“Ruby. Do you see her?” Without looking at them, I know they’re scanning the same rink I am, maybe even beyond. “Ruby?” I yell out, but it’s useless. The noise level is too high between the laughter and the holiday music playing. “Oh my God, where is she?”
“We’ll find her,” Amber says, pulling my arm toward her. “Let’s go look.”
“We should split up.” It’s Eliza suggestion, and while it makes sense, I don’t know if my feet can move without them holding me, but they’re off and running before I can get the words to form.
My hands shake, and my heart beats faster than I thought possible. Tears start to fall, turning my already cold cheek frigid. I see one of our local police officers up ahead. I try to run toward him, but the snow’s knee deep where I step, making it nearly impossible to move. That’s when I see her, standing away from the rink with a vagrant man.
“Ruby.” I reach for her and pull her to me. She looks up and smiles. Of course, she does because she doesn’t know danger, only kindness. “What have I told you about running off? You are not allowed to leave the area without permission.”
“But I wanted to say …”
I crouch down, and my grip on her arms tightens. I’m scared. I want to tell her that talking to strangers isn’t wise, but I want her to have compassion for others. “You can’t disappear on me. You just can’t.”
“But this is Gabe. He’s my friend.”
Gabe? “Honey, you said Gabe was in your class.”
“No, I didn’t, Mommy.” She looks at me, stone-faced. I know she’s telling me the truth.
“Oh.” I don’t know what to say or think. I’m not sure how my daughter met a transient, and I’m not sure if I like it or not. I stand and pull Ruby close to me. “Ruby has told me about you,” I tell him, trying to make nice. “Are you from around here?”
“No, ma’am, just passing through.”
My hold on Ruby becomes tighter, even as she tries to squirm out of it. “I see. How did you meet my daughter?”
“Well, she befriended me on the playground. Decided to share her lunch with me.”
I smile down at her. Her face is beaming. She did something nice, and I don’t want to fault her for it. “That was a kind gesture, Ruby.”
“I told you, he’s my friend.” I nod and start to push her back toward the rink. “It was nice to meet you, Gabe.”
We’re not two steps away when he speaks. “There is no love without forgiveness, and there’s no forgiveness without love.”
His words stop me in my tracks. I turn back around to ask him to repeat himself, but he’s gone.
Chapter Three
Rory
The red circle on my calendar is a stark reminder that today, of all days, is cookie day. The day when I’ve promised to t
ake Ruby to church, where we will spend hours decorating and packaging hundreds of cookies. This tradition started years ago, and as soon as Ruby was old enough, Gwen made sure our daughter participated.
When Gwen suggested I take Ruby this year, I didn’t argue. Not being able to see my daughter and my wife every day has been incredibly hard. It’s opened my eyes to the type of life I was living away from them, even though we were sharing the same house. Gwen and I had become nothing more than roommates who passed by with glances, forced affection, and terse words for each other. None of which were part of the vows we had taken.
The other glaring note on my desk tells me that Jerry has moved his annual party to tonight, in the middle of the week of all days, so he could indulge his wife with a European holiday. In the same breath, he reminded me that a happy wife is a happy life, and yet here I am about to make another disappointing phone call to my wife.
My hand feels heavy as I pick up the phone receiver. With the end of my pencil, I push the seven numbers that’ll make the landline in our kitchen ring. Gwen and I talked about removing it when the height of the cell phone craze started, but Gwen said there’s something nice about sitting down and talking to the person on the other end and giving them your undivided attention. I can easily remember Gwen, sitting on the old stool her grandmother gave us, talking to her mom while she was pregnant with Ruby. She had the worst heartburn and would often be up late at night, thinking the worst. At the time, Gwen could’ve easily walked across the street to talk to her mom but always chose to call.
Each ring causes my heart to stop. I’m not looking forward to the confrontation or hearing the disappointment in Gwen’s voice when I tell her I have no choice but to go to Jerry’s party tonight. Only a man like Jerry could do this, change the date of his gathering and expect everyone to show up, and that’s exactly what I’m expected to do—show up with a smile on my face and Gwen on my arm. Neither of which I can see happening. Even if Gwen and I weren’t going through a divorce, she’d never choose a party over our daughter. No, that’s something only I would do, because upsetting the man who keeps a roof over my family’s head weighs heavily on me. One sour word from him, and my clientele goes elsewhere. It’s not just his account but the others I’ve gained because of his trust in me.
“Hello?” my wife’s soft voice drifts through the phone.
I close my eyes briefly before I clear my throat and repeat her sentiment, and ask, “How are you?” This is the first time we’ve spoken since she served me with papers. That night, I drove over to the house, determined to confront my wife, but when I got there, I couldn’t bring myself to get out of my truck. The lights were out, all except for the glow coming from the television. I stood and wondered what Christmas movie the two of the most important women in my life were watching. I thought about knocking, but the anger I had that night was too much, and I feared … well, everything.
“I’m fine, busy. Ruby will be at your mom’s after school. You can pick her up there.”
I sigh and run my hand over my face and hair and then back down. “About tonight.”