There were others, too. One man’s behind. Two male bodies, entwined, their connection unmistakable, their faces obscured. All of them godlike creatures, perfect in body and in form. Maybe that’s all it was, an appreciation of art, courtesy of God.
Or was it the alternative, something Ruby never would’ve considered if not for Sam? It seemed preposterous what with the ladies and the swagger and the dash. Why, Ruby had seen Topper taking it to Hattie right downstairs. There was no definitive evidence formulating one conclusion or another. But there was a body of work, which sketched a certain picture.
The same picture, as it happened, the navy accused Sam of drawing. That of being queer. A sodomite.
“You’re fortunate there are family members in high places,” the doctor had said on Ruby’s way out the door.
“My father?” Ruby asked, confused.
Daddy knew about the hospital stay, but not the nitty-gritty. Her stomach went wonky at the thought.
“No. The other offender is the son of a vaunted southern senator. He wants the whole thing swept under the rug. Count yourself lucky.”
Counting luck hadn’t been in Ruby’s cards these days, so she hadn’t been sure what to make of the so-called advice.
Photos in hand, Ruby scrambled downstairs. She scrounged up a piece of stationery, plus one large envelope, and jotted out a note.
Hattie—
Sorry I couldn’t make a stop in New York. I stayed longer in Virginia than originally planned. Sam needed me. Anyhow, I found some beautiful photos of you—and a few others, too. Any idea what they mean? Give it to me straight.
Write soon.
Yours,
Ruby
She crammed them into the envelope, gave it a lick, and then, before she could think better of it, Ruby hustled outside and grabbed Topper’s old bike from the shed. She hopped atop and pedaled the one mile to the post office, able to dispatch the note seconds before the postman closed the gate.
51
Saturday Afternoon
Bess is waist-and-elbow-deep in the linen closet, a misnomer of a room as it seems to include only boxes orphaned decades ago, scarcely a linen to be found aside from a yellowed tablecloth and a set of nautical tea towels.
“Yuck,” Bess says with a cough as she lugs a box of themed salt-and-pepper shakers down from the top shelf.
She inspects the collection. Two bunches of bananas. A yellow iron and a black iron. Kittens wearing sailor garb. A disturbing white maid, black mammy combination. Kitschy and cute, some of them, but Bess doesn’t anticipate ever needing salt-and-pepper shakers by the dozens. On the other hand, it seems wrong to sell Ruby’s stuff.
Still undecided on the shakers, Bess drags a 12 × 12 × 12 box out into the hall. It is heavy, weighted down. As she goes to catch her breath, Bess reaches around for Evan’s note. It remains snug against her, in her back pocket.
But how do you say that to someone who looks so beautiful, eyes shining with hope? How do you tell her that she’s not seeing things clearly?
Bess doesn’t know about any shiny-eyed hope, but she remembers talking to him at the rehearsal dinner as she struggled not to weep. At the time, she’d chalked it up to good old mopey-dope nostalgia. They’d had fun, the two of them. A perfect high school dream. Getting herself expelled from Choate was the best move Bess ever made, aside from attending medical school, but you really can’t compare the two.
At the wedding I’ll try not to watch. I won’t say a word to you.
Yeah, well, Bess remembers talking to him at the wedding. He didn’t exactly leave her alone, as promised.
God, Bess ignored so much, for so long. Before the marriage. The four years during the marriage. Bess was busy, a dedicated physician, aggressively head-down and toiling away just as Grandma Ruby always advised. Who needed alcoholism or drug addiction? Become a workaholic and enjoy the twin benefits of avoiding your problems and earning a paycheck.
Bess understands, for the first time, that the shame she has about the divorce is not because she couldn’t make a marriage work. No, Bess’s real regret is that she married him at all. She knew better. She knew she was getting a set of veneers.
With a sigh, Bess peels a strip of tape from the box, though it hardly has any stick left. After lifting the flaps, she wades through mounds of bunched-up newsprint and uncovers a carefully wrapped package. Inside are two dishes, cream-colored with silver scalloped edges, pink and yellow Virginia roses meandering about the perimeter. Grandma Ruby’s china? This is something she will save.
Bess digs deeper into the box, through ever more wads of newsprint and wrapped-up dinner plates and salad plates and saucers. She even finds an empty packet of cigarettes—Gauloises, a French brand. Grandma Ruby smoked one cigarette a week. Every Sunday, five o’clock. Bess smiles at the memory.
She’s enjoying the treasure hunt, cigarette trash and all, until her hand finds a strange clump of paper, distinctly urine in tone. There’s a scattering of brown pellets nearby.
“Ew!” Bess screeches. “Yuck!”
A nest. Mice or rats, most likely.
“Disgusting!”
Bess wipes both hands on her jeans and then picks up the box, holding it far from her body, nose scrunched. The box doesn’t smell necessarily, but it seems like it should. With previously untapped core strength, Bess clambers downstairs, through the French doors, and out onto the patio.
“Bess!” Cissy says from her spot at the bar. She’s mixing a cocktail, of all things. “What on earth…?”
Bess sets down the box, her arms suddenly loose and weak. She is wheezing, a little out of breath.
“Bess?”
“Rodents,” she heaves and gasps, pointing. “Mice. Or rats.”
A swift breeze kicks up then, goosing Bess from behind. Below her a wave crashes, and Bess’s heart gives a skip. She peers over the box and sees nothing but air. Rain begins falling lightly on her head.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” Cissy calls. “You look ghastly. Come dear, have a drink.”
Cissy waves her over, smiling brightly, as Bess’s eyes narrow.
“Elisabeth?”
“So, darling mother,” she says, sauntering toward her. “What’s new?”
“What’s new?” Cissy takes a sip of her drink, vodka-whatever. “Unfortunately, not much.”
“What about Mr. Mayhew? Anything new with him?”
“Chappy?” Cissy screws up her face. “Not that I know of. Other than the bastard’s probably thrilled that Mike won’t move the house. And neither will anyone else. I’ve tried everyone. Oh, Bessie. I don’t know what the hell we’re going to do.”
Cissy’s eyes begin to water, tugging on Bess’s heart for a second before Bess gets her emotions back in check. She scowls to break free.
“And how would Chappy know the details?” Bess asks. “About the engineers?”
Her mother shrugs.
“It’s a small island,” she says. “And he lives across the road. Good grief, he’s being such an asshole. Chappy, not the engineer. Although Mike’s an asshole, too, seeing as how he won’t do what I ask, no matter how much money I offer.”
“An asshole, huh? So was it angry sex then?”
“Beg pardon?”