Things have been perfect since Ruby and Garnet and I uprooted everything to live in the United Kingdom. Garnet's already made friends with lots of babies her age, absolute sweet little angels. Meanwhile, Ruby and I are struggling to get by with the money we have, but given how much worse we've been through, our financial issues don't seem all that terrible. I'm hoping things over here will stay just the way they are. Still, I can't stop thinking about all the things that happened over the past year, especially shortly before Garnet was born.

I still don't know what's happened with my mom since we went our separate ways. I have no way of contacting her to see if she's even still alive at this point or if she's out lying dead in a ditch somewhere. Well, wherever she is, I hope she's safe. Anything is better than staying with Dad. Speaking of, Rose has just informed me that he lost his battle with terminal brain cancer. What a horrible way to go. Still, that's not an excuse to treat me and Mom like crap. Of the two of us, he hurt me the most by rejecting me the moment he found out I was gay. He betrayed me. For that, I simply cannot find it within me to forgive him. It's not like I'd be able to go to his funeral anyway. I could barely afford a plane ticket back to the States, as is.

I haven't heard back from Aunt Goldie, Aunt Maya, or Grandma Diamond, either. The last time we talked, Aunt Petunia had taken her own life by jumping off the roof of a building. We were all so shocked at the time. Aunt Petunia had seemed so happy when I interacted with her last, so for her to just up and commit suicide left me reeling with all sorts of feelings. I was especially left with this empty feeling of not being able to help her, especially with her depression.

It's almost Christmas time now. I can't bear to think any more about all the terrible things Ruby and I went through before we had Garnet. No one should be thinking about these things during Christmas time. Christmas time is supposed to be jovial and heartwarming.

"What do you think we should get our friends for Christmas?" Ruby asks me.

"Well, I'm not sure," I reply uncertainly. "The best I could come up with is some new furniture. How about you?"

Ruby thinks about it for a minute. Then it's like a light bulb has gone off over her head. "What about a Game Boy Advance?"

"That sounds like a good idea, but how will we know if they want a Game Boy Advance or not?"

"I don't know. Maybe we can ask them."

I just laugh, realizing that my brain forgot to think just then. "Oh yeah, that's right. Maybe we can organize a Secret Santa event or something. That should be pretty interesting, I bet."

Ruby's eyes beam up at the idea of holding a Secret Santa event. "A Secret Santa event? I'd love to! I used to participate in one of those when I was on the football team. The other players and I always got a kick out of what we got each other."

"I bet. Hopefully, we can pull this one off just as well as the Secret Santa event you had with your football friends."

"Yeah."

All of a sudden, Garnet starts fussing. However, Ruby gives her a bottle before she can start screaming, and Garnet starts sucking away at the bottle like there's no tomorrow. I'm actually impressed by how well Ruby is handling all this. At first, when Garnet was born, Ruby seemed afraid to hold her even for just a minute. Now, there will be these little moments when Ruby will rock her to sleep when I'm too tired to do it myself. For that, I'm always grateful.

---

A few hours later, Ruby and I have decided to stop by the Fowler house and pay the family a visit. The Fowlers are a nice bunch. Their daughter Marie is especially adorable with just about everything she does. The last time Ruby and I visited them, we couldn't help but notice that she had a tear-shaped birthmark on her left cheek.

Anyway, once the Fowlers have let us inside, we start talking about how cute our children are like always. One thing that people always seem to notice about Garnet right away is how one of her eyes is naturally a brilliant blue. At times, I can't help but envy her because I've always pretended that my eyes were a grayish-blue instead of a dark brown. It's weird, too. Neither Ruby nor I have a genetic predisposition for blue eyes (as far as we're aware, anyhow), so I don't know how this could've happened. Then again, it's probably not that big of a deal so I guess I shouldn't be dwelling on it at all. After all, Garnet doesn't seem to care right now, so why should we?

"It's so nice that you could come over, Ruby and Sapphire," Mrs. Fowler says. "You know how eager our kids are to play with their friends."

"We sure do, Mrs. Fowler," Ruby replies eagerly. "Where are the kids right now?"

"Oh, they're over at their grandmum's house," Mr. Fowler replies while adjusting his glasses. "No worry. I'll pick them up in a minute."

"That's great. So how are the kids?"

"Oh, the children are great. You should see them when they're at school. They are always striving to be top of the class, always making perfect marks... even Marie is already showing how intelligent she is."

"Awesome. Well, Garnet is a great kid as well. She may not seem like it, but she is really smart for an eleven-month-old."

"So... do you plan to have any more after this?"

I'm floored by Mr. Fowler's question. After everything I went through while having Garnet, I'd rather not do it again.

"Nah," Ruby replies. "We'd rather stop at perfection."

From there, the conversation peters out and we are left with awkward silence. All that's left for us to do is wait for Mr. Fowler to leave and pick up the kids.