Duet on Fire

by Brenda Barrett

  "God is your king, Ruby. He wants you to ask him for your daily bread. You know the Lord's Prayer, don't you?"

  Ruby almost snorted but she looked into her mother's kindly slanted eyes and nodded. "Yes Mommy, God is my king and I know the Lord's Prayer. I am nothing without him."

  "Don't say it as if you are humoring me," Pearl said stiffly. "You young people these days…"

  Ruby placed a bundle of clothes in her chest of drawers. She was still marveling at the place and how nicely furnished it was for a student house.

  Even the bathrooms were nice. When Rory had found the house she had been doubtful that it would be so nice.

  "Hello! Anybody in?" She heard a female voice calling in the hallway when she stuck her head through her room door. She saw a young lady with a big black suitcase and a couple who were obviously her parents behind her.

  "Hi!" she said to the girl brightly.

  "Hello," the girl said, smiling at Ruby. "I am Sue-Ann."

  "I am Ruby," she said, introducing herself. Ruby's mother appeared behind her and smiled when she saw the girl's parents.

  Introductions were made, the parents chatted and had left before Rory arrived.

  "So, is it true that the other housemate is a guy?" Sue-Ann asked. "My parents would have moved me from here if they had found that out before now. They were under the impression that it would be just girls living downstairs."

  "Yes, there is a guy. Don't worry. He won't be a threat to you," Ruby reassured Sue-Ann. "His name is Rory. He has the room beside mine."

  Sue-Ann looked at her knowingly. "You two together?"

  Ruby laughed. "Yes."

  Sue-Ann frowned, "I am going to be the third wheel housemate aren't I?"

  "We might not see each other much anyway," Ruby said. "You are doing nursing; Rory and I am doing business. By the end of the first week you might forget us."

  When Rory walked through the door, Sue-Ann gasped. "I am not going to forget him."

  Sue-Ann completely missed the frown that Ruby sent her way. She was so engrossed in admiring Rory that she forgot that she was talking to Ruby.

  At the time Ruby found Sue-Ann's obvious crush on Rory funny. She and Rory had laughed about it privately.

  Sue-Ann's crush on Rory should not have been taken lightly and Ruby wondered if she could have done anything to prevent it from becoming an obsession.

  *****

  Ruby dragged herself from the settee and forced herself to stop reminiscing. She went into her room and pulled off her dress. She decided to sleep in the nude. If sleep would come, she wanted it dreamless.

  "Happy anniversary to me," she whispered in the dark. She cuddled Ian's pillow as if it were him and inhaled his scent. She drifted off to sleep with the tinkling wind chimes making music in her ear.

  Chapter Seven

  Rory drove up the hills toward his home in Upper Cedar Hill. He hadn't quite gotten used to the place and almost missed the turn to his house. When he drove up to the house he could see a light shining in the living room. They had not put up curtains yet and he could clearly see Sue-Ann through the window, sitting in front of the television. It was after two. He glanced at his watch and groaned. He had been sitting at the beachside thinking. He didn't want to come home. He felt like a trapped animal and it was not a comfortable feeling.

  Could he spend the rest of his life like this? He thought not. He just couldn't. Apart from the fact that this marriage was a huge mistake, he couldn't envision himself spending the rest of his life trapped in a relationship with Sue-Ann.

  His feelings of disenchantment and discontent were heightened by the fact that he had just seen Ruby. What he felt for Ruby could not be duplicated; had he realized that years before, he would have saved himself a whole lot of heartache.

  He let himself into the house and wished that he didn't have to speak to Sue-Ann. She had gotten irrational and possessive since seeing Ruby at church. She had spent the whole night after church quizzing him about what he thought about Ruby now, seeing her after so many years.

  "Hey," she called before he could even take a step toward the living room.

  "What's that in your hand?" She pointed to the leftovers that he had gotten from Marcus'.

  "Food from a restaurant I went to tonight," he said dismissively. She had her inquisitive face on and he was bushed…so bone weary and tired. For a man of twenty-eight years, this was no way to be feeling.

