Elijah dropped by as soon as they had finished their meal. Ruka looked torn; she wanted to stay, but she missed her parents as well. In the end, by 1.30PM, she got into Elijah’s car.
Ren had personally seen her to the car door, but with Elijah there, he did not say much to her. “Remember to take good care of yourself.”
“You too,” Ruka replied, her solemn gaze locking with his.
He closed the car door for her once she had settled in the backseat. Elijah then started the car, but he did not step on the gas pedal immediately, worried that there might be other things Ren would like to say to Ruka.
However, Elijah was surprised when he turned around and saw that the both of them were not speaking at all but merely watched one another with reluctance with eyes that were filled with the pain of separation.
“Drive safe,” Ren said to Elijah, then jerked his chin to indicate that he could pull out of the driveway now. In the backseat, Ruka looked down to hide the tears glistening in her eyes. She did not want Ren to see her so vulnerable..
Elijah drove away from the house, and before long, they were cruising down the main road. Ruka sighed. She knew that she could no longer see Ren from this distance, but something compelled her to look backward anyway.
“Don’t worry, Miss Singed,” Elijah comforted. “Mr. Husson will not hesitate to see you if you asked him to.”
Ruka flashed him a grateful smile, and her heart warmed at the sight of his quiet concern for her. Returning the favor, she asked, “I hope he wasn’t too harsh with you after what happened last night.”
“Not at all. Mr. Husson has always been a gentle person,” Elijah replied mildly.
She pursed her lips to keep her laughter from bursting out. She thought about how jealous Ren was last night; there was nothing gentle about him then.
Half an hour later, they pulled up to the neighborhood where the Singed family home was. The neighborhood was a considerably old one nestled in the center of town, and they had never moved out of it seeing as Ruka’s parents were abroad through most of the year.
It was a small house, but it was cozy. It was already straightened up by the time Ruka arrived, and her parents had put up fairy lights that ran along the edge of the roof to spice things up for the festivities. “Mom, Dad, I’m home, she called out as she dragged her suitcase out of the elevator.
Claire looked down and exclaimed, “Oh, that looks heavy! You should have asked your father to help you!” “It’s fine. A friend of mine dropped me off right at the elevator,” Ruke called up.
Robert beamed at his daughter. “Ruka, we’ll be doing some last-minute New Year’s shopping later. Some of our relatives and friends are dropping by this evening, and that includes your aunt as well.”
Ruka nodded. “Okay.”
When they went grocery shopping later, Ruka was like a child. She was more coquettish than she had ever been in a while, which made it harder for Claire and Robert to imagine how lonely things would get if she ever married. They like having her around to themselves.
That night, Ruka’s family was gathered at the Singeds’ place for dinner. In the midst of the celebration, the grown-ups were more concerned about when the young ones would settle down. Ruka’s aunt, Vanya, in particular, had four children three daughters and a son. For a while, Vanya had quite the load on her shoulders, which was how Ruka ended up being sent away to the Hussons’ when she was a child.
The eldest of Vanya’s daughters had married last year at the age of twenty eight, and with two other daughters catching up to their mid-twenties, Vanya was anxious to see them married off. Her efforts continued tonight at the dinner table, only this time, Ruka was roped into the discussion as well.
Never known for being tactful, Vanya said, “So, are you seeing someone at the moment, Ruka? If not, I’ll be glad to introduce you to some nice young men.”
Ruka waved her hand frantically. “Oh, no, Aunt Vanya, I don’t feel like putting myself out there right now.”
“What’s the rush?” Claire interjected. She did not like the idea of having her daughter see anyone unless it was a truly nice young man who had the makings of a wonderful husband.
Vanya smiled indulgently. “Well, Ruka’s always been pretty, and I’m sure she’ll blossom in the years to come. Men will be lining up outside your door just to ask for her hand!”
Blushing, Ruka lowered her gaze, and for some reason, Ren’s silhouette surfaced in her mind. Will I really marry him someday?
“She doesn’t need men to line up for her hand; she needs someone who can really care for her,” Claire argued.
Just then, Ruka’s phone buzzed with a new message, and she glanced at it to see that it was from Ren. ‘What are you doing now?’ he asked.
She peered at the grown-ups warily over the dinner table, then quickly replied, ‘Family dinner. My aunt’s trying to set me up with nice young men.’
‘Say you’re taken,’ came his response. ‘I can’t, she objected.
‘Well then, tell her you already have a nice young man in mind, but leave my name out of it, Ren countered, refusing to entertain the thought that his woman would go on a blind date with some random guy.
A small smile curled on her lips as she read this, and she buried this happy secret in the midst of the grown-ups’ lively chatter. That night, she could not sleep no matter how hard she tried. It was already past 10.00PM, and as she lay restlessly in bed, she thought about all the warm and happy memories she had with Ren.
