Page 58 of Strictly Friends
Kenny tilted his head and smiled a slow, sad smile. ‘Yeah, maybe you did, sweetheart. But not quite enough.’
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While Zeke wheeled Ruby’s heavy suitcase to the taxi with an excited Jake following close behind, Ruby went in search of MissIda. There was no-one behind the reception desk or in the hallway, and finding MissIda’s office deserted, Ruby hurried over to the lounge.
She hadn’t laid eyes on Griffin since he’d left her room, and Ruby reminded herself that he was no longer her problem, mentally pushing away the question as to why it was easier to forgive Kenny than Griffin.
‘Oh, there you are, MissIda!’ Ruby breathed in relief as she strode into the lounge and spotted her standing by the gallery of Marty’s photographs on the wall.
‘I was just coming to find you, sweetheart,’ MissIda said. ‘I wanted to give you this to say thank you for everything you’ve done for me.’
She handed Ruby a small parcel clumsily wrapped in plain brown paper, and when Ruby unwrapped it, she gasped aloud.
‘But – but this is Marty’s photograph of your first house,’ she stammered in shock. ‘You can’t give this to me, it’s—’
‘It’s exactly why I want you to have it,’ MissIda interrupted, placing her small hands firmly over Ruby’s as she tried to hand it back. ‘You remembered what this picture is, and I know you’ll takegood care of it for me. This was my first home with Marty and now, thanks to you, I’ll be able to save our last home together.’
Moved to tears, Ruby threw her arms open and bent to hug MissIda tightly. ‘Thank you for trusting me with this, and I promise I’ll look after it for ever!’
‘I know, baby. My Marty would have loved you just as much as I do, and when you get home, you hang this up so you don’t forget me or Sorrel Island.’
‘There’s no chance of that!’ Ruby gave her a misty smile and clasped the framed photo tightly to her chest. ‘This island has definitely worked its magic on me, and we’re coming back as soon as we can. Besides, going forward, I want Jake to have a relationship with his father.’
MissIda nodded and then took Ruby’s arm. ‘Come on, now. Zeke’s waiting, and you don’t want to miss your plane.’
They walked outside to where Zeke, having stowed their luggage in the boot, was leaning against his taxi and listening to Jake’s excited chatter with an indulgent smile. Seeing Ruby and MissIda approach, Zeke opened the door and slipped into the driver’s seat while Jake ran over to them.
‘Bye, MissIda,’ he said, his voice muffled as he hugged her waist. ‘Thank you for looking after us.’
‘I’m going to miss you so much, my sweet boy.’ MissIda clasped him tightly for a long moment, and then she let him go and stroked his hair tenderly. ‘You make sure to come back and see me soon. I’ll have some pancakes waitin’ on you.’
Jake nodded, his small face solemn, and Ruby gently nudged him towards the car. ‘Go and sit next to Zeke while I say goodbye to MissIda.’
She watched him run around to the front passenger seat and then bent to hug MissIda once again.
‘Thank you so much for everything,’ she whispered, blinking back tears as she kissed MissIda’s soft cheek. ‘I’ll call you when weget home, so you know we arrived safely. I’m back at work next week and we’ll get started with promoting the website.’
MissIda stepped away, and Ruby climbed into the taxi. Zeke started the engine and, as the car moved off, both Ruby and Jake looked back, waving goodbye until MissIda was just a tiny figure in a bright cerise dress.
As they headed towards the airport, Jake resumed his conversation with Zeke while Ruby stared out of the window at the familiar scenery. Glimpses of beach and blue sea between the thick trees flashed by as the yellow taxi sped down the highway, and the golden sun followed them all the way.
The plane’s engines revved up ready for take-off and Ruby looked out of the window, reflecting on how quickly life had changed in four weeks. She had taken a huge gamble in bringing Jake to Sorrel Island and it could have gone disastrously wrong. But, by taking a chance, she had given Jake a father he could admire and made her peace with Kenny.
But for all the good that coming to Sorrel Island had achieved, the trip had also been the catalyst that destroyed her long and, as she could now admit, ambivalent relationship with Griffin. The passion they had discovered for each other at the Marina Beach Bar had offered the promise of an exciting new future for them, a future now irrevocably crushed by her discovery of his betrayal.
Griffin’s lie, compounded by the harsh words he had thrown at her, were bad enough. But the savageness of her last words to him, and the pains he had taken over the past couple of days to ensure their paths didn’t cross, made it abundantly clear that he wanted nothing more to do with her, and she had no doubt this was the end for them.
As the plane took off, and the heart-shaped island fell below a thick carpet of cloud and disappeared, Ruby held Jake’s hand, unsure if she was comforting him or herself. For just a moment, paradise had seemed within her reach, but now it was time to return to earth.
PART THREE
ONWARDS
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‘Now, I’m not one to say I told you so, but—’ Auntie Pearl stopped to sip her tea, but instead of finishing her sentence she simply pursed her lips and let her silence speak volumes. She was ensconced on the sofa and, despite the central heating on at full blast, wore thick socks with a pink shawl draped over the wool jumper topping her velour tracksuit bottoms.
‘Auntie Pearl, all you said was that Griffin following us to Sorrel Island was strange. That’s not the same as warning me that he was only coming to save himself after lying to me for years,’ Ruby protested, exasperated at her aunt’s attempt to rewrite history.
