by Sharon Owens
‘This is very pretty,’ she said.
‘I made it,’ Ruby told her absent-mindedly.
‘Did you? Well, do you know, I think I’ll just buy this wee bag. There’s a wedding I’m going to in the near future, and this bag would really go with my good purple coat.’
‘Put your money away, Mrs Kenny. I’ll give it to you.’
‘You will not indeed. I’ll pay for it,’ Mrs Kenny said firmly.
‘Please let me give it to you! Or even for half price?’
‘No way!’ Mrs Kenny laughed. ‘I’m not taking it unless I pay you the full price. I’m a very proud and independent woman!’
‘Okay, point taken.’
Mrs Kenny counted out the banknotes carefully. Ruby wrapped up the bag swiftly and handed the carrier to her.
‘Where’s the wedding?’ she asked casually.
‘Oh, it’s likely to be in Belfast,’ Mrs Kenny said meaningfully.
‘What? Oh! You’re incorrigible!’ Ruby laughed.
‘I am. Now listen… You won’t tell Tom I was here, sure you won’t?’
‘I won’t.’
‘Promise me?’
‘Yes, I promise.’
‘I just wanted to give you a bit of time to think things over, do you see? So you could then say yes right away, and make Tom very happy. Or you could let him down gently. God knows, I don’t want to meddle, Ruby.’
‘I know you don’t.’
‘It’s just I’m very fond of you. And you’ve been the salvation of Tom. And I love Tom as a son.’
‘That’s okay, and thanks so much for taking the trouble to come all this way today.’
‘You’re welcome.’
‘There’s just one thing,’ Ruby said.
‘What?’
‘That carrier bag! If you don’t want Tom to know you were here, you’d better hide it when you go back to Camberwell.’
‘You’re right! I’ll wrap it up in my coat so Tom doesn’t see it.’
‘Okay. And thanks again.’
‘Aye! I’ll be off now then. I’ve a taxi booked to take me back up the road in half an hour. So I’ll go for a coffee to pass the time.’
‘I can make you some more tea?’ Ruby offered.
‘No, you’re all right. I kind of like sitting in a café when I don’t have to work in it,’ Mrs Kenny explained.
‘Fair enough.’
‘So I’ll say cheerio for now.’
‘Right.’ Ruby nodded.
‘And remember what I said, Ruby dear? You’ve got to let go of the past.’
‘I’ll remember.’
When Mrs Kenny had left the shop, Ruby looked at the empty shelf in her glass case, where the seven handbags had once sat. All gone now, all seven of them.
‘That’s the seventh secret of happiness,’ Ruby sighed to herself, as she stood there, all alone in her little shop. ‘Let go of the past. I’ve got to let go of my past, haven’t I? Jonathan, if you can hear me, sweetheart, I still love you and I always will. And I’ll never forget you. Not ever, I promise. But maybe it is time to move on, or to keep moving onwards, as Mrs Kenny said… Meddler that she is, I think the lady is very wise.’
Ruby and Tom were sitting on the willow bench in the centre of the maze. It was a sunny but cold Sunday morning in December and there was nobody else about yet. It was almost four years since they had first met one another.
‘Have you thought any more about us living together?’ Tom asked gently.
‘I have, yes,’ she smiled.
‘And what do you think?’ Tom said, not wanting to presume anything.
‘I think we should give it a go,’ Ruby said, holding his hand tightly.
‘Really? That’s great. I’m so glad you said that,’ Tom said, exhaling with relief.
‘Mind you, I’m a little disappointed.’
‘How come?’
‘I thought you were going to ask me to marry you,’ she laughed.
‘Would you say yes if I did?’ he said, his eyes glittering with hope.
‘I might say yes…’ she teased.
‘Well then, marry me,’ he said at once, getting down on one knee. ‘I didn’t ask because I thought it might be too soon for you to think about getting married, that’s all. That’s the only reason I didn’t ask sooner. I’ve loved you from the first moment I saw you.’
‘Oh, Tom!’ Ruby pulled him up into an excited hug, then pushed him abruptly away, her face alight with emotion. ‘Well, I’ve thought about it, and why not? We can have a quiet civil ceremony and just rent a bigger place between us.’
‘Ruby, do you really mean it?’
‘I do.’
‘Oh God, this is amazing. Whatever happened to make you so… reckless?’ Tom asked.
