Chapter 12: Opinions
Students buzzed around the small cafeteria filling the room with noise from complaints about some test to American Idol to some stupid video on You Tube. Ruthie was lucky enough to secure a table in the corner far away enough from the majority of the noise. Although, she had already gotten into a fight with someone over the chair she was saving for Felicity.
Out of the corner of her eye, Ruthie noticed this guy that was in her English class walking toward her. She turned her body so that it was directed out the window hoping this would silently tell him she wasn't interested. This guy was a real winner. He had long blonde hair and wore baggy dark clothing. Every class session, he spouted some radical leftist ideal. Ruthie was nowhere near being an ultra conservative but still she found his comments offensive especially the ones about Christianity.
"Hey Ruthie." What he saw in her was beyond Ruthie. She didn't seem like his type. "You look nice today."
She looked down at what she was wearing: jeans and a red cardigan. It didn't exactly scream Miss. America. "Uh…Thanks." She turned again toward the window hoping that was the end of the conversation but no such luck.
"So…I, I was wondering if you'd like to go to this awesome concert this weekend?" He stuttered completely oblivious to Ruthie's disinterest.
Ruthie would have normally been completely grossed out by this point but she found it exciting to be able to say, "Sorry, I have a boyfriend."
"Oh." He managed out. His face lost what little color it had. "I guess I'll see you in class then." He walked away as Ruthie breathed a sigh of relief.
"Boyfriend!!" Felicity exclaimed as she walked up to the table. She had walked in halfway through the conversation. "So things must have gone well with Bryant." She sat down across from Ruthie.
"Not exactly. It's not Bryant." Ruthie declared smiling. She couldn't wait to tell Felicity the good news but she wanted to keep her guessing a little longer.
"You met someone else already? I was only in Richmond a week. Who could you have met?" Felicity's blue eyes spelled out their confusion.
"I didn't meet anyone." Ruthie was about to burst. "It's Martin!" She squealed loudly enough for some people around them to give her a strange look.
Felicity just stared at Ruthie in surprise. She blinked a few times before finally letting some words find her vocal cords. "Martin? I thought you guys went back to being friends?"
"We did." Ruthie was ready to tell the whole story. "I was on my date with Bryant and the conversation somehow got onto the subject of my ex boyfriends. And then he told me he had seen Martin and I dance at Simon's wedding. He said he knew I was in love with Martin and I needed to tell him. I got to say it was nice to have someone to just spell it out so plainly to me."
Felicity was taken aback. "What's that suppose to mean? Are you saying I don't spell it out plainly enough?"
"No, that's not what I meant." Ruthie felt suddenly defensive as she sat up straight in her chair. "I mean, you're a great listener but you don't always seem to like to take a side out of fear of offending someone."
"Well people don't like to be offended." Felicity folded her arms.
Ruthie sunk down a little. "Let's just forget it. I thought you'd be happy for me."
"Sure, I guess." Felicity shrugged.
"You guess? That's not exactly happy for me."
Felicity was fed up and stood up quickly. "Fine. You want me to spell it out plainly to you. Martin is twenty year-old with a two year-old kid. I don't think getting into a relationship with him at this stage in your life where you're not even sure what college you're going to next year is the best idea. And Martin's hurt you a lot in the past. I don't care if you've forgiven him. What will keep him from hurting you again?"
Ruthie's heart began beating faster. She was shocked and angry. She stood up to meet her friend's eyes. "I expected this from my parents not from my best friend."
"You're the one who wanted my opinion." Felicity was yelling by this point.
"Well, your opinion's wrong!" Ruthie yelled back.
Felicity looked like she was going to cry. She ran her hands through her hair. "I think I'll eat my lunch somewhere else." And with that she walked away. Ruthie stood there feeling the stares of everyone in the cafeteria on her. She grabbed her purse off the chair and exited out of the nearest door.
"And then she just exploded on me." Ruthie complained over the cell phone to her dutiful boyfriend. "She hardly even knows you and really knows nothing about our past but what I've told her. She's my best friend. I just thought she's support me." She folded her legs up Indian style on her bed.
"Not that I agree with Felicity but you did want her to give her opinion and she did." Martin responded from the other side of the line.
Ruthie softened. Leave it to Martin to get all sensible on her. "Yeah, I know. I think that's making me feel worse."
"Maybe you should talk to her." Martin suggested.
"I don't know. I don't know if I can be friends with her if she can't support us."
"Give her a chance."
Ruthie rolled her eyes. Now Martin's sensibility was starting to get annoying.
"Ruthie!! Dinner's ready." Annie called from downstairs.
"I got to go to dinner. I'll talk to you later? I'm sure I'll have plenty to talk about since Jane is eating over here tonight. I don't why she's so jealous." Ruthie clenched the phone a little tighter. She didn't want to say goodbye.
