“That sounds so interesting. How did you get to do that?” Ruby was staring at Beth like she was some kind of rock star now. It did sound interesting. I hadn’t realized that’s what Beth did. Advertising blah blah was the gist I had caught up to now.

“Well, I did Women’s Studies at university. Eons ago. In the States at an all-women’s college. I was particularly interested in how advertising can both create and drive patriarchal narratives. I wondered if there was a way to counteract that or to even harness that power for something positive.”

“Do you think I could do a job like that?” Ruby asked, wide-eyed.

Beth laughed. “I don’t see why not. But I have to warn you, I don’t know how successful an endeavor it really is. Sometimes I feel like I’m only changing the parts of the machine when I should be dismantling it, but other days we do something really amazing and put it out in the world and I feel like maybe it does do some good.”

Ruby nodded seriously. “Every little bit helps, doesn’t it? Like those tampon ads where the boys have periods and they all talk about them like it’s some kind of badge of honor and then they showed the facts about period shame and poverty around the world. . . .”

“That was us!” Beth said excitedly.

“Seriously? Everyone I knew was talking about that. The same week it came out we had to decide our health class project that term. I started a campaign about period poverty and raised all this money for a charity that distributes free sanitary products to low-income women.”

I watched Ruby’s face as she spoke, animated and glowing. How did someone so lovely and thoughtful want to be with me with all my sarcasm and selfishness? She was incredible. Beth was so happy she looked like she was going to cry. Dad walked in on the words sanitary products and walked out again, muttering about forgetting the chocolate sauce.

22.

Ruby and I escaped to my room after dessert to watch Pillow Talk, even though it was positively ancient and kind of homophobic. Dad jokingly called up after us to leave the door open.

“I don’t want to be a grandfather this young,” he wailed.

“That’s pretty amazing what you did at school,” I said, shutting the door behind us. “With your campaign.”

I thought if I started the conversation, directed it, I might distract her from any of the weirdness that had happened downstairs. In my mind I thanked Beth for having an interesting job.

Ruby blushed. “It was important to me.”

This girl was too good for me. This girl was also going through all the open boxes of my things.

“Er, what are you doing?” I asked, settling myself cross-legged on the bed.

“Being nosy,” she said.

“Oh, OK, so long as you know.”