20. Chapter 20
Ruby wasn’t due to arrive at the bookshop for at least another hour… or two, even… but she couldn’t bear hanging around in her parent’s kitchen a moment longer. She was too amped up for that!
Instead, she’d made a mad, early-morning dash to the bakery and then begged Mabel for the largest takeaway cups of coffee she could manage. Her old friend had gently suggested that perhaps chamomile tea might be a better choice, considering Ruby was practically vibrating with nervous energy already.
Ruby had won, though, and now she was standing in front of the gorgeous green and gold frontage, staring through the windows of the bookshop. It wasn’t open yet, but she could see Oli moving around inside, tidying piles of books, shifting the wooden ladders out of the way, and wafting a feather duster around.
She could stand there and watch him all day - he looked both at home and slightly out of place at the same time. It was impossible to miss the coiled power in his movements. Oli might have kicked sports out of bed in favour of a life with books, but all those years of training were still evident in the hard lines of his muscles - his arms taught beneath his rolled shirt sleeves.
Ruby shivered as memories of their date the previous day flooded back - all those warm, stolen kisses on the blanket had been everything she’d tried not to dream about for the past six years. She’d loved every second of their picnic in Crumbleton Clump - but the rest of the day had felt even more intimate, somehow - even if they hadn’t been alone for one second after leaving the woodland.
The day had disappeared in a wonderful muddle of laughing with Caroline over food, walking her mum up to the museum and then - on the spur of the moment - dragging her father out of his book cave as they made their way back down the hill to join Brian Singer for a night of darts at the Dolphin and Anchor. It had felt like they were… family.
‘Get a grip!’ she laughed.
What on earth was she doing, standing on Crumbleton High Street, ogling Oli through the bookshop window and being a soppy idiot? For one thing - she really needed to stay calm ahead of today’s event and not send her blood pressure skyrocketing. For another - their coffee was getting cold.
Ruby shifted the cardboard tray containing the two cups so that she could tap lightly on the window with one finger. Oli glanced over his shoulder and the moment he spotted her, a huge smile split his face. It was as much as Ruby could do not to dissolve into a puddle of mush on the spot
‘You’re keen!’ he said as he unlocked the door and took the tray of coffee from her.
‘Not really,’ said Ruby, wrinkling her nose. Her stomach had been in nervous knots ever since she’d woken up, and there was no point pretending otherwise - but there was something about admitting it out loud that instantly made her feel better.
‘It’ll be grand,’ said Oli, leading the way inside. ‘Blimey - I’d have thought you’d be more than used to this kind of event by now.’
‘The difference is, none of those people knew me,’ she said, flopping down into the armchair as Oli dropped into the bentwood chair behind his desk. ‘They had no idea that I worked summers in the local café, that I failed my German GSCE or that I spent my spare time tutoring the cutest guy in town.’
‘Thanks!’ said Oli, giving her a huge grin. ‘But… why does any of that make a difference?’
‘Because everywhere else, readers came to the event because of the book,’ she said. ‘Today they’re coming because of me.’
‘That’s pretty special, if you ask me,’ said Oli with a shrug.
‘And terrifying at the same time!’ said Ruby, eyeballing the oh-so-familiar embossed titling on a stack of her books sitting on the table nearby. ‘Anyway - I wanted to repay your lovely picnic yesterday with some breakfast… before the chaos starts.’
‘You mean you couldn’t sleep and had to get out of the house before you went mad?’ said Oli, raising an eyebrow. ‘I remember exactly what you were like before an exam, Ruby Hutchinson!’
‘Okay fine,’ pouted Ruby. ‘You’ve got me. But you do make a very good distraction!’
Oli winked at her and held her eyes for a long moment. Ruby felt her cheeks grow warm. Somehow, she knew he was thinking about the kisses they’d shared on the blanket the day before… just like she was thinking about the way they’d held hands as they’d ambled down the high street, chattering to her parents. Ruby still couldn’t quite wrap her head around the moment her mum had peered down at their interlaced fingers and breathed the words “at last”. They’d sounded very much like a sigh of relief.
‘So, about today…’ said Ruby.
She paused. Was she really going to say this?
Yep. Yes she was. After all, she’d waited long enough.
‘It’ll all be fine,’ said Oli slowly. ‘As long as you don’t plan on doing a runner!’
‘That’s just it,’ said Ruby, shifting uncomfortably.
