Page 25 of Betting on the Brainiac

“That bastard,” Ava finishes as calmly as she started.

“Hetoldyou all this?” Sami says. “He’d already decided?”

“Yes. Apparently, his parents will be retiring to El Paso in ten years, and he thinks we should live near them.”

“Your family is here,” Joey says. “El Paso is a two-year drive.”

“And their picante sauce sucks,” Josh jokes. Sami gives him a soft swat on the leg.

“That narcissistic, controlling—” I start, but Ruby cuts me off with a tired head shake.

“He’s not those things, but I have never felt less seen than I did sitting there, listening to this plan he hadn’t asked me about. The worst part is that I didn’t even say anything until he got to the ring.”

All of our eyes are drawn to her bare finger. She holds up her hand, waggling it. “Nothing to see here because he didn’t buy me one. He gave me a budget and told me to find a ring and put it on hold, and he’d go pick it up.”

“That’s so . . . Niles,” Ava says.

“This is where you tossed an expensive drink at him and walked out, right?” Joey asks.

“No, dummy,” Ruby says, her voice too subdued to have any bite. “This is where I told him that this wasn’t the path I had imagined, and it wasn’t the proposal I wanted.”

I rub her upper arm. “Good Ruby.”

“He wasn’t upset.” Her voice is small and distant. “He said he knew some girls want elaborate proposals but he knows because I’m low-key that I wouldn’t need any of that. He said that we work because we’re both reasonable people who appreciate order and that . . .” She trails off and closes her eyes. Then she draws a deep breath and finishes. “He said that my best quality is my predictability, and that he’s watched me mature over thelast couple of years to the point that he felt like I’m ready for marriage.”

“He said you’repredictable?” I don’t have enough outrage for this insult.

“Hedecided you’re ready for marriage?” Sami says, her mouth half-open as she tries to process this.

“The man with the emotional depth of a puddle thinks he has you figured out?” Ava blinks. “His poor observational skills led him to reach a bad conclusion.”

“Listen to the scientist,” Josh says. “She’s an unimpeachable witness.”

“You ready, bro?” Joey asks.

“Yeah,” Josh says. “Question before we roll: what are we beating him up for?”

“Making my sister cry.”

“Get him, Joey,” I cheer.

“Settle down,” Sami tells them. “Let’s hear the end of this. What happened next, Ruby?”

“I got really, really mad,” Ruby says. “At myself.”

“You—at yourself—why—huh?” I ask.

She leans forward and props her elbows on the table. “I can’t believe it took me this long to see that he doesn’t know me. It’s humiliating.”

She holds out her hands to Sami as if asking to be pulled up, and Sami obliges. Ruby walks to the freezer. “I’m going to have ice cream. I’m not going to talk about this anymore tonight. Joey, don’t beat anyone up, but I will give you one million fake dollars if you’ll make me some nachos.”

“On it,” Joey says. He straightens and walks right out the door.

When Ruby’s back is turned, I look around at Ava, Sami, and Josh. Ava mouths,Bye, Niles, and we all trade a silent but very relieved fist bump.

Chapter Eleven

Oliver

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