Tucker

Tucker was quiet and stayed in his room. He wasn't eating or sleeping or talking. He locked the door and refused to talk to people. Even his brothers. He helped find all of the warehouses and hideouts. He was done.

The events kept playing over again. He fell asleep and saw them in his dreams. He couldn't keep this up. It had been a week and he was not going to make it. There was a knock. "Go away."

"Sir. I'm Ruth. I just thought you should eat. I'm worried about you. Please." Ruth knocked again.

"Not hungry."

"I'm not going away." Ruth was persistent and she wasn't giving up. "I made some doughnuts." She knew that was his favorite.

Tucker was curious. "What?" He stormed over and opened the door just to make her go away and see what kind of doughnuts. Ruth was standing there with a tray. She smiled and Tucker smiled. "Come in." She was very pretty. He wasn't expecting that.

"Thank you. Now. I have some chowder and a grilled cheese and I made the dessert by hand, so I would appreciate it if you ate everything so that you didn't hurt my feelings." Ruth demanded as she set the tray down and sat in a chair.

She was going to watch him eat and she wasn't leaving. She knew he hadn't eaten in four days and she wasn't going to sit by and watch that.

"What happened to the doughnuts?" Tucker was a sucker for them.

"I lied. No doughnuts. I knew you liked them and I was just using them to get the door open." Ruth smiled. "Now, eat." She tapped her foot impatiently.

"Uh, okay." Tucker stared at this tall woman. Ruth was slightly taller than him. She was very pretty and firm. Tough. She was tough. She was in a white chef's coat and had some comfortable looking tennis shoes on. He didn't know why he noticed that.

She had a pretty smile and gorgeous green eyes. Her hair was dark brown and just past her shoulders in a ponytail and her eyes lit up when she smiled. He looked away from her and ate some chowder. He stopped halfway.

Ruth tapped her foot. "Keep eating." She glared at him.

Tucker sighed and finished the bowl. "Happy."

Ruth nodded. "Now, eat the sandwich and the dessert. I know that you lost a lot but she would never be happy that you were starving yourself."

Tucker stood up. "What do you know about it?" He almost yelled at a stranger.

Ruth had a tear. "I lost my husband, years ago. Tucker. I know about it."

Tucker had tears. "I'm sorry." He sat down and ate the sandwich and the dessert. Some kind of cheesecake. "This is good." He wiped his face but couldn't stop the tears.

Ruth pulled him up and hugged him as he finished the cake. They just stood there in tears together. He had no idea how long they cried together but he felt better when it was over. He held her tighter and finally let her go.

"I'm sorry for you too. I know about that kind of loss, Tucker and I'm sorry." Ruth let go and touched his face. "I will bring dinner. You had best open this door when I knock." She gathered everything and stormed out of his room.

Tucker locked the door and waited for dinner and smiled.