35. Stan
Chapter thirty-five
Stan
“What?” My heart is in my throat right now.
“I've been discharged,” Catherine repeats. “And that means Ruth can come to the house. I've already spoken to her, and she's okay with it.”
“Oh, right… yeah, I understand. That's really good news,” I say softly.
“Thank you for everything, Stan. And I'm sorry for springing this on you,” she says.
“It's fine. I'm glad to have been of help,” I say before she ends the call, thanking me again.
“Turns out you weren't kidding,” Sam laughs.
It's the next morning, and we're getting ready to return to Rose Haven.
“I saw the news. Henry's finished and….” She stops talking, the excitement on her face fading to concern. “What's wrong?”
I swallow hard. “Catherine's been discharged.”
“Oh, really? That's great!” she exclaims, but I don’t so much as smile. “Is that not great?”
“She's taking Ruth back,” I tell her.
She flinches like I've dropped a bomb on her. She struggles to find the words, “I… isn't that too soon? I mean, Ruth has school and…”
My silence makes her stop talking.
“Right,” she says. “It's her mother. And she's been with her all her life.”
“Yeah.” It's a hard pill to swallow, but it's the truth. “It was kind of the deal we made. And I… I don't know.”
Sam gets to her feet and walks over to me, pulling me down and burying my head in her chest.
“We've talked about this,” she whispers.
“I didn't expect it so soon,” I murmur.
“We both didn't. But Ruth is still your daughter, and Catherine wouldn't be so mean as to stop you from visiting her,” she explains. “We'll be fine.”
She's lying.
“You're terrible at acting like this doesn't bother you,” I point out.
She sniffles. “I mean, being her pseudo-mom, I have no say in this. I'm not even her real mom, so I don't… I…”
It's my turn to bury her head in my chest. “Ruth loves you as a mom, too. You know that.”
“I know… I know… but my Ruthie… two hours away.” She sounds like she’s about to cry.
“I have a jet,” I interject, a silly attempt to make her feel better.
“Idiot.” But she chuckles softly.
I grin, but I can’t keep up the smile. I don't know how to tell my parents. They've already become too attached to Ruth.
But like Sam says, Ruth will never be far from us.
When I get home, I notice Ruth already has a bag packed. It's the same duffel bag she showed up with when she dropped the bombshell on me that changed my life .
“Good, you’re here,” Ruth says when she sees me. “You two enjoyed your trip?”
“We did,” I answer.
“Where's Sam?”
“Guesthouse.” Sam couldn't trust herself enough not to break down in front of Ruth.
“Mom’s out of rehab,” Ruth announces, beaming.
I smile, too. “She is.”
“Is that all you’re going with?” I point at the bag.
“Yeah. It's all I need.” She grins.
I swallow. I feel weird. Upset.
She didn't take a thing from me. And going back, she's not taking anything, either.
But as I look at her hair, I see that the pink scrunchie she got from Sam is still there. It makes me smile.
“Have you told my parents you’re leaving?” I ask.
“Yeah,” she says.
“How'd they take it?”
“Okay, I guess,” she says softly.
This conversation is too painful. Instead, I pull her in for a hug.
“You're being weird again,” she comments.
“Shut up and hug me,” I bark, and she giggles, hugging me back.
“I'll miss you,” she says.
“I'll miss you even more,” I admit, and then we break the hug.
I did my best. And I only got to hear her call me Dad once.
At Catherine's place, my hand remains tightened on Ruth's as I stare at the door.
“Are you going to ring the bell, or…?” she asks in her usual blunt way, breaking my trance.
I take a deep breath and ring the bell .
Catherine answers. She looks healthier than the last time I saw her. “Ruth!” she exclaims.
I let go of Ruth and watch her run into her mother's arms. It's a heartwarming sight, but my heart feels broken.
“Mom, so glad to see you doing okay,” Ruth says through tears as she embraces her mom even tighter. Both ladies are in tears.
And my selfish desires to have Ruth stay with me disappear. She does belong here, after all.
Catherine turns to me. “Thank you for bringing her, Stan.”
“Yeah…” I manage to say. “I'll get her things delivered.”
“I told you there's no need for that,” Ruth says, and my heart sinks even more.
“Right.”
“I'm really sorry for springing this on you. And right after you came back from your event,” Catherine says.
“No, it's fine. Ruth's happiness comes first. If she wants to be here, then it's fine,” I say as I force a smile. “I'll visit as often as I can.”
“Okay?” Catherine looks confused.
Maybe I'm not welcome to visit. It would make sense. Up until a few months ago, I was a stranger to Ruth.
I lower myself to Ruth's height. “Take good care of your mother for both of us and stay out of trouble, okay?”
“Just to be clear, you understand what's going on here, right?” Ruth asks, a frown on her face.
“Yeah.” I smile, ruffling her hair.
“Dad, are you sure you know what's going on here?” she repeats.
Did she just call me Dad?
“You're moving back with your mother,” I state the obvious.
The two of them stare at each other and then burst into laughter.
“Oh, so that's why you looked so glum on the way back,” Ruth laughs. “Okay, I'm not moving back with Mom. I just came for the weekend. I need to be back on Sunday evening for that party at the Grands. ”
“I was confused why you were asking to visit,” Catherine tells me with another laugh.
I get to my feet. I know my face is beet red in embarrassment.
“Dad, we still have a lot of catching up to do,” Ruth says. “I can't just leave you now. Plus, I still want to help with the movie.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “God, Sam's going to kill me.”
“You two are so weird,” Ruth says, rolling her eyes before she gives me a hug. “Do me a favor and date her for us, okay?”
“I'm already dating her,” I tell her.
“Jerk!” She punches my gut, “What kind of dad doesn't tell his daughter things like that?”
“One that doesn't want a nosy brat in his business,” I reply.
“You should be thanking me. If I didn't lock you two in that pantry—”
“You locked who in a pantry?” Catherine cuts in.
“Nothing,” Ruth laughs nervously, then turns to me. “Now scram!”
I can't help but laugh. I kiss her forehead and promise to pick her up for her party.