"Maybe I could take Savannah to my mother's this weekend?" Kevin suggested offhandedly.
Lucy looked up from the book she was reading and stared at her husband. "You are not going anywhere!"
Kevin sighed and stuck his tongue out at Lucy. "I do not want to be here this weekend. There will definitely be chaos in the true Camden style this weekend."
Lucy smiled through her own worries. Simon would be arriving soon…with Sandy. That alone could be disastrous. Now add Carlos, Charlie and Mary to the mix and you've got a real catastrophe!
"What do you think will happen when Mary and Carlos are together again?" Kevin asked, a deep crease forming on his forehead.
Lucy patted his hand supportively, closing her book. "They have talked since the divorce. I just can't believe that Mom and Dad would invite Mary and her ex-husband. It's not like Ruthie's the one graduating."
Kevin raised an eyebrow. "Maybe there's something else going on that we just don't know about."
Lucy smiled. "I think the worst has already happened. Mary and Carlos getting a divorce, Mary leaving Charlie with Carlos, Martin sleeping with Sandy, Simon moving in with Rose, Sandy saying that she was pregnant, Simon getting engaged to Rose, finding out Sandy lied about being pregnant, Simon going into debt to buy Rose an engagement ring, Ruthie and Martin dating, Simon and Rose breaking up, Simon deciding to start dating Sandy. Trust me, we've weathered the storm."
"Does Martin know that Sandy is coming down for his graduation?" Kevin asked.
Lucy made a face and shook her head. "Ruthie's supposed to be telling him today."
"You wanted to talk?" Martin asked, giving Ruthie a quick kiss on the cheek and taking a seat beside her on the back steps of the Camden's porch. "It sounded serious. Everything okay?"
"I have something to tell you," Ruthie began. Martin's face changed from easy-going to completely stressed out all in a matter of seconds. Ruthie smiled. "It's not that bad. It turns out that Simon has decided to bring someone home for your graduation."
Martin was on his feet before Ruthie had even finished talking. "I don't want her here!" he protested.
"I know, but she is Simon's girlfriend and according to Simon, she's been really trying to make a better life for herself lately," Ruthie explained.
"I don't care! I don't want her anywhere near me!" Martin shouted. "And while we're on this subject, I think that Simon is crazy to trust Sandy enough to start dating her!"
Ruthie knew that Martin would be furious about this. In fact, Ruthie felt a little angry herself. The last thing she wanted was the one girl who knew Martin better than she did being around him at this transitional period in his life. Martin had already been acting weird lately. Sandy could just send him into a tailspin.
"We don't have to hang out with her or anything. I'm just asking that you try to be nice, for Simon's sake," Ruthie pleaded.
Martin started to laugh, scaring Ruthie even more. When his laughter had subsided, Martin asked, "You do remember the last time Simon and I saw each other, right? He hates me, Ruthie and you're asking me to be nice to him and his liar of a girlfriend, the girl who tried to ruin my life?"
Ruthie looked at the ground. She hadn't really thought about Sandy too much since beginning to date Martin. But now she was feeling insecure and wished that Simon were bringing anyone but her. Heck, she'd even take Rose right now, over Sandy.
"I'm sorry," Martin said quietly, sitting back down beside Ruthie. "I didn't mean to freak out like that, but the thought of being anywhere near Sandy…"
"I don't like the thought of you being anywhere near her either," Ruthie admitted. "I have to be honest and tell you that knowing that you and her slept together, well, it sort of bothers me."
"You and me both," Martin agreed. "But you have to know by now that I'm not interested in anything about Sandy. You," he started, raising Ruthie's chin to look her in the eyes before continuing with, "are everything to me, Ruthie Camden. You are my best friend and my soul mate. The fact that Sandy knows a physical side to me…well that's nothing compared to knowing my heart and my soul."
Martin took Ruthie's hand and gently placed it over his steadily beating heart. "This belongs to you, Ruthie, exclusively. I could never even think about giving it to another girl. And someday, when we're both ready, we'll get to know each other the other way too. And it will be so much better because we've taken the time to get to know the stuff that really matters."
Ruthie smiled and leaned forward to kiss Martin lightly on the lips. She didn't know how he did it, but Martin had a way of always making Ruthie feel better. His words, like poetry, soothed every ache and self-doubt away. It was times like these that reaffirmed Ruthie's deepening feelings for Martin.
Too bad the feeling didn't last…