‘You’re not going to disappear on me… are you?!’ he said, his eyes going wide.
‘Quite the opposite, actually,’ said Ruby, shaking her head. ‘I was wondering… what would you say if I told you I didn’t want to leave this afternoon… that I wanted to stay in Crumbleton a bit longer?’
‘I’d say stay forever,’ said Oli, giving her an easy shrug.
A dollop of pure happiness slid into Ruby’s stomach.
‘We’ll see,’ she said grinning at him before taking a sip of coffee.
‘Can I ask you something?’ said Oli.
‘Anything!’ she said.
‘How come Bobbie and Ben didn’t come here with you?’ he said. ‘I mean - I’m not complaining - those two are mildly terrifying. I’m just surprised they abandoned you on your last stop after travelling all over the world with you.’
‘They wanted to come,’ said Ruby, ‘but I really didn’t want to come back to Crumbleton at all.’
‘Yeah, I know,’ said Oli, ‘don’t remind me!’
‘Sorry!’ she chuckled. ‘Anyway, it was the only way I said I’d agree to it - on my own or not at all.’
‘But why?!’ said Oli.
‘Honestly?’ said Ruby. ‘Because I wanted to make sure there would be no one around to stop me if I decided to make a break for it before the signing.’
‘You’re not serious?’ said Oli.
‘Deadly,’ said Ruby. ‘But I promise, I’m not going anywhere, so you can breathe!’
Oli let out a long, jokey sigh, but something told Ruby he wasn’t quite done with the questions just yet… and she realised that she really didn’t mind. She no longer had anything to hide. In fact, she was ready to share pretty much everything with this man.
‘So… why’d you stay away for so long?’ said Oli. ‘I wanted to ask you yesterday, but I didn’t want to…’
‘Spook me?’ said Ruby.
‘Exactly!’ laughed Oli. ‘Though to be fair, if finding me snoring in the woods didn’t do that, I should have known pretty much anything else would be okay!’
‘Yeah, you have a point,’ she laughed.
‘Anyway,’ said Oli, ‘you didn’t know I was back in Crumbleton, so I know you weren’t just doing it to avoid me, so…?’
‘I was avoiding the ghost of you,’ she said softly. ‘The ghost of us, really. I had the best times of my life here… and the worst. I didn’t want to deal with a bunch of memories. Ultimately, I couldn’t deal with facing what I’d lost.’
‘I get that,’ he said nodding. ‘It was kind of the same-but-opposite for me. Best and worst memories of my life right here in Crumbleton… but I wanted to wrap the whole lot around me like a blanket. I wanted to remember.’
Ruby got to her feet and walked over to him. Without saying a word, she dropped into his lap and wrapped her arms around him, not caring that they were in full view of the windows.
‘“She swallowed her tears. After all, this was just the beginning.”’
Ruby closed her book and silence descended on the shop.
People were squeezed into the space, spilling from the chairs, leaning against tables and even perched on Oli’s desk. Dozens of pairs of eyes stared back at her.
Ruby shifted her weight, from one foot to the other – uncomfortable in the deafening hush. Should she say something? Should she tell them that was it – she’d finished? Should she-
A roar rose from the crowd, and suddenly the shop was filled with clapping and cheering and calls for “More! More! Another chapter!”
Ruby stared around as a strange rush of emotions hit her in the chest. Gratitude, pride… and…
Her eyes went to her mum and dad in the front row. Both of them were clapping along with the rest, and they were staring at her with identical looks of wonder on their faces. Ruby smiled back at them even as she bit the inside of her lip to stop her face from crumpling. She was close to losing it, and her dad nearly pushed her right off the edge as he mouthed three words at her.
Proud of you
Ruby felt a bit like she was adrift in a sea she was only just learning to swim in. She stared around again, this time searching for something - or someone - to anchor her.
‘Thank you, Ruby Hutchinson!’
Oli’s voice boomed from behind her. He was addressing the crowd as much as her, and they instantly began to settle - the noise levels subsiding into friendly murmurings.
Ruby felt his brief touch on her back, and she breathed a sigh of relief. There he was – her anchor.
‘Right… now’s the bit you’ve all been waiting for,’ said Oli, easily commanding the crowd. ‘Are you ready to give our Rubes a good grilling?’
