"There is nobody who is going at this hour," Ruby said. "I am seriously thinking that after the reception I should stay in one of their guest cottages. Ian won't be around anyway, so nobody is going to miss me if I don't come home tonight."
"Where is he?" Cynth asked curiously.
"He is in Hanover." Ruby sneezed. "They are at the foundation stage of the building, and Ian is usually pretty involved at this stage. He has been out all week."
"Oh," Cynth said, swinging in her chair. "How've you guys been?"
"We are fine," Ruby croaked. Her throat felt super dry.
"And how is that pastor ex-lover of yours?"
"Fine, I guess," Ruby said wearily. "He has been giving me a wide berth at church. He is unfailingly polite and very pastor-like when he sees me."
"And the evil Sue-Ann?" Cynth asked. "What is she cooking up in her cauldron?"
Ruby laughed weakly. "I don't know. She avoids me like the plague but whenever we happen to meet at church, she always looks so sad."
"Aww, poor sad first lady," Cynth said mockingly.
Ruby picked up the box. "I really have no time to think about her and Rory these days. I have my own troubles at home; my husband is blowing hot and cold like a menopausal storm."
Cynth raised her brow. "Really? Why?"
"I don't know. What I do know is that something is on his mind and he's not telling me what it is."
"You told him about the Rory thing?" Cynth asked.
"Yes, but that's not it." Ruby shook her head. "I thought it was, but it's not. I don't know if it is work. I don't know anything." She sneezed again. "Gotta go, Cynth. I have a two-hour drive ahead of me."
"Here." Cynth opened her drawer and withdrew a bottle of pills. "These worked for me when I had the flu. I got them from my herbal doctor. They aren't synthetic, so don't expect them to work immediately. After a good night's sleep I woke up almost as good as new. Take two tonight."
"Okay." Ruby looked at the bottle. "Thanks."
*****
Ruby had taken a turn for the worse when she reached Cool Cascades in the hills of Trelawny. She had not even taken the time to appreciate the view as she normally would. The place overlooked a wide band of sea and was literally built in the mountains. They had several varieties of orchids and a natural waterfall, which would be the backdrop for Sheila's ceremony. It was cooler up here than on the flats but by the time Ruby had parked her car she was literally shaking. She pulled out a sweater from her overnight bag.
She needed to do this particular job and do it well. Not only was Sheila a client, but she was her church sister who was having her fairytale marriage to her high school sweetheart, Dennis. She loved that kind of romantic story. She snorted in her head. That didn't happen for her but she still loved that kind of story.
She went to the front desk and booked one of the cottages that was scattered throughout the five-acre property.
"Sorry, Ruby. We only have two-bedroom cottages left," the lady at the front desk said.
"Yes, no problem." Ruby nodded and instantly regretted it. Her head had started to pound in earnest.
"Can I have some water, please?" she asked, slumping in one of the chairs in the reception area. She shakily took out one of the tablets that Cynth had given to her. She really hoped that she could stay awake through the reception and see the program through to the end.
When she took the water and then swallowed the tablet, she rested her head on the wall. She needed to check that everything was running smoothly. She looked at her checklist.
They were going to have the sunset ceremony at the cliffs, which was a small walk down the hill by wooden steps and then cocktails were to be served at the poolside and the reception would be by the rock pool. She needed to go direct the decorators right now; it was three o'clock.
She got up and grimaced. All she needed to do was to put one foot in front of the other and then she needed to stop thinking about her sore throat and her constant thirst.
She was in the reception area arranging the place settings when she felt as if she was being watched.
She sat down and closed her eyes. Sheila's burnt orange accessories were giving her an over-stimulated feeling. She swallowed and her throat felt a little better. At least the herbal tablets were starting to work.
"What should I do about these flowers?" a young lady in a black and white uniform asked Ruby eagerly.
Ruby opened her eyes to a slit and said hoarsely, "Those are for the head table. Put them in the biggest vase, between the candles."
