Monthly Bonus Content #3: ‘Conversational Hearts' (Ruby Version) (Patreon)

[Alternate Text: The header image is of a bowl of heart-shaped candies with a few scattered on a marble countertop. The candy tends to be in pastel shades with red or pink writing on each one. ‘Conversational Hearts‘ acts as the title in a soft pink font that is similar to cursive writing. ]

[TFS Patrons, please be sure to see this post about adding my email address to your contacts so you can enjoy the RO character portraits. I haven't heard back from some of you, and I would like to make certain you have the portraits to enjoy. 🥰]

_ _ _

"Don't worry, these are the last few."

Silas's reassurance is accompanied by the all too familiar crinkle of plastic goodie bags as he piles a few more on your workspace. You offer an affable smile to him. "It's no trouble," you reply, already beginning to unspool some of the assorted ribbons. There is no telling how many bows you have tied off throughout today.

At least 50, possibly over a hundred or more, all in varying shades of pink, red, white, and silver.

Mrs. Dorran's idea to create valentines for members of the community who don't typically receive them has become a group project. You watch as Silas retreats back to James, who is filling each goodie bag according to a precise checklist. Becca has been assisting with the treats by helping Mrs. Dorran coat things in chocolate or bake cookies. Locating Ruby is harder because she flits around to each workstation to check the progress before arranging the finalized valentines in delivery boxes.

She hasn't been staying still for very long.

Her antsy energy is something you detected as soon as she arrived at the B&B, intent on getting her assignment from Mrs. Dorran to help out.

Your shared hello seemed like an afterthought.

"What is the damage?"

Ruby's voice comes from just behind where you sit on the couch, though she nimbly vaults over the back of it before you can turn around. It is a wonder she was able to seamlessly do that while in dress pants, but there is no rip of fabric as she settles into a spot by your side. She has yet to look directly at you; her eyes train on your idle hands. A half-formed, magenta bow rests in your palm like a wind-beaten flower rather than what should tie together a present.

It suddenly feels incriminating…

"The 'damage' is the same as last time you asked. Two tiny paper cuts and some glitter under my nails," you answer. Her expression grows dubious when you continue to stall with the ribbon, awkwardly creating a clumsy loop instead of the required bow-knot. Ruby plucks it from your grasp without a word, setting it far out of reach before you can start to protest, but she must sense your disagreement. "I—"

"Your fingers are stiff," she interjects. "So, no."

Ruby hooks her index finger around your own, curling it upwards in a way that forces you to feel the tension in the bend of your knuckle. It's a targeted action. Years of piano playing must have allowed her to learn techniques that help maintain dexterity in her hands while soothing any pain. She might be trying to make a point, but you're more distracted by the touch. The natural coolness to her skin actually makes the subtle aches in your hand stand out. "Fine…"

Your reluctant agreement to give up the ribbon tying duty earns a pleased smile from Ruby.

"Very good."

She murmurs the compliment before setting to work on the remaining bows; aside from her checking on you, the two of you haven't talked much.

Is she really this wrapped up in the project?

Your observation of Ruby's side profile comes to a premature end when Mrs. Dorran bustles into the living room. She waves her clipboard with obvious excitement; you can see the line of large, red X's from your spot. It's finally over.

"This is the last delivery!" she declares.

The couch cushions beside you subtly dip right before Ruby rises from them, though it was closer to a little hop. She hands the finished goodie bags to Silas before just as quickly glancing over at you with some measure of quiet anticipation, except her playful smile seems a little weak around its edges rather than alight with mischief. "What?" you wonder.

"I have something for you. I was waiting."

"Badly," Silas quips from across the room.

"She lasted longer than I thought," James adds.

This explains why Ruby was so antsy; she isn't very patient, so creating gifts for others when she had one for you may have been maddening.

…Except you aren't officially a couple, so why…?

"It's simply a token," Ruby continues speaking after directing a flimsy warning look at the others. "A gag gift or something similar. I even gave your friend a chocolate heart, seeing as you two are still relative newcomers to town." Niggling nerves may be threading through her perfectly reasonable explanation, undermining it into an excuse or a justification. She checks her front pocket, freezing when it's empty, but she raises a single finger to ask for a moment of your patience. Ruby hurriedly pats down the rest of her pockets, even moving to check the hidden ones in her suit jacket before searching around the living room with increasing unease.

"Ruby, retrace your steps."

James's advice goes unacknowledged by her, while Silas begins to look for the lost gift too.

You leave your spot on the couch, unsure what to be on the lookout for, but it's obvious that she is becoming more incensed about this.

"What're you all looking for?"

Becca's question draws the attention of the room to her, which is unfortunate when she has a tiny box of something in her hand and a fresh plate of cookies in the other. It's likely themed candy. You don't get a chance to fill her in on the issue because Ruby strides over to check.

