Epilogue
‘Always thought mistletoe was a weird one, yeah? Like, it’s the time of year everyone has a bloody cold. Disgusting,’ Tyler wrinkled his nose as he stood beneath one of the many sprigs of mistletoe in the Ruby Rooms.
‘Well, charming.’ Celia nudged him in the elbows, a fluffy Santa hat sitting jauntily on her head, ‘Guess I’ll have to find a less uppity elf.’
‘No, no elves for you,’ he reached for her, smiling against her lips.
Chelsea walked up and held up a hand, ‘Ick, my eyes, could you not? It’s weird. It’s Jeremy Kyle weird.’
‘Chels, sorry babe, you’re too posh to be on Jezzer now,’ Evie grinned, walking past with a plate of bacon-wrapped sausages.
‘Well, what do posh people who have embarrassing family drama do?’ she replied, picking up the bowl of broccoli and placing it on the table.
‘Pay people to think it doesn’t exist?’ Evie shrugged.
‘Therapy,’ Kit kissed her cheek.
‘Nah, denial, for real,’ Tyler rolled his eyes, ‘pretend it’s not there and it’s not there. You’ve been brought up to think you can have whatever you want, yeah? So you just think it away. Simple.’
‘I think the longer you leave that baseball cap off, the smarter you become,’ Chelsea grinned, ruffling his hair.
‘Esme, where’s your mum?’ Chelsea asked, ‘The food’s all out, right, it’s just the turkey?’
Esme looked up, an icky look on her face. ‘They’re in the kitchen. I didn’t put any mistletoe in there, but it doesn’t stop them.’
Evie tickled her waist, shaking her reindeer horns and jingling, ‘You love it, having lovey dovey parents.’
‘I did love it. Now I need to wash my eyes out.’
The room erupted into laughter, Killian walking in with Evelyn, and Esme ran over to hug them and give them both festive head gear. Evelyn got an angelic light-up halo, and Killian got a green fluffy hat.
In the kitchen, Mollie felt herself cuddled from behind as she arranged the decorations around the turkey on the plate, sprinkling fresh cranberries and slices of cooked orange.
Jamie held her warm against him, his breath on her neck before briefly kissing that patch of skin.
She turned to face him, ‘What are you going to do now you’re home for good?’
‘Be with you and Esme.’
‘And?’
‘And... I thought maybe I’d start teaching kids to box, or get fit, self-defence. Might work nicely alongside kids’ healthy eating workshops, don’t you think?’ he grinned, reaching for her.
‘So that’s the plan?’
‘The plan is to make you happy, Molls. For the rest of my life.’
‘That’s a big task,’ she grinned, turning back to the task at hand.
‘I think I’m up to the challenge.’ He grabbed the plate from the side and nodded at the door, ‘Shall we?’
As Mollie looked around their Christmas table, she was shocked at the number of new faces. Half a year ago she didn’t know Kit, Killian, Celia or Evelyn. Chelsea was just a memory from her teenage years, as was her little brother. Jamie had been a wound that wouldn’t heal, no matter how much she tried not to knock it. Her mother, sober at group event for the first time in history, sat at the end of the table, timid and grateful, smiling across the room at her daughter with a look that was so hopeful it hurt. And then Evelyn engaged her in conversation, and she turned back.
They had honoured Ruby in their table decorations, red candles, and red glitter on the table. Ruby red velvet cupcakes for evening treats, and her music played in the background softly. Evie had even managed to find a video online of her singing Christmas carols. They’d expected Santa Baby and all sorts of naughtiness, but there she was, Ruby in her early twenties, singing Joyeux Noel in the street, staring up at a dark sky on a cold winter’s night. Pure and painful and free.
She had done this for them, and they had done this for her, but it was time to let go. Everything couldn’t be Ruby’s legacy, because in memory, she stopped being human, she stopped being that chaotic pile of mistakes and mishaps that made them love her, even when she messed up.
‘To Ruby Tuesday, may she live in our hearts, but not in our heads,’ Mollie said, lifting her glass in the air.
And above the door, where there had been a picture of four girls who lost their way, there were now lots of pictures. Chelsea and Kit’s wedding day, Evelyn’s evening stories, Killian and Tyler in front of something they built. And three girls, faces pressed together as they made pouty faces, managing to be wise and stupid and young and infinite, all at once, forever and ever.
HQ
ISBN: 9781474057462
Be My Baby
© 2016 A. L. Michael
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