  "What did you get?" Sue-Ann asked, smiling at him softly. Her eyes were rimmed with red and looked tired.

  He didn't even attempt to crack a smile. Her very smile was irking him these days. "Fish," he responded abruptly.

  "You bought two? Is one for me?" Her eagle eyes looked at the boxes in his hand.

  He wished he could lie but he didn't want to. "I saw Ruby at the restaurant. It was her anniversary and we had dinner together. Her husband's not around."

  Sue-Ann's smile fell and a look of rage crossed her face. "You had dinner with that hussy, and slept with her too, I bet…Filling in for her husband, were you?"

  "Ruby is not a hussy," Rory said viciously. "What's wrong with you? You are the one that came between us. You are the one that messed with all our lives. I don't know, Sue-Ann. I really can't do this anymore.

  Sue-Ann's face crumpled. "We were fine until we came to Montego Bay. We were happy."

  "We were never happy, I adjusted to the situation because I had to," Rory said, heading for the kitchen. They still had packing boxes laying around. He wasn't even sure that he wanted to unpack anything or had the heart to do so, and Sue-Ann had gotten the transfer to another hospital and had no time to do much. He loved his job but he was seriously thinking of leaving it. They didn't allow divorced pastors in the ministry unless the wife was unfaithful and was the one to instigate the divorce. Maybe he should think about a career change again.

  He put the boxes of food in the empty refrigerator and spun around, almost running into Sue-Ann.

  "I am the mother of your child," she hissed. Her eyes were a little wild and had tears in them. "Why can't you love me, Rory? Why does it always have to be Ruby? You have never gotten over her, even though we have been through so much together." Tears were rolling down Sue-Ann's face. "Please Rory, see sense. Ruby was never the right person for you; I was. Haven't I proven that time and time again? So what if I manipulated events a bit to get the desired results? Things are the way that they are supposed to be."

  Rory frowned. He could say some cutting words to hurt her right at this moment but he didn't. He wanted to be in his daughter's life when he actually parted ways with Sue-Ann so. Pissing her off would not be in his best interest.

  "I knew we shouldn't have come to Mobay." She hugged herself and shuddered. "Are you sleeping with her now?"

  "No." Rory looked at Sue-Ann in disgust. "Immorality is just too easy for you to think up, isn't it? Unfortunately, Ruby is married to somebody else."

  "Look, Rory. I knew I shouldn't have told you about what I did a couple years ago. You have changed toward me. I thought we were both strong enough for me to come clean about that whole episode."

  "What you did was criminal and evil. It was not just a little episode," Rory growled. "You are little more than a..." he bit his tongue.

  Remember, she's Jade’s mother, the thought flashed across his mind. He pushed himself from the counter. "I am going to bed."

  He headed for the second bedroom, the one that Sue-Ann had declared to be the guest room. The mattress was bare. He looked at the boxes in the half dark that were marked sheets and half-heartedly opened one.

  He dragged out the sheet at the top and threw it over the bed. He hadn't slept with Sue-Ann in more than two months and he had no intention of doing so again. He had thought that he could keep up appearances for one more church. Usually pastors have a five-year term at a particular church and then the administrators at the Conference Office would consider moving them.

  He had reasoned that by that time Jade would be
ten, old enough to withstand a divorce, but he was a child of divorce and he knew that that wasn't true. His parents had dissolved their marriage when he was seventeen, and even then, it had affected him badly. He hadn't been one of those children who could shrug it off and move on. His daughter might be affected in a similar way, but he couldn't, for his mental health, for his peace of mind, stay in this cesspool of a marriage.

  Besides, he had met Ruby again and all cards were on the table. She should have been his wife in the first place. He castigated himself for listening to Sue-Ann for even a moment in the past.

  Sue-Ann sat in front of the television. The images were blurred because tears kept seeping through her eyelids. She could feel Rory's disgust toward her, stronger than at any other time in their ill-fated marriage. The thought sent a cold shivery tingling up her spine. She had no idea that her life would have turned out this way. She had seen Rory ten years ago and her mind had short-circuited or something, because all of a sudden she had become somebody she had not recognized. All the worst devilish traits had sprung up in her competitive mind. She had become hypocritical, mean and vindictive. She had been so brimming with jealousy over Rory's relationship with Ruby, that she had become the villain.

