Ruby and I

chapter 40

Ruby makes the final touches of the dinner garnishing their plates of steak and potatoes. She grabs some candles to place them on the table and lights them. She takes a step back to look at the nicely decorated dinner table, mentally praying that after tonight their relationship would be mended. She hears a knock on the door and quickly turns on the stereo, playing soft music. She walks to the door and turns the switch to dim the lighting. Then she opens the door to see Clark dressed in a nice suit with his hands behind his back.

"H-Hi," Clark said.

"Hi. You look nice." Ruby said.

"Thank you. I got you these." Clark said, revealing some orchids from behind him.

Ruby takes the flowers. "Thank you, Clark. Come in," she said.

Clark walks into the apartment, taking in the atmosphere around him. He walks into the kitchen with Ruby trailing behind him. He sees the lovely candlelit dinner and smiles. "Oh wow. I wasn't expecting this kind of dinner," he said.

"I wanted to do something special," Ruby said, placing the orchids in a vase nearby.

"Well, this is beautiful," Clark said.

"Thank you," Ruby said.

They stand around, looking a little awkward.

"So uh...shall we?" Clark asked.

"Yeah, sure," Ruby said.

She goes to her seat, but Clark is quick enough to pull out her seat for her. "Just being a gentleman," he said.

"As always," Ruby said, sitting down.

Clark takes his seat, too, and pours them some homemade iced tea Ruby had made. "This food looks very delicious," he said.

"Thanks. I haven't made dinner like this, so I thought I give it a try...well, let's eat before it gets cold." Ruby said with a small laugh.

Clark and Ruby begin to eat in silence. You can hear their utensils clinking against their plates and the music playing in the living room. It was only a matter of time before one of them spoke up.

"You know...uh...I...I don't know where to start." Ruby said.

"I do...Ruby...I know you say you're a little mad, but I know that's a lie. I do not blame you for being upset because what I said was out of line. I can sit here and say I did it because I was just upset about my job, and I was drinking, but I know that's not an excuse. I blamed you for a traumatic memory, and I shouldn't have done that." Clark said.

He can feel a lump growing in his throat, and he chokes up on his words.

"I made you feel...t-that you've been failing in this relationship....and you h-haven't, Ruby. You've been nothing but good to me since the day we started dating. You were there...when I started to go crazy with my PSTD, which by the way, I do not blame you for that too. I don't blame you for anything. I am so sorry. And if I could go back to that night, I swear I would change it. But of course, I can't...so I'm hoping you'll forgive me because I can't lose you." Clark said, wiping a few tears away.

Ruby doesn't say anything but picks at her food.

"Ruby, please say something," Clark said.