Ruth didn't know what to expect when she got to Raffo's mother's apartment. 

She didn't know if the girls would remember her, if his mother would disapprove, or if she'd even be welcomed after moving away from their favorite boy to pursue her own dream. From what Raffo told her on the drive over, he only told them he and Ruth were going in two different directions in life, and that they both agreed it would be best to break up for a while. He didn't want to explain the entire ordeal, and though his mom was suspicious, she eventually let it go. Seeing Raffo distraught made her want to avoid the conversation if she wasn't going to get him to open up about it.

Hearing that made Ruth frown and grab Raffo's hand, but there was nothing they could do about it now. They both were distraught and tried to move on the best way they knew how. And now they had the chance to figure out that next step together.

But first? See the munchkins.

Ruth nervously fiddled with the edge of her shirt, then fixed her curls, and looked down at her leggings, wondering if she should have gone with something more modest. Her long-sleeve was plain but cute enough to pass for the meeting. But the leggings? Should she have worn jeans instead? Leggings always painted the curves of her lower half more than the average person wearing them, and she didn't know if it was appropriate. Maybe she should go home and put on one of her dresses.

"You look beautiful, Ruth," Raffo murmured, breaking her out of her frantic thoughts.

"I just—I don't want to seem disrespectful. Maybe I should have gone with one of my dresses," she said, as they lingered outside of the front door. She absentmindedly tugged at the material clinging to her thigh and wondered if Kiana, his mother, already hated her.

She prayed to the Creator that wasn't the case.

"You don't need a dress to look respectful," Raffo told her firmly. He nudged her face up with his knuckle under her chin, and she swallowed thickly. "You could wear a rug for all we care and you'd still look perfect. My mom isn't into the material stuff, so as long as you're here and you make me happy, she'll be open to you."

She nodded, hesitantly. "Alright. I think I'm ready then."

Raffo grabbed her hand for moral support. He knocked only once to announce that he was there, and then twisted the knob open. Raffo had sent them a text previously that they were coming, so there was no surprise when a blur ran full speed into Ruth's waist as a familiar pair of arms wrapped around her. All she had to do was look down into the familiar hazel gaze of a fiery Phoenix to know it was the little girl with one too many questions from three years ago. Her midnight hair was longer now, her face losing the round cheeks she remembered, and what used to be lanky was now just a slender eleven-year-old body. No longer was she the intrusive eight-year-old Ruth remembered.

"Phoenix, you—you remember me?" Ruth squeaked, her arms hesitantly snaking around the young girl.

She nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! We met a few times, remember Ruth? You and Raffie took me and Ava home and I saw you at the courts! And when you walked me home. Raffie told us you were coming back to see me—"

"Us, Phoenix," Ava interjected, and Ruth looked up to catch her rolling her eyes.

If she thought looking at Phoenix was mind-blowing, nothing could have prepared her for an older Ava. She was easily a teenager now, probably teetering between fifteen and sixteen if she remembered correctly.

She wasn't as lanky as Phoenix, but she was still more on the slender—average side and was still completely beautiful. Her cheekbones were still high, her dark brown hair could have been longer, but it was currently pulled back into two braids, and her light brown eyes seemed much softer than they had been years before. She had a wall up the last time they had seen each other, but Ruth didn't mind at the time.

When Ava stood up from the couch, she almost balked at her height. Though she wasn't done growing, she already stood at 5'9, and probably still had another inch or two left to grow. She definitely took her brother's height and resembled more of him than Phoenix did.

Ava, having matured more than just physically, held out a hand to Ruth. "It's nice to see you again, Ruth. I hope this means Raffo will stop moping around the place when he comes to visit."

Raffo scoffed loudly, but Ruth only laughed. Instead of taking Ava's outstretched hand, Ruth pulled the girl into a hug with Phoenix still wrapped around her waist. Ava didn't hesitate to hug her back, squeezing her slightly.

"Alright, you two. Give her some room to breathe," an unfamiliarly stern voice floated through, interrupting their reunion.

Ruth swallowed thickly as the girls dispersed and she was met with the sight of Kiana. Umber hair cropped short at her shoulders, brown face teetering on the edge of exhaustion, and eyes swimming with cautious curiosity, she slowly made her way over. Ruth shifted on her feet and tried her best to keep her gaze focused on Raffo's spitting image. She took the liberty to meet her halfway and willed her hand not to shake when she held it out for Kiana.

"H-hi I'm Ruth. Ruth Semple," she stuttered, forcing her terrified thoughts away. She wished Raffo was standing close to her, but somehow she knew it was better the way it was. Kiana seemed like the kind of woman who wanted to make her mind up about a person through her own ideas and observations without influence.

Kiana's unreadable gaze slid to Ruth's hand first, looked up at her, and then politely reached out and gave it a firm shake. "Kiana. I'm sorry we didn't get to meet before, I know the circumstances weren't ideal."