  She had allowed covetousness to overrule her, and she regretted that she had allowed herself to be consumed by it. All of that scheming and plotting had done her no good. Her husband didn't love her, and trapping him with a child did not work out the way she hoped it would, either.

  For a while when Jade was a toddler she had seen the love that he had for his child extended to her, just barely though, but she had reveled in it. She wanted more of it. Rory had treated her as a woman very precious to him and she could tell that he had stopped thinking about Ruby. He had let go of the past and she had set out on a quest to be the perfect wife and homemaker.

  They had been in cruise mode ever since and then one night, eight weeks ago, Rory got a call to head a church in Montego Bay, Jamaica's second city. The place had lush greenery and beautiful beaches. She had been excited to go, thinking that maybe they could have a honeymoon somewhere. It seemed like the perfect place to renew their commitment to each other.

  They were married for six years and their marriage was solid. Ruby and college days were but a memory. They had both grown, and she had wanted to confess her wrongdoings and come clean with him. Surely he would forgive her. He preached about forgiveness often enough, but when she sat down and haltingly told Rory about her scheming, he had looked at her with revulsion. All the progress she thought they had made had counted for nothing. Revulsion and scorn was what she now had.

  She rocked herself, willing the tears that were rolling down her cheeks to stop falling. She was guilty of loving Rory too much. She was guilty of feeling too deeply for him.

  She wiped her tears with the tail of her housedress and got up. She was going to fight for this marriage. She would do anything to set it right. She hoped Ruby knew that there was no coming between her and Rory. He was hers now, and unlike what Ruby did in the past, leaving him without a backward glance, she did not intend to give up her man.

  Chapter Eight

  Ian packed up his laptop and the reams of papers representing the floor plans for the Palm Tree Hotel into his truck and dusted off his hand. He was standing on the hotel's construction site, and he knew that it was going to be something spectacular.

  The Lees had really gotten a prime piece of real estate with a small island adjoining the mainland. The small island would make for good snorkeling, and the rest of the ten acre property was a mass of vibrant blues and greens. He took a last look at it before he went into his truck. The architect, Victor, had asked him for a lift into Mobay because he had to stay overnight to do some business.

  Ian had no problems giving Victor a lift; he actually anticipated it. Victor was more his father's friend but even though he was almost twenty years older than Ian, he felt closer to Ian's age, and he looked it as well, except for a smattering of gray hair in his neatly trimmed beard. Victor was aging very well.

  "So how's Ruby?" Victor asked when they were on their way, driving along the scenic coastline.

  "She's fine," Ian said, chuckling, "I spoke to her this morning and she can't wait for me to come home. Yesterday was our anniversary."

  "Yes, I remember. Your wedding was awesome…still one of the best weddings I have ever been to. You guys have any children yet?" Victor asked.

  "No," Ian shook his head, "but Ruby has babies on her brain. So who knows? Maybe we'll have some soon."

  Victor grunted. "You know Carla and I can't have kids, right?"

  "Yes," Ian said, "I remember you mentioning something like that years ago. You said you didn't want any."

  "I was just trying to save face," Victor sighed. "The truth is, I am sterile. No swimmers at all. I can't even remember the long scientific name for what I have."

  "Uh-oh," Ian said. "Does Carla want kids?"

  "No," Victor said. "Strangely enough, she is fine with us not having any. I am the one who wants them. I suggested artificial insemination and all of that, but Carla is not interested. We have tons of nieces and nephews to spoil and she was the oldest of her siblings growing up, so she said she feels as if she has already had her lot."

  Ian chuckled.

  "The truth is," Victor said, "before I found out that my swimmers were non-existent I thought Carla was the problem."

  Ian glanced at him. "Really?"

