“Let’s go for a walk,” Dixie said. “It’s so crisp and clear outside, it will do both of us a world of good. I’ve been feeling real pukey lately, and you look like you could use some color in your cheeks.”
Dixie went next door to get her coat.
“A baby,” she said to herself in hushed tones as soon as she was alone. “Andrew’s and my baby.”
She wondered if Andrew would be pleased or unhappy with the news. She admitted to herself that she didn’t know. When should she tell him? Tonight, or wait till she’d seen the base doctor? She made the decision to wait until she’d gotten the doctor’s confirmation.
They walked until there was color in Dixie’s cheeks and she complained she couldn’t go another step. Ruby looked around for a place to sit, but there was none. “Do you think you can make it back? You can lean on me. I’m sorry, Dixie, I didn’t realize we’d come this far.”
“It’s okay, I’ll make it, we just have to walk slow. I hate it when this pesky leg of mine gives out like this.”
“How’d it happen, Dixie?” Ruby asked bluntly.
Ruby could feel her friend stiffen. “It was the darnedest thing. I fell off the kitchen chair and fractured my hip. I guess you could call it a freak accident. I thought I just hurt it and didn’t go to the doctor right away, and when I did it was . . . well, this is the result. Don’t feel sorry for me, Ruby, I hate it when people pity me.”
Ruby managed to look properly horrified at the statement. “I wasn’t . . . I’m not. The only reason I said anything was it’s my fault we came so far and put you through the long walk back.” Fell off the chair, my foot, she thought. More like she was pushed off and denied medical treatment.
There was a hard little edge to Dixie’s voice when she said, “I hope we get to stay here for a while now that I have you for a friend.”
“Being pregnant at the same time will make us closer than ever. You have to teach me how to knit, Dixie. You’re so good at crocheting and all that stuff. We can make little sweaters, booties, and hats. Oh, Dixie, we’ll have such a good time. As long as you’re feeling well. How often do you get those migraine headaches?” Ruby blurted out.
Dixie blinked. “Ah ... well, it all depends on ... the weather mostly,” she said weakly. “Sometimes if I eat too many sweets one will ... hit me.” She was talking too fast and not meeting Ruby’s gaze. “Or, when I get my period . . . guess I won’t have to worry about that now.”
“No, I mean, do they come once a month, every six weeks, every three months? My old boss at the Pentagon used to get them every two weeks.”
Dixie cringed. “Why are you asking me all these questions? If you really need to know, I’d say . . . every six weeks or so.”
“Next time you get one, you let me know, and I won’t bang on your door or ring your phone off the hook,” Ruby said cheerfully. “That must drive you batty.”
“I didn’t mean to be sharp with you, Ruby, I’m just tired.”
“We’ll be home soon. I’ll make us a nice cup of tea, and we’ll both feel better. Boy, I wish I could afford a car.”
“Me, too. Things would be a lot easier.”
“Isn’t there anything to do around here to earn extra money?”
Dixie shook her head. “Even if there were, our husbands wouldn’t let us take a job. Hugo simply would not permit it. Officers’ wives don’t work, didn’t Andrew tell you that?”
Ruby shook her head. “I hate penny-pinching,” she said. “When I was on my own I did it, but it didn’t seem so bad somehow. Now I have to worry about Andrew and pretty soon a baby. I just thought there would be more money at the end of the month.”
“It’s a vicious circle, Ruby. The only way you get more money is if you move up in rank. But then you have to entertain more, dress better, buy better cuts of meat, so it goes that way. We chose this life, so we’re stuck with it.”
“Maybe, maybe not. I’m going to give this some thought. There has to be a way to make money that our husbands won’t object to. Even if they do, so what? Money in the bank and steak on the table has to count.”
“I can’t help you, Ruby. Hugo is adamant on my not working. Lord, we’re home. I can’t wait to sit down. I think my feet are frozen. Ruby, don’t stir up a hornet’s nest, okay?”
“Okay,” Ruby said agreeably. She had no intention of doing any such thing.
