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Here it is. The final chapter, the epilogue. A long time coming, but this story if officially finished. A big, big thanks to all who reviewed, especially bubbles799, CheddarFetta, claudia. smith, GinFizz, Emzi1996 and Got2LiveItBigTime for their continued support throughout this journey! You guys have really no idea how much it means to me!
Speaking of journeys, I am about to undertake another. 'Unforgettable', my new story. Check it out and please leave me some feedback! I'd love to hear from you all again!
Best wishes,
Rhyleigh xoxox
Rain fell steady and hard, on that dreary September day. The day before Ruby Rafter became Mrs Jack Boyd. Sitting at the window with a book, she sighed and contemplated what her life had been like.
When she was almost eight, Julie had found love again, with the man that Ruby had refused to ever call 'Dad'. Paul had lost his wife Belinda in a rough battle with breast cancer, ten years earlier, and was left to raise three very young children. The youngest had been a year old when Belinda died. When they had met, Julie told him she could never love him, because her heart was taken for eternity. He had responded with the same sentiment- Belinda was his life, who he lived for. The two had found love in each others' losses- although it would never be the same as the love they shared with their first partner.
Julie hadn't changed her name, and had told her four kids that, in no way shape or form, was Paul replacing their dad. Ben and Nathan missed their dad terribly, but it was the girls who had taken it the hardest. Rachel, the first princess, had sobbed to her mother, asking why she had to remarry. "What about Dad, Mum?"
And little Ruby, at age seven, had almost broken her mother's heart, when she asked if Julie didn't love Dave any more. "Why don't you love Daddy anymore, Mummy?"
Julie still loved Dave, and would never stop. But she was just as happy to welcome a new man into her life. Paul had moved in, with his three children. Two boys, Craig (fifteen) and Aaron (thirteen), and his youngest, a little girl called Kelly (who was only eleven). Ruby had taken quite well to having siblings around her age- and, as all siblings do, they fought. Rachel, Nathan and Ben were a little opposed to the fact that they no longer had just Ruby, but had warmed up to them as they got to know them.
She refused to call him 'Dad'. At first, it was because she was holding on too tightly to the memories she treasured. But, as the memories grew blurry and her father's voice faded, she still didn't call him 'Dad'. Because she had a dad.
Paul had been the father that Ruby had never gotten to know- but she would never forget about Dave.
"Daddy's crying", she whispered, as rain fell down the glass.
Julie stopped, spinning around to face her youngest. "What did you say?"
"Daddy's crying", Ruby repeated, a little louder.
"You remember that?" Julie looked close to tears, as she looked the little girl in the eye.
Ruby nodded. "Every time it rains".
Julie fell into her daughter's arms, almost crying.
"What's going on?" Rachel wanted to know, opening the door. "Why's Mum having a soppy moment, Rubes?"
"Daddy's crying", Ruby said simply.
Rachel looked just as shocked. "I thought I was the only one who remembered that!"
"Nope". Ruby smiled, embracing her oldest sister into the hug. "I remember a lot more than you guys think, you know".
"Hey Rubes", Rachel whispered, opening the door. Ruby looked up from her magazine, pulling her earphones out of her ear. "Did I interrupt anything?"
"Just listening to music, Rach, nothing important". She smiled. "What's up?"
"I've got some things I thought you might want to see", Rachel said, passing her baby sister, the little girl she had rocked to sleep so many nights, a box.
"What's this?" Ruby couldn't help the curious three year old inside her- even at age twenty two, she asked an unreasonable amount of questions. "Rach?"
"It's just some stuff Dad put away- Ben, Jake and I found it when we were going through the garage. It has your name on it, we didn't pry".
"How long ago did you find this?"
"Um... eighteen or so years ago?" Rachel chuckled slightly. "Jake, Carbo and Nathan wanted to give it to you on your eighteenth birthday, but Ben and I didn't think it was special enough. We know it's from Dad, it's his writing".
"Did you and the boys get one?" Ruby took the box from her sister, sliding a nail file through the sticky tape to break the seal.
"We got some things from Dad, but not a whole box". Rachel smiled, kissing the younger girl on the head. "Get some sleep, alright princess? You're a bride; you don't want your wedding photos to have bags under your eyes!"
"Love you, Rach", Ruby uttered.
"Sleep well, Rubes. Love you".
