Seasons of Her Life (74 page)

“Can I come back here?”

“Anytime you want. I'm not planning on going anywhere. I'll always be here for you.”

“Do I have to call first?”

“No, of course not. The door will always be open. You don't even need a key. I don't lock up,” Ruby said, her own eyes filling with tears.

Ruby knew that Marty wouldn't pop in any old time. And she'd always call first. She thought, for just a second, that she should tell her daughter her own heart wasn't healed yet, but she kept quiet. The day would come when her heart would heal, she was certain of that.

“I'm going to try to talk Dad into staying with me for a few days. What do you think my chances are?”

“Slim to none,” Ruby laughed. “He thinks he's being robbed blind by staying here. He's probably right. When you're in a cash business, you're at other people's mercy. But your father is a constant surprise, so who knows? Would you like me to speak to him?”

“Would you, Mom?”

“Sure. Listen, how about taking the dogs for a walk. Are you sure you don't want some breakfast?”

“I'm sure. Mom, was Aunt Amber telling the truth when she said she ... said she sent back the money?”

Ruby's eyebrows shot upward. “Yes. But it's not important anymore, Marty, so don't worry about it.”

Marty snatched two pieces of bacon, sharing one with the dogs, before she left the kitchen.

“Right on the dot, Andrew,” Ruby said, pouring the eggs into the fry pan. “Listen, Andrew, I want to ask a favor of you. I've never asked you for anything really ... really important. I want a yes out of you before I ask you.”

Andrew pretended to think. “I guess you're entitled to one favor. Okay. This better not be something like asking me to become celibate.”

“I want you to spend a few days with Marty. Will you do it?”

“If you make up whatever I lose with those bums running things back on the island.”

“Take it out of my share. You'll do it, then?”

“Yeah, it's not a problem. Forget making it up. She's our kid. I'll do it. Just don't go making a big deal out of it, okay?”

“Okay.” She set the plate of eggs in front of her husband. “You know, Andrew, right now I'd kill for those eggs.”

“You want half?” he asked, stuffing his mouth.

“You want to see me laid out? What color, Andrew, purple, green, what would I look best in?”

Andrew frowned. “Why don't you tell me exactly what that means?” he said in a strangled voice.

His eyes popped, his jaw dropped as he listened to her recite her medical history.

“That's it! I've had it, Ruby!” he said angrily when she had finished. “This must be a big year for assholes. I cannot believe, I will not believe that you ... why didn't you tell me ... tell Andy ... Martha ... I would have told
you.”

Ruby laughed, a genuine sound of mirth. “Then there would have been four of us worrying. I did what I thought was best. For me, Andrew. I handled it.”

Andrew attacked his eggs again. “When was the last time you had a physical? Are you okay now?” Andrew pushed the plate away. He sounded so concerned, Ruby laughed again.

“Almost. Another six months and I should be back to normal. So, you see, Andrew, this is the best place for me to do what I have to do.”

“You could have told me. What the hell
do
you do here to pass the time?”

“Come here, I'll show you.” Ruby led him to one of the downstairs garden rooms and pointed to the bookshelves which lined the walls. “I read every one of those books. Come on, you'll have to see this or you won't believe it. Be careful, the steps aren't all that good,” Ruby said, switching on the cellar light.

“What the hell ...”

Ruby waved her hands about. “This is what I did for the first eight or nine months. I only watch one television station, the shopper's channel. I shopped. I bought everything,” she said expansively.

“It looks like a goddamn warehouse. They aren't even opened.”

“I know. Every time a package came, I just booted it down the steps. I considered it therapy. I spent seventeen thousand dollars. American Express canceled my card. So did all the other companies. I didn't open my mail for six or seven months. I now have a bad credit rating!” Ruby said proudly.

“No shit! Wow!”

“Every one of those credit card companies started law suits against me. The lawyers are handling it. Twenty lawsuits. What do you think of that, Andrew?”