"Sure." The young lady walked off.
"You look like you should be in bed," Rory said to her smoothly.
Ruby opened her eyes again. "Rory? What are you doing here?"
"I am filling in for Pastor Vassell. He called me this morning. Apparently his wife is in hospital. A minor accident."
"Oh," Ruby said, swallowing. "Well, I am happy that Sheila has a replacement pastor because that would be a disaster for us."
Rory nodded and settled down into a chair. "This place is beautiful. Perfect place to start a life together."
"It is," Ruby said and then glanced at her checklist. She had to confirm that the chef had four vegetarian options, she had to call the photographer—he was running late—and she had to ensure that all the bridesmaids were on their way. She didn't want even a whisper of anxiety near Sheila today.
"You have quite a few things to do," Rory said, looking at her list.
"Yes," Ruby said. "My motto for the rest of the evening is to put one foot ahead of the other and don't think."
"Want some help?" Rory asked.
"No." Ruby almost shook her head, but then she remembered how painful that was. "I am going to take two more of these, she said popping the large green colored pills into her mouth, and then I am going to hope that they kick in sufficiently for me to survive the reception."
"See you later," Rory said, a hopeful tinge to his voice when she got up slowly.
"Yes," Ruby said vaguely and walked in the direction of the kitchen while she took out her cell phone. She had several calls to make.
*****
"A toast to the bride and groom…" For the umpteenth time a toast was made by one of Sheila and Dennis' over-exuberant family members and friends. Ruby was not feeling as sick as she was earlier, the wedding had gone on without a glitch and she could breathe a sigh of relief and relax.
She took a drink from a passing waiter and sat down at the edges of the crowd, sipping the drink, which tasted like apple juice with a little bite. It was so good she touched a waiter again for another one as they had another toast.
She held her glass up in the air and then downed it hurriedly. By the time the dancing started and Ruby got up and headed to her car, she was feeling a little unsteady.
"Hey," Rory said near her. "Great wedding."
"Thanks," Ruby said. "I got through it. Now I am going to sleep."
"You are not driving down tonight?" Rory asked.
"No," Ruby said, "I had the foresight to book a cottage. I feel 'woozyish'."
"I booked a cottage too," Rory said. "When I came in earlier. I wasn't looking forward to driving down the narrow roads in the night."
Ruby took out her bag from her car. "Well then...goodnight."
"Ruby," Rory touched her arm. "Can't we talk?"
Ruby sighed. "Rory, I am not feeling so well." She was slurring her words and she leaned on the car. She was seeing the lights in the parking lot a little fuzzily.
"Which cottage did you book?" Rory asked. His voice sounded as if it was coming through a tunnel.
"Number 8." Ruby inhaled shakily.
"I should drive you there," Rory said. "I am at number 6. It may be too much for you to walk there now."
"Okay, thanks," Ruby said gratefully.
All she wanted now was to lie down. The sooner she did so, the better. It was a huge effort to walk to Rory's car in the big parking lot.
When she sat down in the passeng
er side of the car she pulled her sweater even closer to her and exhaled. "Tonight I am going to sleep like the dead."
Rory looked at her and grinned. "Isn't that the truth? You've always slept soundly. Not even a stampede of cows could wake you up."
Ruby giggled. "I remember that. I will never camp out in an open field again."
"Those were some good times," Rory said, starting the car. "Two of us had to pull you to safety and you still slept through it."
Ruby turned her head toward the window.
"Have you ever thought about it?" Rory asked. "How we would be if we were together now?"
Ruby shrugged. "I don't want to think about it, Rory. My mom used to always say that people who dwell on what-ifs are never happy. They live in the past and completely miss the glorious adventures of the present."
"I play 'what-if' games all the time," Rory said, ignoring her speech. "When it comes to you, my life is a giant 'what-if'. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if you hadn't left. What would have happened if Sue-Ann hadn't done what she did? I know we'd still be happy together because I still love you. Maybe we'd have a bunch of children by now. Jade, Crystal, Sapphire..."
