What we keep

 

Rafe didn't know if he had it in him to stay up past nine. He was dragging these days, but the apartment was cozy. Of course, it was all Ruby. He felt he was only visiting.

She'd made something cheezy again. She swore she didn't like cheese but it always came back to a KRAFT dinner and hamburger or sometimes, ham. Which always gave him a wince. Needless to say, he'd been on his own to dig through the fridge for dinner most nights of his high school life. 

As usual, she rounded out the meal with cucumber salad and crunchy carrots. It was kind of a homecooked meal, and Rafe was glad to have it.

He heard the jangle on her wrist, but he didn't think much of it. If only he could vacuum the dinner all up in his mouth and head to bed, Rafe knew he couldn't. She would talk about somebody from work. There was always a story that he knew he might be quizzed on later. He'd grown to expect it.

"Do you notice anything different?" Ruby asked before he could even get in a fork full of noodles. He held the food in his cheeks and looked at her as if this was definitely a big question. He couldn't think of a thing. He swallowed his food and took a sip of water.

"Your hair."

Rafe decided that was a safe one. It was up for these summer days.  He smiled pleasantly, hoping that would be enough.

"Nope, that's not it." 

Ruby was straight-lipped as if he needed to find the answer. Rafe shrugged a bit puzzled. She pushed her wrist up in the air again. Rafe's eyes widened. He cleared his throat. It was his bracelet.

"Where..where did that come from?" His frown was small.

"Oh, I've been wearing it well over a week," Ruby informed him as if he wasn't aware of anything.

He didn't want his appetite ruined. He just dove into the casserole in the pasta dish as if to keep quiet. Not think how this all came about. Ruby watched and finally found a cucumber or two to crunch on while he finished the meal.

"Aren't we going to talk about this?" She asked as he picked up his clean dish and put it in the kitchen sink.

"What's there to know?"

"You know who gave it to me, don't you?" She called to him as he gripped the counter at the sink.

"So." He didn't want to talk about Maddie.

"She's quite nice, you know." Ruby then said.

Rafe nodded. "Yeah, she's the nice one. I'm not. I know that." He looked over his shoulder. Ruby was still content at the little dining table. 

"I know you know."

It was a sad feeling that Ruby knew, and it was something Maddie would never let go, knowing his genuine angst. Rafe pressed his lips tight. Sure he wanted to do something special for Ruby, but he was too tired to think. He was certain she'd be the one who'd have couple rings for the both of them when the time came. The rings would be trendy and possibly just black rubber.

How come it had come to this? Letting her make all the decisions. When to do this. What they should do. It was all so much easier this way. And he was afraid it would become addictive.