During the following days Ruby felt the effects of her pregnancy more and more. Her bouts with morning sickness, afternoon sickness, and evening sickness abated during the first week in February, to her relief, but her weight started to drop, and when she went to the base clinic she was stunned to see that she weighed only ninety-one pounds. She looked awful, tired and pale, with horrible half moons under her eyes that no amount of powder could erase. Andrew, while not alarmed, had commented more than once on what he called her scarecrow appearance. Dixie, on the other hand, positively glowed with good health. Her hair was thick and lustrous, and her eyes sparkled with happiness. She suffered no sickness of any kind and ate more than her husband. In the fourth month of her pregnancy she’d already gained eleven pounds; Ruby, approaching her third month, had lost seven. Dixie was so deliriously happy that Ruby found herself envying the lame girl.
Both girls walked out of the clinic, Dixie with a bottle of vitamins and Ruby with the doctor’s confirmation that she was pregnant. It was February 13, the day before Valentine’s Day.
“What are you wearing to the dance tomorrow?” Ruby asked as they walked along at a slow pace.
Dixie laughed. “Nothing fits. Monica gave me a maternity top that’s red and white, kind of in the spirit of the day, if you know what I mean. It seems kind of foolish to start wearing maternity clothes already. People will think I’m showing off my condition.” She giggled. “Oh, Ruby, I am going to love this baby so much. I’m going to rock it and sing to it and kiss and hug it as much as I can. I already love it,” she said, patting her stomach. “I asked Hugo if we could put the crib in our room, but he thinks the baby should have its own room, so I’m trying to get a picture in my mind of how I can fix up that little cubicle next to our room as a nursery. It’s not as big as the room you have, but then, this little fella will need only a crib and a small dresser. I’ve never been so happy. You feel that way, too, don’t you?”
“I guess so,” Ruby said listlessly. “Maybe if I weren’t so wrung out, I’d be as excited as you are.”
“You do look tired, Ruby. I think you should go home and put your feet up and relax a little. I’ll get you a cup of tea and some of the spiced cookies I made yesterday. Now that your stomach is settling down, you’re going to have to build your strength back up. A banana, too,” she said in a motherly tone.
“Okay. Tea and cookies and a banana. Sounds great.”
“A nap might not be such a bad idea, either,” Dixie said as she bustled about Ruby’s kitchen.
“Stop being so bossy,” Ruby grumbled. “Besides, I have to write a letter to Admiral and Mrs. Query. Did I tell you they’re coming to North Carolina ten days from now? They have a house in Chapel Hill, and Admiral Query knows General Frankel. They’re going to play golf and chess. We’re supposed to have dinner together. Here. Can you just picture that? General Frankel and his wife are coming, too. I tried to get out of it, but I couldn’t. I’m afraid to tell Andrew. I’ll have to serve a roast or a turkey or something. I think that’s what’s been making me so irritable and sick. I don’t have the right kind of dishes or a fancy tablecloth or anything like that. I know how terrible I look and I’m pregnant. It’s awful,” Ruby groaned.
Dixie placed the cup of tea on a little table next to Ruby’s chair. “Listen to me, Ruby. Both of those muckety-mucks were once exactly where Andrew is. Their wives were where you are. They won’t have forgotten that. The fact that they want to come here has to mean they haven’t forgotten. I bet anything they’re all looking forward to it, and if you want my advice, I wouldn’t worry about a roast or a turkey or anything
expensive like that. You serve them that mess that won you the best leftover prize. Wine is cheap enough, so that’s no problem. If you try to be something you’re not, they’ll see right through you. The admiral and his wife like you. You be yourself and nothing will go wrong. Trust me, Ruby. Now, while you’re resting, I’ll call around and see what I can find in the way of a tablecloth that isn’t patched and see if anyone has a matching set of dishes and glassware. Don’t worry about cleaning before they come. We’ll all pitch in. Everything is under control!” Dixie said gleefully.
By nightfall the word was over the entire base that the Blues were entertaining flag officers in their apartment. When the word filtered down to Andrew, he covered his shock well and raced to the nearest pay phone to call Ruby, who didn’t deny the story.
