Tera and Ruby moved through the
bustling airport, arm in arm, surrounded by the Holiday season
atmosphere of people flying to be with families whether out of love
or duty or both, the piped in Holiday muzak played throughout the
airport, the stores and restaurants playing holiday fare to travels
passing by. The two girls were immune to the busyness, so rapt in
each others presence were they and excited with the days spent
together ahead. It had been awhile since they'd seen each other,
been years since their times of teenagers at Camp Crowshaven.
Later, walking through the creeping
darkness of the New York city streets, aimlessly taking in the
sights, the two girls approached a small and welcoming cafe.
“This looks like a good spot to get a
bite,” Tera said, hungrily and she moved towards the entrance.
Ruby stopped dead in her tracks, her jaw dropping down in shock.
“What? What's wrong?”
Ruby pointed, her finger shaking.
“That's Rob,” she said. Tera's
eyes followed her friend's finger towards the man she had yet to
meet, an older balding man with horn-rimmed glasses (what Ruby saw in
him she would never know) sitting at a table with a very young girl
around their own age.
“Whose the girl?” Tera asked,
anxiously hoping for the response to be a “daughter” or a
“neice”.
“I...I..don't know,” was all Ruby
could say, her lip quivering and that was answer enough for Tera.
Tera took total control then, she looked her friend over and said,
“Look, either I go in there now and
read him the riot act or--”
“Or what?” Ruby said, desperately.
“We go somewhere else and get you
completely plastered drunk,” Tera finished. “So what's it going
to be?”
Ruby looked long at the two diners
inside, then at the sidewalk. After a moment, she looked up at Tera
and said,
“You'd read him the riot act?”
Tera smirked and then shrugged.
“I don't know, maybe,” she smiled
at her friend, then jokingly made to move inside. Ruby grabbed her,
pulling her away a bit.
“Come on,” she said, grabbing
Tera's hand.
“So, drinks it is?” Tera wanted to
know and Ruby nodded slowly, biting her lip to hold back the tears.
Later, in the warmth of the dark
atmosphere of the bar, a swirling snow falling outside, Tera and Ruby
shared a bottle of wine.
“I've got to go pee,” said Ruby,
getting up. She hurried into the bathroom and after using the
facilities, looked at her care-worn face in the mirror, gripping the
counter to keep herself from falling. Too late, she thought to
herself symbolically. How did it ever get this far? Why had she
allowed herself to feel this way? Why wouldn't he...? She left that
thought open-ended in hope, perhaps, and left her reflection in the
mirror to drown herself in the bottle of wine some more.
As she sat at the table, Tera winked at
her.
“See those two guys at the bar?”
Ruby glanced behind her and Tera snapped her attention back at her.
“They've been totally checking us out the entire night and the
waitress just brought us another bottle of wine, on them.”
Ruby blushed. Was she ready for this?
Oh well, why not? If anything, it could make for a good time and
perhaps later good song-writing fodder.
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