Healing Ruby: A Novel

by Jennifer H. Westall

  I walked slowly to the front door, deciding to ask Ellis about Mary. If she was occupied, I’d leave a message that I’d call on her again some other time. But as I asked Ellis if Mary was busy, Mr. Doyle called from the parlor asking who was at the door. When Ellis announced my name, Mary practically leapt around him and grabbed my hands.

  “Ruby!” She pulled me into a hug. “Oh, we’ve missed you. Please come in!”

  I stepped back and couldn’t help but feel glad at seeing the familiar warm smile of a friend. “I thought you might have company, and I don’t want to interrupt.”

  “Well, we do have visitors, but you must come meet them.”

  “Maybe I can come back another time.” I glanced down at my dirty dress and felt the sudden need to hide. “I’m in no condition for meeting folks.”

  “Nonsense! Come on.”

  She took my hand and pulled me around the corner into the parlor where an older couple sat across from Mr. and Mrs. Doyle. A girl, maybe a few years older than Mary, sat next to them, her long blond curls tied up into a ponytail with a blue ribbon. The three of them looked up at me with curious smiles. I must have looked a fright after walking all that way through the woods in the heat.

  “Mother, look who’s finally decided to pay us a visit,” Mary said.

  Mrs. Doyle smiled politely, but Mr. Doyle just gave a slight nod of his head. Not exactly a warm greeting. I turned my attention to the family seated across from them since Mary was introducing me.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Paschal, this is my dear friend, Ruby Graves. We go to school together, and she was a great help to us when Matthew was sick.” Mary beamed at me like I’d accomplished something impressive.

  I tried not to fidget, but my manners weren’t as refined as the Doyles’ and their friends’. “Pleased to meet you,” I said.

  Mary gestured toward the young lady seated next to them. “The Paschals are old friends from Montgomery. They come to visit a couple of times a year. This is their youngest daughter, Vanessa. She’s heading off to college in the fall.” I smiled at Vanessa, who returned it with a genuine smile of her own. Mary kept right on talking. “Mother, why don’t Ruby and I take Vanessa and go for a walk?”

  ‘That’s a lovely idea,” Mrs. Doyle said.

  So the three of us wound up strolling through the garden toward the greenhouse. I was glad to be back outdoors and away from the stifling air that seemed to surround Mr. Doyle. I wondered where Matthew was, but I didn’t have the courage to ask. So I did my best to join in the conversation with Vanessa about going off to college.

  “Are you nervous?” Mary asked.

  “A little,” Vanessa answered. “I’m not sure why Mother and Father want me to go, but I’m starting to think it’s to find someone educated to marry.” She giggled with Mary, but I wasn’t sure it was so funny.

  “What are you going to study there?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “Oh, I don’t really care much. Maybe music or art, something I can appreciate. I don’t imagine I’d be useful for much else.”

  “Well that seems like a waste to me,” I said, before I’d thought about whether I’d be insulting her.

  “How so?”

  “You’re going to have all this knowledge right there in the palm of your hand, teachers and books and other students, all part of an endless number of possibilities for who you can be when you’re done. You could study Biology, or History, or Engineering—”

  “Engineering!” Vanessa laughed this time. “What on earth would I do with engineering? I plan on raising a family, not raising buildings!”

  Mary was grinning at me, but Vanessa looked genuinely shocked. I decided I’d better stop running my mouth before I embarrassed Mary. We rounded the end of the greenhouse and headed back toward the front of the house. I had no idea where we were going, and I had a feeling it was about time for me to find an excuse to head back home. This wasn’t a good time to try to confide my troubles. I figured I’d walk with the girls back to the front of the house and say my goodbyes there, but when we came around the side of the house, Matthew was walking up the front steps toward the door. Mary called out to him, and he came back down the steps to meet us near the magnolia tree on that side. My heart quickened without my permission, and I tried my best to look away so as not to be so obvious. But it was so nice to lay my eyes on him again, to see him strong and healthy, with a smile that was as bright as the afternoon sun. Looking away was impossible.