"Well she had no right to be. Technically she broke up with me although she just beat me to it. Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow. I love you." Martin added gently.
"I love you too."
"Excellent meal as always, Mrs. Camden." Jane complimented as the family entered into the kitchen from the dining room carrying their plates with them.
"Why thank you, Jane. And please it's Annie." Annie started taking people's plates and putting them in the sink.
Sam and David handed their plates to her. "Can we go watch Jeopardy!?" Sam asked. "I want to beat David again."
David was insulted. "You don't always beat me. I'm just as smart as you."
"Yeah right." Sam retorted.
"Guys, you are both smart and yes you may go watch." Annie smiled.
As the twins left, Eric came back in from the dining room carrying the platter that contained the bare chicken bones. He set it on the counter. "Well, I'd like to take my bride for a walk since it's such a beautiful night."
Annie smiled while drying off her hands. "That sounds nice."
Ruthie grinned. No matter how old her parents got, they were always ready to act like teenagers in love.
"You and Jane can finish the dishes right, Ruthie? Eric asked.
Ruthie's mouths turned down. Now the walk seemed more like a set up than a romantic outing. "Sure. No problem." Ruthie contorted her mouth into a fake smile.
"Have fun." Said Jane grabbing the drying towel off the counter.
Eric and Annie grabbed their jackets and headed out the back door. "I guess I can wash and you can dry." Ruthie suggested taking over the space her mother vacated at the sink.
Silence followed for the next few minutes. They had never been really great friends and after Martin dated them at the same time, what little friendship they had was lost.
Jane finally broke the silence that Ruthie was quite happy with. "So…how are things with you and Martin?"
If she wants to play this game then fine. Ruthie thought. "Great! We're going on our first official date tomorrow night."
Jane stopped drying for second and gritted her teeth. "Great." She said with a singe of sarcasm that Ruthie easily picked up on.
Ruthie was tired of this game already. She rather just get everything out in the open. "Why are you so jealous?"
"I'm not jealous." Jane proclaimed. "Why would I be jealous of the girl who is dating a really hot guy I use to date? And why would I be jealous that not only does this girl have the really hot guy but she also has another really nice guy still mooning over her despite the fact she dumped him."
Ruthie turned off the faucet and turned her body more directly toward Jane. "What?"
"Oh, didn't you know. T Bone is still crazy about you. Heaven knows why." Jane explained as the jealousy and anger came out more directed with each passing word.
"T Bone doesn't love me." Ruthie was thoroughly confused by now.
"Yes. He does because all he does is ask about you when I'm on the phone with him." Jane now began to sound sad.
Ruthie read the sadness in Jane's eyes. "Jane, I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"Yeah, sure you are." Jane's sarcasm was back. "Come on Ruthie you're nothing but a self-centered little brat who treats her boyfriends like crap and then dumps them for someone they think is better. I'm sure you'll dumped Martin in little bit after you meet someone else. Or maybe you'll go back to T Bone and torture him some more."
Ruthie could feel the hurt being expressed in her face. She didn't know what to say. In some ways Jane was right. She had treated T Bone poorly. But in other ways, Jane was so wrong. Do I really come off that way?
Jane slapped the towel down on the counter. "I think I'll be leaving now. Tell your parents, thanks for the meal." She walked briskly through the hallway to the front. Ruthie heard the door slam shut.
Ruthie just stood at the sink staring after Jane's invisible footprints. What was going on with the people in her life? Did they all just want to express their opinions now?
Ruthie sat on the edge of the old worn out chair. Glancing at her watch, she wished desperately that Martin would be on time. She didn't need him to be late especially after the week she had had.
The living room she sat in was empty. A great contrast to when she went on her first date with Vincent and her whole family was crowding around her giving her "advice." Currently, Sam and David were visiting Lucy and Kevin and her parents were in the kitchen purposely avoiding any talk of Ruthie's date. Ruthie actually would prefer her parent's putting Martin in an inquisition than have them acting as if he wasn't even a part of her life.
The doorbell rang and Ruthie jumped to her feet. She couldn't even describe the feeling in her stomach. Excitement? Nervousness? Love? Exhilaration? Nausea? Comfort? Maybe all of those feelings wrapped up into one.
Opening the door expecting a gorgeous Martin leaning down to give her a kiss, she was surprised to see Martin, as gorgeous as ever, but in his arms was Aaron.
"Ruthie!!!!" Little Aaron exclaimed. She had babysat him many times. She still remembers the first time he said her name. It was flattering at the time. Now, it came off as a nuisance.
"Hey, Aaron." Ruthie forced a smile and patted his little hand before glancing at Martin with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm sorry, Ruthie. Sandy's on a date and my Dad's at a gardener's convention and the babysitter cancelled at the last minute. I had to bring him." Martin smiled innocently yet desperately. He needed Ruthie to be okay with this.
