Page 51 of Tied Up In Tinsel
“No.”
I chuckled, rubbing my palms against my jeans. “Alright then. I’ll do the talking, but you’ve gotta make sure your listening ears are switched on, okay?”
Ruby peeked out a tiny hand, gave her ear a dramatic little twist as if flicking on a switch, then tucked herself back into her blanket cocoon.
“Good,” I said, leaning back against the wall. “Even though I’m leaving… I’m never really gone. I’ll always be just a phone call away.”
Her voice was small, shaky. “That’s what my dad said, too. And I don’t get to talk to him. I don’t get to see him.”
The words punched me right in the chest. I wanted to tell her that her dad was the biggest pile of garbage walking this earth, but that wasn’t my place. Not here. Not with her.
“I’m not him,” I said instead, my voice steady. “When I make a promise, Ruby, I mean it.”
For the first time, her eyes lifted to mine.
“You’re my friend, kid,” I told her. “And I don’t leave my friends behind.”
Something shifted in her. She sat up straighter, the blanket slipping from her shoulders. “Friends?”
“Absolutely,” I said with a grin. “I’ve had more fun with you these past few weeks than I’ve had in a long time.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, testing. “More fun than being a clown?”
“Yes,” I laughed. “Even more fun than that.”
“I don’t want you to go.”
“Friends can still be friends from miles away. I’ll come back to visit.”
Her lips twitched, fighting a smile, though she ducked her head to hide it. She tugged at the edge of the blanket again, her voice quieter this time. “But what about my mom?”
That question sank deeper than all the others.
I tilted my head, studying her.
“She’s going to miss you, too.”
Ruby’s gaze flickered with curiosity. “You won’t leave her either, right?”
A slow warmth spread through me, one that I couldn’t hide even if I wanted to. Whatever Annie needed—whatever sheasked of me—I knew in my heart I’d give it. If she called me after this, no miles, no hours, no days would ever keep me from her. I’d walk through fire, climb mountains, fight storms because nothing would hold me back from being where she wanted me.
If Annie asked me to stay, I would.
A part of me was hoping she did.
“Never,” I said softly. “Your mom is my friend, too.”
Something in Ruby’s little shoulders relaxed, like the weight of the world had loosened just a fraction. She exhaled, a shaky sound, but nodded. My reassurance seemed to settle into her, enough for her to begin accepting the truth that nothing, not even goodbyes, could undo the connection we’d built.
Finally, she turned fully toward me, eyes red and watery, no longer closed off or hiding beneath her blanket.
“Do you have any questions for me?” I asked gently. “About me leaving?”
Ruby pressed her lips together, thinking hard, her little brows furrowing.
“How long until you can come back?”
“Luckily, my job will allow me to come back whenever I want.”