  “Hi there, ladies,” he said when he reached us. “Out for a walk?”

  “Yes,” Mary said. “Want to join us?”

  “I reckon I’d be crazy to turn down a walk with three beautiful companions.”

  Vanessa lowered her chin and looked up at him through her eyelashes, her cheeks blushing pink. “It’s really wonderful to see you getting on so much better these days. I was worried that the last time I saw you might actually be the last time.”

  “Ah, I’m all right thanks to Ruby here.” He grinned at me, and I had to drop my gaze to my shoes. “Between her scrubbing and praying, T.B. didn’t stand a chance.”

  I glanced over at Vanessa, who looked at me like she was seeing me for the first time. She looked me up and down, and then she smiled at me. “How old are you, Ruby?”

  “Turned fourteen just last month,” I said.

  “Isn’t she amazing?” Mary chimed in. “I don’t know how anybody could stand to clean up that awful mess of a bedroom—”

  “Hey,” Matthew interjected.

  Mary laughed. “Sorry, but it’s true. It’s not your fault, but it was disgusting. Ruby has an iron stomach.”

  “And an iron will,” Matthew added. “She was bound and determined I was going to find the Lord and He was going to heal me!”

  I couldn’t take much more of this. Vanessa had gone from friendly interest to eying me like I needed further studying, and I wasn’t too sure I liked it. Plus, hearing Matthew’s praises, and knowing he only thought of me as a little sister, confused my feelings even more.

  “Well,” Vanessa said. “I think we can all agree that little Ruby is quite amazing, especially for someone so young.” She reached for Matthew’s arm and slipped hers underneath. “So are we walking?”

  “Actually,” I interrupted. “I should be getting back home.”

  “But you just got here,” Mary said. “And you haven’t even visited with Matthew at all.”

  Matthew frowned and mashed his eyebrows together, reminding me of when I’d start in on him about having faith for his healing. He’d get all quiet and frustrated before he’d start naming all the reasons I was wrong. Seeing that look, it made me miss the days I was caring for him. Not that I wanted him to be sick, but I sure missed being needed.

  “I’m sorry for rushing off,” I said. “But I promised Mother I’d help with the washing and ironing today.” I turned to Vanessa. “It was very nice meeting you. I hope you enjoy college and find something you love to study.”

  “Thank you. It was nice meeting you too.”

  I forced myself to look Matthew in the eye. “I guess I’ll be seeing you around.”

  “Sure. Maybe next time we can have an actual conversation.” He shook his head a little and looked away.

  My throat ached, and I was afraid my face would tell them everything inside me. I headed back into the woods as quick as I could without fleeing at a full sprint, turning back to wave one last time. Mary waved back to me, but Vanessa and Matthew were already walking away, her arm still looped through his. I forced my feet to get moving again, and I spent the entire walk home praying God would take away this awful feeling in my stomach and chest. At least if we were really moving, I might have a good reason to explain to Mary why I couldn’t come visit anymore. But I didn’t think I could bear to explain the circumstances for our move. She was as kind-hearted as any girl I’d ever known, and she probably wouldn’t care that I was homeless, but I couldn’t stand the rest of the Doyles finding out, especially Matthew.

/>   So I determined in my heart not to seek them out again, and I’d try my best to explain to Mary about our moving. And maybe if God wasn’t going to answer my prayers about saving our home, he’d at least answer my prayers to take Matthew Doyle out of my heart.

  Chapter Eleven

  Sunday after church, James tossed the car key to Henry and told him to drive Mother and me home. Henry’s eyes beamed. He’d been able to drive for a while, but Daddy had never let him use the car, and James had done all the driving since Daddy passed. Henry had complained often, but James would shake his head and tell him he wasn’t ready. I wondered what had suddenly changed.

