A Family for Jason

by Virginia McCullough

  “Oh, speaking of responsibility, I have one with a short time line. Halloween. I need costume ideas suitable for a boy who doesn’t speak.”

  Of course. It had to be recognizable. “You don’t want people asking what he’s dressed up as—it has to be clear.”

  “Right. But I’ve mentioned being a ghost or a pirate, and he shook his head. He didn’t like any of the superheroes that popped to mind, either.”

  Ruby tapped her finger on her lips to mime being deep in thought. But sure enough, an idea came to her immediately. She almost blurted it, but decided to mull it over before suggesting it, just to make sure it would work. “I’ll give it some thought. But tell me about your practice. How’s it going?”

  “So glad you asked,” he said, grinning. “Yesterday I had one client, today I have two.”

  “Hey, your small-town-lawyer act is going to work after all.”

  They took their juice out to the porch and watched as Jason went back and forth on the swing. But he jumped off when the quacking from the ducks paddling to the shore caught his attention.

  “Ducks and geese are his best friends,” Mike said. “We don’t feed them, though. Millie asked me not to.”

  “Looks—and sounds—like the geese are on their way south. Or are they settling in at the sanctuary?” Ruby asked, mesmerized by the sight of more V formations overhead. “Time seems to stop when I look up to watch them.”

  “I know,” Mike whispered. “Autumn is something special around here. I’m not sure what it is. But there’s nowhere I’d rather be when it’s fall than in Bluestone River.”

  Ruby gulped back her juice, trying to shake off the now familiar bittersweet feelings being with Mike evoked. Almost without fail they raced to the surface, throwing off her peace of mind, yet she came back for more. Sadness and pleasure, and the urge to leave even when she longed to stay.

  “I take it there’s been no change with Jason,” Ruby said, deliberately switching the subject.

  “Not really. Odd, though. Mrs. Cermak seems unconcerned. She’s impressed with his artistic ability.”

  “A budding artist. I can see that with the exhibit on your fridge,” Ruby said. “They give the place its homey touch.”

  Mike drummed his fingers on the porch railing, not taking his eyes off Jason. “I sometimes forget that my mom liked to draw. I never realized how much of her needlework is hanging on the walls—mostly upstairs. I’m no expert, but I think it’s needlepoint.”

  The upstairs Mike avoided, Ruby thought. “According to Emma, what this town needs is a good craft shop.”

  “Both Georgia and Maggie want a Greek or Italian restaurant on River Street. The diner’s good, but it’d be nice to have options.”

  “And leave the high-school kids to hang out and share giant French-fry platters.” Ruby drained her cup. “Well, I should get back.”

  Mike didn’t argue, but called over Jason and told him they were taking Ruby home. “Why don’t you call Emma and see if she wants us to bring some dinner.”

  “Even better, stay and have stew with us. Brenda made us a huge pot. Let me give Emma a heads-up.” Ruby grinned as she took out her phone. Her body tingled in the strangest way, as a surge of happiness shot through her.

  Mike’s face lit up. “Thanks. It’s good for Jason—and for me—to be with other people.”

  She flashed a pointed look at Mike. “Emma’s a big fan of yours. And she’s not going anywhere. Long after I’m gone, you’ll have Emma as your pal—and champion.” Why had she said that? She wanted to inhale the words back out of the air the minute they left her mouth. The subtle droop in Mike’s features said it all. She’d ruined the warm moment.

  Warm moment? Warm moments between her and Mike led nowhere. Or to things they shouldn’t.

  In awkward silence, she and Mike walked to the car. Jason climbed into his seat and buckled himself in.

  “Good job, Jason,” Mike said, patting Jason’s knee.

  Watching Mike and his son brought back the warmth.

  * * *

  MIKE HAD MIXED feelings when he saw Ruby’s name on his screen. He was in the middle of Maggie’s incorporation document, so he let the call go to voice mail. Even though he got over his frustration, he was getting tired of hearing Ruby talk about leaving every time he saw her. All right, he got it. He needed a minute to get himself ready to sound like his normal self on the phone.

