Adira took her mobile from her back pocket and was caressing the screen. She shared with him, "One of the only luxuries I allowed myself was this phone. I gave up designer shoes, clothes, purses, and jewelry. I sold everything. I had to pay for everything. For a roof over our heads and food. Until I ran out of money. The cost of living in South Africa is insane."
Ralph said, "I think that your brother sounds like an amazing person."
Adira's lower lips trembled. She hated being so powerless. She hated the flashes of hot and cold as she lay her problems at Ralph's feet. She then said, "My brother Neil did everything he could to help me out, including buying my plane tickets. I have to go home to see him. It would not be right to cash in the ticket otherwise. I am hoping to start over."
Ralph told her, "Your family, I bet, will love Raven."
She replied, "My brother, Yes. He would be happy to see Raven. But my Uncle and Aunt?" She paused and then continued, "I don't know what they will say and do. I don't know if they will even let me enter through the front door."
Ralph was then about to say something when Adira interrupted him and said, "I will figure something out." She knew that she had forced herself to stay rigid. Otherwise, she would have fallen apart. She was so tired. Her body ached in places it never had before. Her breasts were tender, not quite used to nursing an infant, and her stomach started to rumble again. The lunch she had with Ralph after meeting him was the first meal after having missed four meals. She had been trying to conserve her money, which had seemed like a good idea at that time. But right then, the lack of energy had proved the opposite.
Ralph's large hands came to rest on her shoulders. He turned her around to face him. His eyes were concerned and sincere. He then said, "If things get bad, I want you to go to 'Wellington Castle,' San Juan Islands, North West Washington, to my place there."
Adira started shaking her head, but he ignored her and continued, "You need to have a plan if things go beyond control. I don't want you and Raven to go to a shelter again."
Her heart melted. The ice that had surrounded it for months had thawed very fast. She could just say, "You have already done too much."
Ralph said, "Adira. Let me do this for you. I cannot go away without knowing that both of you will be taken care of, no matter how it works with your parents." He then brushed a strand of her hair lovingly away from her face. His touch was so tender and loving that she shivered a little. But he insisted, "Say Yes."
She was unable to say no to him, so she just said, "I will think about it."
He asked her, "Have I told you how un-zombie-like you look this evening?" He said that because he had promised to tell her how well she looked once again at dinner. Though, he said it differently to make it a bit funny.
Adira laughed at that. Ralph knew by now that she loved to laugh and smile. She naturally laughed or smiled once she trusted someone. He loved both her laugh and smile.
As if on cue, Adira rolled her eyes but could not hide her smile or sexy dimples. She looked fresh, having come out of the shower. Her hair was tied in a braid while they were having an early dinner.
Ralph thought it was almost like a formal date, except for his buddies who were troubling him from the next room, and she had a three-month-old with her. And they were in the ordinary area of the U.S. Force Lounge. His gaze dropped to Adira's pink lips. He then joked "Hungry?"
She replied, "Lots and lots of hunger." She said, "It should be printed on the greeting cards for all new mothers."
Ralph nodded solemnly and forced his gaze back away from her mouth. He then told her, "I think you are right. Maybe I will design it and then sell it."
"You will make millions," she said. She then finished her meal and wiped her hands on her paper napkin before tossing it on the plate. She was beaming at him. She looked like a new woman.
Ralph was amazed at what a little kindness, a full belly, and a shower could do for a person. He was even more amazed at what all that was doing to him. Providing for her, meeting her every need. She walked away then, her hips swaying as she moved. She was tiny, barely five feet two. She had golden skin and lovely red hair, and green eyes. He could imagine the attention she must have gathered when she must have been at her best. He wished to gain her attention. But then he said to himself, 'Be her friend, be the guy that she can count on until she gets on the plane with Raven.'
He tried reminding himself that Adira was a mother, which helped. He gave extra respect to women who became mothers. It was maybe because he loved his mother so much.
Adira then sat down with a plate full of food in her hands. I think I have been overeating, but I could not resist the aromatic smell of food. Ralph winked at her and said, "Eat as much as you want. It is my treat." She smiled and then checked at Raven. The little one lay sleeping in the middle on the blanket between them. She had fed her before joining him for dinner.
She said, "We are in an unfamiliar place, which doesn't help. So it would be better for both of us to settle down." Her smile slipped when she said, "Provided everything goes perfectly when I reach home."
Ralph reminded her again, "You know what to do if it doesn't." She replied she would think about it. It was neither yes nor no. So Ralph typed his mobile number and address of his home into Adira's mobile in the phone note app.
"Ralph," she began, "you are just too good."
He replied that "You are too lonely."
Adira did not reply to that.
Ralph himself was not yet sure. He had nothing to offer. He also had no idea what he wanted to do with his life after returning from the war. He knew Adira deserved a lot. He did not want to ask her to wait for him.
Adira asked him, "Please tell me about your brothers and sister. One girl with all those boys. It had to be insane."
He replied, "we were all troublesome with the capital 'T,' and we enjoyed every moment. Poor Violet. She did not like being left out, so she too became like us."
Adira asked him, "I am sure you protected her from any kind of punishment?"
"We all did," he replied. "It was our duty to take care of Violet and watch out for her. Our parents also told her to not take any shit from us, and to speak up for herself."
Adira laughed and asked about the difference between their ages. Ralph replied they had a difference of three years between them.
She said, "I pity your poor mother."
He replied, "I am pretty sure people must be thinking that before Violet was born. You remember we were three older siblings?"
She asked him whether they all lived at 'Wellington Castle,' too.
He replied, "Yeah. I am the only one with a restless soul."
She said that she was also the same until she had Raven. A real family. After that, she said, she wanted to find peace. To find roots.
He asked her, "Why do you want to find roots?"
She replied, "It is a lot easier to be grounded when you have someone depending on you to be their support in the storm."
He joked at her and said, "Are you sure you are not a beach baby?"
She laughed and said, "Not that. But when I used to be small, I wanted to live on a beach and give guided tours to tourists."
Ralph asked her, "Then my offer to you must be very tempting, huh?"
Her dark eyes held Ralph's gaze as though she was looking inside him, all the way down to his soul. "Very," she then replied softly.