Page 76 of Divine Sense
“I might be old but I don’t think I’ve lost my wits yet. What is this?” she asked with a chuckle. Magnolia stepped back and looped an arm around my waist.
“It’s an offer,” she started to explain. “We’d like you to come and stay with us. Kolbi has a guest house that you could live in and you could work for us in our home. It wouldn’t be a lot of work but it would give you the chance to retire and relax. You’d have your own space, your own home, and I would be able to see you more.” As Magnolia explained her plan, tears filled Ruthie’s eyes.
She shook her head, bewildered, before speaking. “I-I-I…I can’t do that. I’ve lived in this house for the last…well however old you are,” she said, waving a hand towards Magnolia. “I can’t just leave.”
“Of course you can. And I’m giving you the offer to leave whenever you want.” Magnolia took a step closer to the older woman and placed her hands on top of Ruthie’s. “This phone has my number in it. The business card is Kolbi’s. If you decide you want to leave, and come stay with us, the offer is there. It’s up to you and I’ll support whatever you do. But I’d very much like to have my Ms. Ruthie back.” Her voice broke and she started crying again. Ruthie patted the back of her hand and gave her a hopeful smile.
“I’ll think about it, sugar.”
“That’s all I’m asking. I love you, Ms. Ruthie, I hope you decide to let me take care of you for once. As a thanks for always taking care of me.” She leaned over and kissed Ruthie’s wrinkled cheek before walking back towards me. Ruthie bowed her head at the two of us, opened the front door, and slipped back inside.
I reached my hand out and pulled her in, swiping a tear away as it fell down her cheek. “You are a very good person, Magnolia Sinclair, and I love you very much. Let’s go home and watch an episode ofGilmore Girls. You can pick out your favorite andquote the entire thing if you want.” This earned me a small, watery smile.
As I started down the driveway, she looked out the window with a somber expression. Reaching across the center console, I took her hand in mind and pressed it into my cheek. She looked at me as tears filled her eyes again. I knew she had hoped Ms. Ruthie would be leaving with us today, ready to walk away from her parents just like she had without a second thought.
“Do you think she’ll say yes?” Her bottom lip quivered as she tried to fight what I could only imagine to be her heart breaking in her chest.
“I’m not sure, but we tried and that’s all we can do. What happens next isn’t up to us. But whatever happens, it’s you and me, together.”
“You and me, together,” she promised, kissing the back of my hand and looking out the front windshield as we pulled onto the main road.
Just as we pulled out of the driveway, Magnolia’s phone rang with a number we had programmed into it not even an hour earlier.
And as I turned my car around to head down the old plantation drive, I had the sense that everything was going to change for me.
But in the best way possible.
THE END