  “Where are you going?” I hollered at James as he headed back toward the church.

  Either he didn’t hear me or he didn’t feel like answering, cause he just kept on walking and climbed into a car with one of his friends. I huffed and leaned against the car, feeling the hot metal warm my backside. I wished Mother would come on, but apparently she needed extra prayers this week. She was probably spilling everything to Pastor Harbison, who would in turn tell Mrs. Harbison, and before long the entire city of Hanceville would be aware of our impending homelessness.

  “Want to have some fun?” Henry asked.

  I rolled my eyes at him. “Sure, I’d love to go barreling down the road with you, but I’d bet Mother would be a mite angry.”

  He glanced over at her and shook his head. “State she’s in, she might not even notice.”

  “Don’t say things like that, Henry. Daddy’d whoop you for that, no matter how big you think you are.”

  “I’s just joking.” His smile faded, and he looked down at the ground.

  I felt bad, but I was disturbed by what he said about Mother. It was true enough to make me worry. “What are we going to do?”

  “Head on home and start to packing, I reckon.” He opened the driver side door and climbed inside the car.

  “No, I mean, where are we going to live? Has Mother said anything to you?”

  “Nah. I thought maybe we’d head back to Good Hope and stay with family or something, but when I mentioned it to James, he was adamant that wasn’t gonna happen. Whatever the reason for Mother and Daddy leaving, it was strong enough that Mother wouldn’t go back, even if she didn’t have a place in the world to go to or a dime to her name.”

  “That’s about the circumstances now, isn’t it?”

  “I reckon, but I wouldn’t worry too much yet. Things’ll work out just fine.”

  I was trying to hang onto those thoughts myself, but the longer I waited for God to step in and stop all this nonsense, the more my grip on my faith seemed to slip. Mother walked across the churchyard toward the car, her face ashen and downcast. What in the world was God doing to her, to all of us? Wasn’t losing Daddy enough?

  Henry spent the afternoon with me, something we hadn’t done in a long time. We had every intention of at least starting the process of packing up our things, but I suppose neither of us believed we’d actually have to move. When Henry suggested we shoot some basketball, I was more than happy to accommodate him. We played for at least an hour, and he even let me win once. Course, he knew that would make me even madder than beating me, so I played with all my might in the last game to ten. He still beat me, but it was closer than the other games, and I elbowed him in the gut pretty hard a time or two to make sure he was mad enough to play me an honest game.

  After that we were both so hot and sticky, we decided to go swimming in the creek. Before I even finished getting my dress off, Henry picked me up and threw me in. That started a war with many dunkings and splashings, and finally with me grabbing his clothes and throwing them into the creek. I hadn’t laughed so hard since before Daddy got sick, and it was so good to feel like my old self, to play with Henry like we used to. I almost forgot about everything else. But when we crawled out onto the grassy bank and spread ourselves and our clothes out for drying, and the world around us settled back into its gentle summer song, I couldn’t help but remember what had brought us to this point.

  “Why have you been staying away from home so much lately?” I asked him.

  He let out a sigh but didn’t answer right away. He lay across the bank in his shorts, his golden skin still sparkling in the sun. He stuck a long piece of grass in his mouth to chew on and brought his hands behind his head.

  “I don’t rightly know, Rubes. I guess it was just easier that way. I didn’t seem to be much use, and James had everything taken care of so well. I didn’t want to be in the way.”

  I couldn’t find the words to tell him that I needed him, that in all those times of sadness it was his laughter that could’ve made it a little easier. There wasn’t anything to be done about it now, and I didn’t want to risk him pulling away again. So I didn’t say anything.

  “What about you?” he asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You went off to the Doyle place just about every day. Why didn’t you want to be around?”

  “I guess I felt kind of useless at home too. I wanted to do something, and they needed my help.”

  “Kind of hard to believe the Doyles could need anything.”

  I shrugged and felt my feathers ruffle. “Not so much the Doyles, but Matthew did. He was awfully sick.”