  At dinner at Emma’s last night, Ruby’d mused about the route of the bike trail, which was new to him, too. Unlike her, he wasn’t much of a runner. Never had been. He liked basketball at the gym with the guys from the firm and anyone else who wanted in. Before Jason, he rode on bike trails in Cincinnati two or three times a week. Now he had a stationary bike in the house gathering dust. What a bore. He should get Jason a real bike. Maybe for Christmas, or he could wait...

  Slow down...ease up. These days, his mind jumped all over the place, but that wasn’t his style. He liked his orderly lists. First client work, then pick up Jason and finally off to Clayton for groceries and a Halloween costume.

  It was gnawing anxiety that was robbing him of a peaceful day. Over last night’s dinner he and Emma kept adding to the list of Bluestone River’s shortcomings, and by the time he’d left Emma’s, he was dragging what was left of his optimism behind him. Maybe returning to Bluestone River was like betting on the wrong horse. Even being with Ruby couldn’t lift him. Saying good-night at the door left him empty. It was time for him to face facts. Ruby had her mind on some other place—as yet unnamed.

  With his work for Maggie out of the way, Mike spent the rest of the morning polishing up the two oak file cabinets he’d brought from home and setting up a paper filing system. He’d found the cabinets in the basement, the same place he’d found the framed photos he’d hung on the office walls.

  His phone signaled a text. It was from Ruby and read: Idea 4 costume & where 2 get it. Great. Now he felt like a jerk for not picking up her earlier call. Instead of responding with another text, he phoned her.

  Ruby answered cheerfully. “Hey, you caught us as we’re leaving. Em feels good enough to go wandering a little.”

  “That sounds positive. Sorry I couldn’t pick up your call.”

  “No problem. I figured you were busy. But I’m excited about my idea. What if Jason went as a doctor? He could wear a white coat and drape a stethoscope around his neck.”

  “And maybe one of those lights they stick in your ears,” Mike added, grabbing hold of the notion.

  “Right. People will see the white coat and his costume will be obvious. They’ll be more likely to make comments rather than ask him questions. If someone talks to him, he can put the stethoscope in his ears and pretend to check their heart—something like that.”

  “Hmm...where will I find a white coat in his size?”

  “No worries. Emma and I have that covered,” Ruby said enthusiastically. “We found a place in Clayton. We were poking around online. It’s kind of an old-fashioned costume shop with authentic period clothes for community theater and the colleges in the area. They’ve got new and used stuff for adults and kids.”

  Whew. His day just improved...a lot. “Really? That sounds great. Thanks.”

  “We called and they still have a couple of white coats in stock for Halloween. And a toy stethoscope to go with it.”

  Relief flowed through him. Over a costume? He almost laughed out loud. He needed a life.

  “Emma and I could pick it up for you if you don’t have time,” Ruby offered, her voice tentative.

  “No, no. I have to go over to Clayton myself for groceries. I’ll take Jason. Why don’t you come along? We could go today after school.”

  Silence.

  He winced as if waiting to be hurt. Why had he pushed it? It seemed he was always giving her a chance to run away—or in this case, say no.


  “Uh, that would be fun, but Emma and I have the afternoon planned, maybe out to the bakery, the park. Emma is walking with her cane now.”

  He couldn’t be certain she was lying, but it sounded like she was making it up as she went along. “That’s fine,” he said in his best phony casual tone. “It was short notice, anyway. Tell Emma I’m glad she’s feeling good enough to get out.”

  “I will,” Ruby said, then added, “I almost forgot, but Em wants to come to the Halloween party at the town hall. So, we’ll get to see Jason in his costume in any case. I’ll take some pictures.”

  “Good, good.” He had to get off the phone, or he’d repeat himself or ask questions that had one-word answers.

  “I better go...and thanks for asking me to come along, Mike.”

  Later, when he was running his errands, Mike kept replaying in his mind his conversation with Ruby, feeling like a detective looking for clues as to how she felt. She and Emma had plans. On TV, the detectives would say “A likely story.” On the other hand, she and Emma were coming to the party.

  Not that any of it mattered.

