by Sharon Sala
After dinner at Granny’s with the twins, she was going to see Peanut, and she wanted to look pretty for him. Even if he didn’t remember her, he could still appreciate her appearance.
She straightened the collar on her white turtleneck sweater, picked a piece of lint from the sleeves on the hot-pink jacket, then left to go get her shoes—dressy flats as black as her hair. She grabbed her purse and keys, and headed out the door.
The sun was shining. The air was still as she started down the steps. A few houses up and on the opposite side of the street, Arlene Purejoy came out of her house, also on her way to church. She saw Ruby about the same time as Ruby saw her.
Ruby smiled and waved.
Arlene lifted her arm to wave and then zeroed in on Ruby’s hair and that hot little body in the hot-pink pantsuit and forgot what she was going to do. She was still standing in the yard with her arm in the air when Ruby drove past.
Ruby waved again, then giggled all the way to church.
The reactions as she walked into church were no different. Between the frowns, the double takes, and a few thumbs-up, she made it to the pew where she always sat, slid in beside Vera Conklin, and then poked her.
When Vera turned to say hello, Ruby winked.
Vera’s eyes widened, and then she began to grin. She elbowed her sister, Vesta, whose reaction was the same.
Ruby leaned in and lowered her voice. “Dr. Quick called me last night. They think the swelling is going down in Peanut’s brain, and I get to go see him now.”
“Oh, honey! That’s wonderful!” Vesta said. “I wonder what he’ll think of the new you.”
“He doesn’t remember the old me, so I doubt it’s going to make a difference one way or the other,” Ruby said. “I did this for me.”
The woman in the pew behind them leaned up, tapped Ruby on the shoulder, and whispered in her ear,“ Love your hair.”
Ruby turned around and smiled.
Rachel Goodhope was grinning at her from ear to ear.
“I also love your spirit,” she said, and then settled back as the organist struck a chord—the signal that services were beginning.
Ruby sang with the others, bowed her head in prayer, sat at perfect attention as the pastor delivered the sermon, and when it was all over, didn’t remember anything that had been said. She’d been having her own conversation with God about giving Peanut back to himself.
Ruby checked on the clothing drive, but there had been no more donations. Unwilling to entertain anyone else’s curiosity, she made a beeline for the parking lot and went to meet the twins at Granny’s. Her entrance made heads turn, but she wasn’t interested in their opinions as she slid into the booth.
“We already ordered you sweet tea,” Vera said.
Ruby gave her a thumbs-up.
“I know Peanut doesn’t remember us, but tell him anyway that Vera and Vesta Conklin send their love and prayers,” Vesta said.
“That is so sweet. I will do that,” Ruby said.
“Do you have any updates on the Conroy family?” Vera asked.
“Yes. I saw them yesterday when I took fresh milk and the donated clothes. They were so appreciative of the help. I still can’t get over that boy, Charlie. He’s going to do something special with his life. I can feel it.”
“We kept that flyer,” Vesta said. “I’m thinking about framing it and hanging it in the kitchen to remind me to be grateful every day for what we have.”
Vera leaned across the table and lowered her voice.
“We’ve decided we’re going to take a cruise this summer. It’ll be one of those five-day ones, so we won’t be gone all that long, but after what happened to you, we realized how quickly a life can end. We don’t want to have regrets.”
“That is a wonderful idea,” Ruby said. “Where are you going to go?”
“We don’t know yet. We’re still deciding. Oh, here comes our waitress. Mum’s the word,” she hissed.
Ruby laughed.
“My favorite hairstylists ever!” Lila said as she swung her tray around and put their drinks on the table, along with a basket of biscuits. “A little something to get you started. Do y’all know what you want?”
“What’s the Sunday special?” Vesta asked.
“Turkey and dressing, two sides and dessert.”
“We’ll have that,” Vesta said.
“Me too,” Ruby added, and then grabbed her little bread plate and reached for a biscuit as Lila left to turn in the orders.
The food came quickly as the cafe filled up, then spilled over into the extra dining room, which usually happened on Sundays.
Ruby picked at her food, stirring it around some to make it appear that she’d eaten more than she had, grateful for the company. But there was a knot in her stomach that wasn’t going to go away anytime soon. The truth was that Peanut was where he was because he’d taken the bullet meant for her.
* * *
Ruby’s hard-soled shoes made little clip-clop sounds on the tile as she entered the hospital, moving at a speed just shy of jogging on her way to the elevator.
When she finally got to critical care, she paused long enough to take a deep breath, and then entered the double doors and headed straight to the nurses’ station.
Rhonda Bailey was on duty again and glanced up, then did a double take.
“Ruby! I love your hair!”
“Thanks,” Ruby said. “Okay if I go in?”
“Yes. He’s in and out, so don’t worry if he falls asleep. He’ll wake back up if he hears a voice.”
“Okay,” Ruby said, and circled the station to get to Peanut’s room.
