Ruby took Olivia’s hands in hers and led the dance. Even this pregnant, she could spin Olivia and twirl her across the floor.
Olivia closed her eyes. Dear Amanda, she thought, and only one word came to her mind. Dear Amanda: Live. She could smell autumn coming. She always loved autumn in the city. It was time for her to start her winter hats. The tape bounced in her pocket, safe. When she opened her eyes, the light shone around Ruby’s head like a halo, showing off her freckles, the ring in her nose. She is lovely, Olivia thought.
The two women danced the jitterbug across the worn floor. They sang together slightly off-key. They danced like that until the room grew dark and the cool air from the ocean crept into the room, like a ghost stopping in to say good-bye.
Acknowledgments
FOR THE TIME AND space to write this book, I would like to thank The Vermont Studio Center, Jessica Hempel, and Hillary Day; for legal advice, Bruce Sondler; for their love, support, and understanding, I give my heartfelt thanks to my parents, Melissa Hood, my husband and our children, Ariane, Sam and Grace; for her wise counsel and good faith, many thanks to Diane Higgins; and to Gail Hochman—agent and friend extraordinaire—my deepest thanks for her patience, advice, loyalty, and wisdom.
About the Author
Ann Hood was born in West Warwick, Rhode Island. She is the author of the bestselling novels The Knitting Circle, The Red Thread, and The Obituary Writer. Her memoir, Comfort: A Journey Through Grief, was named one of the top ten nonfiction books of 2008 by Entertainment Weekly and was a New York Times Editors’ Choice. Her other novels include Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine, Waiting to Vanish, Three-Legged Horse, Something Blue, Places to Stay the Night, The Properties of Water, and Ruby. She has also written a memoir, Do Not Go Gentle: My Search for Miracles in a Cynical Time; a book on the craft of writing, Creating Character Emotions; and a collection of short stories, An Ornithologist’s Guide to Life.
Her essays and short stories have appeared in many publications, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic Monthly, Tin House, Ploughshares, and the Paris Review. Hood has won awards for the best American spiritual writing, travel writing, and food writing; the Paul Bowles Prize for Short Fiction; and two Pushcart Prizes. She now lives in Providence, Rhode Island, with her husband and their children.