Meant to be

Together again

Ruby Sheridan had never considered herself an anxious person, she knew she had to eat not to be eaten and it had worked for most of what concerned her life, unfortunately family was a different thing. That morning she packed her things without even thinking about it, otherwise she knew she would have never left. When she got on the helicopter though, she started to regret her sudden decision.
Kalokairi was beautiful, a small dream island in the middle of the bluest sea she had ever seen, she could imagine the way her daughter felt when she first sow it. Donna was brave, she had always been, way more than her mother, and she was gone...
Ruby wiped a small tear from her eye and put on her careless, self confident face again. Despite her strong intentions, she knew her emotions would come out with Sophie around. The moment she saw her, her heart broke, she looked just like her mother, with her blond hair and her bright blue eyes, as wide as the whole sky. She forced her own self to act as sassy as always, it was a party after all and there was nothing that Ruby Sheridan could take in stride better than a party. She tried her best to enjoy the night, though she couldn't help the unease of having around so many people that exactly knew the things she regretted the most about her life. She remembered why she hated seeing her daughter's friends and family, those people seemed to look at her like she was the witch that sold her heart to the devil in exchange for glitters and spotlights. All of it just faded in to thin air when she found out that her granddaughter was pregnant, when she saw the way she looked at her while singing with Tanya and Rosie, then and there she decided she would take her last chance to be there for her family, to be really part of it.
'No more running, Ruby' she murmured to herself hiding her smile behind her glass, she couldn't imagine that a lot more was about to change from that night on. She moved on a fancy terrace with Sophie after the Dynamos' show, she was so proud of her. They were looking for Sky when Ruby heard that name again, and her heart almost skipped a beat: Cienfuegos. At first she didn't let herself believe her own ears, it could be a coincidence, some hellish coincidence, though there were not many men in the world with a name like that. She turned her back to Sophie and saw him, standing out of the crowd, with a torch in his hand. They locked their gazes together, incredulous, and every further second seemed to pass in slow motion. He loudly called her name and gave the torch to another man.
'Fernando?' She almost laughed, still thinking it was all a dream.
'Mi amor! Mexico 1959' he said, opening his arms as if he was inviting her in them. In that very moment all of her memories came back to her, voices, pictures and the soft sound of his guitar thronged her mind, she lost touch with all the rest. She went down the stairs, unable to look away, he had grown his beard that was almost all white but he was still as handsome as she remembered. Her heart was pounding in her throat as they were getting closer. Touching him again sent thrills down her spine, she was home again, after too long. Everyone shouted with joy and surprise, clapped his hands when their lips met, though nor Ruby or Fernando seemed to pay any attention to that.
'I can't believe it's you' Fernando said, fireworks shimmering in his eyes, wet with authentic emotion.
'What are you doing here?' She asked
'I work here...and you?'
'Sophie is my granddaughter' she said with the largest smile her face could allow.
'Destiny sometimes plays with its favourite paths, braiding them into the most wonderful pieces of art' He said, still holding her tight. He really had a way with words, that's another thing she would never forget.
The party went on for a little more, Ruby and Fernando took their seats far enough to be able to talk and ear each other.
'You don't show up very often, do you?' Fernando asked.
'The last time a saw Sophie she was a little child, I bet she doesn't even remember it. I've kept in touch by sending letters but you know, I think that something has always held me far from here, even the day of my own daughter's funerals...' she pronounced the last words like she was talking to herself.
Fernando had a million things to ask her about Donna, but the right time was yet to come, that night wasn't meant to be sad. He rapidly tried to change topic:
'I've heard that you are some kind of showgirl or something, so you keep singing.'
'Yeah, I've never really stopped, some say my shows are the best in Las Vegas, but of course I won't count on their honesty.' She joked, she believed in her words though, people could say anything just to act like friends.
'Well, I can still recall the way you could make everyone's eyes fall on you as soon as you started to sing.' That was not just a compliment, Ruby could smell that he meant every single word he said, she was not used to that and she suddenly realised how much she missed it.
'What about you? Have you run hotels for a long time?'
'Not exactly, I've done a lot of things in my life. I've been in Italy too, working in a vineyard for six years.'
'Sounds wonderful!'
' It was. I used to live in Siena, there was the largest vineyard I'd ever seen' 'I should take you there' he added without even thinking about it.
'I'd love it' She immediately answered, and her spontaneity took her by surprise, only a few hours before she was looking forward to be in Beverly Hills again and now she was planning her future with her lifelong, lost love.
'That's why I ended up in Greece, I've been employed in wine production for years here before coming to Kalokairi'
'And why did you leave your former position?'
'What can I say, I needed a change of scenery.'
She knew there was something that he wasn't saying but she decided not to ask, they had time to discuss everything, that night was for celebrations.