Rachel closed the door behind her, leaving her sister by herself. Ruby opened the box, carefully, as not to ruin the state her father had left it in.
The box, although it was small, was almost full. DVDs and CDs and photos, and a little jumpsuit that she was sure she had seen herself wear in photographs around the home. 'My daddy spoils me ROTTEN!'
'Ruby Louise'.
Her father's writing- or what she knew it as- was written on the first disc she selected, holding it up to see. Slipping it into the DVD player and turning on the television (it had replaced the change table in the room Nathan had put together for her, when she was an infant), she pulled her beloved rag doll into her lap to watch.
"We're going to teach you the wonders of the world, little one". Dave Rafter held his newborn daughter- Ruby- in his arms, as he gazed into the eyes that were so identical to his own. The camera, although it was unexperienced with family moments, captured it perfectly.
The memories Ruby had with Dave were limited- she was barely four when he passed away. But the ones she had she treasured, above anything else. Her family had her convinced that she did not remember the moment; she just remembered the photographs that followed.
But she remembered the moments. She remembered climbing into Dave and Julie's bed, settling in between her parents and rattling off the thousands of questions that appeared on her three year old tongue. She remembered being sprayed by the hose in the summer, squealing as she dived for cover in Rachel's arms. She remembered Ben tossing her onto the bed, making Melissa giggle sweetly and wrap her arms around the little girl. She remembered Nathan helping her pull her pink pyjamas top over her head, Sammy brushing her curls into plaits for the night.
All of that had happened before Dave had passed away.
"He did this with all of you, if you'd believe it".
Julie's voice lingered onto the screen, although she wasn't in the picture. Rachel was behind the camera, Jake beside her.
"Baby, did he dance with you?"
"He did, actually. He held my hands and I stood on his toes and we waltzed around the room".
"Rach, I didn't know how to waltz", Dave laughed.
"I remember, you danced with Rachel for yonks!"
"Don't exaggerate, Ben".
"I'm not!"
"You are".
The sound of her older brothers' playful banter, that had never quite stopped, made her smile.
She knew the memories she had were real, even if her family didn't.
And they all involved Dave.
"Knock knock!"
"As long as it's not Jack, you can come in!" Kelly called.
"Hey Paul", Ruby greeted with a smile, as her stepfather entered her bedroom.
"My God, you look beautiful", he whispered, spying the girl he had always thought of as a daughter. The white flowing gown made her look so much older than she was- and yet, he would always see the little girl with a missing front tooth, smiling at his wedding.
"Thank you". Ruby blushed.
"Come on, kiddo; let's get this show on the road". Sammy smiled, putting an arm around the little girl.
"I think Ben wants to see you, before the church", Melissa added.
"Come on". Rachel linked arms with her stepsister Kelly and the four bridesmaids followed the woman of the day out of the room.
Yet another DVD was playing on Ruby's television, having forgotten to turn it off before leaving. Rachel, Sammy and Melissa had smiled at the scenes, revisiting their pasts as well as the little girl's.
At that moment, newly turned two year old Ruby was sitting in her father's lap, blowing out the candles on her birthday cake. Dave was laughing, swiping a finger-full of frosting across his daughter's nose, making whoever was behind the camera burst out laughing. Ruby tried desperately hard to lick the frosting off her nose, and, when she failed, licked the remains of her father's finger. Dave kissed the tip of the toddler's nose, Ruby kissing the frosting off his lips.
"How am I supposed to compete with him?" he almost whispered.
"You can't", Julie said from the doorway.
He visibly jumped. "God, Jules! How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough", she said simply. "You can't compete with Dave, no one can. He was her daddy".
"What am I, then?"
"You're her Paul". Julie smiled. "And while you're not her daddy, you're the best thing she's got. Go out there and make me proud". Kissing him gently, she patted his cheek. "Right now, there's a little girl out there, marrying her high school sweetheart. She needs someone to give her away- and while Ben will quite happily do it, you're her daddy for now".
Paul smiled, kissing her back. "I'll make her proud".
"Anyway, she knows Dave's with her today", Julie added.
When Paul faced her inquisitively, she just smiled.
"It's raining".
Her father says she has to have a name,
Mot the same as her mum's, but a name just the same,
A little ray of sunshine has come into the world,
A little ray of sunshine in the shape of a girl.
