f ice cream dripping down into their mouths, and its the hottest day on Earth.(p.11)Ruth is aware that life isnt perfect, but she knows she can find the feeling of being happy if she relishes every moment. She could have easily overlooked her ice cream outing with her family, but she absorbed the moment and realized what real happiness was-being with the people who you love. When the people who were suppose to love her hurt her feelings, it caused pain and suffering. As May and Ruth are dancing in their living room joyfully, Matt walks in and shakes his head at them. He sends their brief moment of enjoyment out the window. Ruth says,Sometimes, I feel that Im only just ready to start my life. I know what I need to do to live it a hundred times better. As far as I can see, no one is out there waiting for me with a ticket that says, Try it again. Ill probably really figure out exactly how to be alive right when Im gasping for my last breath.(p.78)Ruth wants her life to be happier, like the day in July. She knows only one person can make her days better: herself. She will determine how happy she is, no matter what anyone else does to her. So, using this attitude, she makes the best of her job at the Trim N Tidy. She is aware that it isnt a high quality job, but she is aiming for something bigger, something better.If I didnt keep my hand so busy I had to think, here goes my life; I am going to spend the rest of my days working at Trim N Tidy. I couldnt stand thinking there wasnt anything more left for me, so I worked at a frantic pace to keep my mind still.(p.91)Ruth wants to do more with her life, but she hasnt yet been offered the opportunities. She is still waiting anxiously for that opportunity to arise. As the book goes on, Ruth meets and falls in love with Ruby. Her love for him causes her blindness to the ways that he is hurting her. Ruby rapes her on the first date, lashes out at her when he is drunk, and nearly kills...
