CHAPTER FOUR

Ruby stared blankly at the kit which confirmed her pregnancy. She felt light and dizzy.

“Ruby come out” Naomi shouted and banged on the door

“If you don’t come out now, I’m coming in” She threatened Ruby

Ruby slowly opened the bathroom door and walked past her friend like a lifeless ghost.

“Ruby, what is it?” Naomi asked with concern.

Ruby handled the pregnancy test kit, Naomi looked at it and was dumbfounded. Why should this be happening to her friend now that she was beginning to patch up the pieces of her life together? Is Robert the father? How should she comfort her friend? All these questions kept running through her head.

“Ruby let’s talk” she said helping Ruby to a chair

“Ruby I know this is hard for you but I would like to know if Robert is the father” Naomi asked tenderly

“N-no he is not” Ruby replied trying so hard not to cry

“Then who is the father” Naomi asked

Ruby stared at her trying to blink back the tears threatening to break free.

“Ruby I need you to tell me who is responsible,” Naomi asked as she clasped Ruby’s hands in reassurance.

“I-I don’t know” Ruby struggled to get the words out

“What do you mean by that?” Naomi asked. Ruby couldn’t’ reply she just started weeping uncontrollably

“Oh my God...Ruby, Is the handsome stranger responsible?” Naomi asked

Ruby nodded still crying, Naomi couldn’t believe it

“Ruby, didn’t he use protection?” Naomi asked softly

“N-No h-he didn’t” Ruby replied mid sobs.

Naomi knew now wasn’t the time to scold her friend for being reckless, first she had to calm her down so they could discuss the way forward.

“Ruby you need to calm down, now isn’t the time to cry, we need to find this guy, do you know his name, where he works or where he lives?” Naomi asked. She passed a box of tissues to Ruby so she could wipe her face

“No, I don’t know anything about him we never exchanged contact info” Ruby said as she collected the box of tissue.

“What do I do Naomi? I can’t abort my baby” She asked looking at Naomi for answers.

“I don’t know, all I know is that crying won’t help so let’s do less of that, okay?” Naomi said trying to be a strong pillar for her friend

“Okay” Ruby replied then she took out a tissue from its box and began to wipe her face

Naomi hugged Ruby while patting her back, she reassured her that they would get through this together like they always do

“Cheer up girl, we will get through this together, okay? You are not alone. First, we need to find this mystery man”

“How?”

“I don’t know but we have to find him, maybe...we could check the club where you guys met”

“Then if we find him what do I tell him?” Ruby asked

“I don’t know Ruby, we will probably cross that bridge when we get there, for now, let’s focus on finding your mystery man”

“Okay, how do we go about it? Do we wait at the bar till he decides to show up?” Ruby quizzed

“No that would take too long, what if we ask around, ” Naomi suggested

“Naomi, can we go look for him after my interview tomorrow?” Ruby asked. She needed to go to a hospital to confirm if she was truly pregnant, secondly, she needed all the positive energy she could get for her interview and she didn’t know how the stranger would take the news.

“Sure, anytime you want to go, it’s fine, as far as it’s before you start showing” Naomi replied with a faint smile.

“Thank you,” Ruby said

“Do you need help with your interview? Naomi asked trying to lighten up the mood

“No...but I need help picking an outfit” Ruby replied. She knew Naomi was trying to get her mind off her current predicament and she was happy to have a friend like her.

“Well that shouldn’t be a problem at all, we can fix that but first of all let’s go through your wardrobe so I can know what I’m working with” Naomi replied feeling all giddy. She loves playing dress up and she was damn good at it.

They both walked into Ruby’s room, Naomi reached for the wardrobe while Ruby sat on the bed waiting for Naomi to perform her magic as she couldn’t decide on anything suitable for an interview. She has a few cooperate fit but she didn’t want to come off too serious since it was just a secretary job. Naomi glanced at Ruby’s closet, she took out some outfits and threw them on the bed muttering to herself with a serious look on her face. She was determined to make her best girl stand out at the interview, she is a firm believer in the saying “Dress the way you want to be addressed”.

“The perfect outfit isn’t here” Naomi said looking at the heap of clothes on the bed

Ruby stared at Naomi, she knew her friend could be very dramatic when it came to fashion but how could she say none of her clothes were perfect for an interview? She reached for a nude colour short sleeve, body-fitted neck dress with a little back split

“What about this?” Ruby asked placing the dress on her body for Naomi to visualise

“Too plain” Naomi replied without taking a second glance, and then she dashed out of the room

“Where are you going to?” Ruby asked but didn’t get a response, a few seconds later Naomi came back with a red dress in hand

“This is perfect Ruby” Naomi said holding up the dress for Ruby to see. It was a v-neck, long-sleeved gown with little accessories attached to the side, it has a little split at the back and its length is moderate, not too long but not too short giving the perfect boss babe vibe.

“You would look amazing in this, especially if you pair it with your black stiletto heels and your favourite black satchel bag...Perfect” Naomi said

“Whatever you say your highness” Ruby replied sarcastically

“ Well now that we have the perfect outfit and you are fully grounded, all you need is rest, so for the next forty-eight hours I will be doing everything for you.

“Everything?” Ruby asked

“Just name it my queen” Naomi replied in a mock tone

“First I want buffalo chicken pizza and a tub of chocolate chip cookie ice cream. Naomi brought out her phone immediately after Ruby started ordering, she punched in a few buttons

“Is that all your highness?” she asked

“Yes that’s all” Ruby replied

“Your order will be here in twenty minutes” Naomi said still looking at her phone.

“Fine by me...while we wait can we watch a movie” She asked getting up from her bed and heading for the door with Naomi in tow

“Any preferences?” Naomi asked as they walked into the living room

“How about the perfect find” Ruby asked as she walked to the television set

“Whatever you want” Naomi replied

“Then the perfect find it is,” Ruby said as she turned on the television.