Ruby turned around and looked at him. She was feeling a little lightheaded. "Stop this, Rory, please..." Her voice was faint, not as strong as she wanted it to be.
Rory stopped at Cottage 8. The lights from the porch were creating shadows on his face. He looked at Ruby earnestly. "I still love you." He said it again. He held one of her hands in his. "How do you feel about me, Ruby?"
Ruby swallowed. "I don't know."
"You do know," Rory said, caressing her cheek. "You are just afraid to say it out loud. There is nothing wrong in admitting your true feelings."
He bent his head to kiss her and when his lips touched hers, Ruby felt a sense of familiarity, a sort of coming home, but then she felt so impossibly sleepy.
She pulled away from Rory and pushed at his chest weakly. "I have to go."
Rory moved away from her reluctantly.
She tried to open the door but it was taking her forever.
"Where's your key?" Rory asked softly. His hair was ruffled and his eyes were looking at her with a sort of liquid intensity.
Ruby pointed to her bag and he took it from her, then he opened the door and ushered her inside. It was the last thing she remembered.
Chapter Fifteen
When Ruby woke up she was under a mound of white sheets. She could hear the distant sound of water lapping the seashore. For a moment she felt completely disoriented. Where was she? She sat up in the bed and then her feet touched something hairy. She swung around quickly. It was Rory's foot. He was fast asleep and was under the sheets as well
Her blood ran cold. Her head felt as if it had grown to twice its normal size. What had she done? She lifted the sheet and looked down at herself. She was naked.
"No," she mumbled in consternation. "No, I couldn't have."
Rory stirred beside her, and Ruby crawled out of bed slowly. She didn't want him to wake up now and confirm her worst fears.
She looked around the room. It was simply decorated with wicker furniture and bright-jeweled colors. There was a balcony area and then there was a door that she assumed led to the bathroom.
Her overnight bag was in one of the chairs beside another strange bag, which she assumed was Rory's.
She closed her eyes. She couldn't remember how they got there. She couldn't remember anything much except that Rory helped her inside. She tiptoed into the bathroom with her bag because she didn't want Rory to wake up and see her. Her heart was racing uncomfortably.
Ironically, she felt fine otherwise; her lethargy and sore throat were gone. She felt refreshed but she didn't really remember anything much from the time she stepped into Rory's vehicle. She remembered them kissing and then nothing. Obviously, they had gone further than nothing because she had woken up naked beside him.
She turned on the shower and lathered herself with the hotel's complimentary lemongrass soap.
Lord, please let it not have gone further than that, she prayed feverishly. Adultery was such an ugly word. She didn't even want to think about it.
She stepped out of the shower and dried herself hurriedly. She pulled out her jeans and a tube top and applied some lip gloss and then walked out of the bathroom, her anxiety levels through the roof. Rory was not in bed and his bag was gone.
Ruby breathed out slowly. Okay, so she didn't have to face him now. She glanced at her watch and saw that it was nine o'clock in the morning. Ian would have called her by now, but her phone was on silent and in her handbag.
She grabbed her handbag and saw that there were six missed calls from Ian, two from last night and four this morning.
Ruby hurriedly dialed his number, all the while feeling like a dirty, guilty person. "Hi honey," she said when he answered.
"Where are you?" Ian asked frantically.
"In Trelawny," Ruby said. "I told you that I had a wedding up here."
"Yes you did," Ian said, "but you didn't check in last night. You didn't check in with Cynth, either. I was just heading up there to make sure that you were okay."
"No," Ruby said jumpily. "You don't have to do that. I wasn't feeling so well so I stayed overnight instead of driving down. I'll be leaving shortly."
"You sound fine now," Ian said.
