Rashid shook his head. “No, José taught us blackjack. It was Vicky—remember the old restaurant host that smelled like cigarettes and cheese?”
Ayesha laughed as she grabbed a deck of cards from a little shelf in the corner that was filled with board games. They took their drinks to the private space that was the future home of the tearoom. “I’ll deal.”
They walked Ruby through the basics of the game. It reminded Ruby of euchre, which she played for hours with her roommates in Montreal years ago. But despite the rules being pretty simple, Ruby and Rashid were still losing after the first few hands of whist. Badly. Mostly because Ruby couldn’t keep track of the cards already played. Or remember what trump was.
“Okay, now try to remember, Red,” Rashid said, annoyed.“Clubsare trump. Remember it like… youclubbedme with your tree when we first met.”
Ayesha snickered. “Did you two really meet in a Christmas tree lot? Because that’s hilarious.”
“We metoutsidea tree lot,” Ruby said. “I dropped my tree on him, then he carried it home for me.”
Ayesha shook her head, amazed. “You two had a complete Hallmark movie Christmas, didn’t you?”
Ruby nodded. “Yep. We drank buckets of eggnog and hot chocolate, and even went skating in the snow.” She tried not to look at Rashid while she said it. She’d been intentional when she hadn’t sat next to him at the card table—she didn’t want to risk any unexpected touches. Knees accidently meeting. Elbows banging. But she hadn’t realized that sitting across from him meant he would be her partner. And also…
He was right in front of her. She couldn’t help but notice his content smile when she talked about their holiday outings.
“This weekend must also feel like a movie to you,” Jasmine said. She also had a small smile on her lips. Jasmine seemed so different from how she’d been back in December. Ruby hadn’t realized how much of her quietness, her solemnness, was actually a trauma response. Jasmine wasn’t as outgoing as Ayesha, but she was much more alive now. Ruby was so happy to see it.
“Why do you say that?” Ruby asked.
Jasmine shrugged. “You wanted to come to Northern England for so long. You’re a Jane Austen superfan, and you went to Lyme Park and Chatsworth. And now you’re playing whist, just like they do in all the books and movies.”
Ruby smiled. “Yeah, it does kind of feel like a fantasy.” Shelooked out the window of the small room. It was dark, but she could make out some of the gardens surrounding the inn. “I’m having the best time here. Northern England has completely exceeded my expectations.”
Ayesha shook her head. “Come in February and you’ll change your tune. Besides, it’s not thenorththat made this weekend great—it’s because you’re here with us. We’re freaking amazeballs. Especially me.”
Rashid rolled his eyes. “Modesty isn’t my sister’s strong suit.”
Ruby laughed. “Girl knows her worth.” She high-fived Ayesha.
But as they continued their game, Ruby realized something. Ayesha was right. This trip—her long-awaited pilgrimage to the English countryside,wasthe best because of the people she was with. Ruby had been in England for a while now, and yes, there was a lot to love about being in the UK. But honestly, it wasn’t that different from Toronto. Actually, living in Surrey was arguably worse than living in Toronto—because in Toronto she’d lived in the city instead of the suburbs, so there was so much more to do.
She missed the hustle of living in a city. Being in London proper had been great. Fantastic, even. But Toronto was pretty great, too. Thanks to her holiday season with Rashid, she loved her hometown again. She missed the ease with which she could navigate, the casual diversity, and, of course, the amazing food thanks to that diversity. She missed her friends like crazy: Marley, Shayne, Anderson, Reena, and Nadim. She even missed baby Aleem. Despite loving her job, England itself hadn’tlived up to her lofty expectations until this mini break in the countryside.
But this trip north had exceeded all of Ruby’s expectations. It didn’t feel like Toronto or London. She’d felt more at peace here, more comfortable than she’d felt since coming to the UK. She felt calmer, happier, and more at home than anywhere else. It could be thanks to this adorable inn, the tours of the manor houses, or the rugged beauty outside the window.
Or it could be because of the people at this table, plus Hakim, Farida, and the twins. Seeing Jasmine with a lightness to her after all her heaviness at Christmas. Watching the twins’ faces light up when they saw Ruby for the first time at Lyme Park. Ayesha’s snarkiness. Farida’s motherly advice and warmth—even her meddling.
And Rashid. He brought her to Chatsworth House even though he’d hated the place the last time he was there. He brought breakfast and tea for her since they were getting on the road so early. He wasn’t bitter about her breaking up with him, then not talking to him for almost three months. He understood why she pushed him away. Hell, he’d gone out of his way to help her with the lawsuit, so now she wasn’t at risk of losing her mother’s money anymore.
The realization rocked her to her core. What if she hadn’t come to the countryside with the Hakims? Would she still have felt this magic if she’d come alone, as she’d initially intended to?
Ruby took a long gulp of her ale, her mind racing through the realizations. Why had she wanted to come to the English countryside in the first place? What was it about this place thatspoke to both Ruby’s and her mother’s hearts? What had they been chasing?
Family.It was always family. When Dad was staying away from the house, or yelling at Ruby, or trying to control Mom, they’d watch that UK real estate show and see families leave their city life behind for a peaceful one in the country. Even their love of Austen… the stories they both loved to read and watch were love stories, but they were about family, too. The Bennet sisters and their chaotic love for each other. Emma visiting with Mrs. Weston and treating Harriet like a sister. Marianne and Elinor supporting each other even when they were frustrated with each other.
It wasn’t the place—it was thepeople. Ruby, and maybe even her mother, had been chasing the feeling of belonging to a complicated, messy, but loving family. And that’s why the last two days had been so magical for Ruby—because this complicated, messy family had welcomed her.
It had been so long since she had a family, and she’d never had a supportive one. She felt a truckload of gratitude for the Hakim family. But also, maybe Ruby should be rethinking her goals. Maybe she shouldn’t be so fixated on a place to find her home. Maybe she’d find home when she found the right people.Herpeople.
“You okay, Red?” Rashid asked, eying her curiously.
She smiled. “Absolutely. I’m great. Just… really happy to be here.” And she meant it. Her eyes welled with tears, but she blinked them away. “What was trump again? Hearts?”
His brows were furrowed with concern. “I’m happy you’re here, too. And yes, it’s hearts. Don’t forget.”
They continued the game, but Ruby only got worse. She was too distracted as her mind kept racing. Maybe she needed to think more about what Farida said, to really determine how many of the choices she’d made in her life were to make her mother happy, because Mom hadn’t had a lot of happiness in the years before her death. Marley had said that Mom would want Ruby to follow her own dreams. But Ruby had been so fixated on doing what she and her mother wanted to do together that she didn’t take the time to think if she wanted to do them alone. Because without family, without her people, was any of this worth it?
