Chapter 9 : A Ball was the Reason 3

“I think Flynn is sleepy. Let’s take him inside to sleep. He’s yawned several times while playing soccer.”

“Sleepy? But Mom hasn’t come back yet.”

“Just take him to bed. Why wait for Mom?”

“That’s true. Come on, Flynn, let’s go to bed.”

She took the sleepy boy by the hand and led him into the house. Flynn’s bag held a bottle of milk. Ruby wondered, a bit puzzled, why, at five, Flynn still used a bottle.

“When my little brother was five, he didn’t use a bottle anymore, Flynn,” Ruby said, examining the bottle in her hand before looking at Flynn. She hesitated, not giving it to him right away.

“If I don’t use it, I won’t be able to sleep, Ruby. I want milk!” The little boy jumped excitedly, holding out his hands for the bottle.

“Alright, alright.” She handed the bottle in her hand to the little boy and took out the playpen mattress from his bag, laying it in the middle of the living room. He drank a little milk and then quickly fell asleep.

“Wow, you fall asleep this easily, Flynn?” she said, shaking her head and chuckling. Ruby glanced at the person sitting alone outside before heading to the bathroom. There, she checked her reflection—her hair neatly braided on both sides, not as messy as it had been yesterday while cleaning. Her sleeveless lace top and denim shorts made her look quite attractive.

‘Who taught you to praise yourself, Ruby?’

As she thought that, her cheeks immediately flushed bright red. Her imagination ran wild while he ignored her. Ruby walked out of the bathroom with her head down and went straight to him in front of the house.

“Flynn is asleep, Chris.”

“Then I’ll head back.”

“Um… aren’t you going to stay a bit longer?”

“No. I don’t have any business here anymore,” he said, then got up, walking away with a straight face.

“Oh.” She looked a little stunned but still walked him to the front door. Chris hurried back to his own house, showing no sign of regret toward her.

‘What are you expecting, Ruby? It’s never going to happen.’

“Chris.”

“What?”

“If you’re free, you can stop by and have some snacks with me.” She spoke sweetly, but he turned his back and walked away, not even bothering to reply a single word to make her happy.

Ruby sighed and closed her front door. There had been chances for them to become close, but now it felt like they were drifting apart.

In the evening, Ruby’s mother returned from the market with a taxi full of ingredients for making desserts. Ruby hurried to help carry the items into the house.

“How was it, Ruby? Was taking care of Flynn fun?”

“It was fun, Mom. Flynn is easy—he eats and sleeps well, and isn’t picky,” Ruby replied as they walked into the kitchen.

“He’s still asleep, isn’t he? He probably won’t wake up until almost evening.”

“Yes. Um… Mom, I have something to tell you.” She smiled nervously. Her mother quickly closed the fridge and turned to look at her.

“Did you do something wrong? That’s why you’re making that face.” Amber pointed a finger at her daughter, as if trying to catch her in the act. Ruby walked over and hugged her mother’s waist, seeking comfort.

“Mom always notices everything. It’s like this, I was playing soccer with Flynn during the day, and at one point, I kicked too hard. The ball flew over the wall into Paula’s yard.”

“You’ve been very naughty. So what happened next?” Amber asked as she gently pushed her daughter away and looked her straight in the eye.

“I thought no one was home. I checked the door—no cars were parked. So I climbed the wall to get Flynn’s ball,” she said hesitantly.

“Ruby! How could you climb over someone else’s wall like that?” Amber was quite shocked by her daughter’s actions.

“It’s just Flynn’s ball, Mom. I just climbed over to get it and came back. I thought it would be easy.”

“So, how did it go? Was it as easy as you thought?”

“Heh… I couldn’t climb back, so Chris came and opened the door for me.”

“See? He caught you again. What will Paula think? Climbing someone’s wall is serious!” Amber worried others would see her daughter negatively.

“It’s not that serious, Mom. Chris didn’t scold me at all,” the one who had done wrong protested quietly.

“Didn’t scold you at all?” Amber looked completely incredulous.

“Actually, just a little,” she admitted shyly.

“Ruby, you are really… Tomorrow you must apologize to Paula. I’ll make some desserts for you to take to her.”

“Do I really have to apologize, Mom? I didn’t do anything that serious. If Chris hadn’t told anyone, no one would have known.”

“Just climbing into their house was already wrong, and don’t think it’s okay that they don’t know. They are mother and son, they will tell each other. Tomorrow is Sunday, so Paula will probably be at home.”

“Alright, that’s fine. If you want me to apologize, I will apologize.” To put her mother’s mind at ease, Ruby agreed to do as she said. Seeing her mother’s relieved expression, she realized it wouldn’t be difficult at all to apologize to Paula.

At five in the evening, Tucker came to pick up his son. Ruby packed Flynn’s things into his bag to return to his father. That morning, when they had met, his clothes had looked neat and his hair well-kept. By the evening, however, he looked as if he had just come back from a battle.

“Ruby, don’t be shocked. On the way back, there was a snatch in front of the office, so I helped catch the culprit,” Tucker explained, seeing her puzzled frown.

“Yes. Are you okay, Tucker? Chasing after a thief like that is dangerous,” she said as she handed the bag back to him.

“I’m fine. I know some martial arts. The culprit was a drug-addicted kid who tried to snatch a woman’s bag at the company. The police have taken him into custody now.”

“Wow, you look like a hero!”

“Not that much, Ruby. Alright, Flynn, say goodbye to Ruby.” Tucker turned to his son.

“I’ll go now, Ruby.” Flynn raised his hand and waved to her.

“Next time, if you’re free, come play soccer with me again.” Ruby waved to Flynn before closing the door and walking back inside.

Seeing the two of them getting along well made Tucker feel happy. He had always worried about other people taking care of his son. He had thought about leaving him at daycare centers, but after hearing bad news every day, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He had to rely on a neighbor he had known for many years—Amber, someone both close and trustworthy.