“Jesus Christ, Ruby, you could have told me!” Andrew blustered. “Where are we going to get the money to take them to dinner?”
“I’m cooking, Andrew. My brussels sprout casserole, the one that won the prize. I’ll even make garlic bread. Wine is all we have to buy. The admiral invited himself. He also invited the general. Do you know how to say no to a general? Well? I thought not. But don’t worry. The Querys are very nice people. It’s going to be fine,” Ruby said in a shaky voice.
“Yeah, just fine. Do you have any idea of what I’m in for here now that that story is out?” Andrew muttered.
“The bottom line, as you tell me all the time, Andrew, is they all wish they were standing in your shoes. If it will make you feel any better, tell them, and this is the truth, that the admiral and his wife are my friends. Of course, if you want to feather your own nest, say they’re friends of yours, too. I have to go now, Andrew. Mrs. Everly asked me to call her, and I’m late now. I’ll see you when you get home, okay?” Ruby could hear her husband muttering as she hung up the phone.
Ruby slept, her body finally relaxed. She was still sleeping when Andrew walked through the door at five-thirty. His first anxious thought when he saw Ruby was that something was wrong. Ruby never napped. She didn’t have time. It must be the business with the admiral and general coming to dinner. Now that he was over the shock, he felt rather proud that his wife had a flag officer for a friend. There was no way the dinner party could hurt him. If anything, it might help him.
Ruby woke when she heard the soft tinkle of silver and china in the kitchen. “Andrew, is that you?”
“It is, unless you’re secretly entertaining some other guy I don’t know about. I tried to be quiet.”
Ruby yawned. “I can’t believe I fell asleep. It’s just that I’ve ... Andrew, would you please come here? There’s something I have to tell you.”
“You mean there’s more?” he asked in mock horror.
“There’s more. I went to the doctor today. I’m pregnant. I hope you aren’t upset.”
Andrew dropped to his haunches. “A kid! Yours and mine! Jesus! A kid! That means I’ll be a father and you’ll be a mother. We’ll be goddamn parents. Holy shit!”
“Does that mean you aren’t upset?” Ruby laughed.
“Hell, yes. I mean, no, I’m not upset. We’re going to have to juggle and shift and economize, but we can do it. So that’s what’s been wrong with you. Are you okay? What did the doctor say?”
“He said I had to put on some weight but not to go over twenty pounds. I’ve lost seven or eight, so I can put on twenty-eight, I guess. I actually feel better than I have in weeks. He said he thinks the morning sickness is over. I hope so anyway.”
“Do you think it’ll be a boy?” Andrew asked boyishly.
“If it isn’t a girl, it’s gonna be a boy. There’s only two kinds.”
He was delighted, Ruby thought in relief. Thank God. Now all she had to do was work up her own enthusiasm.
“Are you happy, Ruby?”
“Of course I’m happy. Our very own little person. As soon as I start to feel really good, I’ll get into the swing of things. I believe there’s some sort of protocol for pregnant women.”
“Can I tell everyone tomorrow?”
“I’ll shake you out of your shoes if you don’t.” Ruby laughed.
“That means you’re going to have to take it easy. I’ll send a memo, through channels, to Mrs. Everly that you’re on hold for the next nine months. No one is going to expect you to do anything unless you absolutely want to, and that goes for me, too. C’mere, honey.”
Ruby slipped to the floor and snuggled into her husband’s arms. They talked, for hours, about everything and anything. They touched and kissed and whispered. They giggled and laughed like small children. They rolled about on the floor, tickling each other, calling out baby names with gusto. They didn’t make love, there was no need to. They were closer in spirit than they’d ever been.
When they were in bed, a long time later, curled together, she felt a lone tear roll out of the corner of her eye. She wiped it with the edge of the pillowslip. It had to be a tear of happiness.
It took exactly six days for Ruby’s appetite to improve, and then there was no stopping her. She ate everything in sight, and when she ran out of food she mooched from Dixie, who was only too happy to accommodate her. The other girls brought over plates of cookies, brownies, and dried fruits, as well as assorted candies and jars of pickles. Ruby ate it all. She was one pound short of her normal weight the day of her dinner party.