“I'll be damned.” Andrew laughed. They slapped one another on the back, both of them hysterical as they ripped and gouged at the boxes. From time to time one or the other would say something funny and they'd go off into peals of laughter. “Bet there's all kinds of stuff here you can take back to the bimbette in Maui.” They collapsed on a pile of cardboard cartons, laughing their heads off. Neither of them noticed their children at the top of the steps, or Amber and Opal, who were staring at them as though they'd lost their minds.

Exhausted with their efforts, Andrew put his arm around his wife's shoulders. “I have to get the hell away from you before this kind of stuff starts rubbing off on me. You did okay, Ruby,” he said, kissing her lightly on the cheek. “You really did okay. Jesus, I haven't laughed like that in years. I'm glad I came.”

“I'm glad, too, Andrew. What say we throw you a soiree when you hit the big six-five?”

“You're on, but let's do it on my turf.”

“You ready, Dad?”

“I've been thinking, Marty, how would you like to spend a few days with your old man?”

“I'd love it!” Martha beamed.

“But,” Andrew said, holding up his hand, “I want to drive that Testarossa.”

“Okay,” Martha said happily.

“Bye, Mom. Bye,” she said to her aunts and uncle. Ruby winked. Martha ran back to her mother. “Thanks, Mom.”

When the sounds of the Ferrari faded away, Andy drew his mother to the side. “You're the best, Ma.”

 

Later, when Amber said good-bye, Ruby thought,
I'm never going to see her again. And I don't care. She means good-bye in the true sense of the word.
“Good-bye, Amber. Good-bye, Nangi,” she said, holding on to her brother-in-law a moment longer than necessary.

A minute later, Opal was half out the door, waving airily. “Nice party, Ruby” was all she said.

Ruby stood on the rise, the dogs at her feet, watching till Nangi's rental car was out of sight.

“I think, mind you, this is just my opinion,” she said to the dogs, who stopped squabbling long enough to listen, “but I think I just leapt another hurdle.” She dusted her hands dramatically to show what she thought of her latest effort.

On the way to the barn Ruby carried on a running conversation with the dogs. “Don't you just love it when the party is for you and you have to clean up?” Suddenly she bolted as she remembered the tiny puppy in the sneaker box. “God, how could I have forgotten!” she shrieked. He was asleep, curled into his paws, prettier than any diamond, more gorgeous than a spring bouquet. A smile spread across her face.

 

The phone rang. Ruby scooped up the receiver as she poured detergent into the dishwasher. She heard a strange voice say, “This is Eve Santos.”

Ruby sucked in her breath, her eyes frantic as she pulled a chair out from the table.

“Yes?”

“I know all about the lawsuit,” Eve Santos said coldly. “I also have all the letters you wrote to Calvin. I'll make them public if you go through with this ... this circus. What do you hope to gain? We don't have any money. Not the kind of money your attorney is demanding.”

The dogs were at attention at her feet, Doozie on her lap. They watched her face, their eyes wide and unblinking. “It's no longer in my hands, Mrs. Santos. You shouldn't be calling me. If you have something to say, have your attorney speak with my attorney.”

“You want my husband, don't you? That's what this is all about,” Eve said nastily.

“Where did you get my phone number?”

“In a letter you wrote to Calvin. He doesn't even know you sent it. I open the mail at the office.”

“Why is that, Mrs. Santos? What are you afraid of? Certainly not me.”

“I've known about you for a long time. I told Calvin I knew. I told him I would tell our children if he did something stupid.”

Ruby had her wits about her now. “Are you eating peanuts, Mrs. Santos?”

“What?” Eve sputtered.

“Don't threaten me, Mrs. Santos. I personally don't care what you do or who you tell. I'm perfectly happy to let everything come out if this case goes to court. All the things I know about you, I'll say them, too. So remember that when you threaten me. You should be discussing this with Calvin, not me. All I want is the money due to me, which, by the way, he admits he owes in a letter I have in my possession.”

“I'll give you back your letters if you give me the ones Calvin wrote you.”

Oh, Calvin, what do you have here?
“I'm sorry, Mrs. Santos, I can't do that. I don't make deals.”