  When they got to the shop, Jason wasn’t shy about wandering around, looking wide-eyed at period costumes, from fussy Victorian men’s suits to a row of wide ties from the 1960s. A few always popular animal costumes came in various sizes.

  He steered Jason toward the salesman, who directed him to the small rack of medical costumes in the shop. He spotted two white medical coats on the used rack, clean and crisp. The caduceus with its two coiled snakes stitched on the pocket. So authentic.

  Jason was passive when Mike helped him on with the jacket. “You look so professional, just like a real doctor—Doctor Jason Abbot.” He deepened his voice to sound authoritative and a lot older. “What seems to be the problem here? Let’s listen to your heart.”

  Jason smiled at the put-on voice and looked on as Mike took the stethoscope out of the coat pocket and tore off the plastic wrapping. The pocket also held a prescription pad and pencil. Perfect. Mike put the ends of the stethoscope in Jason’s and put the end on his own chest.

  Mike laughed when Jason’s eyes popped open at the sound of Mike’s heart. It might be a toy, but it worked at least a little. “Let’s listen to your heart now.” Jason’s smile got even wider. “Okay, buddy, the costume is yours, and you can even write prescriptions on the little pad, just like a real doctor. We’ll put your name on the pad.”

  The woman at the register looked barely out of her teens and was dressed in the way that reminded him of an exaggerated version of his mom’s favorite outfit—when she wasn’t in jeans and sweaters. Jessie, according to her name tag, wore a long velvet skirt, a peasant blouse, beads and more beads, and earrings that grazed her shoulders. Unlike his mom, who hadn’t dyed her hair, Jessie had sprayed some kind of tint to transform her spiked blond hair into a trio of sparkling orange and green, and a couple of streaks of bright blue.

  Jason couldn’t keep his eyes off her.

  “You have the coolest costume ever,” Jessie said. “When Halloween is all over, you can play doctor anytime you want. If your daddy gets a cold, you help make him better.”

  “You have a pretty cool costume yourself,” Mike said, taking the bag from the woman and handing it to Jason. “Here. You can carry it.”

  Jason didn’t speak, but he clutched the bag to his chest. Then before they went out the door, Jason waved at Jessie, who waved back and called out, “You have fun—hope you get a lot of candy. Don’t save any of it.”

  Mike laughed as he opened the door and he and Jason went down the street. Still holding the bag tightly in his arm, Jason broke into a skip and bounced along to the car.

  Every now and then, in moments like this, Mike ached for Zoe. He’d hardly known her, but he’d seen in Jason the kind of mother she’d been. These small things like trips to the park and Halloween were supposed to be fun times to share with her son. And strangely, now it stung all over again remembering how he and Ruby had planned to have a couple of kids. It hadn’t all been about their ambitions and goals. Did Ruby ever see Jason and think of a child they could have had?

  Last night, after their dinner of stew and homemade bread, Ruby had followed him and Jason out to say good-night. Jason gave Peach a quick hug around her neck and spontaneously put his arms around Ruby’s waist and hugged her, too. She’d leaned over and squeezed him tight as she whispered sweet dreams.

  Mike thought about the way Jason’s hugging Ruby had surprised him. And softened Ruby’s expression. In spite of enjoying seeing his son show that kind of affection, little fingers of fear had crept inside and latched onto his gut. As much as Mike hated to admit it, maybe it was best that Ruby get on with her life somewhere else before Jason began to think of her as “always-around Ruby.” Then he himself could finally get the pain over with and let her go, once and for all. He’d never forget about her. He’d love her forever. But maybe, at last, his heart would stop picking up speed even thinking about how she’d looked coming out of the woods yesterday into the afternoon light. She’d raised both arms high in the air and waved. Eventually, he’d stop thinking about the tender look on her face when she watched Jason run down the slope of the yard to greet the ducks.

  Good thing Jason hadn’t had the stethoscope on Mike’s chest then.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “WOW, YOU LOOK GREAT,” Emma said, grinning. “Head to toe. Your shoes turned out fantastic.”