The Querys and Frankels were due to arrive at seven. Women crowded in, carrying pails, mops, and brooms. Ruby was reminded of her first day on Iwo Jima Circle. By noon, when the girls took their first break, the small apartment not only gleamed, it sparkled and smelled pleasantly of lemon polish and ever so faintly of pine oil.
“Right before your guests are due to arrive, put these orange peels and this cinnamon stick over the pilot light and the whole place will smell as if you’ve been in the kitchen for hours.” Sue grinned. “I saved the kids’ orange peels this morning.”
“Look what I came up with,” Monica said, coming through the door along with a furious gust of wind. She held a square, silver-plated chafing dish complete with a candle. “I,” she said proudly, “got this from Dolly Nevins, who got it from Sheila, who lives on Montezuma Drive, who got it at a swap meet. She said a retired colonel’s wife donated it before they mustered out. It’s absolutely perfect for your table, dead center after you remove the centerpiece. What do you think, Ruby?”
“It’s perfect.” Ruby beamed nervously. “I’m so jittery.”
“Ruby, you are the belle of the base. Everyone is talking about this dinner, and it goes without saying we’re all very, very jealous. It’s the coup of a lifetime. Tomorrow you’ll be famous. Hey, where’s Dixie?”
Ruby’s heart fluttered. Until this moment, with all the hectic preparations and cleaning she hadn’t noticed her friend’s absence. She looked around and saw the girls were all tactfully busying themselves. “I ... she probably . . . you know, those migraines. I guess they’re pretty terrible.” She busied herself filling the teakettle and managed to spill half the water over the waxed floor. Christine rushed to wipe it up, their eyes meeting miserably.
With a catch in her voice Monica whispered, “Oh, well, you’ll have a lot to talk about when . . . when she’s up and about.”
Ruby self-consciously turned the conversation to her own pregnancy and the way she was going to use the storeroom as a nursery.
By the end of the afternoon, the apartment was sparkling and a gorgeous table had been set with silver and china that belonged to some of the other women.
“You girls are something else,” Ruby said, feeling an attack of giddiness.
“You wait till it’s your turn,” Gertie called over her shoulder as she swept through the door, the other girls behind her. “Good luck, Ruby. Call us as soon as they leave, okay? Secondhand will be almost as good as being here. Remember everything, every word, every gesture. We all want to know how to behave if we ever get the chance to do this.”
“I won’t forget a thing,” Ruby prom
ised as she dipped and swirled the Crisco can in soapy water, Dixie’s contribution to the evening.
By five-thirty the ice bucket was full of ice, the casserole ready, and the oven lit. She’d already bathed so that Andrew could take his time shaving and dressing.
Ruby burst out laughing when her husband walked through the door. She’d never seen him in a dither, but he was in one now as he rushed about mumbling and fretting that he couldn’t see his face in his shiny shoes. Ruby rushed to dab a smear of Vaseline over the highly polished shoes.
“Now, where the hell did you learn that?” Andrew demanded.
“One of the girls.” Ruby giggled. “I keep telling you we have our own methods of keeping you guys on top.”
Andrew hopped into the kitchen on one foot. His face was so miserable that Ruby took pity on him when he confided he was nervous. “Sitting at our table with two flags. It blows my mind, Ruby. Are you really sure that . . . that mess you’re serving is good enough?”
“Will you relax, Andrew, you’re making me nervous. Do I look all right?”
“Beautiful. I mean that, honey. You look great. This past week or so you’ve really snapped back to your old self. Are you . . . should I mention that you’re pregnant?”
“I don’t think you’ll have to. They’ll know. The wives, I mean.”
“Ruby, how can you be so goddamn calm? I can’t even sit down till they get here, or the crease in my pants will come out.”
“No, it won’t,” Ruby said confidently, remembering they were fresh from the dry cleaner. “Trust me.”
“I did, and look who’s coming to dinner,” he bellowed.
Ruby laughed.
The Frankels arrived in a staff car minutes after the Querys. There were kisses and hugs, handshakes and booming laughter that could be heard two doors away.
Seasons of Her Life Page 25