  “And they couldn’t afford nobody to care for him?”

  “Well, no one was willing to risk being around him, and it was pretty terrible in that room most days.”

  Henry was quiet for a few moments before speaking up again. “You’re a good girl, Ruby. Real good. I hope you know that.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “You’re a good brother.”

  “Naw, I ain’t neither. James, now he’s a good brother. He’s the kind to take care of you.”

  “You take care of me in your own way too.”

  He opened his eyes and glanced up the slope toward me, his crooked smile looking grateful for once rather than mischievous. We lay there for another hour or so, mostly in silence, till we were nearly dry. Then we walked back to the house resigned to the knowledge that we’d have to start packing in earnest. As we crossed the yard, I looked toward the road in time to see a black car kicking up dust on its way toward our house. It stopped at the driveway and let James out. He waved to the driver as he closed the door, and then he headed toward the house.

  He waved at us when he was about halfway to the porch. “Y’all come on inside! I got something to tell ya!”

  Henry and I both sped up, and I tried not to get my hopes up. But I couldn’t help it. Maybe James had found a solution that would save our farm. God was going to save us after all. I jogged up the back steps onto the dog run and went in the side door with Henry right behind me. I figured his hopes had risen at the same time as mine, cause his face looked as hopeful as I felt.

  “Y’all have a seat,” James said, gesturing toward the table where we’d first learned of our fate.

  Mother was seated on the far side already, looking out the window with faraway thoughts. Henry and I took the seats across from her.

  “What’s going on?” Henry asked.

  James planted himself firmly at the end of the table and rolled up his sleeves. “I found us a place to go.”

  “A place to go? What do you mean?” I asked.

  He gave me the mashed eyebrows. “Has a squirrel eaten your brain? The bank’s taking our home! I found us a place to go. A place to live.”

  I dropped my chin, trying not to show my disappointment. There would be no miracle after all.

  “Where is it?” Henry asked.

  “Mr. Calhoun’s place, couple a miles west of town. He’s got enough land and business for us to take one of the tenant houses. We can work the land he’s got for half the profit and live there too.”

  “Sharecropping?” Henry’s voice rose a pitch. “You can’t be serious. That’s for…for…”

  “For who?” James shot back. “People with nothing else but the shirt on their back? No home, no job, no nothing? In c
ase you haven’t noticed what’s happening around here, that’s who we are now.”

  Henry laughed and leaned back in his chair. “I ain’t no sharecropper. That’s one step away from being a slave!”

  I looked over at Mother to see if she was going to have anything to say, but she had her head in her hands, rubbing her temples between her fingers.

  “Mother?” I asked. “What do you think?”

  James and Henry both looked at her, waiting for something. She finally looked up at us. “Your Daddy would hate it. He wanted the best for you, all of you. He wouldn’t allow no sharecropping. Too demeaning.”

  James shook his head and looked back at me and Henry. “I know this ain’t ideal, but it’s all we got right now.”

  Henry leaned forward again. “Who’s to say old man Calhoun ain’t gonna trick us out of what he owes us? I’ve heard ’bout how he runs things over there. He even has coloreds working on his property.” Henry shook his head in disgust. “Have you ever seen one of those tenant houses?”

  “Calhoun’ll treat us right. I made sure of it.”

  “How?”

  “I’m marrying Emma Rae. I asked her today, and she agreed. In fact, she’s the one that went to her Daddy and got him on board. We owe her a debt of gratitude.”

  Henry shook his head. “That ain’t a good enough reason to go and marry someone.”

  “Look,” James said. “This is the best thing for all of us. We work the land for a year or two, build up some of our own equipment and set aside a little money, and eventually I’ll work my way into managing some of the operation, maybe even all of it. In a few years, you and Ruby will be off on your own, and Emma Rae and I can save up for our own place. We just have to get through a couple of tough years at the beginning.”