Cynth laughed. "Let's see, what would a Christian call bad? You smoked some marijuana?"
"No," Ruby said. "I wish that was it."
The phone rang on Cynth's desk and she answered it quickly. When she was finished with her phone call, Cynth said slowly, "You didn't."
"I didn't what?" Ruby asked guiltily.
"You wouldn't," Cynth gasped. "You slept with your ex."
Ruby sighed so loudly that her breath ruffled the papers on the desk.
"Oh no." Cynth had a stricken look on her face. "You have broken the first cardinal rule of dating. Never sleep with your ex. He is your ex for a reason. I know that rule really well, having broken it several times and lived to regret it."
"No," Ruby said, "worse than that. I have broken God's seventh cardinal rule. Thou shalt not commit adultery. And to make things even worse, we have this thing called Morning watch texts, so we study a text every day, I have them automatically sent to my phone by the youth department at church. This morning's text is Proverbs 6: 32-35."
Cynth frowned. "What does it say?"
"Go look it up," Ruby said, "and read it quietly."
Cynth shook her head. "I am not reading it quietly." She went into her desk drawer and took out her rarely-used Bible. "I need to read this thing more."
Ruby grunted.
Cynth skipped through to Proverbs and then she read slowly, "But a man who commits adultery has no sense; whoever does so destroys himself. Blows and disgrace are his lot, and his shame will never be wiped away. For jealousy arouses a husband’s fury, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge. He will not accept any compensation; he will refuse a bribe, however great it is."
She closed the Bible. "I didn't know these things were in the Bible. The Bible actually says you have no sense." She chuckled.
Ruby groaned. "I know, right. I have no sense."
"For jealousy arouses a husband's fury," Cynth said with a thoughtful look on her face. "You can't tell Ian. I could have told you that without reading the Bible."
Ruby nodded. "That's what I thought."
"It was just the one time, wasn't it?" Cynth asked curiously. "This isn't an ongoing thing, is it?"
Ruby nodded. "Definitely a one-time thing. I will never do it again. Ever. I can't believe I did it in the first place."
"How was it? Was it a wondrous trip down memory lane?"
"I don't know," Ruby shrugged. "I can't remember anything. I just know that I woke up naked beside Rory."
"How come?" Cynth frowned. "Were you drinking?"
"No," Ruby said, "I took six of your herb pills and two glasses of apple cider."
"Hard apple cider?" Cynth asked.
"I don't know," Ruby shrugged. "I guess; it had a little kick to it."
"Six tablets?" Cynth raised her eyebrows. "Are you crazy, woman?"
"Yes," Ruby ground out. "I am as mad as a bat. I am a cheater and I am so guilty I can't look my husband in his face. I am thinking of confessing. I can't live like this."
"No," Cynth shook her head vigorously. "Go do twenty Hail Marys, or whatever, and forget about it."
"We don't do Hail Marys," Ruby retorted. "What's wrong with you, Cynth? This is huge. I can't hide this. Besides, God knows I broke his commandment. You heard what the text said."
"Yes, but you can forget it if you love your husband and want to preserve your relationship. You said you can't even remember your indiscretion; move along."
Ruby held her head in her hands. "I remember kissing Rory in the car when I was coming over and it felt good. So good. But I don't know...it's your tablet. What are in those things?"
"How should I know?" Cynth asked, "Dr. Coombs does his own herbal combinations. They are not exactly FDA-approved. All I know is they work and they are not supposed to be taken with alcohol, nor should you overdose."
"Hey, you two," a voice said at the door to their office. "Your receptionist was on the phone and I am not accustomed to waiting."
Ruby looked up.
Cynth jumped up from her chair. "Hello Farrah! I am so happy that you came in. How can we be of assistance?"
Ruby grunted. "Hi Farrah."
"Well, you are regular ball of sunshine," Farrah said turning to Ruby.
