I’m so sorry for the noise. I’ll get someone else to finish your section. And her voice broke on the last word. And Ethan’s phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out on instinct. Saw the text from Vanessa. Her name is Ruby. She’s a waitress there. and his brain just completely stopped working because he looked at the name tag on her uniform and it said Ruby in little plastic letters and he said, “Wait, are you are you supposed to meet someone here tonight? A blind date?” Ruby’s face went from red to white in about 2 seconds flat. And she stared at
him and whispered, “Ethan.” And he nodded and said, “Ruby.” And they both just stood there in the middle of this fancy restaurant with a screaming baby and a furious manager and about 60 people watching like this was dinner theater. The manager looked between them. You know each other. And Ethan made a decision right there on the spot that would change the entire trajectory of his life.
Yes, she’s my date and she’s leaving with me right now. He pulled out his wallet and threw $200 bills on his table, way more than his water and bread had cost. grabbed Ruby’s elbow gently and said, “Where’s your stuff?” She pointed mutely toward the back and he said, “Go get it. I’ll wait right here.” And she disappeared for maybe 30 seconds and came back with her purse in the diaper bag.
And Ethan took the diaper bag from her shoulder without asking. Looked at the manager and said, “She quits and your steak’s overpriced anyway.” And walked Ruby straight out the front door while the entire restaurant watched in complete silence. The parking lot was humid and sticky. Typical August in Austin.
And the second they were outside, Ruby just completely broke down. The baby still crying in her arms and her shoulders shaking with sobs. I just lost my job. Oh my god, this is the worst first impression in the history of first impressions. I’m so sorry you had to see that. I’m so sorry. Ethan set the diaper bag down on the hood of his truck and said, “Hey, hey, look at me.
” And Ruby looked up with mascara running down her face and the baby’s cries starting to quiet into hiccups against her shoulder. Is he okay? Are you okay? That’s what matters right now. Ruby blinked at him like he was speaking a foreign language. I don’t I don’t know what I’m going to do. I needed those tips. I can’t afford. My rent’s due in 8 days.
And I And her voice just gave out completely. Ethan looked at this woman who was supposed to be his fresh start, his move forward from grief. And she was falling apart in a parking lot holding a baby and looking at him like she expected him to run. And every instinct in his body said, “Stay.” “Have you eaten today?” he asked, and Ruby shook her head.
“I was going to grab something after my shift.” And Ethan made another decision. “Okay, there’s a diner two blocks from here, open 24 hours. They have high chairs and nobody cares if babies cry. Let’s go get food and catch our breath and figure out what’s next. Deal? Ruby stared at him. You still want to have dinner with me after all that? And Ethan said, I just watched you fight for your job while holding your kid.
You walked into a nightmare with your head up, yet I want to have dinner with you. Come on. 20 minutes later, they were sitting in a booth at Mel’s diner with sticky menus and fluorescent lights and a waitress who brought a high chair without being asked, and Ruby had Matteo in her lap, feeding him mashed banana from a little jar in her purse, while Ethan ordered burgers and fries and chocolate milkshakes.
The baby, Matteo, apparently, kept staring at Ethan with these huge, curious eyes, and Ethan made a funny face, and Mateo giggled, and Ruby’s expression did something soft and scared at the same time. I need to be honest with you, Ruby said quietly, wiping banana off Matteo’s chin. I can’t afford to date anyone right now.
I just lost my job. I have an 18-month-old. I’m trying to finish my teaching degree online. I’m a complete mess. You seem really not a mess. This isn’t going to work. Ethan took a sip of his milkshake and said, “I’m a widowerower. My wife died 3 years ago from cancer. My 9-year-old daughter set up this date because she’s worried I’ve given up on living.
I just walked out of the restaurant where I was supposed to celebrate my anniversary because it hurt too much to be there. And I’ve never felt more useful in my entire life than I did walking you out of that place. So, let’s just eat and see what happens. Okay. Ruby looked at him for a long minute. Really looked. And Ethan looked back and something passed between them that felt like recognition.
Like twopeople who’d been through hell seeing each other clearly. Okay, she said finally, but I’m leaving the tip. Ethan smiled. Deal. And Matteo reached across the table and grabbed Ethan’s finger with his tiny fist and held on tight. And Ethan felt his heart crack open for the first time in 3 years. And Ruby watched it happen and thought, “Oh no, I’m going to fall in love with this man, and that’s going to complicate absolutely everything.
” Ruby woke up Monday morning to her phone alarm screaming at 6:00 a.m. and the immediate panic of remembering she didn’t have a job anymore. Like that stomach drop feeling when you miss a step going downstairs, except it lasted all day every day. And she laid there staring at her ceiling with Matteo still asleep in his crib next to her bed doing the math in her head that made her want to throw up. Rent due in 8 days, $1340.
She had $680 in her account, which meant she was $660 short. And that wasn’t even counting formula or diapers or the electric bill that was already two weeks overdue. She spent two hours applying to 11 different jobs online. Everything from retail to receptionist work to other waitressing gigs in every single application had the same question.
Do you have reliable child care? And Ruby stared at that question knowing the honest answer was no. Absolutely not. Her babysitter was a 19-year-old nursing student who canceled half the time, but she clicked yes anyway because what choice did she have? Her phone buzzed around 10:00 a.m. and her heart jumped thinking it was a job call back, but it was Ethan.