Ruthie wasn't about to get into another fight with Martin especially on their first date. "It's okay. I understand." She knew she was lying. In all the excitement of finally getting together with Martin, she never really thought of the consequences of dating a guy with a son. When they weren't together, she loved being around Aaron because he reminded her of Martin. Now, he merely represented an obstacle in their relationship. She almost wished he wasn't there at all.
"Thanks, Ruthie. You're the greatest." Martin bent down and finally gave Ruthie that kiss. "So where's your Dad? I'm all ready for the third degree." He asked as he pulled away.
"Oh, he's in the kitchen." Ruthie pointed behind her with her thumb. "I don't he'll be coming to say anything."
"Wow! He really doesn't want us together does he?" Martin said in disbelief. He couldn't remember a time when Eric didn't grill Ruthie's boyfriends even the ones he liked.
"We'll see how long they'll keep up with the pretending we aren't together ploy." Ruthie commented as she grabbed her coat from the rack and pulled it over her black baby doll dress. "Ready to go?"
"YES!!" Aaron exclaimed. Martin laughed and kissed his son on the cheek. Ruthie frowned a little before exited the house. The date hadn't even started and she was disappointed already.
"I'm so sorry, Ruthie. I don't know why Aaron's so hyper today." Martin apologized for the third time as he knelt on the floor while dabbing the area of Ruthie's dress that Aaron spilt milk on.
Ruthie felt bad that Martin felt bad. She grabbed his hand making him stop wiping. "It's okay." She looked down at him. "Accidents happen. Good thing I wore black." She sounded so mature yet Ruthie felt completely immature inside. Aaron had been a holy terror from the moment they arrived at the pool hall. Screaming, throwing food and now spilling drinks. Ruthie and Martin had yet to get one moment of conversation that didn't involve Aaron. It drove her nuts. She wanted a date that was actually a date.
Martin laughed a little and pushed himself up to kiss Ruthie.
"No Daddy! Kiss me!" Aaron exclaimed from the high chair they finally got him stabilized in.
"Hey, I got plenty of kisses to go around." Martin laughed taking his seat back and leaning over to kiss Aaron.
It was at this time, that a couple of older women who Ruthie had noticed staring at them the entire time came over. "You know if you two had waited until you were a little older you could probably control your son a little better." Claimed the old woman in the ugly 80s style dress.
"Discipline is what that child needs. And he's not going to get it from a couple of teenagers like you two." The other woman with gray hair that almost looked purple added. "Why you look like your only fifteen. Too young to have a child." She pointed at Ruthie.
Great! I'll I needed was parenting tips for a child that's not even mine. And I'm not sure I want him to be. Ruthie thought. "Actually, I'm eighteen and the boy is not mine." Ruthie tried to set the record straight.
"Yeah, he's mine though. His mother is someone else." Martin tried to save Ruthie.
The old women seemed appalled. "Well, I suggest you go back to your wife and stop gallivanting around town with tramps." The purple haired women declared before stomping off with her friend.
Ruthie's mouth flew open. She had to look down at herself to remember what she was wearing. She had very little make up on and her dress while not nun's wear was modest. "Did she just call me a tramp?"
Martin looked worried. "Don't listen to those old women. You look great not a bit trampish."
Normally, Ruthie would have laughed at Martin's use of the word 'tramp' but tonight she just wasn't in the mood.
Martin sensed Ruthie's depression. "This date has been horrible. I'm sorry Ruthie."
"Will you stop apologizing? It's not your fault." Ruthie tried to convince him and herself. "You couldn't help that the babysitter cancelled and you couldn't help it that some old ladies wanted to express their opinions on teenage parenthood." Martin and Ruthie looked at each other. Neither one of them was convinced.
"Daddy!" Aaron exclaimed.
"Yes." Martin broke his stare with Ruthie.
"Potty!" the little boy declared. He was in the middle of being potty trained.
"I'll be right back." Martin said as he picked up Aaron.
Ruthie fiddled with the straw in her ginger ale. What have I got myself into?
Climbing wearily up the stairs to her room, Ruthie couldn't wait to get into bed. This was not how she planned on feeling when she came home from the date. She wanted to feel like she was walking on air. Instead, she felt like the air was walking on her. Sitting down on her bed, she grabbed for the phone. She had to talk to Felicity.
Ruthie listened as the phone rang. She could almost hear Felicity's cell phone playing its familiar ringtone of Hilary Duff music. Ruthie would never admit it but Felicity actually made her like the sometimes sugary Duff. That's what friends do. They make you see a different side.
"Hello?" Felicity finally answered the phone. It sounded as if she was half asleep.
"Hey! It's Ruthie. I'm sorry if I woke you up. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry and you were right."
Next week on Far Away: Ruthie and Martin babysit the Kinkirk children but things don't go quite the way Ruthie planned.