"Visitor, if you intentionally ate them, I will…"

"She wouldn't eat them," Silas intervenes to prevent Ruby's unfinished statement from veering off into a cutting threat. It shouldn't, but she's clearly unsettled. "I don't believe anyone would try to since they are so… personalized." He carefully selects the word.

She got you 'personalized', heart-shaped candy?

It feels like there is more to it than that from the way James awkwardly clears his throat before supporting Silas's reasoning with fact.

"Each bag had a box of conversational hearts, which means you could have misplaced it…"

"Detective, you filled the bags."

"Yours would have looked like all the others."

"But the insides are explicitly different."

"I didn't open each box to check the candy."

Becca raising her hand doesn't stop the back and forth between Ruby and James, but Mrs. Dorran indicating her while fixing them with a gently stern stare gives her the floor to speak.

"Uhm, what's so bad about the hearts?"

Ruby disregards that question, pointedly looking anywhere but at you as she retrieves her car keys. "Fancy an evening drive, [Surname]? You can charm the old folk at the center while I confiscate the tailored treats."

She does meet your eyes when asking for help, but her smile isn't as effortless as usual. Your curiosity about the gift combined with your amicable disposition makes this choice an easy one, but more importantly, you will get to spend some alone time with Ruby. "Sure."

Her smile becomes a touch warmer, although it's short-lived as she ushers you out the door.

. . .

. .

.

[A Short, but Undoubtedly Fast, Drive Later…]

"Oh! Miss Verner, good evening."

The attendant presiding over the dining room barely contains his shock at seeing a Verner on the premises of the Verner Memory Center. It makes sense considering Ruby's family funds this operation, but you offer him an encouraging smile to lessen the nerves you saw creep up in most of the staff you hurried past. You aren't here to do a pop-in inspection.

This place would probably pass them all.

Soft, classical music plays from somewhere within the room that looks closer to a miniature ballroom than the dining area in a home for aging loved ones. There may be a history to this building's bones; it's too ornate. You notice the Valentine's Day decorations hanging from the ceiling in garlands of red and white. Your focus nearly strays to a few floating cupids, but you're supposed to be looking for reactions.

Specifically, if someone is horribly confused about their oddly personalized valentine treat.

"They all seem sleepy…"

"Ruby," you stage-whisper. "Don't be rude."

"What? I would be too if I just indulged in a feast."

You see the truth to her observation as you scan the hall that still smells of fresh bread and something zesty like a fruit dish. Aside from a few scattered card or chess games, the diners seem to be relaxing with conversation, dozing off, or reading. The goodie bags were handed out as after dinner treats, but there is a chance the one with your gift might be unopened.

You hear her before you see her.

An honest, full-belly laugh comes from a far corner of the room, accentuating a crescendo in the music as the woman chuckles without any care in the world. Marjorie is seated by a small lamp. She is inspecting something under the light before again dissolving into laughter.

The two of you move closer to assess the source.

Candy hearts of varying sizes litter a napkin in front of the old woman, who seems to be playing a game with them. Hues of color have been exactingly arranged into loops with the lobes and tips nesting into each other. It's a pattern. Conversational hearts are more for the aesthetic than they are for their chalky, sweet taste that only offers dull hints of fruit flavor, but you still wonder why she is sorting them all.

More importantly, 'Bite Me Hard' isn't a standard message on the boxed candy; these are yours. Ruby must have specially designed both the compliments and the insinuation-filled advances on them as a joke, although you also spy one about your eye color. It's tempting to keep reading them; she even remarked on your style.

"Excuse me, but those are actually mine. I do apologize for the mix-up with your valentine."

Marjorie shakes out another candy from the box, either oblivious or ignoring Ruby's stiff apology.

"Ma'am?" you address her. "Hello?"

"I've been waiting, [Name]," she replies, lightly tapping her finger against the part of the box that has your last name spelled out in elegant script. "It does me good to see a familiar face as well." Her lips are still faintly quirked from the previous laughter, though she offers a soft smile to Ruby when she gets a solid look at her. "This is the most fun I've had on this day in years. No apologies are necessary at all!"

Ruby seems surprised by the unexpected kindness, nodding absently until you nudge her to speak. "Thanks for understanding."

This averts all of the worst scenarios you had conjured up on the ride over, a happy ending.

"Child, you have quite the way with words, but I feel this one stood out the most even if it's not vividly descriptive." Marjorie extends her hand, unfurling her fingers to reveal a brilliantly white heart that has dusky lavender writing etched into it. She moves her hand when Ruby tries to reach for it. "Not for you." Marjorie’s concentration falls on you before her smile turns knowing.

You take the candy, reading it in seconds, but needing far more time to process its earnest request as Ruby dares to meet your eyes.

She looks uncertain for once, caught between flashing a teasing smile to play this off as a joke or letting a sliver of vulnerability shine through.

'Be Mine.'

That is what the heart says, but what will you say?