"I have grown people problems," Ruby said, looking at the elegantly turned out Farrah Knight. She had her hair in a silky chignon and as usual, she was made up perfectly. She was in a pinstriped black business suit; the top clung to her tiny waist and then flared out fashionably.
"Ah, those kind of problems." Farrah grinned, her face lighting up. "I hope you work it out soon."
Ruby nodded. "Thanks for the sentiment, but I doubt it."
Cynth was getting impatient with Ruby treating their honored guest as if she was just a regular person. She said brightly, "Have a seat, Farrah. How can we help you?"
"The wedding date is changed again," Farrah said with a sigh. "It is next year, December 24, Christmas Eve."
Cynth nodded politely. "And you are sure this time?"
"Yes," Farrah said. "Jason and his family are in agreement with it."
"Why do you keep pushing down the date?" Ruby asked. "If you don't love the guy, don't marry him."
Farrah swung around and looked at Ruby with a look of surprise on her face. Nobody had said that to her so bluntly before.
Cynth gasped. "Please don't mind Ruby. She is not thinking straight."
"I am thinking straight," Ruby mumbled. "It's obvious that she is having doubts. Don't marry the guy. Marriage is serious business."
Farrah's hands fluttered in her lap uncomfortably. "My dad insisted so I have to..."
"Don't do it." Ruby shook her head. "Your dad is not going to be the one who has to live with a man you committed to spending the rest of your life with."
"But he is fine," Cynth said, "so handsome, and sophisticated. I would marry Jason Cavendish at the drop of a hat."
"Looks aren't everything," Ruby snorted. "Some of these handsome sophisticated men can be hell at home."
"Ruby!" Cynth said, seeing the huge wedding bill fluttering out of her hand, not to mention the notoriety of being the ones to plan the wedding of the year.
"Yes!" Ruby snapped back.
Farrah was looking between the two of them silently. She got up. "I'll call you with further details."
Cynth was glaring at Ruby, though she forced a smile on her face and walked Farrah out of the office.
Ruby got up as soon as Cynth turned her back. She wasn't going to wait around for a lecture from Cynth. She picked up her bag and stood up.
"I have an appointment," she said hurriedly when Cynth got back.
Cynth shook her head. "I am still going to lecture you about discouraging rich clients to spend their money with us."
"I didn't discourage her. Somebody needs to talk some sense into her. Anyway, got to run."
Chapter Seventeen
Ruby looked at her phone. The text started, Happy New Year. She scrolled through the rest of the text. I resigned, effective today. I am leaving her. The ball is in your court now. I love you.
Ruby was lying in bed. It was way past twelve o'clock in the day but she had planned two parties to ring in the New Year and had returned home late in the night. She smelled something savory coming from the kitchen.
She heard Ian puttering around in the kitchen. He had come in late as well. The band had played at the Mayor's New Years Ball. Ruby realized that she and Ian hardly saw each other anymore. Her business was growing and so was his, and they both were shifty with each other. They were actively avoiding each other.
She had a secret and she was fairly convinced that he had one too, and between the two of them, communication was limited. Last week they discussed the weather as if they were total strangers. She felt like walking into the kitchen and declaring, I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours.
What was bugging him? She worried her lips between her teeth and then threw the phone down on the bed impatiently; Rory was crazy
if he thought that she was going to upend her life for him.
She felt really hungry. These days she was hungry at the drop of a hat.
She walked into the kitchen and saw Ian in the nook eating.
"Good afternoon." He smiled at her.
"We started the New Year badly," Ruby said, looking into the several pots on the stove, "waking up so late. Yum. You cooked up a storm."
Ian nodded. "I wasn't sure when you'd wake up so I didn't share out yours."
"No problem," Ruby said, heaping her plate high.
Ian looked at her plate high with food and then grinned. "Wow, you mean business."
"I feel so hungry, it's like a pain." Ruby grimaced. "Which is surprising since I nibbled away at food all last night."
Ian grinned. "Well then, eat up. I can cook more if that is insufficient."
Ruby pinched him and they grinned together, just like old times.
"So what's the plan for today?" Ruby asked.