We'll show her the dress that she'll wear
With the gold flowing hair that nature provided
My little ray of sunshine has come into the world,
My little ray of sunshine in the shape of a girl.
A little ray of sunshine
I want to know if you think she looks good in the pink,
Grandma has bought her... our own little daughter.
She can make you feel good,
She can make you feel that it's all worthwhile,
Only by her smile, only by her smile ...
Have you noticed she's just like her father,
And I think that I'd rather
Her hair was much darker,
My little ray of sunshine has come into the world,
My little ray of sunshine in the shape of a girl.
She can make you feel good,
She can make you feel that it's all worthwhile,
Only by her smile, only by her smile, only by her smile ...
Talkin' 'bout my little ray of sunshine,
My little ray of sunshine,
Little ray of sunshine,
Little ray, little ray, little ray,
Sweet little darlin',
My little ray of sunshine
That same afternoon, Ruby sat in her bedroom, having to leave for her honeymoon soon. But, she figured there was always time to spend with her real daddy. Slipping another DVD in, she sat cross legged on the bed.
"Hey, Rubes. So, if you're watching this, I need to congratulate you. Congratulations, baby girl! I wish I was there... but unless some miracle happens, I won't be. If it does, I'll probably just burn this and pretend it never exists. Ruby, I am so proud of you. And I'm pretty sure I won't be the one there to walk you down the aisle... or see anything else. So". He paused, trying not to cry. "This is the best I can do. Just in case you're taste has improved a little over the years... our song plays at the end, just in case you don't like my singing... I want you to never forget that Daddy loves you, alright Ruby? Rubes, I love you so much, I always will".
Ruby struggled not to cry, as she saw her father on the screen. He was so skinny, so pale, in comparison to the photos she had seen of him. As the song began to play- their song- she rewound the DVD to hear her father's voice again.
"Hey you", Jack said, wrapping his arms around the woman he now knew as his wife. "What's this?"
"Just something from Dad".
"Paul?"
"Nope. My real daddy". She smiled sadly up at him.
"That's an old song", he commented, as he heard 'Little Ray of Sunshine'.
"He sang it to me when I was a baby- it was our song", she informed him. "When he was sick, Sammy taught me how to sing it and we spent a whole afternoon singing it together. I remember that- I had just turned four, it was a little bit after Christmas".
He smiled, kissing her gently. "I'll leave you too it, Rubes. Love you".
"Love you too".
She was replaying her father's voice for the third time when her mother entered.
"Hey Mum", she sighed.
"You watched them?"
"Not all of them... but I love this one". Ruby motioned towards the screen, inviting her mother to sit with her. Julie put her arms around her daughter, allowing Ruby to rest her head on her shoulder.
"You alright, Mum?"
"Yeah... I just never stopped missing him".
Ruby chose that moment to voice everything she had been thinking about her father. "I know. Sometimes I wonder how much I actually remember, and how much are just stories I've been told so many times they feel like memories... or if it's all just a dream, and I don't remember any of it at all!"
"Like?" Julie prompted, seeing how much it was hurting her daughter.
"Like the escalator". Ruby laughed, despite the situation. "I remember being left at the top of the escalator, and Dad riding down. I was crying, I was really scared, and the next thing I knew Dad was scooping me into his arms, and he didn't let go of me for the rest of the day".
"You hated escalators for years", Julie remembered.
"I don't remember that".
"Trust me, you were. Dad didn't want to tell me, but I found out, in the end".
"I don't remember that..."
"Time heals all wounds, I guess".
"All wounds leave scars". She locked eyes with her mother, not referring to the escalator incident but the fact that she had admitted to missing Dave.
"When did you end up so wise?"
"Must have been from Dad". She chuckled, as Julie smacked her arm gently. "Well, um, I've gotta go. Jack's probably waiting; I said I wouldn't be too long. He's already been in here once".
"Alright". Julie smiled at her.
"Are you sure you're going to be alright?"
"Remember, darling, who's the mother here!" Julie smiled. "I'm fine".
"Love you".
"Love you more".
Smiling, Ruby scooped up her bag and left the room, leaving her mother sitting on the bed.
"I didn't break my promises to you, Dave Rafter, you better not break your promise to me", Julie told the frozen image of her first love. "You'd be proud of them. All of them".
The time they spent apart would be nothing compared to the eternity they would spend together.