what Ruby perceives as disappointment and sadness.