‘Nothing. I’ve just decided to add one more secret to my collection, that’s all,’ she told him. ‘I’m going to let go of the past. Do you remember I was telling you once about my little secrets of happiness? There was emotional independence, good health, getting rid of envy, holding on to your friends, doing good deeds and seeing the beauty in small things… Well, the last secret is letting go of the past, Tom. So that’s what I’m going to do now. I’m going to let go of the past.’
‘Okay, and I will too,’ he said gently.
‘We’ll see about that,’ she said, smiling at him. ‘It won’t be easy for either of us.’
‘I’ll try my best,’ he promised.
‘So will I. Really hard,’ Ruby said.
‘So what happens now?’ he asked.
‘We set a date, look at houses… I’m going to keep my flat,’ Ruby said then.
‘Okay.’
‘I mean, I’m not going to rent it out or anything. I’m just going to keep it as it is so we can stay there sometimes, maybe. I don’t want anyone else to live in it. Not yet. It’s not that I don’t have faith in us. I just need to know it’s there.’
‘That’s okay. I understand.’
‘Do you, Tom?’
‘Of course. I’ll have to let the cottage go though.’
‘I see.’
‘Yes, it’s not really worth hanging on to. The rent isn’t that high, but I want a fresh start.’
‘Okay. What will you do if we don’t make it?’
‘I’ll find another old cottage, don’t you worry. But I’m a hundred per cent sure it’ll never come to that. God, I’m so happy, Ruby! You’ve made me so happy!’
‘I love you, Tom,’ she said, her eyes welling up with tears of joy. It was the first time she had said it to him.
He took a shaky breath and kissed her tenderly on the lips.
‘I love you, Ruby.’
They hugged each other tightly. The words had not been all that hard to say really, she thought to herself. Now that she had said them at last, it hadn’t really been hard at all. She would always keep the replacement engagement ring Jonathan had bought for her. As well as her old ring. She would always keep the expensive shoes she had bought for him. But these things she would wrap in tissue paper and store away for the time being. She would never forget Jonathan, not ever. But Tom was right for her now and she knew she was right for him also.
A robin redbreast landed on the ground beside them and looked at them both before flying away again.
‘Was that your robin or mine?’ Ruby said.
‘Who knows,’ he replied.
‘I do love you, Tom. I mean that.’
‘And I love you too.’
Ruby and Tom were amazed at the changes to the house in Muldoon when they went to visit for the grand reopening. Or, rather, for the very low-key reopening. Ruby’s father had asked the cookery club round for a few sandwiches and canapés in the kitchen. A glass of sparkling wine and a cup of tea.
‘What do you think?’ he said to Ruby and Tom as they came in the front door.
‘Wow! The light! It’s so airy and light, Dad,’ Ruby sighed.
‘It’s fantastic, Mr Nightingale,’ Tom agreed.
�
��How did you manage all of this?’ Ruby asked.
‘It was nothing to do with me,’ her father said modestly. ‘It was the decorators. They did it all. I just told them I wanted it fully modernized.’
‘It’s certainly modern now,’ Ruby said with a nod.
‘The walls are immaculate, aren’t they?’ he said proudly.
‘Yes, they are.’ Ruby nodded again.
‘Inside and out?’
‘Yes indeed.’
The pristine walls were glowing with reflected light and the windows looked much bigger without their floral pelmets and pleats blocking out the sunshine. The dark brown floors were gleaming brightly and smelling deliciously of beeswax polish. There was hardly any furniture in the house. Just a few Shaker-style antiques. It seemed even bigger than before. There was a fishing rod in one corner, and a wicker picnic basket.
‘You look so well, Dad,’ Ruby whispered, hugging him tightly. ‘Have you got something else to tell me? Have you?’
‘You mean, is there a new lady in my life?’ he laughed.
‘Yes? Is there someone special in the cookery club?’
‘No, not at all,’ he smiled. ‘We’re all just very good friends. Well, there is someone… But it’s early days. Very early days…’
‘Okay, I believe you. Though thousands wouldn’t.’
‘Listen, if you promise to be very discreet, I’ll introduce you to her a bit later on. She’s very shy so don’t be making any big loud jokes about us getting married, right?’
‘Right, Dad, I promise.’
Ruby and Tom went into the kitchen and said hello to everybody, shaking hands and sampling the food and saying how gorgeous the house looked. Even the kitchen had been given a makeover with the cabinets all painted white and the brown plastic counter replaced with black granite slabs.
‘I think you’ve to open the windows every day for five minutes to let out the radiation?’ Ruby said helpfully. ‘From the granite?’
‘Yes, that’s true.’ Ruby’s father nodded happily. Though Tom and Ruby could tell he wasn’t all that bothered about radiation.