  "Yeah man," Victor nodded. "I mean, come on! I am a virile, strong man. I can't have a problem," he chuckled deprecatingly, "so I suggested to Carla to go get checked out and she insisted that I should go as well. And let me tell you, when I went to Dr. Moody, the urologist—you know him; he's on Ocean Side Boulevard, near my office…"

  Ian nodded. "I have heard of him. I have never needed to go to a urologist before, though."

  "Well, I went and they asked me a bag of questions about my sex life, sexually transmitted diseases, family history and all sorts of things and then I did the sperm test. A few days after that my results came, and they were shocking. So they did the tests again and again. The doctor said that my case was hopeless. Blank shots, man. It hurt me to the core."

  Ian frowned. "Wow."

  "Maybe you should go get checked out," Victor said. "It wouldn't hurt to find out if your swimmers are okay."

  Ian almost laughed. Victor was seriously suggesting that something could be wrong with him. He and Ruby were both young, they were healthy and they hadn't been trying for long enough. Not everybody was fortunate to get pregnant the first year, second year or even fifth year of their marriage.

  But when they reached Mobay although they had spoken of different things, Ian still remembered the initial conversation. He dropped Victor at his office and when he was driving by the Ocean Side Boulevard plaza he decided to drive over to the doctor's office. As Victor said, it wouldn't hurt to find out what his status was.

  *****

  When Ian stepped into the house, he heard Ruby on the phone in the room. He knew she was talking to Cynth because it sounded like business. He smiled wickedly. So she hadn't gone to work today, and was probably waiting for him to get back. He was right. When he went to the doorway of the room she had the phone clutched to her ear. She was only in boy pants and a tank top. He smiled to himself. She looked sexy without even trying. He liked her like this—au natural, no makeup, no heels, just the bare minimum clothes, and a smile.

  "Yes, I confirmed the venue for that wedding. We have four weddings next week." She whistled. "Two on the same day. We are going to have to split up on Tuesday. I'll take the one that is here on the hip strip. Closer to home; you take the one closer to Rose Hall."

  She looked up at the doorway and squealed. "Cynth, call you back in an hour, my hubby is here." She hung up the phone. "Hey golden eyes."

  Ian smiled slowly. "I haven't heard you call me that in years."

  "I was thinking about how we met last night and I remembe
red how utterly mortified I was when you heard me say that golden eyes was mine. Remember that?"

  "Of course," Ian said, grinning and pulling her closer to him as she hugged him. "I saw you and Cynth in the corner. Cynth was talking a mile a minute and pointing out guys and you were studiously holding your clipboard and nodding like you were bored. So I deliberately walked by to get a closer look at you. I wasn't disappointed."

  He kissed her deeply. "Happy belated anniversary, babe. Sorry I wasn't around for our fifth. It is a huge deal, you know—five years."

  He withdrew a watch from his pocket. It had sapphire gemstones on it. "Sapphire for the fifth year. Sorry I couldn't get it wrapped."

  Ruby squealed, taking the watch from him and slipping it on her wrist. "No problem, you are here now. I went to Marcus'."

  Ian smiled. "How was the fish?"

  Ruby hesitated. Should she tell Ian that she had dinner with Rory or that he asked her to leave him, and in turn, he would leave his wife?

  That would be a mood killer. Besides, she would have to tell him about her past relationship with Rory, and she didn't want to rehash the whole thing now. Ian was slowly removing his dress shirt. There was a bed behind them. Confessions could wait.

  "The fish was okay," she said, giggling when Ian wriggled his eyebrows.

  "And how was your sleep last night?" he asked softly.

  "Terrible without you here," Ruby grinned. She also felt guilty because for one second she entertained Rory's suggestion. She concentrated on the here and now and blotted out the thoughts that she had yesterday.

  Chapter Nine

  Ruby entered the office at noon on Monday, after visiting a vendor. She waved to Toni, the receptionist. Ruby was starving. She had the kind of hunger that made her feel shaky and irritable. She had visited one vendor after another in her quest to plan for their ambitious four weddings that week. She had no time to even scratch her head or think about the fact that she was propositioned by her church pastor to leave her husband. So why was it even in the forefront of her mind this morning, and all of yesterday, when she should be planning the details relating to the weddings she was commissioned to plan?