Tried With Fire - (Ruth Harris Series)

Chapter 40

Hunter and I rested a little while longer in each other's company before setting off home. I was so excited! If everything went according to plan we would get there in time to wake Olivia up for school; I could just see her little face in my mind, brightening up at the sight of me and screeching 'Mummy!' as if I had emerged from the grave. I would throw my arms around her, kiss her a million times and never let go again. I would definitely cry a lot too.
               The drive home seemed unending, especially since both Hunter and I had to do it alone. I wished then that I'd taken trains and buses during my escape from my life so that when I was found, I would have someone to ride home with.
'But you weren't expecting to be found, were you?'
               We may not have been far from home, but when such a beautiful moment awaits you at your destination every metre of road feels like ten miles. Hunter stayed right in front of me, but two minutes into the drive I phoned him. I watched him pause for a second, confused and probably a little worried that I was about to veer off in a random direction. Then he accepted the call and spoke:
'Ruth? What's up?'
'I miss you already.' I said. His shoulders relaxed.
'You know I'm less than five feet away from you, right?'
'That's too far.'
               I kept my eyes on my husband, and giggled when he blew a kiss to me through the car window.
'Don't worry, we'll be home in ten minutes,' he said, 'and then I'm going to grab you and kiss you all over again. But until then, let's stay on the phone. Tell me... Tell me what you missed most, while you were away.'
'Mamma Mia, I think we're going to need more than ten minutes.' I joked. Hunter laughed too, and before long we were lost in happy conversation.

Then came the moment that I have really struggled to put into words. Normally the words spill out of me like an overflowing fountain when I write, but not this time. Describing the moment between a mother and daughter who have been apart for two weeks, with no clue as to when they would meet again, is nearly impossible. It felt like a whirlwind mixed with a surprise party mixed with feeling bloated mixed with gut wrenching anxiety.
               But, fortunately my excitement far outweighed my anxiety, so soon I was standing outside the house. Our house. There was our white fence, our window shutters, and our flower trays beneath the casements. The sun often looked down on this house especially, making the white exterior shine with a soft, golden glow, and the black front door warm to the touch. Sometimes when the weather was nice like that, Olivia and I would sit in the garden and play games, plant pretty flowers or watch the birds peck at the bird feeders. I remember Olivia telling me once, while we were checking on our hyacinths and pointing out butterflies, that it seemed as if someone special was watching over our house. When I asked why, she pointed at the golden beams of sunlight lighting up the path to it and said, 'Because there's never any darkness here.'
               Gulping back a wave of emotion, I glanced into the front windows as Hunter and I neared our house, and spotted the living room furniture reflecting in the television. For just a second I recalled how full of life that room always was. That room was a place of family, laughter, understanding and love. Yes it was also where I spent many sleepless nights tossing and turning, and yes it was where Hunter once got so angry that he threw a photo frame through the air, and yes it was where we first heard that we were being taken to court, and yes it was where I miscarried my second child, but even those memories couldn't damper the millions of happy ones I had made there.
               Then, just after my brief reminiscence, my eyes lowered down the tv and spotted a DVD case lying open beside it, empty. I'd know that case anywhere: Dirty Dancing.
'Has Hunter been watching my favourite film to be reminded of me? That's SO cute!'
'I've had the time of my life, and I owe it all to you...'
'Oh come on girls, don't tease the poor guy. He was heartbroken!'
'Yeah! Ruth is the one who spent entire nights scanning her phone for photos and videos of him - that's way worse!'
'Hey Emilia, come here. I'll teach you the dance.'
               Once at the front door, I paused with my hand on my keys.
               'Hunter.' I said, turning back. 'What if she hates me?'
'Olivia could never hate you.' my husband said reassuringly. He put his hand on mine and turned it, unlocking the door. 'And anyway, Andy told her you'd gone away to help some sick people. She just misses you. Desperately.'
'But -'
'Ruth.'
               That was all it took. The look on Hunter's face, the tone he used for my name, and his tight grip on my hand gave me no option but to push open that door.
               I recognised the smell inside the house instantly, and just as instantly became immune to it again. Nobody can describe - nor often detect - their own house's smell, but they all have one. Ours was pleasant, I knew that much.
'Home sweet home.' Hunter exhaled happily behind me.