“I know who you are. You think money can buy anything. Well, it can't buy Calvin.”

“I know who you are, too, Mrs. Santos. And I never tried to buy your husband. I wanted Calvin's love, yes, because he said it was his to give. But I never bought it. I'd like it if you'd hang up now, Mrs. Santos.”

“I'll never give him a divorce. You'll never get him,” Eve said venomously.

“You know what, Mrs. Santos? I think you and your husband deserve each other. Do what you want. We'll see one another in court. And don't call me again. Good-bye. Oh, yes, give Calvin my regards.” Ruby slammed the phone down. Doozie hissed.

Ruby carried on a running conversation with herself as she snapped the dogs' leashes onto their collars. She continued her discussion as she walked the dogs to the pond and back. She played the conversation over and over in her mind. She should have said this, shouldn't have said that. “The hell with it!” she muttered as she returned to the house. Calvin and Eve Santos were history.

 

To Ruby, the seasons of her life seemed to leapfrog ahead of her. Nineteen eighty-six was a blur, 1987 blurrier still.

The chrysanthemums were gone now, replaced with holly, a sure sign that winter was ready and waiting to settle on the valley. Christmas was less than ten days away.

What had she done these past two years to make the time go so fast? At times she felt as if she were on an out-of-control treadmill, racing ahead to what she didn't know. What she did know was that there weren't enough hours in her days. She went full-tilt from morning to night.

The kitchen was sunny and warm, just the way she liked it in the early hours. She hadn't changed anything in the farmhouse; lemons were still on the table, the fire still blazed, the dogs still snoozed, Charlotte still sang her heart out most of the day, Doozie still sat on top of the refrigerator. She, Ruby Blue, hadn't changed, either.

But Dixie still hadn't been located and Calvin had managed to stall her lawyers and the lawsuit, but he'd finally given up and paid. She wondered if she would ever hear from him again. Somehow she doubted it. And she doubted that she would care.

There was something ominous about today, Ruby thought from the kitchen window as she watched the snow fall. She couldn't explain her feelings. She thought about calling Nola to invite her and her son for Christmas. Maybe, just maybe he and Marty would hit it off. She didn't want to talk, though. She couldn't explain that to herself, either.

Andy was fine, working on the ice-skating rink he was designing for a hockey player who lived twenty miles down the road. She'd never seen Andy as happy as he'd been this past year. Hockey had always been his first love, when it came to sports. Marty was fine, too. Ruby had called her earlier in the day. There had been a letter from Nola in the mail. Nothing wrong there. It was her. The fine hairs on the back of her neck started to prickle. Somewhere, something was wrong. Something that involved her somehow.

Because she didn't know what else to do, she called Andrew. She could hear the sound of the surf when he spoke on the portable phone he carried with him everywhere. “Andrew, it's Ruby. Listen, I'd like it if you'd come for Christmas. It will be just us and maybe Nola and her son. How about it?”

“Send me a ticket and I'm yours. First class, Ruby. Yeah, I'd like to see snow again. Hey, thanks for asking. I'll look forward to it. I'll start to make plans. Is anything wrong?”

“No, of course not. I just thought you'd like to spend Christmas with your family.”

“You sound a little strange.”

“I don't know. Today is kind of strange. I feel ... like something is going to happen. It's snowing, but then, I love snow. Maybe I'm ...”

“Getting eccentric in your old age?” Andrew chuckled. “Make yourself a drink and say the hell with whatever is bothering you. That's what I do. Gotta go, Ruby, I got some cash customers waiting. Thanks for the invitation.”

“My pleasure, Andrew.” Suddenly she didn't want to hang up. She needed to keep talking, needed to hear another voice, but Andrew was already gone. She called the office, but her secretary couldn't talk either.

She loved the snow, had always loved the snow. Maybe if she went for a walk by herself, her head would clear and she could shake off this ominous feeling settling between her shoulders. Or she could go back into the living room and finish her Christmas wrapping. She decided on the walk.