Strawberry Red

Chapter 10 Ruby

"Oh, thank God you're here!", exclaimed Ruby when Florence entered the house. Ruby had been anxiously sitting on the stairs, waiting for her to arrive. Not even brother could convince her to wait in the living room.

"I am, what's going on?", asked Florence. Albert came in behind his wife and closed the door. Then he offered to hang up their coats.

"I need your help picking out an outfit," explained Ruby. "I have no idea what I should wear."

"Oh, I get it. Is someone going out?", teased Florence. "I want to know everything."

"Who is going out?", shouted her brother, Victor, from the living room. He was watching sports on TV. But now he was intrigued by Flo and Ruby's conversation.

"It doesn't concern you," shouted Ruby back. She took Florence by the hand and pulled her into her room where clothes were scattered all around. Dresses, shirts and trousers were laying on her bed and floor. Her wardrobe was almost empty because she had taken all her clothes out and just dropped them onto the floor.

"What do you wear to go to the pub?", asked Ruby.

"Is this your first time? How exciting!" squealed Flo, clapping her hands happily. Then she proceeded to look around the room.

"I've been to parties and pubs before. But those were very different. The dress code was clear, and I knew what do. But now, I don't know what to wear, how to act and what to do," admitted Ruby.

"How about we start with finding an outfit? The rest will come naturally with time," reassured Flo. She started to pick up dresses off the floor and looking at them. She hung them back up into the wardrobe one at a time. Ruby nervously waited for Florence to find something. All the clothes in her wardrobe were her grandmother's old ones. Ruby's clothes were all somewhere in Germany.

"Try this one on," suggested Flo and held up a light green dress with floral print on it. The dress was floor-length and had a high neckline. Ruby took the dress and disappeared into the bathroom to change into it. She struggled to close the zipper but eventually she got it to close. The dress fitted her like a glove.

"How does it look?", asked Ruby when she appeared again. Florence had sat down on her bed. And all of Ruby's clothes were back in her closet.

"You look amazing, honey. Your date will be too stunned to speak when he sees you," said Florence. "Now, I spill the tea. Who is it?"

"I consider him a good friend. He's really kind and everyone on base loves him. He's a good guy." Ruby sat down next to Florence. "And for clarification, it's not a date. The other nurses and airmen will be there too."

"Well, did he ask you out personally or was everyone invited?"

"He did ask me in private. But everyone else had already agreed on going. That's why he told me of their plan." Ruby looked at her with confusion written all over her face. "It's not a date. At least I don't think it is."

"If you say it isn't-"

"What if he thinks it's a date? I'm not ready to date. I- I can't do that to him. I'm just a liar and murderer," she mumbled. Ruby started to pace around in her room and pulling on her hair. "No, no. This is not happening."

"Don't stress yourself. You said yourself, you didn't think of it as a date. I'm sorry for interpreting your situation wrong," said Flo, trying to get Ruby to calm down.

"I like him, okay? I like being in his presence because it's calming and it's steady. But the moment he gets to know me, he'll leave. He'll leave because I'm a monster," gasped Ruby. "He'll leave and I'll have to run away again."