Strawberry Red

Chapter 22 Ruby

At 3 am Ruby and Buck were awake and getting ready for their day. Buck was putting on his uniform while Ruby was in the bathroom. After take-off Ruby said she'd help in the hospital while Buck was out flying. And once he'd return, they would grab their bags and head to London where they were to spend their honeymoon.

Suddenly, the telephone rang. Buck reached the phone first and picked it up. "Ruby, it's for you."

"I'm coming," shouted Ruby from the bathroom. A minute later she appeared in front of him wearing her red cross uniform. "Who is it? It's 3 am."

"Flo but she didn't tell me anything. It sounded important," answered Buck and handed over the phone.

"Ruby?" asked Flo crying. "You need to come home."

"Flo, what's going on? Is the baby alright?"

"Yes, she's fine. But your brother- he- Victor- he went down over Germany." Ruby could hear Flo sobbing on the other end of the line.

"One moment," said Ruby. She turned her head around to see her husband who was looking at her with a worried expression. "It's Victor, he went down."

"Go and be with your family," responded Buck and hugged her from behind. Ruby leaned her head against his chest and took a deep breath.

"I want to be there when you take off. I've never missed a single one of your take offs."

"It's fine, don't worry. I'll see you tonight." Buck wrapped his arms around her stomach and pulled her into him. He kissed all the way from her collarbone up to her left ear. "And then we'll go to London."

"I'll be there in half an hour," said Ruby to Flo and hung up the phone. She turned around to face her husband. "Promise me, you'll come back."

"I promise, my love." Buck kissed Ruby one last time before she hurried out the door. Ruby glanced back to see her husband in his full glory, then she grabbed her bike and raced to her father's house. The cold night air was slapping against her cheeks, turning them bright red. She was flustered when she reached her childhood home. A house which she hadn't visited in over two months. She opened the door and entered.

Light was shining out of the living room. Ruby took a deep breath and went into the living room. Her family had gathered there with cups of tea in their hands. Her father had an empty expression on his face. Flo was crying and Albert was pacing around the living room with a screaming Selene in his arms. They all had one thing in common, they looked tired.

"Let me take her," offered Ruby and walked up to her eldest brother. Albert handed Ruby her niece, grateful for the relief. She held onto Selene tightly and tried to sooth her.

"What happened?" asked Ruby when nobody spoke up.

"He was shot down over Bremen tonight. Six planes were lost," answered her father without any emotions in his voice. "We don't know if there were any chutes, it was too dark and foggy to see anything."

"Bremen?" questioned Ruby and abruptly stopped. "Did you say Bremen?"

"Yes, Bremen. I think I know where I sent my men," retorted her father angrily. "Does it matter? He got shot down, he's gone. It doesn't matter where he got shot down."

"You're right, sorry." Ruby was rocking Selene in her arms thinking about Buck. Their target would be Bremen too. She wouldn't be able to take it if he got shot down too.

"I'll ask agent Smith if he can get in contact with some spies in Germany. Maybe Victor is already on his way to a Stalag." Selene was slowly starting to fall asleep in her arms.

"That would be great, Ruby," responded her brother. "We should get some sleep and figure the rest out later."

"I can take Selene, so you can sleep without any disturbance." Ruby had sat down on the sofa with sleeping Selene in her arms.