Finding Indigo

Two

Today seemed like an alright day. The sun was out, poking through from between the puffy white clouds. Ruby's worn boots clopped heavily down the Gale Street sidewalk. She self consciously tugged the sleeves of her jacket down as she passed a few men smoking in front of the barber shop. She shifted her weight, letting her shoulder-length hair fall over her eyes like a hood.

Ruby licked her dry lips nervously and retrieved the sticky note her mom had given her; a list.

Eggs, bread, toothbrushes, ham, lettuce, cashews, pasta.

She scanned the block once more, her gaze drifting past the square with the band stand and the courthouse, the barber shop and the coffee house. 

She turned to the left, looking down that side of the block once more and spotted it - Dot's Market. Ruby jogged down the pavement to the market and slipped through the green doors, a jingling resounding throughout the store.

She wandered aimlessly down the aisles, everything so unfamiliar. She was used to the feeling. She eventually picked up everything on the list, plopping it all into a dinky shopping basket.

The cashier had dark boring eyes and an uninterested look. She rang up the items and tossed them in a flimsy plastic bag.

Ruby's shoes clomped the same way they did before as she walked back to their new home. Their new home. It felt strange to think of it as a home. This one was a pale yellow with overflowing gutters and in desperate need of a paint job. It was in better shape than many of their past houses with their chipping and peeling exteriors, missing shingles, yards the size of a postage stamp. This new house was okay.

Ruby blew a wandering tendril out of her face and heaved the bags up to the front door. There were still tools and boxes and furniture on the porch, but she already had a spare key. The door opened with a chunk as she shoved into the entryway. Sticky door, good to remember.

A pleasant smell filled the tiny house as Ruby dropped off her things; the groceries, her jacket, the key.

She wandered down the small, yellow hallway into the kitchen. Light was streaming through the light green curtains and an old Frank Sinatra echoed from the CD Player. A flash of red darted in front of Ruby, making her jump. Her mother's red handkerchief was loosely knotted around her short blonde hair. She was wearing some old, ripped up jeans and was barefoot. And singing.

There are a few things to know about Margaret East. She was not an organized sort of person, what with all her spontaneous and unfinished craft projects, the way her hair stuck up wildly when she was working, the way she carried herself - on her tiptoes - like she was sneaking out. But, she was practical. She had her rules, her boundaries. She always knew when it was time to be professional, but she never sang.

"Hey, kiddo!" Her mom squeezed Ruby's chin as she swept past her, hips swaying to Frank Sinatra, stirring the broth that simmered over the stove.

"Hey." A slow creak resounded as Ruby leaned an elbow on the granite island.

"You ready for school to start?" Her mother popped a carrot slice into her mouth like a candy.

"Nope."

"Well, school in Spencer starts earlier than New Hampshire. August twelfth is what I heard."

"Hm..." Ruby huffed and reached over to the cutting board, gingerly lifting a carrot to her lips and using one finger to poke it in.

"That's only two weeks away, right?" Her mother glanced up, stirring vegetables into the broth with a splintering wooden spoon.

"I guess..." Ruby shrugged, looking down.

"Is everything okay?"

"Huh?"

"I know this move was..." she stopped herself and shook her head, dismissing the topic.

Ruby pursed her lips, tension forming a heavy gap between the two.

Margaret huffed and glanced back at Ruby with a soft smile.

"We'll be here longer than the last place."

Ruby tensed as she took in a bit of a sharp breath and nodded slowly.

Margaret turned back to face the stove and licked her lips, then breathed in slowly and let it out sharply. Her smile returned, albeit strained. "Now go upstairs and keep yourself entertained, I've got food to make." her mom smiled warmly and began tapping her foot to the beat of the music.

Kicking off her shoes, Ruby made her way upstairs to her tiny, temporary bedroom. Her new room was to be habitable in a few days. In her temporary room, a small blow-up mattress lay in the corner, a few blankets strewn over top. There was a small closet across the space and a mirror next to it. It wasn't the greatest but the light worked and it was better than the living room couch.

She sat down on the mattress, raking a hand through her hair with a tan hand. A puff of air escaped a small hole in the mattress as Ruby flopped heavily on its surface. She curled her legs up against her stomach, replaying New Hampshire throughout her head. Nashua. She squeezed her eyes shut, her toes curling. Ruby sat up to tug off her heavy, brown jacket and tossed it into her closet.

Ruby sighed and tilted her head to the right, catching the AC current drafting through the small vent on her floor. The breeze served as a soothing element to the room rather than distracting. Once, they had a house that constantly blasted cold air, no matter the time of day. Luckily, that was the house they rented in the summer, so it wasn't too harsh. Ruby decided she wanted to sleep, welcoming the drowsiness that weighed on her eyelids. She drifted off to Sinatra.

"We're drinking my friend

To the end of a brief episodeSo make it one for my babyAnd one more for the road"