Chapter 14: Chapter 14
It was no surprise that Ru would spend the evening running around refreshing drinks, setting out more food, cleaning up plates, etc. She was fine with it. It gave her less of a chance to talk to people she didn’t really know. She did get a few pitied glances from some of the women who had known her most of her life, but few people attempted to talk to her. She did have a short conversation with the birthday girl, who was ecstatic about her new job as a personal assistant. Her boyfriend, Chuck, who worked on Wall Street, though Ru didn’t understand what he did no matter how many times she heard him explain it, seemed both proud and relieved that she’d finally be contributing. Melissa had quite the shopping addiction, always had, and since Liddy had done her best to make both of her older daughters appear to have more money than they did, she was used to wearing clothes and accessories with price tags beyond her means.
“How’s teaching going?” Melissa asked, catching up with Ru in the kitchen. “Still teaching third grade?”
“Fourth,” Ru said, smiling. “It’s great. School starts on Monday.”
“Wow, I just don’t know how you do it,” her sister replied, taking a drink of her champagne. “All those little brats wiping their snotty noses on you all day long.”
Ru had no idea how Melissa could be under the impression that fourth graders were that needy, but she knew there was no point in trying to clarify. “When do you start your new job?” she asked, turning the focus back onto Melissa’s favorite subject—herself. This launched a long discussion into how she’d be working for one of the top directors in the fashion industry, who sounded an awful lot like the woman in The Devil Wears Prada to Ru, but she let her sister talk. Even though Melissa was nervous about working for someone who was known for being so rude and ugly, she was still excited.
“I mean, can you imagine having to see someone everyday who hates you and thinks you’re trash?” she asked, crossing one arm under the other as she took another sip and giving a little chuckle.
The irony wasn’t lost on Ru, but she only said, “No, that might be tough. But I’m sure you can handle it.” She gave her sister a reassuring smile.
“Sure I can,” Melissa nodded confidently before emptying her glass. “Do we have more of this?”
Ru grabbed the bottle off of the counter and filled her flute up again. It was pretty obvious Melissa had had enough to drink, but since she’d be spending the weekend in the house, Ru didn’t see any harm.
“Oh, there you are,” Liddy said, coming into the kitchen. “Why are you in here? Your guests want to see you.”
“I was just talking to Ru,” Melissa shrugged, taking an unsteady step toward her mom. “When do we get to open presents?”
Ru didn’t hear what her mother’s response was as she finished placing more vegetables on a platter and prepared to take it to the dining room where Liddy had all the food displayed. Her cell phone buzzed, and she decided now might be a good time to check it since chances were Liddy was preoccupied and wouldn’t see her and get angry.
It was a text from Cutter, and Ru couldn’t help but smile thinking about him. “I just wanted to make sure you got to your mom’s house on time,” he said. “And that your phone was still working.”
When Jane had insisted they all exchange phone numbers earlier in the week, she hadn’t protested, though she wasn’t expecting a Friday night text from the new teacher. Now, she was very glad he had her number. It was tempting to vent to him; Cutter was so easy to talk to. But now wasn’t the time or place to get into her history with her mother. “Yeah, made it on time,” she said, forgetting that she was actually three minutes late. “Party is in full swing. Phone is working just fine thanks to you.”
“Great,” Cutter sent back almost immediately. “Well, I’ll let you get back to it. Hope you have a nice evening.”
“You, too,” she replied, wishing she could have invited him along for moral support. She couldn’t even imagine the look Liddy would get on her face if she thought her throw-away daughter was dating someone as attractive and charming as Cutter Michaels. Maybe someday she’d get him to agree to pull one over on her mom. Now, that would be funny.
“Ruin! Where are those carrots?” Liddy screeched from the dining room.
With a sigh, Ru slipped her phone into her pocket and picked up the tray, glad that her mother hadn’t actually come into the kitchen and caught her with her phone in her hand. Someday, she thought, maybe I’ll move away from here. Away from Tarrytown and Reaper’s Hollow, away from New York. Then, I’ll only have to speak to Liddy on holidays. Freedom will be mine at last. It was a dream she’d had since she was old enough to realize her place in life, but one she didn’t know if she could ever carry through with. Even though she knew she didn’t really belong in this family, in their world, it was the only one she could remember, so she’d done her best to make it work. How much longer could she keep it up before the last thread finally broke?
Cutter put his phone away and picked up the piece of paper Lyric had produced for him earlier that afternoon. It was a nice fall evening, and he sat on the porch swing, listening to the leaves rustling in the wind and the fading sounds of insects that would soon find their winter homes.
Rider walked out onto the porch, the sagging wood protesting and the door creaking behind him. He had a beer in his hand, and he took a swig as he crossed over. The porch swing seemed as unhappy at his presence as the porch. “So… now what?” he asked, leaning back as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
With a sigh, Cutter said, “I think… we give it another week or two, and then I figure out how to explain all of this to her.”