  “I know,” Ruby said smugly. She stuck out her foot to admire her sparkly red shoes. “It’s amazing what a little glue and glitter can do for a pair of old clogs.” Emma had contributed the white ankle socks, and Ruby rummaged through some boxes in the basement until she came up with the light blue pinafore Emma had kept from a Halloween costume years ago. When she put the pinafore over a white blouse and her denim skirt she pulled off a fairly good version of Dorothy. “I think Jason will know who I’m supposed to be. I’m only wearing a costume because of him.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Emma said, “he’ll know Dorothy when he sees her.”

  The idea of a “Wizard of Oz” theme had come to her the night they’d made the cookies with Jason. The puzzle they’d put together featured Dorothy and Toto prominently, with the other story characters in the background. She’d told Jason about Dorothy and Toto just wanting to go home. Maybe it was the little dog, along with Dorothy’s red shoes, that captured his attention, but once they’d fit the last piece, Jason stared at it for a long time, munching his cookie.

  Ruby picked up her tote bag and pulled out the black stuffed dog, the only store-bought part of her costume. “I’ll give Toto to Jason when the party’s over.”

  “Your braids are the perfect final touch,” Emma said.

  Ruby pulled at the end of one of her braids she’d embellished with a white bow. Then she touched her warm cheeks and looked down at her costume and shoes. “I don’t know why I’m blushing.” She shrugged. “Maybe it’s because I haven’t dressed up for Halloween in years.”

  “It could be that simple, Rubes,” Emma said, grinning.

  “The weather is helping,” Ruby added. Halloween had dawned cool and crisp with a cloudless bright blue sky. Rain was in the forecast, but not until late that night and long after the party downtown was over for another year.

  “You look good yourself,” Ruby said. Emma was tall enough to pull off an elegant look in her coat-length red sweater with black leggings and boots.

  “Next year maybe I’ll come up with a costume. I’m going for comfort this year. As it is, I feel like I’m making my debut,” she said, one hip thrust out and a hand behind her head in a model pose. She picked up her carved wooden cane and raised it as if showing it off. “If I have to use one of these for a while longer, I’m done with the plain ones. I’m into fashion canes now.”

  Emma had bought it on one of their trips to Clayton to see the doctor. With Emma fe
eling strong, they’d detoured into a gallery and found the cane made by a local woodcarver. The stick had intricate carvings of birds and a handle shaped like a duck’s head. “It’s beautiful,” Ruby said. “And the day you bought it was one of your best so far.”

  “Did you reach your mother?” Emma asked, easing herself into a chair at the kitchen table.

  “No, but I left a message.” She paused. “I told her I was thinking about coming down after Thanksgiving...really early December.”

  “And not for a visit, huh?” As if stating a fact, she added, “You’re planning to stay there.”

  “It’s open-ended.” Ruby shook her head. “I don’t know. All I know is I’m not ready to do serious job-hunting yet. My confidence is... It’s...depleted. Still.” Her once legendary spirit of taking on a challenge was still replaced with a fearful shakiness deep in her core.

  “I’ve felt better about things, sort of, as the weeks have gone by. This has been a time-out. Now you’re getting better every day, Em. You’ll be driving soon and back to your regular life.”

  “That doesn’t mean I won’t miss you. It doesn’t mean I want you to leave.” Suddenly, Emma grinned. “You’ve hardly gotten on my nerves at all.”

  “Yeah, maybe so, but you’re driving me bonkers.” Ruby let out a hoot. She could make that joke because they both knew it wasn’t true.

  “We were the same on our trips.” A pensive expression took over her pretty features now. “In any case, don’t pack up and head out because of some false notion you’re wearing out your welcome. Besides, you’ve spoiled me. You might not cook the food, but you do a mean cleanup act.”

  “I know. I’m the best dishwasher loader you ever saw.” Ruby closed her eyes and recalled the week they’d spent in a beach house in Maine. They’d debated making themselves lobster but quickly abandoned the idea and followed the traffic to town and let themselves be waited on. Emma never traveled with Neil because vacations meant fishing or hunting, preferably in locations no farther than an hour or two away.