"Well, I took some herbal pills that Cynth gave to me." Ruby laughed uncomfortably. "Six of them, actually. It seems as if they worked." And maybe a little too well because I can't remember anything much after kissing Rory.
Ian grunted. "How was the wedding?"
"It was good, really nice. No drama or major problems." Except for the little fact that I woke up naked beside Rory.
"Okay then," Ian said. "I'll be home when you get here. I stopped by to see if you were here."
"Cool," Ruby said, maybe a little bit too excitedly because she could hear Ian pausing. "See you soon."
She hung up the phone and put her head in her hands. When she heard the door open, she looked up and saw Rory. He was dressed in jeans and a green polo shirt. He crossed his arms and her eyes followed the flexing of his biceps. She took in his freshly shaven face. "What happened last night?"
"You can't remember?" Rory asked her softly.
"No," Ruby snapped, "or else I wouldn't be asking you, would I?"
"Please say we didn't have sex," Ruby pleaded hoarsely.
"I can't say that," Rory shrugged.
"What!" Ruby asked, a wretched feeling taking over her body.
"It was never a problem before," Rory said looking at her, his brows raised. "Us having sex, that is."
"That was in the past. We are both married to other people now!" Ruby shouted. "What's wrong with you? You are a pastor, for God's sake!"
"Not for much longer," Rory said. "After last night, I am going to resign. I am going to divorce Sue-Ann. I want us to be together."
"I am not divorcing Ian," Ruby said, stricken with a sense of terror. She ran her fingers through her hair. Why did she sleep with Rory? Why couldn't she remember what happened?
"It was so good," Rory said, as if reading her thoughts. "It was perfect."
"Stop it." Ruby got up. "I can't hear this. I can't believe I did this. It's just not me."
"You did it because you love me," Rory said, standing at the door, blocking her exit. "And you have thought about being with me again so it was only natural that when your guard was down you gave in to your baser urges."
"For heaven's sake, I never really thought about you sexually!" Ruby felt a throbbing behind her eyes. "Maybe I felt a little nostalgic, like one would feel over a favorite food or something that they hadn't had in years, but I was fine with how things were."
Ruby muttered, "Why did you do it? How could you so casually stand there and tell me that we both committed adultery and be so relaxed about it?"
"We should have gotten married to each other in the first place," Rory said. "It's not har
d for me to picture us together again. It didn't feel like adultery; it felt like destiny."
Ruby growled, "You have gone stone cold bonkers. Get out of my way! I feel dirty and cheap and... Ian can't know about this. This never happened."
Rory moved from the door, a smug look on his face. "But it did and I'll remember. I love you, Ruby."
Ruby opened the door. She didn't even glance behind her as she walked down the palm-lined cobblestone walkway. She didn't notice the perfect blue skies or the fresh gentle wind that was blowing. She trudged all the way to the reception desk and handed in her key, spoke to the hotel manager and managed to be pleasant, left her Let's Party business card, called Sheila and heard her gushing thanks. She got into the car and put her head on the steering wheel. A sob came out of nowhere and almost choked her with its intensity.
She was a statistic, a scarlet woman, a cliché, and an adulteress.
Chapter Sixteen
Ruby had started referring to her life as before and after November. Before November, she would emphatically tell anyone that she would never commit adultery; after November she was a little more reticent about when it came to definitive statements about anything.
Both she and Ian were busy, Ian because of his construction job, her because this was the busiest time of the year for the business. Let's Party had to refuse jobs.
"We need extra help," Cynth said to Ruby, after she hung up the phone. "That's the third event for the day that I have had to turn down, and it was a huge one."
"We have the budget for it," Ruby said listlessly.
"What's wrong?" Cynth asked.
"I feel low, listless, unenergetic, lifeless, limp," Ruby said wanly.
"I got that," Cynth said impatiently. "The question is, why?"
"Because..." Ruby bent her head and stared at the desk fiercely, "three weeks ago, mid-November, I did something very bad."
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