considered. ‘But she was only eleven months old when Sophia died.’
Ruby nodded slowly, ‘Exactly. A baby recognises its mother’s voice in the womb. Once it’s born it puts the face and voice together. It responds to those. You said that Sophia was a good mother and spent most of her time with Annabelle?’
He nodded. ‘Yes, she did.’
‘Then for eleven months Annabelle’s hard wiring was formed all around her mother.’
Ruby sat back, letting what she’d said sink around him. She seemed to know when she’d said enough.
She wasn’t apportioning any blame. She wasn’t being confrontational. She was being logical. She was giving him information and letting him think for himself what it might mean.
He sat quietly. Ruby was relaxed and Annabelle seemed happy. She was busy trying to drown all her plastic dolls in the ornamental fountain and probably block the pumps from here to eternity.
No matter what Ruby had just told him it was comfortable. It was relaxed.
The sandwiches disappeared quickly, followed by some little cakes at the bottom of the picnic basket. Ruby didn’t feel the need to chatter and fill the silence. She was entirely happy to lie back on the blanket and watch Annabelle.
This was something he never got time to do any more.
There was always something to be signed, someone who needed to talk to him urgently. An email or a letter to write. A dignitary to entertain. A celebrity to pander to in order to bring extra publicity and business to Euronia.
Where was the time for Annabelle in all that?
Where was the time for him?
He never got time to be just a father. He never got time to be just Alex. Did anyone in the palace even think of him as just Alex?
He watched as Ruby moved, crawling on all fours, ignoring her dress and bare knees, creeping across the red stones to meet Annabelle and start splashing her with water from the fountain.
Annabelle shrieked in delight and ran around the fountain. It was the finest sound he’d ever heard.
Two minutes later Ruby had the pink plastic ball and was throwing it over the top of the fountain to Annabelle at the other side. But that was soon too safe—too ordinary. Within a few seconds they’d both climbed on the wall at each side of the fountain and were throwing the ball to each other while balancing precariously on the low wall.
He should intervene. He should tell them to stop being so silly. Last time they’d had to replace the blue tiles in the wall of the fountain it had taken for ever. He couldn’t even remember the cost.
But both of them were laughing out loud. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Annabelle so happy. And it was Ruby who was responsible for that.
Something twisted inside him. Part of it was pride, part of it a little inkling of jealousy. Deep down he knew that he should be the one making his little girl laugh like that. But if it couldn’t be him he was so glad that it was Ruby.
Ruby was genuine. Ruby related to his daughter in a way that none of the other professionals had.
He had been so right to bring her here.
Even when the palace officials had voiced their obvious concerns about his latest plans to get Annabelle assessed he’d known that this was the right thing to do.
He’d been right to remember the passion in her eyes when she’d spoken about missing out on the job she would have loved. He’d followed her for years...sent her unsigned flowers. He remembered his surge of pride when he’d found out she’d got her dream job, when she’d been promoted, when she’d published professional papers. All those things had made him happy for her.
Now, in a few short days, she’d started to connect with his daughter.
With him.
There was a scream, followed by a huge splash. A flash of moving yellow rushed before his eyes. He was on his feet instantly.
Annabelle’s eyes were wide. She jumped down from her side of the fountain and ran around it towards the splash, meeting her father as they both peered down into the few feet of clear water.
Ruby was completely under the water, tiny bubbles snaking out from her mouth, her yellow dress billowing around her. Alex leaned over to put his hand in and pull her up—then gasped as she opened her eyes.
The expression on her face was priceless. Annabelle dissolved into fits of laughter as Ruby burst up through the surface of the water, shrieking with laughter.
Alex’s eyes shot up towards the hundreds of windows of the palace. He could only imagine what anyone on his staff might say if they’d witnessed this.
But the laughter was infectious. And Ruby wasn’t at all worried about the fact that her hair was sodden and she was soaked to the skin.
She reached towards his outstretched arm, smiled, and tugged sharply—pulling him straight in next to her.
Even though the sun was shining the water in the fountain was freezing.
His landing was partly cushioned by the soft body of Ruby. Water was dripping from the end of her nose, her hair was flattened to her head and her clothes hugged every part of her body.
‘Who are you laughing at?’ She winked.
He couldn’t do anything other than laugh. Annabelle was still jumping up and down at the side of the fountain.
Ruby reached down and picked up a submerged princess doll. ‘I came in to rescue the doll—what’s your excuse?’
He smiled, their faces only inches apart. He lifted his eyebrows, ‘Oh, I definitely came in to rescue Ruby.’
His arms were on either side of her, his chin just above her head. Every part of him was soaked.
‘Who says I needed rescuing?’ she quipped.
She didn’t care. She didn’t care about her wet clothes or how she looked. She wasn’t constantly looking over her shoulder for a camera. Ruby was just Ruby.
And it was at that moment that he realised. Realised this was bigger than he ever could have imagined.
Every thought, every memory of this fountain had been imprinted on his brain for thirty-four years. That famous photo had been shared firstly in the newspapers, and later around the world on the internet.
Every single time he’d looked at this fountain it had brought back memories of Sophia and their childhood. He could clearly remember sitting on the edge of the fountain with her, banging his heels on the stonework.
But now, and for ever, every time he looked at this fountain this was what he’d remember. This. A water-soaked, laughing Ruby with a twinkle in her eyes and a bright-eyed little girl watching at the side.
Some memories were worth changing.
