Ruby's Heart, A Blue Moon Coven Chronicle

15. Novem Septimanas ~ {Nine Weeks}

Dear Diary,

Nine weeks... It will be nine weeks before I see Ryan again. Next time I see him we'll be in Montana. His parents are going to drive me and one guard of Papa's choosing. 

There will be four dinners with his family before I see him again!~* Evelyn Brose.*~ She seems intimidating. I have a feeling she isn't exactly pleased about the choice the Goddess has made. Something seems to worry her. But Ryan is. So he said. 

Mama said that someday I will look fondly at this book and remember the two years I spent waiting for my mate. It doesn't feel like I am waiting. It feels like Ryan is waiting and my age is just this inconvenience to be muddled through. I feel bad that I am making him wait and at the same time I am angry that the suspense is over. I'm chosen. Are my friends going to treat me differently now? Am I going to have to kick Savanah's ass? Am I going to forget who I am and what I want because of Ryan? There are far too many unknowns. I know nine weeks seems a long way off, but I know it will come too soon. RB

Ruby closed the furry-covered journal and set it on her bedside table. She didn't care to hide it. She didn't care if anyone read it. It was a new thing and meant little to nothing so far. She hadn't been able to sleep last night and the little furry book came out of one of Mama's drawers. "Write about it!" She had said to Ruby. Ruby had scoffed at the idea. After another hour of tossing and turning and no sleep found, she picked up the little furry book and her favorite gel pen and began. It didn't take long to put down what was on her mind, and she did feel a little better after. She fell asleep thinking about Ryan packing to leave, and hoping it wasn't hurting his mother's heart too terribly.

Morning came entirely too soon. The alarm on her phone was blaring and Ruby had to fumble around to find her phone. Somehow she'd gotten it lost in her sheets. The extraction of the phone was enough to wake Ruby fully and she slid out of bed to go shower. She stretched before she walked anywhere. It felt like she'd grown some more, her legs and arms were sore. The shower was hot and the loofa was busy. Ruby was scrubbed pink in no time and out of the shower to choose what she would wear. She decided on some jeans and a tee-shirt, after last night's girly outfit she could do with a bit of regular.

Ruby made it downstairs before Luke had to yell for her. That was two days in a row. She noticed there was a package with a card on the table. She walked past it into the kitchen to grab a bowl of cereal.

"Whose package is it, Mama?" Ruby asked when Marny entered the kitchen to refill her cup of coffee.

"You didn't look? It's for you, Ruby. I think Ryan or his family left it this morning on their way out of town."

Ruby took her bowl of cereal over to the table and sat down there. She stared at the card as though it were a television, while she ate her Corn Pops. After she'd finished her cereal and downed the rest of the sugary milk, she lifted the card then and opened it. The outside of the card had a picture of a little boy and a little girl sitting on a swing together. The inside of the card was not printed but there was a message written there.

Dear Ruby,
I didn't want to leave this morning, without you knowing that I was thinking of you. This feels strange, but I know that I will receive excellent training in Montana. I'm going to sign up for EMT courses as well. I think it's something I'd be really good at. Please take care of yourself. I hope you enjoy the gift. Yours Always, Ryan.

Ruby read the note and closed the card and set it aside. She lifted the package and pulled at the brown paper that it was wrapped in. Under the brown paper was a plain brown box. Ruby took the lid off the box and was surprised to see that there was another box inside the brown box. This one was light blue. She took the box out and set it on the table and eyed it for a moment. It was a Tiffany's box. There was no mistaking it. Ruby stood up and tapped her Mama on the shoulder and pointed to the box.