She could see him even before she entered, and said a quick prayer that whatever happened today gave him some measure of peace. Then she pushed the door inward and went inside. Her heart was hammering as she reached his bedside. She put her purse on the chair, eyed the bandage pad on the side of his head, and then touched his arm.
His eyes opened almost instantly. Again, she recognized his confusion, but she wasn’t backing down from her role in his life as she leaned over the guard rail and kissed his forehead.
“Hello, you. I’m Ruby,” she said, and then took him by the hand.
His fingers tightened instantly. “Are you my girl?” he asked.
She nodded.
“I don’t remember,” he said.
She cupped his cheek. “It’s okay. I remember for the both of us.”
He kept looking at her face, at her hair, at the bright pink color she was wearing.
How the hell did I forget someone like this?
“What’s my name?” he asked.
She’d prepared for this before she left home. She pulled his business card out of her pocket and handed it to him.
He read it aloud. “P. Nutt Butterman, Esquire? What kind of a name is that?”
“It’s the one your parents gave you,” she said.
“This isn’t a joke?”
“No joke. You go by the name Peanut.”
“I thought they were kidding me,” he muttered, and then his eyelids closed as he took a deep breath. “That’s not even funny. What the hell were they doing, smoking pot when they named me?”
She laughed, and the sound pulled him back.
“That’s what you always say,” she said.
“Really?”
She nodded, then tapped a finger lightly on his chest. “See, you’re still in there. You’re just waiting until it feels safe to come out.”
He touched her forehead, then very gently beneath her eyes.
“What happened here?”
“Oh…it’s all tied to what happened to you and for another day, and we’re moving on to a better subject. Dr. Quick said you’re getting better.”
He looked at the business card again. “Esquire? Am
I a lawyer?”
“Yes, the only one in Blessings and very well-loved. And speaking of love, Vera and Vesta Conklin said to tell you to get well and they’re sending their love.”
“Who are they?”
“Two stylists who work in my hair salon.”
His gaze went straight to her hair again. “You make a good advertisement for your salon.”
She smiled. “Why, thank you, kind sir.”
He was quiet again.
“That felt strange.”
“What did?” she asked.
“Like I just flirted with a stranger.”
“But I’m not a stranger, and your heart already knows that.”
His eyes closed again, and his fingers went limp around her hand.
She let him go and quietly pulled the chair up to his bed. The fact that he didn’t know her didn’t daunt her one bit. That one comment about his name just confirmed that he was still Peanut.
A few minutes passed and then he opened his eyes, saw her watching his face, and almost smiled.
“You’re real. I thought I dreamed you.”
She stood. This time he reached for her hand.
“Where do I live?”
“In a very pretty house here in Blessings.”
“Do we live together?”
“No, but I have spent time at your house when I was first healing from this.”
He was silent again as he studied her face. Then he spoke abruptly, as if he’d been holding in the thought too long. “Have we made love?”
She leaned close, whispering near his ear. “Yes. We are quite wonderful together,” she said softly, then kissed the side of his cheek.
His eyelids fluttered again, but he was smiling.
“You need to rest now. I love you, Peanut, and I’ll come back tomorrow.”
He opened his mouth as if to speak, and then couldn’t stay awake long enough to say anything.
She backed away from the bed and left his room, more at peace than she had been since this whole awful thing began. On the way home, she stopped off at the Piggly Wiggly, for the first time in two days buying for herself and not someone else.
She started down the fresh produce aisle, looking for inspiration as she shopped, and then she sensed she was being watched and turned around.
Luwanda Peoples was staring at her.
Ruby waved, and went back to looking at lettuce. Moments later, Luwanda had pushed her shopping cart right up beside Ruby’s.
“I swan…I almost didn’t recognize you,” she said. “After your past came back to haunt you and all.”
The comment was hurtful, but not surprising. Luwanda considered herself part of the Blessings elite since her second husband was on the city council.
“My past? You surely aren’t referring to my ex-husband because you have an ex-husband too. Right? The one who went to Vegas and lost your home in a poker game?”
Luwanda’s neck broke out in red splotches that spread to her face. She was mad, but so was Ruby, and she kept on talking.
“I cannot imagine why I am suddenly so unrecognizable. I know it’s not because of my hair because I change my hair color at least twice a year, and you know it.” Then Ruby took a step closer, lowered her voice, and said, “Remind me next time you come in, and we’ll trim up your nose hair again.”
Luwanda felt her nose, then moaned beneath her breath and scurried off, pushing her cart toward the checkout at breakneck speed.
Ruby rolled her eyes, muttering to herself as she put a head of lettuce in her cart. “You brought that on yourself, Luwanda Peoples. I do not have the patience for hatefulness.”
She added a bunch of green onions, a carton of grape tomatoes, and a yellow squash to her basket, along with a sack of red potatoes, and then she moved to the baking aisle. Tomorrow was Monday, which meant the shop would be closed, but come Tuesday, she was going back to work and wanted some food on hand at home that was already cooked. After adding a brownie mix, she got eggs, a couple of different cuts of meat, and a gallon of milk, then went to check out. She purposefully went to Gladys Farmer’s line because she was such a nice person.
