Chap 5: New Beginnings

Some more sales from the consignment store and even a special commission from the local bistro, meant Craig finally saved enough to build a small art studio out back.  It was little more than a small shed with two windows, but it was part of his dream.  He was finally beginning to be recognised as an artist and this would provide a space for him to fashion that future.

Of course there were still days when Craig fell flat on his butt (and I don't mean that metaphorically).  Ruby earned a small raise at work and her fellow scientists began to call her by name.

Chess tournament season came around again and Ruby finally beat Ginny.  Both Craig and Ruby learned to be more mindful in the kitchen; between that and the wider range of groceries they could now buy, meals improved dramatically.  Ruby's thirtieth birthday came and went, as did Craig's seventeen months later.  Neither made a fanfare of the event, perhaps a sad indicator of how outcast they still felt.  Craig's paintings began to sell well enough that he quit his job at the bookstore in order to spend more time on his craft.  He'd even been featured in a popular art magazine once.

Sipping a sparkling white one fine summer afternoon, it was Ruby's turn to make a radical suggestion

"Love. How would you feel about having a baby?"

Ruby had secretly felt her biological clock ticking and had been thinking along these lines for some time, but not knowing how to approach the subject.

"Really?" Craig was stunned "Well, yeah."  Intellectually he knew Ruby had to do all the hard work of pregnancy and truth-to-tell, in that moment, he wasn't thinking too much about the implications of raising a child.

Ruby smiled "Lately I see all these babies around and I really want one before it's too late." Ruby seemed to stare off into space for a long moment, lost in thought.  "I know you'll be a great dad."