Their Freefall At Last by Julie Olivia

49

Ruby

Four Days Before

Ruby & Bennett are Thirty Years Old

Emory’s dusty workshop is one of my favorite places in Cedar Cliff, right behind Honeywood and the lone tree in the woods. I’m toiling away on my newest work project, tapping my fingers over laptop keys, and trying to drown out any thoughts related to my not-friend best friend. Though thinking about the lone tree probably isn’t helping.

Keys clatter on the workbench, and I jump.

“Christ,” I say, covering my heart.

Emory gives a small chuckle as he stands behind me, eyes darting to my screen and back up.

“What are you still doing here?” he grunts. “Don’t you have a brother-sister day or something?”

“Had to wrap some stuff up.”

My dad demanded I pick up Lucas at four o’clock, to which I countered with five thirty instead. I told him that I got off work at five and that was nonnegotiable. I don’t bend to my dad’s schedule. Not that Emory would have minded—he was at a lunch meeting with new clients. But it’s the principle of it all.

“Well, I’m gonna have to dock your pay for using company materials off the clock,” Emory says.

I shoot him a look. “Funny.”

“I’ve got some good ones every so often.” He sighs, taking a seat on the stool beside me. “So, anyway …”

I straighten up, pinching my eyebrows together. “Anyway? Did you just say anyway?”

I can count on one hand the things Emory likes—Lorelei, roller coasters, running, and silence. Small talk is not and will never be on that list. Over the past year, Emory and I have designed nearly five roller coasters on our own from start to finish. And how do we do that? Long hours. And zero small talk.

Anyway? Not exactly in his vocabulary.

He clears his throat. “I saw Bennett.”

I suck in a breath and hold it. It’s like a cool, ghostly hand wraps around my heart, giving a small squeeze. Just hearing his name gets me on edge.

“Okay …” I exhale. “What about him?”

“He seems fine.”

“And that’s code for …”

“Fine,” Emory grunts.

“So … you started this conversation just to tell me Bennett seems … fine?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.”

I go back to my laptop, clicking here and there, but solving nothing. He sits on the stool with a wrench, but it’s just balancing from one palm to the other.

Almost a full ten seconds later, Emory finally gives a low groan, a kind of whine that leads into a grunting, “He doesn’t look the best right now.”

I pause my fingers over the keys and look at him. “He doesn’t?”

“No. He chopped off his hair.”

“Wait, what?”

I grip the edge of the table while my heart slowly breaks. I can’t imagine Bennett without his beautiful hair.

“Mmhmm,” Emory responds.

“So, you’re trying to tell me he literally doesn’t look good?”

“No.” Emory’s eyebrows scrunch inward. Sometimes, those caterpillars have a life of their own. But right now, I can sense the real concern. “Well, yes. But he also seems … sad.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” He heaves a breath. “Anyway …”

“Another anyway? We’re on a roll today.”

He snorts. “I just figured you’d wanna know. An update or whatever.”

“Thanks. You really are a softy inside.”

Emory gives a wry smile. “Yeah, yeah. Now, get out of here. You have to be back in ten hours or something.”

I pack up my bag, slinging it over my shoulder, and walk toward the workshop door. But I turn on my heel before creaking it open. “Do you think he’s meant to be with Jolene?”

Emory blinks for a moment before lifting his caterpillars to the sky.

“Ahem, well …” He heaves out a sigh. “Do you?”

“I think you know my answer.”

“And I think you know mine.”

I give a weak smile. “Thanks.”

“And, hey, if Bennett asks you something soon, say yes.”

“What’s he gonna ask me?”

“Just do it. You’re smart, Ruby. You’ll find your way, all right?”

“Promise?” I whisper.

“Yeah. I promise.”

* * *

“Can I go again?”

“I’m not stopping until you do, kiddo.”

“Yes!”

Lucas runs down the exit ramp, takes the first left out of the line, and circles right back into the starting queue for Little Pecker’s Joy Ride.

I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve ridden this thing today, but if I’m lucky, I’m only molding another roller coaster enthusiast in our family.

I don’t babysit Lucas as much as I used to. He’s ten now, so it’s not like he needs one anyway. But now, when we hang out, it feels more like hanging out with a little brother. There’s less pressure to be a disciplinarian. And I much prefer being the older sibling that sends him home with too many pancakes in his stomach and endless vertigo from too many rides.

“This time, I’m gonna hold my hands up really high,” Lucas says.

“Bet I can hold mine up higher.”

“Nuh-uh.”

“I don’t know. You’re gonna have to try really hard then.”

Lucas hmphs and rests his chin on the railing.

“You know,” I say, leaning in, “I bet they’d go even higher if we rode The Grizzly.”

His eyes grow wide, and he swallows. “I don’t know …”

“Oh, come on,” I coax, fluffing up his hair. “You’ve got this. We all need a little courage in our lives, right?”

“Maybe.”

“Definitely.”

“Okay, cool. You’ll sit next to me though, right?”

I smile down at him. “Of course I will, kiddo.”

I hope he grows up to be braver than me. More daring. More thrilled by life and unafraid of its consequences. I don’t want him to make the same mistakes as me or have similar regrets.

But I am learning. I’m getting better, trying to mitigate future ones.

I’ve been looking at places to vacation after the wedding. I’ve never left the country before, but I registered for a passport. I might not know the language of wherever I’m going, but that’s okay. For once, I don’t want to apologize for existing.

I’m learning to stand up for myself. Because at the end of the day, there is nobody in the world looking out for me other than myself. I don’t have a safety net or an anchor. And maybe that’s okay.

Maybe.

My phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out, expecting another snarky audio message from Michael. He’s been giving me a play-by-play of his flight to Atlanta.

But it’s not Michael’s name I see.

It’s Bennett’s.

Emory was right.

I grit my jaw and straighten my posture. I tell myself I’m strong. I can do this.

I swipe to open my phone, but one glance tells me, Nope, I’m not ready for this at all. But it’s happening whether I want it to or not.

Bennett: You are cordially invited to my bachelor party.

Ruby:You’re kidding.

Bennett:I’m thinking I need strippers.

Ruby:All Cedar Cliff has are clowns, I hear.

Bennett:Clown strippers then?

I close my eyes, inhaling a breath right as Lucas tugs my shirt forward. I take a step forward, then another metaphorical one through my fingers.

Bennett:It’s in two days. We’re starting at The Honeycomb around seven.

Ruby:I’ve got a guest in town. I’m not sure I can make it.

There’re a few seconds with no text.

Bennett:Oh, Mr. Not-Boyfriend?

Ruby:The very one.

Dots start, then stop. Start. Then stop.

Christ, Bennett.

And finally—

Bennett:Bring him. The more, the merrier.

I let out a laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Lucas asks.

I shake my head. “Trust me, nothing about this is funny.”

Ruby:Probably not a great idea.

Bennett:Not taking no for an answer. I’d rather you be there with company than not at all.

Ruby: You’re sure?

Bennett:I’m gonna need my parrot for our pirating festivities, aren’t I?

I take a giant inhale, tilt my head side to side, then hit Send.

Ruby:I’ll tell Michael then.