Page 37 of Strictly Friends
‘Oh my God, that’shorrific!’ Ruby felt a shiver run through her body. ‘That poor, poor boy! Is that why he doesn’t speak?’
Griffin’s smile faded. ‘The director said the whole experience was hugely traumatic for Drew and he gets anxious if he stays inside for long. His parents left the island a couple of years ago and he was living alone with his grandfather. Apparently, the authorities are trying to trace them, but everything in the house was destroyed and there’s no record of where they went.’
‘The child must be going through hell after such an awful experience. Mac said a lot of younger people migrate from the island to find work. God, I really hope they’re able to track down Drew’s parents, but they could be anywhere,’ said Ruby, automatically reaching out to touch Jake’s hand. Hearing about disadvantaged children always made her incredibly grateful that her own child was safe.
Griffin nodded. ‘We have some good news, though. The director said it was the first time they’d seen Drew smile since he came to Ocean House, and he asked what we’d done to cheer him up. So— Go on, kid, you can take it from here.’
‘I said Uncle Griffin’s music had made Drew feel better, and the man asked if he could come and play for the other orphans.’ Jake beamed, jumping in to finish the story.
‘What a lovely idea!’ Ruby exclaimed. She turned to Griffin expectantly. ‘Will you?’
‘Yes, of course! Those children have had a tough time and if anyone knows how therapeutic music can be...’
Griffin tailed off for a moment, and then his face brightened. ‘Anyway, I’ve offered to spend some time with the kids while I’mhere and run some music sessions and singalongs.’ He reached out to ruffle Jake’s hair. ‘And this one here has volunteered to help.’
Narita arrived with their food, setting the dishes carefully on the table before topping up the water in Jake’s glass.
‘Would you like some water, sir?’ Narita smiled at Griffin with an expression Ruby could only describe as starstruck.
Dear God, not another one!she groaned silently, noting the slight tremor in the girl’s hand as she filled his glass, although Griffin, preoccupied with helping Jake cut the steak he had ordered, didn’t seem to notice.
Watching Jake tuck into his meal, it wasn’t lost on Ruby that today was the first time Kenny hadn’t been over to Paradise Inn, or even phoned. While she appreciated that he might feel uncomfortable about facing Griffin, Kenny’s personal embarrassment over his past actions was no excuse for avoiding his son. Remembering the promises he had made to Jake, she could only hope the man wasn’t about to let their son down again.
Pushing away the disquieting thoughts, Ruby eyed the grilled lobster on her plate and picked up her fork. Spearing a tender piece of white meat, she chewed slowly, savouring the spicy, buttery flavour.
‘I amsogoing to miss eating like this once we’re back in London. You have got to try this lobster, Griff, it’s beyond yummy.’
Griffin obligingly swallowed a mouthful of lobster and then glanced at her. ‘What did you get up to this afternoon?’
Ruby took another bite before answering. ‘I was pretty busy. Nick has designed a lovely template for MissIda’s website and he’s working on the app, so we were playing around with the content. He’s really excited about doing this and it’s a nice change for him from his usual work, although Fi’s grousing about the time it’s taking. Still, I’m glad I brought my camera because I’ve taken some gorgeous pictures of the house and around the beach. I stillneed shots of the bedrooms and I want to include a few more images from around the island. The great thing is all the guests I’ve approached are super keen to help MissIda save Paradise Inn and they’ve agreed to write testimonials for the site. I’ve even got Mac to do a video endorsement since he’s the closest we’ve got to a celebrity.’
Griffin raised an eyebrow. ‘Veryimpressive. Who is this woman and what have you done with my friend? I can’t quite get my head around this. The Ruby I know would have balked at the very idea of approaching strangers and growled at anyone with the temerity to approach her.’
Although slightly stung by Griffin’s less than complimentary description, Ruby was enjoying her lobster too much to argue, and she concentrated on scraping the last slivers from the shell. She had never suffered fools gladly, preferring to be direct rather than pussyfooting around an issue, but while some people might find that challenging, it didn’t mean she was insensitive to other people’s situations or couldn’t be kind. Indeed, helping MissIda was something Ruby had instinctively sought to do.
At the next table, Derek was struggling to spoon food into Carrie’s stubbornly closed mouth. When Carrie finally opened her mouth and swallowed a mouthful, Ruby watched with a wistful smile as the other family members cheered. Somethinghadshifted for her since coming here, she acknowledged, and, lately, being determinedly single didn’t feel quite such a triumphant statement of independence. Her confidence issues, compounded by Kenny’s abandonment, had left her deeply suspicious of men and convinced she was happier on her own, but that conviction was slowly crumbling. Living a cautious life to avoid rejection might be safe, but was it really living? Was Griffin right? Ruby wondered. Having pooh-poohed MissIda’s predictions, was Sorrel Island changing Ruby from the no-nonsense love cynic she had been when shearrived? As a picture of Mac’s vivid blue eyes flashed through her mind, change suddenly didn’t seem like such a bad thing.
Whether her stirring desire for something more stemmed from leaving the routine of her life in London, the magic of Sorrel Island, or even the pulse-quickening, stomach-flipping effects of Mac’s obvious interest in her, Ruby didn’t know. What shedidknow was that after years of being stuck in limbo, it was time to move forward.
26
MissIda’s eyes were glued to the laptop as Ruby scrolled through the draft pages of the Paradise Inn website, and she listened intently while Ruby explained the rationale behind Nick’s design and the features for the app currently in development.
‘What do you think so far?’ Ruby asked, closing the laptop. ‘We still need to upload the pictures and I want to include a page about the island’s history and, of course, the story of you and Marty.’
Relinquishing MissIda’s chair, Ruby returned to the visitor’s chair on the other side of the desk, hoping MissIda didn’t hate what she’d seen so far. But MissIda didn’t reply, and as the silence stretched out, her eyes suddenly filled with tears.
‘MissIda!’ Caught off-guard, Ruby gasped in dismay. ‘What’s the matter? If you don’t like it, we can change the colour scheme or even the whole layout. Honestly, whatever you want—’
‘No, no, sweetheart!’ MissIda said shakily. ‘Don’t pay me no mind, I’m just being foolish. It’s beautiful just as it is. I’m just so – so overwhelmed and – andgratefulfor what you folks are doing for me. It’s hard to imagine that people all over the world will be reading about our home. Oh,Ruby!’
MissIda clasped her hands together and shook her head slowly, and Ruby blinked back her own unexpected tears.
‘I’m so glad you like it, and I know Nick will be over the moon when I tell him. Your love story is incredibly inspiring – even to grouchy non-romantics like me.’
Keen to lighten the mood, Ruby lightly tapped the computer on her lap. ‘Once I’ve finished with the pictures and sent everything to Nick, he’ll finish the site in no time. Just promise that when you and Paradise Inn become world-famous, you’ll find space for Jake and me when we visit.’
‘There’llalwaysbe a room here for you and my sweet boy!’ MissIda rested her arms on the desk with an amused twinkle in her eyes. ‘So, you do plan on coming back, then? See, a few days ago, I’d have bet it was because of Kenny – or even Mac, since he comes every year. But now your beautiful man-friend has shown up, I’m not sure what to think.’
