Just Me, Him, and Ten Others - (Ruth Harris Series)

Chapter 29

Mamma Mia, writing endings is hard. I thought my last book was a pain to finish, but this one is really kicking my butt. What can I say? - Life was good after that! Life was, perfect. Actually perfect. Entirely perfect. Finally, perfect. Hunter and I were madly in love, we had a bucket list full of exciting things to do, Mike was gone, and last but not least, my alters and I were...maybe 'friends' is the best word? We were getting along. We were a team. A super, hardworking, scrappy, slightly insane but all-round fun dream team. It was - is there a better word than perfect? That word is so overused: people use it when they don't mean it, like when Hunter calls me perfect even though I've got thousands of flaws, inside and out: but I really mean it now. I was truly, unrestrainedly, unbeatably, happy. Every time I woke up beside my Hunter, or saw him unfold out of his new car to greet me, my heart raced until it overheated and made my whole body catch on fire. I never knew burning could feel so beautiful.
               I could blab on, and tell you how my family ended up; how Mama and her new boyfriend were getting along, whether Andy and Jodie made it, how my best friend Susie was doing, what Grandma was up to; all that sort of stuff, but I won't. I hate when they do it that way in the films. The director shows a little montage of all the main characters enjoying their new lives, walking new paths, starting new jobs or relationships, while this slow, ambient, guy-with-a-guitar sort of music plays gently in the background... Yeah, I hate that. It just seems like a lazy way to condense a lot of information to me, when there are other, less boring ways of doing it.
               (Don't even get me started on how rubbish these montages are when they don't show much of a change since the start of the film! Yeah, that girl who started off all shy and timid, she's the same after the two hours of crap you've just watched her live through. She's just slightly less shy now. Her life is the same. Her family's still strange, she's still single, her job still sucks - she's just a tiny bit more confident. What the hell kind of ending is that? ...Probably a realistic one, but who wants to watch that? We, the consumers, want romance! We want happy endings; adventure; catharsis!)
               So, directors, writers, all you entertainers, stop with the crappy, over-emotionalised endings. They're boring - unless a heck of a lot has changed since the opening scenes. Instead of showing us a conveniently worded/acted montage full of people finding their smiles or purpose in life, just show us one scene, one piece of proof, something conclusive that ties together all your loose ends. There always is one. We all have moments in life where we think, 'Damn, this would be a really awesome end to a book about me.' If you haven't felt that yet, trust me, you will. Maybe it's a dinner party with all your closest friends, after an experience which tested the bounds of your loyalty to each other, or the safe arrival home after some traumatic event. Maybe it's something as simple as a heart-to-heart with the person who's been struggling to understand you. Maybe it's waking up beside a special someone in the morning, after some time apart. Lunch in a café, even. That trip you always dreamt of taking. Anything - just not a cheesy montage, please! Give us something honest. Something plausible. Something that's heartwarming, not because of the music or the smiles, but because of what the scene actually demonstrates.
               Here's mine:

'Come on, ladies!' Hunter called up the stairs. 'We've got to be at the restaurant in half an hour!'
'Art cannot be rushed!' I called back from the landing.
'I guess God took his time with you then.'
               I leaned over the banister to see Hunter grinning up at me. He started up the stairs.
'Hey, flirt, don't come up here!' I stuck my tongue out at him, and when he retreated, I skipped back to Mama's bedroom.
               Susie, Mama and Jodie were in there with rollers still in their hair, half-faces of makeup or their dresses lying in garment bags on the bed. Meanwhile Hunter, Andy and Marco waited impatiently in the living room. 'We'd better hurry up.' I told them. 'The guys won't wait much longer before coming up to get us.'
'I'd like to see them try.' Jodie snorted, hogging the mirror to apply her lipstick. I'd had to do mine and Susie's in the bathroom, while Mama manoeuvred herself around Little Miss Perfect to catch glimpses of herself.
               'Okay okay, which one?' Mama asked, holding up two lipsticks.
'Red.' we said. Mama nodded. 'Right, I'm going downstairs. Don't be long!'
'Wait!' I called. 'Mama, which dress should I wear?' I gestured to the options I had laid on her bed. They were drab and cheap, but all I had. 'Do you like the black or the...other black?'
'Neither.' Mama confessed. I felt a rush of blood enter my cheeks.
'What?'
'Neither! They're horrid dresses.' Mama grinned at my crestfallen face. 'Which is why I bought you a new one. Oh, Mamma Mia, I wanted to surprise you! But give me a second and I'll get it.'
               I was still speechless when Mama returned from downstairs. Some wolf-whistles followed her up.
               'Has she really bought us a new dress?'
'She's bought me a new dress, Julie. Don't even try and take over this evening: this is my night.'
               'Mama!' I exclaimed upon seeing the bag in her hands. 'You shouldn't have -'
'I know it's not your birthday until tomorrow, bambina, but I can't wait for you to see this! And tonight is the perfect night for you to wear it - if you want to.'
'Show us!' Susie urged from my side, smiling. The sight made my heart warm. We had gone to Jonathan and Sarah's support group together a few hours ago, but since she came back to Mama's house with me afterwards, I hadn't been able to make her smile once. Her heartbreak was still healing (some days were better than others), but for the first time in a while the sadness on her face vanished entirely.
               I clapped my hands when Mama smiled and stripped the bag off of the dress. What remained was...absolutely stunning.
'Mamma Mia.' I exhaled. Susie stared.
'It was so hard not to give this to you ages ago! But you look so beautiful tonight, Ruthie, and you should have a beautiful dress too.' Mama said. She stroked my brown hair, which was tumbling in curls around my arms with the front layers pinned back. Hunter falls speechless when I wear my hear like that.
               I reached forward to feel my new dress. It was a gorgeous, deep sapphire, matching the ring Mama bought me for my last birthday. When I held it up to the light it shimmered, as if the stars themselves had been trapped in the fabric. When I held it up against myself I saw that it had spaghetti straps, a low, drooping back and a slinky skirt which fell just above the knee. It was clearly expensive, but Mama trusted me with it. The ring on my middle finger had been symbolic of my mother's renewed faith in me last year, but this dress meant something else. Now, not only did Mama trust me with expensive things, but she actually believed I was confident enough to pull off a dress as noticeable and beautiful as this! She was showing me that I could go out to a fancy restaurant, show some skin (regardless of the scars on my forearms and thighs), and turn heads. She knew I wasn't scared anymore, even before I did.
               'Bambina, don't cry.' Mama smiled, kissing me on both cheeks.
'I didn't lend you my eyeliner for you to waste it.' Jodie muttered into the mirror. We all ignored her.
'I...I love it.' I said, laughing to keep the tears at bay. 'Thank you thank you thank you! I love you so much, Mama.'
'It's gorgeous.' Susie added, stroking the dress like it was made of gold. 'Just, gorgeous.'
'I suppose I might actually look quite nice this evening!' I thought. In return came an overwhelming response from my alters.
'You look so pwetty, Mummy!'
'Astonishing.'
'Eh, I suppose you dolled us up alright. But why do we comply to society's standards that women have to cover themselves in makeup and shave their legs and burn their hair into shape -'
'Oh shut it, Hailey. I think you look really pretty, Ruth. Now stop digging for compliments and get dressed!'
'Ruth, you look, how do you say, er... a sight for a sore eyes? Sehr schön, sehr sehr schön.'
'I love you guys.' I thought, while I returned Mama's hug. 'Really, I do. Now please help me get through this night as painlessly as possible. I don't want to miss a second of it.'