"I was thinking that we could go to the house together," Ian said. "Dad has been working on it alone. He hired some guys to do some work. He called me this morning and said he had done some extensive work on it and that we need to check it out."
"Oh cool," Ruby said, "I haven't been there for months. Cynth and I really need another person to work with us. We are stretching things too thin. See, I can't even get to visit our house and Cynth has Ella living with her mom. She only gets to see her on weekends.
"When I have a baby I want to spend time with her, like all the time. I don't see the sense in not being able to grow my child myself."
"That's a blessing," Ian said. "That you have more business than you know what to do with."
"Yes, it is," Ruby said, "and I am not complaining."
"But it's not enough though, is it?" Ian asked softly.
"Huh?" Ruby asked after she had cleaned her plate. She got up and headed for the fridge. She was still feeling hungry.
"Never mind," Ian said brightly.
Ruby swung around with the bread in her hand. "What are you hiding from me?"
Ian looked alarmed. For a moment his eyes turned a darker shade of brown and then he drummed his fingers on the table.
"One morning I heard you talking in your sleep."
Ruby swallowed uncomfortably. She did that? She waited, not breathing, for Ian to continue.
"You said that Sue-Ann killed your baby."
Ruby gasped.
"What happened?" Ian asked. He was looking at her as if he knew that something happened. "Have you had a baby already, Ruby? Be honest with me."
Ruby cleared her throat. "I was two months pregnant. Sue-Ann mashed up some pills in a drink and gave it to me."
"Pregnant... by Rory?" Ian asked slowly.
"Yes," Ruby said, slumping on the side of the counter.
"And she gave you these pills and caused you to miscarry?"
"Yes," Ruby said again.
"So you are very much capable of getting pregnant." Ian leaned beside her on the cabinet.
Ruby nodded stiffly.
"You and Rory have quite a history, huh?" Ian's voice had an almost wistful, whimsical quality to it.
Ruby turned to look at him with a frown between her brows. "You could say that, but that's all it is—history."
"So why did you two break up?"
"It took me a while to get over the miscarriage. I took it really hard. When I found out what Sue-Ann had done, I kind of went off the deep end, you know. We were living in the same house so I had to leave. Rory thought I was overreacting. He took Sue-Ann's side so I left. He was probably frustrated with me moping around, but you know me. I really wanted that baby; to me it didn't matter that I was just twenty-one and that I wasn't married. I just wanted the baby."
Ian nodded. "I do know you, and I do understand."
"You do?" Ruby asked, taking out a slice of bread from the bag and chewing it slowly.
"Yes Ruby." Ian looked at her contemplatively. "You are one of those women that really love children. It's like it's coded in your DNA. To lose a child would have been devastating, especially when you didn't have to."
"I guess things happened the way they were supposed to," Ruby said philosophically. "If Sue-Ann wasn't malicious I wouldn't have met you."
Ian sighed. "I am not so sure I am such a prize."
"What are you talking about?" Ruby asked, puzzled. "You are a prize, an exceptional husband and friend. You understand me. Nobody else in this world gets me like you do. Do you know how many women would die to have a man like you in their lives?"
Tears welled in her eyes...and yet she had betrayed him.
"I don't want to lose you," she whispered hoarsely, a feeling of remorse swamped her.
"Come on now," Ian said, drawing her to him. "What brought this on? I never said you were going to lose me."
The tears wouldn't stop though, a mixture of guilt and release. Ruby shuddered in his arms.
Ian soothed her. "Honey, stop. Where is this coming from?"
"I am awful," Ruby said shakily. "I am the worst wife ever."
Ian chuckled in her hair. It smelled like her favorite French Vanilla shampoo.
"I can't have you saying such bad things about yourself, Ruby." He kissed her on her forehead. "Let us go look at the house. I am really curious to see what Dad did. After that we can go walking on the beach. Get some perspective."
Ruby allowed him to lead her to the room but all the time they were getting ready she wanted to confess. She wanted to tell him that she had betrayed him, but she held back.
