Ruby hauled the box downstairs. They were almost all gone, just a few left in the bedroom. Archie walked back in the front door, wiping the sweat from his brow. That was one thing she wouldn't miss, the way he got so sweaty all the time. He walked past her in the narrow hallway, careful to move his shoulder out of her way. Ruby wouldn't miss his timidity either. She wouldn't miss any part of him.
Archie carried another box past her. As he was almost out, he tripped over his own feet and went sprawling across the floor. The box fell out of his arms and burst like rotten fruit on the ground. Ruby groaned,
"Jesus Christ, Archie. Can't you do anything right?" Ruby dropped to her knees, helping him gather his stuff up. Archie said nothing. The box was mostly books, a pillow on top. The last thing Ruby picked up was a strange black box with two silver clasps on the sides. Ruby snapped them open and lifted the lid. Archie tried to reach over and close the lid before she could look in, but Ruby was too fast for him.
There was a clarinet in the box. It was put away in pieces as was necessary, the black wood gleaming in the light.
"You never told me you played." said Ruby. Archie folded his hands behind his back,
"I didn't think you'd like it."
"You thought wrong, didn't you?" Ruby handed the open box to Archie, "Play for me."
Archie hesitantly accepted the box from Ruby. He easily put the clarinet together, placing the reed in his mouth as he twisted the bell onto the rest of the horn. Ruby watched as he carefully pulled the reed out of his mouth and put it on the mouth piece, tightening the ligature to hold it in place. Putting it in his mouth, Archie's fingers flew up and down a scale, slurring the sixteenth notes. Ruby sat cross-legged on the floor, momentarily forgetting she and Archie had broken up.
"Again?" she asked. Archie played the scale again, this time slower and swung. Ruby smiled, "That's wonderful." She got comfortable on the wooden floor. Archie put the instrument to his lip sand played a long note. Slowly the music transitioned, the note blending into another. The song continued that way, slow notes changing faster and faster until his fingers flew on and off the keyholes with startling speed. Ruby watched him play, her breath fluttering in her chest. She'd always had a thing for musicians, but she'd only ever found guitarists and the occasional pianist. That pianist had done wonderful things with his fingers. Watching Archie play, Ruby could only imagine what he could to do her with his own fingers.
The song came to an end, the silence startling Ruby into action. She slowly stood, even more regretting watching Archie leave.
"Well, we better keep going." she said. Archie sighed, nodded and put the clarinet away. As he stood, Ruby tentatively smiled though,
"That was really nice playing, though."
"Thanks." said Archie. They nodded to each other and finished moving Archie out.