Page 5 of No One's Like You
She rushes out from behind the bar and, before Ellie can hiccup again, her body is wrapped in her friend's arms. She comforts her for a couple of minutes until she manages to calm down and helps her off the stool.
"Let's go to the patio and you can tell me what's happening," Ruby decides, taking Ellie's cocktail and a beer for herself.
Ellie grabs a few paper napkins and follows her to one of the iron tables, the one right in the center.
"What happened, Ellie? Why are you like this?"
"On Monday I had a fight with Marcel that ended with me kicking him out," she confesses and pauses to savor a sip of her cocktail.
"You kicked him out?" Ruby asks, perplexed.
"Yes."
"But..."
"I broke up with him, Ruby, for good."
Ruby gapes without saying anything, unable to understand.
"But, Ellie, I didn't know things were bad between you. Why didn't you tell me anything before?"
"Because I was embarrassed. All my relationships always end the same way and I wanted this one to work, to have at least one turn out right, but I couldn't make it happen," she admits, overwhelmed. "Now I can add one more failure to my list."
"Hey, you don't have to be embarrassed with me about anything. If things aren't going well, you tell me, damn it. You don't have to go through this alone," Ruby scolds her. "Always together, remember?"
Of course Ellie remembers.
"Yes, I know," Ellie smiles while wondering why the hell she can't find a man who's as sweet and understanding as Ruby.
"Why didn't you tell me on Monday when we saw each other?" Ruby inquires.
"Because I wasn't sure if he'd left like I asked. Marcel is a bit stubborn and sometimes doesn't listen or take into account what I want, but when I got home he was gone, and I can't describe the relief I felt. I should have done it sooner," Ellie explains.
"And on Tuesday, why didn't you come? Was it because of him or because you needed to be alone?"
"Well, now that you mention it, being alone helped me think, but I did it so he wouldn't have to come pick up his things," Ellie pauses to blow her nose. "Once I realized he was gone, I didn't want him coming back. The house is mine and I felt like I'd regained my privacy. So I changed the locks and spent the day packing his stuff. Now I just need to be there the day he sends the truck to get it all."
Ellie continues taking sips of her cocktail until she finishes it, savoring the last one with pleasure.
"Want another?" Ruby offers.
"No, a beer is fine. I'll get them."
Ellie stands up and returns with two bottles.
"And what did you think about yesterday while packing his things?" Ruby asks, opening her beer.
"That I'm sick of men. Those specimens are done for me," Ellie declares.
Ruby's heart suddenly flips and her pulse quickens. Those feelings for Ellie that she always keeps in check betray her, and Ruby interprets the comment as a crack she might slip through. What for Ellie is a way of saying she plans to spend some time without men, for Ruby is an open door toward women, and those dormant butterflies that always rest at the base of her stomach start to flutter uncontrollably.
"And now comes the worst part," Ellie says, unaware of Ruby's emotional earthquake.
"What's that?" she asks, trying to focus.
"Telling my mother I'm getting divorced."
Ruby snaps out of her daze and lets out a loud laugh before resting her arms on the table to look directly at Ellie.
