Playing by the Rules: A Novel (14 page)

“Ruby Rose, is your bed made up?”

“No,” she said, embarrassed to make the admission in front of company.

“I need you to make it up right now. I need Mrs. Johnson to lie down on it for a little bit so I can work.”

Ruby Rose ran into her room to make up her bed.

“I’ll do whatever I can to make your pain go away,” Jeremiah said to Ole Miss Johnson as he patted her hand. “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll do my best to help.”

The first thing Jeremiah did was wash his hands, then he took his leather backpack out of the closet and pulled out his wooden box containing his “small bags of miracles.” Inside the pouch were his healing herbs and crystals. He opened the box and located the green calcite, which was for treating arthritis, stiff muscles, and achy joints. He looked inside another pouch and pulled out yarrow root, willow bark, and dandelion leaves. He asked his sister to make herself useful and heat up a pot of boiling water. He walked Ole Miss Johnson into his sister’s bedroom, took off her coat, and asked her to lie down.

“Relax and be still.” He waited for the old lady to get comfortable. “Be filled with the light and the healing power of God to mend your bones and make your body strong.” Jeremiah laid hands over Ole Miss Johnson, spacing them the appropriate distance
from each other, moving them slowly, pausing over her ribs and joints, lingering longer over problem areas.

Ruby Rose came into the room just in time to see what she thought looked like heat waves leaving her brother’s hands and entering the woman’s body. She stayed where she was to observe from the doorway because she didn’t want to get too close.

Ole Miss Johnson felt her body fill with heat, like her insides were being warmed by the rays of the sun, or the embers of kindling in a fireplace. As Jeremiah passed his hands over her, she could feel the warmth begin to soothe her aches and pains. He touched the fragile parts of her shoulder and visualized his fingers fusing the broken bones together. With healing hands, he gently massaged her elbows, sending heat to her skin. Massaging the inside of each wrist, both her kneecaps and anklebones, he prayed over her joints, including the ones in her fingers. He took the green calcite into both hands and held it above the crown of her head. As he took deep, slow breaths, Ole Miss Johnson could hear Jeremiah’s breathing, like wind passing in and out of long, hollow reeds growing rampant in meadows. It seemed like her heart rate relaxed and adjusted to match his rhythm. After a while she felt something open up in her body that she couldn’t explain, like a valve loosening in a pipe allowing a gush of water to flow through. The tightness all over her body was replaced by a pleasant stream of warmth that traveled through every inch of her, providing energy to the parts that needed it most. The force made her feel weightless, like she was hovering over the mattress.

Jeremiah asked her to lie still for a few more minutes while he made her some tea.

Afraid of what she’d witnessed, Ruby Rose tiptoed toward Ole Miss Johnson so she wouldn’t disturb the old lady’s peace. Curious about what just happened, she wanted to take a closer look.

“Chile, your brother is amazing.” Ole Miss Johnson was lying on her back with her eyes closed, sensing Ruby Rose was upon her.

“What did he do to you?” Ruby Rose stammered, unsure of what she saw.

“He laid hands on me to lessen my pain. I need to get back into my backyard and start growing my tomatoes so I can compete with my neighbor. Timing is everything.”

“Nana grows tomatoes too?”

“You darn tootin’. But I’m the one who’s got a green thumb. She got a thumb that would wilt the side of a barn if she touched it.”

Ruby Rose stood at the old lady’s bedside, listening to her story, taking it all in.

“It’s me who keeps winning the grand prize in the tomato competition at the Annual County Fair,” Ole Miss Johnson said weakly as the thought of her annual rivalry started to get her all wound up. “I’m the one who always gets crowned Tomato Queen for a Day. But I don’t take winning for granted and can’t afford to take chances. With my hands as bad are they are, and my body broke, I need all the help I can get. That’s why I think your brother is truly amazing. I’m feeling better already. I just need to lay here a little while longer and rest.”

After a while, Ruby Rose and Ole Miss Johnson emerged from the bedroom. Ruby Rose looked up at the lady who’d been dragging her feet when she first came to the cottage, who now appeared to be more lively.

“Chile, your brother is something else.” Ole Miss Johnson said it out loud this time so Jeremiah could hear. “You oughta be glad he found you, and I hope y’all never have to be split up again.”

Jeremiah helped Ole Miss Johnson to a chair, and they sat at the kitchen table while he watched her drink her cup of tea.

“I made you two quarts,” he said, placing two plastic containers in front of her. “You drink three cups a day, and let me know how you’re feeling by the end of the week.”