Ruth didn't know if she should comment on that. So she stuck with the safe route. If she wanted this woman to like her, she needed to up her bubbly personality without coming across as too fake or overbearing. "It's okay, I'm just glad I got to meet you now. And er—I'd probably say something along the lines of you having a wonderful home to impress you, which usually seems appropriate in the movies, but most of those actresses don't have two beautiful munchkins boxing them in."

Ruth's rant earned a chuckle from Raffo's family, including Kiana herself. Her gaze lightened the intensity, and she spared Ruth a small smile. "They're a handful. Come to the kitchen and get some food. We'd love to get to know you."

Kiana released Ruth's hand and turned to walk towards the kitchen on the other side of the wall. Raffo had told her they could eat a little there but then had dinner reservations already planned for their talk. Which was fine with her because Kiana's food was smelling too good to pass up.

Ruth wanted to reach out and grab Raffo, but the girls were already flanking her sides. He tried to reach down to kiss her when she walked by, but Ava blocked him with a hand.

"NOPE! It's our time to spend with Ruth. You can have her back after you guys leave," Ava said, and little Phoenix grunted in agreement.

Raffo rolled his eyes. "You guys are annoying," he muttered under his breath, but followed suit. Ruth sent him a sympathetic smile, which he warmly returned, before sulking once more.

They spent the rest of the evening talking to his family about nearly everything in her life, apart from not speaking to her parents and Emily. She told them about New York, her college career, her job, her tribal affiliation (which earned her brownie points considering they were both Choctaw), and life waiting for the big wedding. She was pleased to find out they were attending the wedding to support Eddie too and got to know Kiana's background.

Kiana spoke of her mom briefly, which still succeeded in making Raffo's eyes fall distant across the table. Ruth wished she was sitting next to him to comfortingly grab his hand, but the girls had flanked her instead, so she didn't get the chance to sit closer. Her ex-husband was not brought up at all and for that, Ruth was at least grateful. There was only so much she knew Raffo could take for one meeting.

By the time they had all finished talking, it was time for her and Raffo to go. Raffo took the girls into the living room to spend a few minutes with them since he'd been too busy to see them, and Ruth took that as her moment to stay in the kitchen and help clean up. Despite their eager attention to Ruth, one could tell they severely missed their brother and wanted some one-on-one time with him.

"You don't have to do that," Kiana promised as Ruth started washing their dishes.

"It's okay, I don't mind. I think the girls want some time alone with him anyway," Ruth said, politely. Kiana couldn't deny that one.

"It's nice to see him so happy again," his mother pointed out, her eyes flashing with the ghost of what was. "Even with the past he's had of my own doing, I must say it was hard to see him so . . . sad. It's hypocritical of me to say that, but you have to know my son seems better having you back."

Ruth, unsure of where the conversation was going, nodded her head hesitantly back. "The breakup was hard for the both of us. I can only imagine what it must have been like to witness it from the outside looking in."

"There's nothing worse as a mother than feeling completely useless," Kiana admitted, her voice small and eyes unseeing as she stood beside Ruth and watched her dry their bowls. "To watch your child, your boy, who used to be so angry at the world and rightfully so, blossom into a beautiful man with complicated feelings that challenged his own beliefs. After he met you, he wasn't so angry all the time, and he changed his views on everything he thought he hated . . . including me."

Ruth swallowed thickly. "I-I don't think he ever hated you. Even when he was angry, he loved you."

Kiana's lips tilted up ruefully. "He resented me, though. For a long time, because I didn't protect him when I should have."

"Until one day . . . a girl I hadn't seen since he was a child destroyed the wonderful person he became, and only then, did he let me in long enough to comfort him. I didn't know what was said on my driveway, nor did I know what had happened between the two of you and why he turned into the shell of the man he made of himself, but I had to protect him. I wish I hadn't seen him so—so broken, but it was the wake up call I needed. He needed his mother to keep him safe again, no matter how angry he might still be at me.

"And in telling you this, Ruth, I have to ask . . . if you have any intention of leaving Oklahoma again? I know you've mentioned you were visiting here from New York, and you both love being with each other again, but I just want to make sure you both know what you're doing. It's fun right now, and I'm grateful to see my son happy again. But if there's any possibility of this not working out, I just want to make sure Raffo is fully aware of it."

Ruth had a feeling the question was coming eventually. She didn't want to discuss it with Kiana before she's talked to Raffo, but she also didn't want to be rude either. Here was a mother who wanted to look out for her son after not doing so for so long, and a part of Ruth could respect that. She clearly had done the work to improve their relationship in the last few years, which was all she wanted for him.

Even so, it was a conversation for Raffo first.

"I can't say I know where we go from here," Ruth admitted. "But we're talking about it tonight and I have no intention of lying to him about what could happen between us from here. I do, however, promise you that I deeply care for your son and I swear I never want him to get hurt again. Those three-and-a-half years away from him was just as awful and I'd do anything to prevent that from happening again."

That satisfied Kiana enough to smile.

*****