first time.
She had promised to help him try to sort out his apartment that night. He said he wanted to throw most of his stuff away, and Ruby had said she’d do it with him. He said he’d provide the pizza and garbage bags if she’d do the packing with him. The only thing worth keeping was his computer, in his opinion.
She drove to Palo Alto after trying on the wedding dress and felt like she was in a dream all the way there, and kissed him tenderly when she arrived with a mysterious smile, thinking of the dress.
“That was nice,” he said, grinning at her and kissed her again. They had spent so little time alone since they’d been engaged that it was nice to have the time, even in his dump of an apartment, which had been adequate as a student, but no longer appropriate given his massive success, but he didn’t care. He hadn’t moved after he graduated.
She looked around and cringed. She’d been there before when they were in college, but it seemed to have gotten worse.
“When did you last clean this place?” she asked, trying to make room to sit down among the books and newspapers on the battered couch.
“I don’t know…Christmas? Last summer? Why?”
“I think most of it needs to go in a dumpster, not a garbage bag,” she said honestly.
“That bad, huh?”
She nodded. “Why don’t we just pack the books, and I’ll get rid of everything else,” she suggested.
“That’ll work.” He had gotten some cartons and she put the books in them while he sliced the pizza and poured them some wine in the only two glasses he had. He was staring at her as she bent over to pack the books, and she glanced at him to see what he was doing. He was mesmerized by her, as though seeing her for the first time.
“What? Do I look weird or something?”
“No, you’re so beautiful, Ruby. I can’t keep my eyes off you.”
She blushed as he said it, and he walked over and kissed her and slid his hands under her T-shirt. He was breathless and gently pulled her T-shirt off and tossed it behind him, and kissed her again as he unhooked her bra, and then bent to kiss her breasts.
“I thought we were supposed to be packing,” she said in a hoarse voice as she unzipped his shorts, and they fell to the floor, and he stood there in his underwear and she topless, and the rest happened effortlessly. He carried her to his bed, and took the rest of her clothes off and his. They lay naked together, exploring each other’s bodies for the first time, and discovered the passion they had for each other and never knew. He was a passionate, energetic lover and tender at the same time and she blossomed at his touch and suddenly felt like a woman with him, not just a girl.
They lay breathless afterward and he was smiling and she laughed. She was happy and she loved him.
“I should have brought you here to pack before,” he said, admiring her body as she lay next to him.
“You should burn this place down.” She grinned at him.
“I think we just did,” he said, kissing her, and got up to get the wine and handed her a glass. “I love you, Ruby Moon.”
“I love you too, Zack.”
“I’m going to love being married to you,” he said happily. They took a sip of the wine, and then they set their glasses down and did it again.
* * *
—
Eleanor used the time in Tahoe that summer to rest before she came back to the city to plan the wedding in earnest, and attend to all the details. She spent hours in her garden, and got Alex to help her with it. It was always a peaceful time there. They went out on the boat, Alex went fishing. And Zack came up with Ruby and spent a week with them. They stayed in the cottage, and loved making love all night and waking up together. They were both thrilled with their engagement, and were busy making plans of their own. Zack had rented a yacht for them in the Caribbean for their honeymoon, and it sounded incredibly luxurious to Ruby.
The only disagreement they had was about what to put on the invitation, about the attire for the guests. Zack wanted it to say “casual,” which Ruby objected to, before her grandmother ordered the invitations.
“If you say