Seasons of Her Life (24 page)

Inside the store, Ruby ran her fingers over the inch and a half of the hemline of the dress. The weight of the beads would pull the skirt down, tightening the loose weave. If she sewed a rim of grosgrain ribbon around the neck, it wouldn't drag down the bodice. She could do the same with the cuffs on the sleeves. She was pleased to find out the dress was on sale, with a dollar off. And she knew just what she was going to do with the dollar she saved. Nola said if one needed a decoration for one's head that was pure fluff, all one had to do was buy an embroidery hoop and fasten feathers, ribbons, and beads to it. A small veil of beige net would be perfect. If she was right in her calculations, her wedding outfit was going to cost no more than twelve dollars.

Walking out of the store, Ruby muttered, “Oh, Nola, I learned so much from you. I know you'd be proud of me, the way I've pulled things together lately.” Ruby sighed heavily as she started toward home.

 

The settlement of Ruby's two properties took ninety minutes. Afterward, she left her lawyer's office with two sets of keys and two checks, totaling one hundred seventy-eight dollars, for the difference in the utility bills and insurance premiums. She stopped by a locksmith and had three sets of keys made, one for Rena, one for the bank, and one for herself. From there she went to the bank and handed over the packet of papers the attorney had given her. She smiled shakily when the bank officer congratulated and welcomed her as a new customer.

As she made her way down Pennsylvania Avenue, Ruby became aware that feathery flakes of snow were dusting her navy blue coat. She'd always loved snow, but now she prayed for it to turn to rain. If it snowed, she'd either have to shovel the steps, walkway, and sidewalks or pay Rena's husband to do it. God, she hadn't thought about that before. Neither had she thought about leaf raking and lawn mowing. Another fee.

“Oh, shit!” she said succinctly.

Ruby hunched into her wool coat as she pulled the scarf from around her neck and tied it on her head. Her step quickened till she was almost running. Thank God Admiral Query had given her the afternoon off, otherwise she would be paying Rena to wait for the furniture to arrive from the thrift shop.

She was on Poplar now, a half block from
her
house. She ran, her eyes sparkling, till she reached the steps. It was hers. The first real thing she ever owned. Slowly, to draw out the moment, Ruby fit the key in the lock and turned the knob at the same time. She stepped over the threshold, her eyes drinking in the sight of the empty rooms yawning ahead of her. The moment the door closed, she clapped her hands in delight and then proceeded to dance around the living room.

“My God!” she chortled happily. “This is mine! It's really mine!” She threw back her head and laughed. “Not bad for a dumb bunny from nowhere!” She continued to laugh as she walked through the rooms, mentally arranging them with furniture.

Ruby sobered. If only there was someone to share this with. Andrew's name crept to the edge of her tongue. No, not Andrew. Amber? Amber would turn up her nose and say something awful. Nola would like it of course. Or Calvin. Opal would love it. In just two more years Opal would be ready to leave Barstow. If she came to Washington, she could live here. “And I won't charge her rent, either!” Ruby chortled. It was all working out so wonderfully, thanks to her grandmother.

Ruby ran about the house then, turning on all the lights and running the water from all the faucets. She flushed both toilets just to hear the water gurgle in the pipes. She thought it was the most wonderful sound in the world.

“God, I just can't believe this!” Ruby squealed, dancing around the empty rooms. She'd never really had a secret before, certainly not of this magnitude.

Twenty minutes later a huge yellow truck with the words
THRIFT CENTER
printed in bright red pulled to the curb. It took exactly an hour for the furniture to be placed around the house. Tonight she was going to sleep in her very own house.

“I'll meet you at the house on O Street,” she told the driver of the truck. She loved the feeling that coursed through her when she locked the door of her first house. No one was going to take this away from her. No one.

Ruby was a little kid again as she ran and skipped her way to the two-story brick house on O Street. She looked over her shoulder to see the huge yellow truck lumbering around the corner. Her feet picked up speed. She had to get there first to open the door for her own private moment. She ran faster. The door opened quickly and easily. She barreled through the rooms, turning on the lights and faucets as she'd done in the other house. She bolted up the stairs just as the truck driver killed the engine of his truck. Lickety-split she turned on the lights, ran the water, and flushed the toilet before she ran down the steps to open the door at the first peal of the bell.

It was dark when Ruby handed the truck driver a five-dollar bill for setting up the beds in both houses.

She was in business.

 

The days moved quickly now and the weather turned bitterly cold as Ruby drew closer to her wedding day.

Andrew Blue arrived in Washington D.C. on Friday afternoon, the day before his wedding. Rena and Bruno graciously allowed him the use of their spare bedroom, for a small fee. Ruby almost blurted out the story of all their fees, knowing Andrew would throw back his head and laugh. Her eyes widened at how close she'd come to babbling her secret.

Ruby watched her intended out of the corner of her eye as he joked and laughed with her landlady and roommates. He was so handsome, he took her breath away. Marine Corps spit and polish all the way. Admiral Query said marines were full of piss and vinegar, more piss than vinegar. Ruby was never sure if it was a compliment or not. She giggled suddenly when she thought about her roommates' plan to sing the “Marine Hymn” instead of “Here Comes the Bride” after the ceremony. She realized she'd never seen Andrew in anything other than his sharply creased uniform. She wondered crazily if he was hairy.