“Hot diggity,” said Ole Miss Johnson. “I feel better already.” She stuck her hand inside her coat pocket and handed Jeremiah two twenty-dollar bills. “Here’s for your services, and a little leftover for you to get some more of them herbs ‘cause I have a feeling I’m gonna need them.”

Ruby Rose walked Ole Miss Johnson to the door and stared after her until she reached the end of the driveway.

Later that day there was another knock on the door, and Ruby Rose was beginning to think that this boring town was livelier than she’d first thought. When she opened it, this time it was Louise standing at the entrance, holding two bags of groceries.

“Jeremiah. It’s Louise!” she yelled to her brother over her shoulder.

“Hello, Ruby Rose,” said Louise. “What’s happening, Li’l Sis?”

“I’m fine,” Ruby Rose replied, looking at the floor. “You just missed Ole Miss Johnson,” she blurted out to Louise. It was all she could think to say to the woman.

“Oh, yeah? And why was she here?” Louise stepped inside.

“Jeremiah fixed her arthritis. He fixed her shoulder and her broken ribs,” said Ruby Rose, bragging about her brother’s skills.

“That’s enough, Ruby Rose,” said Jeremiah, coming to the door. “I didn’t fix anything. I only helped take away some of her pain.” He took the grocery bags from Louise. “You work pretty fast.”

“I’ve been told that before,” said Louise, grinning.

“Come on in and make yourself at home. I mean, comfortable, since you’re already at home, in a way.”

“I want to hear more about what you did to Ole Miss Johnson.” Louise sat down on the black crushed-velvet love seat. “It
sounds interesting. I may have something that needs fixing one day.”

“He’s a healer,” said Ruby Rose. “It’s almost like being a doctor.” She was anxious to see what was in the grocery bags.

“I have a gift as a healer,” said Jeremiah, unpacking cereal, cookies, and pancake mix. “It comes in handy. Besides that, my training in Vietnam and the drugstore where I worked, it’s how I make my living.”

“If you’re any good, the whole town oughta know about this,” said Louise.

“Well, it’s one way I can pay for these groceries,” said Jeremiah. After looking at the receipt, he handed Louise a twenty-dollar bill that Ole Miss Johnson had given him to reimburse her for the food and for going out of her way. He unpacked a pot roast, a bag of sweet potatoes, fresh string beans, and a bottle of Mateus wine.

“By the way, that’s for us,” said Louise.

“Good thinking. I’ll open it right now.” He unscrewed the cap.

Ruby Rose sat at the kitchen table, doodling in her word puzzle book, not liking the way she was being excluded from the conversation and refreshments. She started humming the “Old MacDonald” song. When that didn’t work to get their attention, Ruby Rose took her pencil and turned it upside down so the eraser hit the table in a steady beat. She did it slowly at first, then picked up the pace until the eraser started to accompany her loud hum.

Jeremiah took three wineglasses from the cabinet. He poured wine for himself and Louise, then he poured apple juice for his sister.

“I wish I had some music to play while we sit here and talk,” said Jeremiah, taking a sip from his glass. “I would love to hear some Stevie Wonder, but I’m afraid I had to leave all my albums, my eight-tracks… all my music behind.”

“No problem,” said Louise. “Listening to the TV in the background is fine.”

“Roberta Flack is good too. ‘Killing Me Softly’ is my favorite song,” said Ruby Rose to let Louise know she wasn’t stupid and that she and her brother shared common interests as well.

“I can turn on the radio instead,” Jeremiah offered, getting up to approach the Philco on the kitchen counter. “Unfortunately I’m not set up for entertaining.”

“Not a biggie,” said Louise. “The wine and the great company is fine by me.” She looked at Ruby Rose and sensed a hint of jealousy. “Cheers,” she added to the girl, hoping to make peace.

“Cheers,” Jeremiah and Ruby Rose said, and they all clinked their glasses.

“Ruby Rose, that looks like fun. What are you doing?” Louise asked, gesturing to the paper book she was doodling in.

“A puzzle. And I finished my math homework too that Elvira gave me. Want to see my math book?”

“Sure, Li’l Sis.”

Ruby Rose ran into her bedroom as fast as she could to get her mathematics book, because she didn’t want to miss anything that was being said. When she came back to the table, she didn’t like what she heard.

“I’ve got music at my house,” Louise said to Jeremiah. “And if you miss hearing it, I’ve got some powerful Panasonic speakers too. You’ve gotta come by and check them out.”