‘It’s gorgeous, Dad.’ Ruby hugged him again.
Everybody clapped and agreed the house was truly fabulous.
Later when the cookery club had gone home, Tom and Ruby sat down to supper with David Nightingale. Some fish he’d caught and then fried himself.
‘Have you heard from Mum recently?’ Ruby asked.
‘Yes, she sent me a postcard from Florida,’ David said. ‘She’s left the bakery in New York, as you know. And she’s having a holiday in Florida with her friend Dorothy and then she’s coming to see you and Tom in Belfast, she said.’
‘And is that going to be a problem for you?’ Ruby asked.
‘Nope. Not a bit of it. We’ve said our goodbyes.’
‘Honestly, Dad?’
‘No, truly. I’m fine,’ he said, patting her hand. ‘I can handle it. I’ll maybe see her the next time she’s over here. Just as an old friend.’
‘Oh, Dad. You’re so good.’
‘Never you mind about me. I can take care of myself. Now, what I want to know is how are the two of you getting on, huh? Am I going to be a father-of-the-bride any time soon?’
‘Daddy, stop it,’ Ruby scolded him.
‘Maybe,’ Tom said, blushing furiously. ‘Maybe you are.’
‘What! Have you set the date?’ Ruby’s father asked happily.
‘Yes,’ Ruby said gently. ‘Yes, we have.’
Ruby and Tom had found a lovely new house to rent in Saintfield village, halfway between Camberwell House and Ruby’s shop on Ravenhill Road. It was in a secluded culde-sac near the shops and was large enough to give them both plenty of personal space. There was a small conservatory for Tom to potter in if he was ever feeling low. And a little spare bedroom for Ruby’s sewing machine, just in case she felt like running up some more velvet handbags in the middle of the night.
‘I’ll leave the decorating up to you, if you don’t mind?’ Tom said, looking at the stark white walls and the empty rooms. ‘It’s kind of nice the way it is. It reminds me of your father’s house. But anyway it’s up to you.’
‘Thanks a million, Tom. I have it all planned out in my head already,’ Ruby told him happily. ‘Nothing too floaty and fussy, don’t worry.’
‘I wouldn’t know floaty and fussy if it punched me in the face,’ Tom laughed, opening the lids of their delivery pizza, garlic bread and potato wedges. ‘Do you want the barbecue sauce or the chilli sauce?’
‘Just a pinch of salt for me,’ Ruby said, fetching two large glasses and a bottle of red wine from a cardboard box on the kitchen counter. ‘I never have the dipping sauces. I’m a potato-wedge purist.’
‘We still have so much to learn about one another,’ Tom said, looking slightly downcast.
‘That’s okay, isn’t it?’ Ruby smiled. ‘We have all the time in the world.’
Neither of them knew for sure how much time they had, of course. Fate could intervene at any time. Another car accident, or an illness… But it was better to be optimistic, Ruby decided.
‘I suppose. I just want to know everything about you,’ he said.
‘Ask me then,’ she said brightly.
‘Ask you what?’
‘Ask me anything.’
‘Anything?’
‘Yes. Five questions every day. Would that do you?’
‘Okay,’ he said as they sat down at the table. He thought about it for a while and then he began.
‘What’s your favourite flower?’
‘Any kind of white rose, small or large. I don’t know the names of them. Just white roses in general. Next question?’
‘Favourite perfume?’
‘Chanel. Any one in the range.’
‘Because of the scent or the brand name?’
‘Both, but mostly because I like the shape of the square glass bottles. I love glass bottles that are heavy and thick. That counts as your third question, by the way.’
‘Okay. Do you like surprises?’
‘No, I don’t think I’d be able to cope with a really big surprise any more. So no holiday tickets under my pillow, okay? Small surprises are fine though.’
‘What would constitute a small yet good surprise?’
‘A triple-layer chocolate cake from M&S, breakfast in bed occasionally, a bunch of white roses on a miserable wet day. That’s your five questions.’
‘Okay. I like this game. Do you want to ask me anything?’
‘Not yet,’ she laughed, pouring the wine. ‘For the time being I quite enjoy you being so mysterious.’
‘I’m not mysterious at all, Ruby,’ he said in a low voice. ‘I was in the wilderness since losing Kate. I had nothing worth living for except Noah. And now I’ve found something to live for again. I love you, Ruby. And thanks for giving my life back to me.’
She kissed him softly on the lips.
‘It was my pleasure, and I love you too,’ she said tenderly. ‘Now eat your pizza.’