The Puddle Portal

Part 11: Ray Green

       Walking in snow while wearing shorts is not a good idea. Sophia and Olivia figured that out the hard way. While Charlie, Liz and Zarina were wearing jeans, the others were freezing. "We've been walking for hours! How much longer do we have to walk?" Olivia started walking beside Charlie. "My legs are about to fall off." Charlie continued walking and then said, "Here we are!" Charlie stopped in front of a cave. Liz and Sophia caught up to them. Charlie walked towards the cave and the girls followed.

       Unlike the girls expected, the inside of the cave was big and bright. Torches lit up the cave wherever they went. A bookshelf sat in a corner with a big curtain beside it. "Dad?" Charlie called. A long pause came through the cave. Charlie waited and then called again. "Dad?" A creaking noise came from behind the curtain. A man, who was around the age of 40, came out from behind the curtain. His hair was dark green and he had a scar on his right eye. He wore a white shirt and a green blazer. And yet his jeans were ripped. "Who are these girls? Did you go out and try to get a girlfriend again?" Charlie started blushing. "Dad..." Charlie tried to hide his face. Ray gave a chuckle. "Are you Ray Green?" Liz asked. Ray looked down at her. "You look familiar." Ray stared at her, trying to figure who this girl was and where he had seen her before. He looked up and saw Zarina. "Zarina, is that you?" Zarina gulped and said, "Yeah. Nice... cave you've got." Ray nodded and asked Liz, "Why are y'all here again?" "We wanted to know if you have seen a red gem fly by." Sophia said.

       Ray broke his concentration and thought about the question. He rubbed his head and then said, "I think I have." Ray walked over to the bookshelf and pulled on a drawer. It swung open and revealed a red shiny gem and a picture. He pulled both of them out and asked the girls if the gem was the one they were looking for. "I think that's it." Liz said. He gave the gem to Liz and Charlie eyed the picture.

       "What's that?" Charlie asked, pointing at the picture. Ray looked at the picture and a look of regret came across his face. "Get a snack, it's going to be a long story." Charlie led the girls to the kitchen and grabbed some popcorn. While Liz and Charlie cooked the popcorn, Olivia pulled Sophia over to the other end of the kitchen. "What do you want now?" Sophia asked. "Have you ever had a crush on someone before?" Olivia asked, a little shy. Sophia nodded and then got to where Olivia was going. Sophia went closer to Olivia and whispered, "Do you like Charlie?" Olivia blushed and nodded. Sophia squealed and got Charlie's attention. "Is everything okay?"

       "Everything is fine." Sophia assured him. "You have to see if he likes you." Sophia whispered. Before Olivia could answer, Charlie interrupted them, "Come on, girls." Sophia smiled and followed Charlie and Olivia did the same. "Hey, Ray," Zarina said, "Do you have a bathroom?" Ray nodded and pointed to a door on the wall. Zarina nodded and went into the room. "Damn," she said, "You need to clean this bathroom." Then, she shut the door.

       The girls took a seat on the couch. Charlie sat right next to Olivia and she started to get nervous. Ray pulled up a chair and started, "Before you were born, I dated a lady named Alexis. She was the sweetest and cutest woman I've ever seen. I liked her so much, I married her. Sadly, and I don't know why I did, I started to cheat on her. I married another woman named Jessica. She was sweet, but not as much as your mom. Jessica got arrested for some reason and Alexis found out that I had cheated on her. She then divorced me and we never spoke again. Not until you showed up at the door."

       Liz was shocked to hear that Alexis also dated Ray. She didn't say anything to the other girls. Olivia was staring at Charlie the entire time. Sophia was really interested in the story. "Dad," Charlie asked, "Is that woman my mother?" Ray smiled and nodded. Charlie frowned. He didn't like being related to a woman like that. Ray looked down at the gem. "Rubies were Alexis's favorite gems." "That's why I'm here!" Ray and the others looked up and gasped.