Ruby turned to glare at Oli and, much to the amusement of the crowd, she gave him a good dig in the ribs with her elbow. Hands shot up all over the place, but Oli pointed straight at her mum, who had a broad smile on her face.
Uh oh!
Well, perhaps it was best to get the scariest one out of the way first!
‘Sally?’ said Oli.
Ruby’s mum beamed. ‘I’d like to ask… do you base your characters on real people?’
Ruby blinked. It was a question she’d been asked at every single event she’d done so far, and so removed from the terrifying inquisition she’d been expecting, she was caught completely off guard.
It was an easy question, and one she had a stock answer for. But… what if she actually told the truth for a change?
‘You know,’ she said, smiling at her mum, ‘I get asked that a lot. And in the past, I’ve always said “no” and then gone on about how - as an author - you pick up inspiration from everywhere. Which is kind of true… but…’
She paused and glanced back at Oli who was watching her with interest.
‘But… the answer is yes,’ she continued, turning back to the crowd. ‘This book is a love letter to every single one of you… you’re all in there somewhere. Your smiles, your kindness, your quirks. Not as one character in particular - but in the essence of all of them.’
She paused again and took a shaky breath.
‘I’ve been away from home for a very long time - and I spent most of it with my head in this book. So I filled it with all the people I love - all of you. I filled it with family. I filled it with home - so that I didn’t feel so very far away from you all.’
As she stopped talking, Ruby glanced back at her parents. Her mum had one hand on her heart - the other clutched her father’s arm. Both of them looked like they were about to burst with pride.
‘Kendra!’ said Oli.
Ruby jumped, and then realised several hands had shot up for the next question – and the moment passed.
‘Yeah… your male main character is hot!’ said Kendra, grinning at her and causing a titter to run around the room. ‘I want to know - did you have a mood board of cute guys or something?’
Ruby laughed and felt her nerves disappear completely.
‘What can I say?’ she grinned. ‘Sometimes the research can be really tough! But yes - I do make a mood board and-’
‘Coming through! Coming through!’
A familiar voice interrupted her mid-sentence. Ruby frowned as she peered towards the packed doorway. People were trying to squeeze themselves out of the way of two newcomers who were edging through the crowd, clearly intent on reaching her.
‘What on earth?’ muttered Oli, coming to stand next to Ruby.
‘It’s Bobbie and Ben!’ she muttered, watching the two flamboyant publicists elbow their way towards her. ‘Save me!’ she added with a jokey laugh.
‘Helloooo Crumbleton!’ cheered Bobbie, as she came to a halt right between Ruby and Oli, nudging her way into the gap.
The crowd blinked back, clearly not quite knowing what to make of this tiny woman with the huge voice. It didn’t help that she was wearing a ridiculous purple bowler hat and a catsuit that looked like it belonged at the Met Gala rather than in a small town bookshop.
‘Sorry to gate-crash, but we come bearing news!’ said Ben, coming to stand on Ruby’s other side.
‘News?’ said Ruby, her voice low - just for them rather than the crowd.
‘Amazing news!’ crowed Bobbie. There was clearly no way the terrible two were going to let her find out what was going on in private.
‘We are very proud of our Ruby,’ said Ben.
‘And even prouder to announce…’ continued Bobbie.
‘Every Little Dream…’ said Ben.
‘Is going to HOLLYWOOD!’ they cheered together.
‘What?’ gasped Ruby, as the crowd went wild.
‘Movie deal, darling!’ said Bobbie, reaching up and pinching her cheek.
‘You’ve hit the big time!’ said Ben.
‘Yeah… so you’d better get things wrapped up here tout suite, my good man,’ said Bobbie, patting Oli on the shoulder, ‘because we’re here to take our girl back to town this afternoon.’
‘But… why the rush?’ said Ruby. ‘I’ve got questions to answer… books to sign.’ Plus she was looking forward to spending more time with Oli - with Caroline - with her parents.
She glanced at Oli, only to find him frowning at her. She wanted to apologise, but there was no chance of that with Bobbie and Ben commandeering the airwaves.
‘Well, you’d better make it snappy,’ said Bobbie with a shrug. ‘You need to get home and get packed. We’re off to America tomorrow, darling. Meetings, contracts-’
‘Contracts?’ echoed Ruby, feeling like her world was starting to spin.
‘Yeah,’ said Ben. ‘They want you working on the script! You’ll probably have to relocate for a while - but just imagine - America baby!’