Ruby Rose could feel the blood fill her cheeks like air being pumped into a balloon. Her fingers wrapped around the pencil she was carrying to the point where she thought it might snap. She glanced at Jeremiah to see how he would react to Louise’s invitation, which had skipped over her like a rock skimming across water. Not only that, she didn’t like the look that Jeremiah was
giving Louise. It was the same look he’d given Louise at Nana’s house.

“I’ll be more than happy to,” Jeremiah said.

“How ‘bout this Saturday night?” Louise looked at Ruby Rose, then added, “I’m sure Nana would be willing to babysit, or child sit, as the case may be.”

As Louise giggled, Ruby Rose didn’t think the correction she’d made in her statement was funny.

“You can bring your math and puzzle books to Nana’s house too,” Louise continued.

“You’ve got a deal,” jumped in Jeremiah. He teasingly tugged one of Ruby Rose’s braids and she pulled away, reclaiming her head. She wasn’t in the mood for playing. As Louise turned the pages of the math book reviewing the decimal numbers and fractions, the solid geometric objects and the measurement of volume, capacity, and time, Ruby Rose wanted to grab her property back. She no longer felt like sharing.

The blustering wind swept into Lemon City swirling around the houses, passing through the cracks of partially opened windows, spreading the smell of Outsiders around the town like a new scent that had just been added to the kitchen, and before long everyone knew the story of Jeremiah and Ruby Rose and that Jeremiah was a healer. As a result, the folks who couldn’t find relief from traditional medicines or wanted to have the option of alternative treatments started to line up outside the cottage door.

As word spread through town about the strangers, Saturday couldn’t come fast enough for Louise. She got up like she usually did, taking a birth-control pill with a glass of water followed by a cup of coffee. After finding her notepad, she reviewed her checklist. She knew what she was going to wear, the meal she was going to cook, the time she would start cleaning her house, and the
music she would play while they chatted. The only thing she wasn’t quite sure about and didn’t explore completely was how far she might go with Jeremiah. Since “Make Love Not War” was the mantra of her day, she always leaned on the side of nonviolence.

As she made up her bed thinking about the countless number of times she and Medford had lain down in it, she found herself imagining what it would be like alongside Jeremiah. She liked Medford well enough, but didn’t see why sleeping with him prevented her from enjoying someone else. She knew it wasn’t how most women were raised, and she certainly wasn’t brought up that way herself, to make love to more than one man at a time, but she didn’t see the harm in it. Most of the pain she had either heard about or experienced firsthand with regard to relationships occurred when a woman was devoted to one man, not two. With that in mind, she felt two was a much safer number, like an awning over the heart, serving as an umbrella, always around when you needed it in case of rain. Since she never envisioned herself spending the rest of her life with one man anyway, she didn’t see why she should set a precedent now.

Throughout the day Louise prepared for Jeremiah’s arrival, and when it was time to take a break she began to read
The Correct Thing to Do, to Say, to Wear
by Charlotte Hawkins Brown because if she didn’t open the book, she’d never hear the end of it from her grandmother. To be quite honest, she didn’t know what to expect, but she thought the title spoke for itself. She started with the chapter on “Dress for Girls.”
Girls should always dress for dinner, whether at home or school. And when there are invited guests, long dresses with sleeves are quite appropriate. If the dinner is formal, sleeveless evening dresses with appropriate slippers may be worn
. Louise hadn’t heard of anything so ridiculous and old-fashioned in her life, but she continued to flip through the pages until she landed on the chapter “Boy and Girl Relationships”:
A girl must be
considerate, not overbearing or dictatorial. A girl must not do all the talking. It is the nature of man to dominate
. After reading that last line, she couldn’t take it anymore and moved on to the “Earmarks of a Lady,” thinking it had to get better than this.
A lady is polite when entering or leaving a room. Does not chew gum in public. Awaits her turn; never briskly pushes ahead. Does not make advances for
acquaintance of young men or go out of her way to attract their atten
tion
. At that, Louise burst out laughing and stomping her feet so loud that she thought Elvira and Billy would hear her through the floorboards even though they were carpet-covered, and she couldn’t read another word because she couldn’t keep the book still enough for her eyes to focus on the page. When she finally quieted down and wiped the tears from her eyes, she decided that next Christmas she would make life easier with Nana by just picking out what to wear beforehand, making sure it was a dress. She couldn’t believe what caught her attention when she looked into the book again. It was a total coincidence:
The daily habit of setting aside what is going to be worn the next day, choosing the accessories, cleaning
and polishing shoes, pressing out the wrinkles (and these instructions are applicable to boys as well), will facilitate the morning preparation for school or business and assure one of being well attired.