She felt his eyes on her, measuring her somehow. She smiled, wondering if she passed his scrutiny. When he grinned, she knew that whatever it was he'd been thinking was okay. He gave her a thumbs-up. She burst out laughing and ran to him and hugged him impulsively. At first he reeled back in surprise, but then his hold on her tightened. He looked down at her. Now it was her turn to be shocked. His eyes were
warm
,
caring
. He seemed almost to fall backward when Ruby winked seductively and whispered, “Only twenty-three more hours.”

“Shameless hussy,” he managed to croak. Then, as if to cover whatever feelings were rushing through him, he held up his arms and shouted, “Dinner's on me!”

Dinner was delightful, and Andrew proved himself a gracious, witty host. By the end of the evening Rena was flirting with him, and Ruby's roommates were staring at her enviously. Bruno, who understood his wife perfectly, was flirting with his tenants, one at a time. Ruby watched the goings-on with amusement and decided as they left the restaurant that she'd made a good catch.

Back at the house on Monroe Street, Rena waited while Andrew pecked Ruby on the cheek before she dragged him inside, clucking her tongue in disapproval. “No more. You don't see the bride now till tomorrow.” To reinforce her statement, Rena grabbed Andrew by the arm and literally lifted him off his feet.

Andrew's excitement was at an all-time high as he entered Rena's guest room. He backed up a step and then another for a better overall look at the long, narrow room. “Jesus,” he muttered. He felt himself snapping to attention and felt as though he should recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the same time. Cautiously, he stepped in and looked around. Red, white, and blue. Over the bed, which was covered with a replica of the flag, was a mural of the original flag with thirteen stars. Two little tables at the sides of the bed were covered with red cloths with the same thirteen stars appliqued around the hem, while the lampshades were dressed in blue with stars around the top and bottom of the shade. On the white wicker dresser was a matching striped scarf with tassled fringes in red, white, and blue. The rest of the room was similarly decorated. Andrew saluted smartly, then covered his mouth so he wouldn't laugh aloud.

Once the room was dark, he stripped down to his underwear and crawled under the quilt. At this time tomorrow he would have a wife and her name would be Ruby Blue. As he drifted into a restless sleep, he wondered if he would fall in love with Ruby at some point in their marriage. He decided, as he reached out to sleep, that Ruby loved enough for the both of them, and what he felt didn't really matter. He was giving her his name. He would provide for her and give her all the children she wanted. What else could she possibly wish for?

 

Ruby paced her room, her eyes on her packed bags and her wedding dress hanging on the back of the door. It was already her wedding day. If she wanted to, if she
really
needed to cut and run, right now, this very minute, she could. She could go to one of her houses and sleep. No one but Rena would suspect where she was, and she wouldn't tell. Smothering panic ripped through her and left her gasping for breath. She knew she wouldn't leave; she'd made a commitment to Andrew, and she would go through with her marriage. In time she would fall in love with him. She'd made a mental pledge to herself that she would be the best wife she knew how to be.

What she was going through now, she told herself, was what all brides went through: prewedding jitters.

It was going to be a nice wedding. Simple, but nice. Her wedding cake, baked by Rena—for a small fee—was gorgeous. It even had a little plastic bride and groom on the top. Bruno agreed to take pictures with her Brownie Hawkeye. Ruby would have them developed when they moved into their quarters at Camp Lejune.

Her eyes went to the small pile of gifts, by the closet door, that Rena was going to package and send on. She'd been stunned at the elegant bed ensemble from Admiral Query and his wife, which had arrived by mail from Woodward and Lothrop just yesterday. Mabel McIntyre sent a gift, beautiful crystal candle holders. She'd cried when she thanked the older woman and hugged her so tightly, the personnel director squealed for mercy. But the present she loved most came from Nola's mother.

Ruby dropped to her knees and opened the carton and started to cry. Inside was a homemade, worn quilt for a twin bed. Mrs. Quantrell had written a note saying that Nola had made the quilt out of patches from all the children's worn-out clothing. She had embroidered a name on each little patch. Mrs. Quantrell had gone on to say she knew Nola would want Ruby to have it for her first child's bed. She'd also warned Ruby to wash the quilt gently because the patches were already threadbare. Ruby loved it on sight. Her fingers traced the delicate stitches, wondering which name was that of a blood sibling and which belonged to one of the orphans. Not that it mattered. It was something to think about because it brought Nola closer.

Ruby wiped her tears with the back of her hand. So much of the material was from flour sacks, the kind her grandmother used to have. Her grandmother had made aprons and dishtowels from the sacks.

She'd shown the gifts to Andrew and when he saw the quilt he'd said, “What the hell kind of present is that? It's worn out, for God's sake.” Men, men like Andrew, simply didn't understand. Calvin would have, though, Calvin understood about family. Ruby's eyes filled a second time. Damn, she had to stop this or her eyes would be red and puffy for the wedding. In the new life she was starting there was no room for maudlin sentimentality.

Ruby repacked the quilt and then crawled into bed. She stared at the thin beam of moonlight on the ceiling. She was still awake when the new sun crept over the horizon, but she didn't get out of bed. Eventually, she dozed, then awoke at twelve-thirty. Her head felt clotted with memories. Her nose was stuffed up, and she felt like she was coming down with a cold.

She was on her way to the bathroom when Rena came down the hall with the mail. “There's a letter for you, Ruby, from your sister.” Ruby reached for it. How like Amber to spoil her day. She was tempted to trash the letter but decided to read it while the tub filled.

Ruby folded the letter and stuck it in the envelope. She carried the picture that had dropped to the floor over to the sink, where she turned on the overhead light to see it better. She stared at the picture for a long time before she tore it into little pieces and flushed it down the toilet.