“Good to see you out and about, and I just love your hair color,” Gladys said. “How’s that sweet man of yours?”
“Thank you, and Peanut is doing okay.”
“Well, you tell him we’re all rooting for him to get better.”
Ruby smiled. “I sure will,” she said, watching Gladys scan her purchases.
Then she paid and left, anxious to get home before she ran into any more critics.
* * *
Melissa Dean had moved everything she wanted to take to her new home, and now she was done. She’d waited until the last trip to bring the food from her pantry and refrigerator and was in the kitchen putting it all away. Once she was finished, she stopped in the middle of the kitchen floor and hugged herself in thanksgiving.
“Oh, Andy, just look at this beautiful old home. I can’t believe it’s mine,” she said, and then moved to the kitchen window to look out at the overgrown garden in the backyard. “It is a mess out there, but nothing that can’t be fixed.”
She sat down at a chair by the kitchen table and called her old landlord, Niles.
“Hello, this is Niles.”
“Hi, this is Melissa. Just wanted you to know I am officially moved. I took my clothes and personal belongings. Everything else I owned is still in the house except my linens, the dishes, flatware, and cookware. I cleaned out the refrigerator and pantry, so you’re good to go. I’ll get the utilities changed tomorrow when everything opens up, and I left my house keys on the kitchen counter.”
“Have you decided what you want for all of your household stuff?”
“I think five thousand is a fair price. If you had to furnish it yourself, the kitchen appliances alone would be more than that.”
“Yes, that’s fair. I’ll put a check in the mail to you tomorrow at Elmer’s address.”
“Which reminds me,” Melissa said. “I also need to stop by the post office and fill out a change of address so my mail will get forwarded.”
“Enjoy your new home,” Niles said, and disconnected.
Melissa laid down her phone, then picked up the framed photograph at the end of the table and took it upstairs to her new bedroom.
“This is it, Andy,” she said, as she put their wedding picture on a dresser, then gestured toward the elegant old sleigh bed with the royal-purple comforter. “What do you think of this bed? Isn’t it amazing? We could have made such wonderful love here.”
Then she poked about in the closet, eyeing all of the things of Elmer’s she would have to donate. It was going to take a while to move one life out and another life in, but she was grateful Elmer had given her this opportunity.
* * *
Alice Conroy was in the kitchen finishing Sunday dinner. She turned off the fire under the Hamburger Helper version of beef Stroganoff she’d just made, and then gave her sweet tea a final stir to make sure the sugar had all dissolved.
She had opened a can of corn and heated it on the stove to go with it, and dinner was done. The fact that she had food to cook was such a blessing that she had enjoyed the task.
“Dinner is ready! Go wash your hands,” she called out, then grinned at the sound of running footsteps as Charlie and Pitty-Pat bolted toward the bathroom at the same time. She knew Charlie would end up making sure Pitty-Pat actually washed.
She took their plates to the stove to fill. She didn’t have bowls to dish up the food, and only had these three plates because May at the Blue Ivy Bar had given them to her when they first moved in, along with one paring knife.
Charlie came into the kitchen carrying his little sister piggyback, then plopped her down in her chair.
“Can I help you, Mama?” Charlie asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Charlie said. After he dropped the ice into the glasses, he filled them with tea before carrying them to the table, putting them down beside their old forks and spoons.
Alice put a plate of food at each chair, then sat down with her children.
“Who wants to say the blessing today?” she asked.
Pitty-Pat’s arm went up.
Alice nodded, then they all bowed their heads.
The little girl’s voice rose on one word and fell with the next, just like the pastor at their old church used to preach.
“Thank you for our dinner, God, ’cause lasterday we didn’t have nothin’ to eat. Amen.”
Alice sighed. “Amen,” she echoed.
Booger woofed.
They laughed at the timing. It made it seem as if the dog had echoed his own version of an amen. And then they began to eat, quietly at first because hunger was still a scary thing and the urge to fill up that well was part of self-preservation. But after a bit, the urgency eased.
“Mama, now can we enroll in school tomorrow?” Charlie asked.
“Yes, but we’ll have to walk. Once I get you enrolled, they’ll be able to bring you home on the bus, and then you two can catch it from here every morning after that.”
“I don’t mind, Mama. Don’t worry. If Pitty-Pat gets tired on the way, she can ride on my shoulders.”
Pitty-Pat frowned. She was a first grader and was just getting used to being in a school when their house had burned down.
“Mama, how will I know which bus to ride?”
Charlie reached over and tickled her ear. “You don’t have to worry about that because you have me. I’ll find you every day after school, and we’ll be on that bus together.”
“I can sit with you and everything?” she asked.
“Sure. But I bet you’re gonna make new friends so fast that you’ll be sitting with them instead of me.”
She giggled and took another bite. “Mama, this hamburger stuff is good,” she said.
“Yes, Mama, everything is good. Thank you for making it for us,” Charlie said.