*****
Ruby never got tired of driving up to their property in Spring Village. Much of the area was still undeveloped and appeared rural. As they slowly climbed the hill she could see the city of Montego Bay below, and around the city the almost unreal blue of the sea and sky melding together on the horizon. It was not far from the town either, just a ten-minute drive. They would have to battle more traffic to get to the property on weekdays, but when she and Ian had seen the land they had instantly fallen in love.
It had a magnificent view; even the air up in the hills felt different. She wound down her window and stuck her head outside. Ian used to laugh at her enthusiasm when she did that. Today, though, he looked at her, a grim set to his mouth.
Ruby glanced at him periodically to see if his expression had lightened up. Ian never stayed silent for this long with her and she felt a little fear creeping over her. Had he somehow found out about November? Her one indiscretion that she did not even remember, or was he just processing her revelation that she had been pregnant before?
He turned into the driveway of their property and Ruby gasped.
The workmen had started building a curving driveway that had been her one requirement for the landscape. She had always wanted a curving driveway and this land had the space for it, but the house itself was a surprise. When she had last seen it they had barely reached the second floor; steel and uncovered blocks had been where the smoothly finished exterior now was. The arch leading to the front doorway was being done in cut stone. Piles of stone were at the front.
"It is gorgeous!" Ruby exclaimed, coming out of the vehicle and staring at the place in awe.
Ian chuckled.
Finally some emotion from him, Ruby thought, relieved.
"I asked Dad to finish up for me," Ian said, heading toward the cut stonework and inspecting it carefully, "because I have the Palm Tree project."
Ruby headed inside while Ian followed slowly, keenly inspecting each detail of the construction.
Ruby couldn't care less about workmanship. She had no idea what was so fascinating to him. It was just cement and blocks. He was looking at the wall with such intensity. She headed for the back patio and the lovely view. She probably wouldn't want to leave once she started living here, she thought, inhaling a gulp of the fresh air.
"This is such a gorgeous place to bring up children," she gushed. "I can see us with a play area out there."
She didn't even see Ian's wince. She waltzed into a bedroom. "This could be a nursery because it is right across the hall from the master. We will have one guest room and the other three rooms we'll fill with kids."
She turned around to Ian, grinning.
He didn't even crack a smile.
"What's wrong?" Ruby asked. That breathless feeling of fright was clinging to her once more.
"Nothing really." He sighed. "I just had a harrowing thought. What if we can't have kids?"
He was watching her intently. "We'd have built this house for nothing. It would just be you and me, puttering about in our old age."
Ruby laughed. "We are going to have kids, at least three of them. Stop looking so serious."
"But what if we don't have any?" Ian insisted. "Could you live with that?"
Ruby looked at him crossly. "I don't like how negative your tone sounds, and why on earth are you bringing up such a mood killing topic? We are standing in our beautiful first home and you are throwing rocks at my dreams."
Ian shrugged. "Sorry."
He looked around the room they were in. "The house should be finished by March. Just eight short weeks away. Then we'll have to think about decorating it."
"Now that's good news," Ruby said, trying to inject some enthusiasm in her voice and shake off the cloud that had descended on her when Ian started to talk in that dark and gloomy tone about not having children.
*****
I am still in Montego Bay, working for my uncle again. I miss you. Have you left Ian yet?
Ruby's belly grumbled simultaneously with her checking the text.
Cynth laughed. "It's just ten o'clock. Didn't you have breakfast?"
"I did," Ruby groaned, "but I am constantly hungry, and I don't mean mild hunger. I am eating like a cow."
She threw down her phone. "I am going to have to do something about this because my tits are getting humongous. I mean they can't fit into my bra anymore."
Cynth's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"
"Yes, really, and don't you dare laugh," Ruby said grumpily. "I know how much you've been secretly hoping that I gain weight."
Ruby's phone buzzed again. She glanced at it and scowled. Dinner? was the question on the screen. Rory again. She sighed.
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