~S~
"I'm don't wanna leave you." Ruth had her arms wrapped around my neck, head on my chest as I carried her through the living room.
She had just gotten back to my house about an hour earlier, after Lindsey had taken her out to breakfast and then they dropped back by. So, it was still early in the morning, but Lark was not kidding when she told us that she was going to call Bonnie first thing... She was on the phone with her mother- in- law before the sun even rose over the clouds.
Creasing a brow, my lips met the side of her head as we trailed into the foyer. "I don't want you to leave either." I admitted with tears blurring my vision. "But your grammie really wants to spend time with you before you have to go back home..." I was so upset, I hadn't even slept at all yet.
I couldn't remember the last time that Lark had sounded that annoyed with us... It had been years, probably since she was in high school and grumpy all the time. And even though I hadn't heard it in forever, I still knew exactly what the tone in her voice meant... She was disappointed in us and that was far worse than her just being mad.
"I don't wanna go." She shook her head, pulling away just far enough to look at me right in the eyes. "I want to stay with you and grandpa." Ruth had tears streaming down her rosy red cheeks and her words got scrambled from how worked up she had gotten.
Even though she was just four at the time, I think we both knew that once she left to go with her other set of grandparents, she wouldn't be coming back to stay with me for the remainder of that summer.
"I want you to stay, too." I whispered, staring into those sweet blue eyes as I used one hand to wipe some of her tears away. "But you're going to have such a good time, way too much fun to even worry about grandpa and I." I was hopeful, but I wasn't too certain.
I don't think Ruth had ever even gone to spend the night with Bonnie and Ray, and they hadn't made the trip out to New York in years to visit the kids. I really didn't know how she was going to be able to spend the next two weeks at their house when she hardly even knew them... I'm sure she was scared and I felt absolutely terrible.
"They're here..." Lindsey had stayed in the living room, watching out the big window and trying to refrain from getting involved in anything too emotional... He was really sad too, I know he was, but he was better at hiding it.
"It's okay." I shook my head, seeing how her forehead began to wrinkle up and her tears got heavier.
"Oh, Ruthie..." Lindsey cracked a soft smile, holding out his arms for her. "Grandma and I will see you this week." He was promising her something that he shouldn't have.
He knew that Lark was mad, but he also knew that Lark was a softy- deep down... He was convinced that she wouldn't want Ruth to miss out on her last couple of weeks in her ballet class, or horse back riding lessons- all of which I had been taking her to...
He was certain that we'd see her before they went back out East.
"Oh..." She slowly slipped out of my grasp and right into her grandpas arms, still bawling but more willing to listen. "But I'm still going to miss you..." she reached out one of her hands, lacing her fingers in mine as she closed her tired eyes.
"We love you, sweet girl." I leaned in, pressing a kiss to her head. "So very much..." I didn't feel the same way as Lindsey did about the situation, not in the slightest.
I knew that was the last time that we would see each other for quite awhile.
Lark wasn't a push over, especially not with us. When she was mad, she held her ground and made it known... I knew that she wasn't going to turn around and change her mind- that's just not how she was.
That's not how she is.
"All our hearts." Lindsey added in a soft tone of voice.
"To the moon and back." Ruth whispered back as she closed her heavy eyes once more.
And for a second as I cradled her face in my hands, she calmed down, letting silence fill the air around us as we soaked up those last couple of moments. But of course, like usual, that stillness really didn't last long.
When Bonnie came up to the door to get her, the waterworks started up again and not only did I feel bad for Ruth, but I also found myself feeling pretty bad for Austin's mom, who had to be just totally embarrassed.
"Oh, my gosh..." I had tears in my eyes as I leaned up against the pillar out front, watching the car pull back down the driveway.
"I know." He was traveling up the sidewalk, having helped load all of Ruth's suitcases into the back of Bonnie's SUV.
Wrapping my shawl around my arms a little more, I let out a deep sigh as I closed my eyes in hopes I'd catch the tears before they crept down my cheeks. "We really messed up this time..." I mumbled, bringing one hand up to my face to hide how emotional I had become, even though he already knew.
"Hey..." he reached out gently, taking my hand in his to uncover my eyes. "She'll get over this." He was never nearly as phased by situations like that as I was, so sometimes I felt like he just didn't understand.
"She was right..." I whispered, shaking my head in defeat as I held eye contact with the two blue orbs that had always had a pull on me... sometimes in the wrong direction. "We have to stop doing this to each other and everyone around us." I tilted my head to the side, eyes scanning over his face as I thought about how much I had always loved him.
I loved him so much, I was willing to hurt the people in our lives just to prove it, which wasn't fair and Lark was just pointing that out. She wasn't saying anything we didn't already know- just stuff we chose to sweep under the rug.
"So what do we do now?" He scoffed lightly, but not a mean scoff... No, it was a sad scoff.
He was feeling pretty bad too, even though he would have never admitted it aloud.
Biting down on my lower lip, I shrugged my shoulder softly. "Go home to your family, Lindsey."
