“Both.” He sighed. “They thought you knew I was thinking of staying, and they thought you told me that you’d be open to staying too if the right opportunity came. They didn’t know how important this move is for you.”
“Doyouunderstand how important it is for me?”
He nodded, but Ruby wasn’t sure.
“Rashid, you know what my father was like when I was a kid, right?”
“He was a yeller, right? Abusive.”
Ruby nodded. “Yeah, but not only that. He was controlling. He didn’t like my mother working outside the home. She used to work at this boutique in the mall, but he was jealous of the way customers talked to her, the way they respected her and treated her like an equal. He hated that she was spending time with these rich customers, so he made her quit. I think he was afraid she’d realize that she was too good to be with him. Anyway, when his auto garage started struggling, she started sewing to make ends meet. She made Indian and Western dresses, and she was good. I used to tell her she should go to fashion school and be a real designer. She even signed up for a clothing design night school class. But Dad withdrew her application without telling her.”
“So, her dream was fashion design, not the English countryside?”
Ruby shook her head. “Fashion school wasn’t really her dream. I just thought she’d be good at it. England was the dream, always. Mom and I were complete Anglophiles. EverySaturday when I was a kid, while Dad was at the garage, we’d watch the BBCPride and Prejudice, the one with Colin Firth. And when I was in high school, we used to watch this show on PBS calledFind My Country Houseor something. These real estate experts would help city people relocate to the countryside. We saw one once where a mother and daughter bought a place together to open a B and B after the mother’s divorce, and my mom said we should do that. It was the first time I ever heard her mention leaving my father. We kept talking about that dream secretly for years. We researched where we could go, and how much money we’d need. She even told me that she’d opened a savings account and started putting money aside into it. But…” Ruby’s voice cracked.
“That was the money she left you?”
Ruby nodded. “Yeah. Anyway, after her first chemo, she and Dad had a big fight, and Dad left because he said she couldn’t be a wife if she was sick. Mom moved in with my aunt—Marley’s mother. And then she died.”
Rashid glanced at her, and Ruby could see glassiness in his eyes, like he was almost crying. “Oh, Ruby,” he said as he looked back at the road. “I can’t imagine anyone leaving their wife while she was sick. That’s heartbreaking. And now you want to use the money she saved to make her dream come true.”
“It’s not justherdream, Rashid. It’s mine, too. We used to watch these British dramas together… Austen stuff, but others, too. Our favorite wasWives and Daughters, but we even watched contemporary ones. I always felt like that setting, thatlife, that’s where I’m supposed to be. I can’t describe it, but when I watch that stuff, it’s the closest I’ve ever felt to feeling at home. I wantto see if I get the same feeling seeing… living in those places as I do when I read about them or see them in movies and TV.”
He didn’t say anything to that, so Ruby continued. “I know you think I’m flighty and impulsive, and it’s not wise for me to leave everything and chase a half-baked dream, but that’s not what this is. I’m going with my eyes wide open. If it’s not right, I’ll leave. But I have to try. You know I have the same cancer-causing genetic mutation as my mother.”
“But you had a mastectomy.”
“Rashid, you’re adoctor. You know I can’t remove all my risks. And it’s not just illness. Life is full of risks. I have no idea—none of us do—what will happen tomorrow. I have to give this dream a fighting chance. In a year or two I’ll know if it’s possible, and if it’s not, at least I’ll know I gave it my best shot.”
He nodded after a few long moments.
Ruby exhaled, remembering the letter from the lawyer. Her friends told her not to think about it until she was in London, but how could she not? “I might not even be able to do it now,” she said bitterly. “My dad’s suing me for my trust money.”
“What?” Rashid asked, looking at Ruby a moment. “When did this happen? Can he do that?”
Ruby shrugged, then told him about the letter she got yesterday.
“That… that’s terrible,” he said. “Your father is a piece of work.”
“I told you. The man is theworst.”
“Do you think it’s true? That your mother took money fromhimfor that savings account?”
Ruby shrugged. “I have no idea. She told me it was moneyshe earned sewing. But there was a lot more there than I would have imagined. Then again, I don’t know. I’ll talk to a lawyer soon. Reena apparently knows a great one used to dealing with manipulating families. My friends all think he doesn’t have a leg to stand on with this lawsuit.”
“How can I help? I know a local lawyer, too, or I can—”
She shook her head. “I don’t want you to do anything, Rashid. My friends and I got this.”
He exhaled. Rashid was a fixer. Arescuer. He came to Toronto a day after learning his sister’s husband was abusive. This whole mess started because he tried to arrange a job for Ruby in Toronto. The whole Hakim family was used to bending over backward to rescue each other, and he would rescue Ruby, too, if she’d let him.
Ruby wasn’t used to people helping her like this. If she let him save her, she’d never be able to walk away from him.
They were almost at the airport by then, and he merged into the Departures lane. He didn’t say a word until he parked in a short-term parking lot. He finally turned to Ruby.
“I’m sorry,” he said again. “I wish… I hate that he’s doing this to you.”
She smiled. “I know, Rashid. You’re such a good man.” She paused. “We were supposed to be casual, and I didn’t want to go in too deep, but you supported me and cared about me like no one else has. There was no point in keeping things surface level, because my feelings were always deep.”
