I didn’t want anything to do with touching the fish. Slimy things and I don’t mix.
“I’m good. I don’t need a picture.”
Darrius frowned, and I hated seeing the disappointment in his eyes. “Please,” he begged. “This part is important.”
Letting out an exasperated sigh, I reluctantly held out my hand, grimacing when the fish started to flop around.
“It’s still alive!”
Both men laughed. “After your picture, we’re going to release it.”
“We are?”
“Yeah,” Darrius informed me. “We catch and release.”
“Doesn’t that hurt the fish?”
“As long as he gets back into the water, he should be fine. Now come on, Ruby, let’s take a picture.”
Both men stood on my sides, Cap holding the camera out for a selfie, as I looked down at the fish with great concern. “Is he dying?”
“Just smile, Ruby. Say Cheese!” Cap encouraged.
Just as Cap went to snap the photo, the fish started violently wiggling, and flopped right out of my hand, back in the water.
Cap started hysterically laughing, showing me the photo that was sure to win a prize for being the most comical picture ever taken. There I was, standing between two beautiful men, with the most horrific shocked look on my face, as Flounder, the name I’m giving my catch, jumped out of my hand in the most picturesque pose, looking like Free Willy jumping over the wall to see his family. The camera caught the moment perfectly, and it definitely would have to go into a picture frame. It was just that funny.
“That’s the best fishing picture I’ve ever seen,” Darrius said, unable to hold in his laughter. “I need a copy of that.”
“Of course! Darrius, I can’t thank you enough! Without your help, I would’ve never known how to do this. You should teach people how to fish. Maybe you could set up some kind of big brother program where you take kids without a dad in their life and teach them how to fish just like you did me. I think you’d be great at it.”
It was like a lightbulb went off in Darrius’ head, because he shot Cap a look.
“She’s right, Darrius. You’re a great teacher. I’m sure there are kids and even some adults out there that would love to take lessons from someone as seasoned as you.”
His eyes danced with a million possibilities, as Cap clapped him on the back. “I think we’ve successfully found your purpose, Darrius, and why Greg wants you to keep going.”
Darrius wiped a few tears from his eyes and sniffed. “I can’t believe this… two hours ago I was ready to end it all, and now, because of both you, I actually have the drive to keep on going. It’s a fucking miracle!” He immediately gave me a hug, thanking me for something I didn’t think I really helped with much.
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” he kept repeating, hugging me tightly.
“You’re welcome, but I don’t think I really did much.”
Cap put a hand on each of my shoulders, looking me dead in the eyes. “You did more than you think, Ruby.”
“What do you mean?”
He motioned for me to follow him, guiding me over to an area where we could talk in private. “Sometimes people need others that they can relate with to get them through things. It’s why alcoholics have AA and there are support groups for people who are grieving like you two. I can only do so much, which is why I took a step back, hoping and praying that you could reach him when I obviously couldn’t. Unfortunately, I broke some of his trust, which is why he was staring down the barrel of that gun, toying with pulling the trigger. But you… you brought him out of it just by relating to him and being there for him when he needed you most. So, yes, you helped in more ways than you think.”
I never thought about it like that. I was just having a conversation with him, relating to him, I didn’t know that it could help him work through his struggles the way Cap is suggesting.
“You’re here for a reason too, Ruby. Now we just need to figure out what your purpose is as well.”
Chapter Seventeen
It had been almost a week since the incident happened with Darrius. I couldn’t believe how well everything played out. Not only did Ruby help Darrius out of his dark head space, but she also helped herself without even realizing it.
It’s one thing I’ve learned over the past few years, that a tremendous way to overcome grief is to distract yourself with other people’s issues. Maybe that’s what I’ve been doing myself, but I no longer think about the what ifs when it comes to Nathan’s death. I just think about the future, and how that experience brought me to where I am today.With Ruby… waiting for the next obstacle to overcome.
