We end up sitting around my coffee table, eating on our laps. I’ve lumped a bunch of throw pillows together and am sitting on those.
“I don’t know really where to start,” I say around a mouthful of crispy bread. “I mostly want you two to know how much I’ve appreciated working with you. I refuse to make this a good-bye, but I wanted to spend some time together and—”
“Eve…I think it’s us that should be thanking you,” Watts interrupts. “All the times you’ve spent trying to put my life on track. Giving out all that wisdom and advice…and bullshit too, of course. Then there’s me repeating the same stupid things with the same stupid men.”
“That’s so darn true. Why, all those times you slipped me extra cash to cover the rent!” Dorothy slugs back a big gulp of wine. “Lordy…I’ll never forget when you grabbed me and we went rushing over to Luther Hospital, nearly running into some old woman on a bike, then you parked on the lawn and hurried me into the emergency room.
“That was the time my little Billy had swallowed a bottle of allergy pills and had to have his stomach pumped. He’s always been far too clever at opening things. I remember I was putting in a perm and…Whatever happened to her?”
“I’ve never had the heart to tell you,” Watts says, “but Irma’s hair got fried all to hell! We had to cut most of it off.” Everyone looks at Dorothy. She bursts out laughing, practically throwing her wine in the air.
“Her hair was fuzz to begin with! Oh my, all this time and I could never figure why she’d always bring her own timer out when I put her under the heat!” A tear runs down Dorothy’s red face. We all laugh some more.
“What a team you three have been,” Ruby states. We look at each other. All four of us raise our glasses to meet in the middle of the now dish-laden coffee table.
“To the best group of hair-miracle-workers Eau Claire has ever seen and to three very dear friends,” I cheer. “To the future!”
“To four really fucking fantastic babes.” We all look at Dorothy, who never says the F-word, then laugh and laugh. Cackle is more like it.
Ruby pours more wine around. Later, everyone gets up to help tidy. Ruby is the washer, handing off clean, piping-hot, dripping dishes to Watts and Dorothy, who in turn give them to me to put away. We’re done in no time at all. The group reassembles in the living room, where all feet are up on the now spotless coffee table.
“What a wonderful time I’ve had. I’m stuffed clear to my brain and am I going to have a whopper of a headache in the morning.” Dorothy straightens her straight bangs. “Hey, hold on—Madeline Island! I have a cousin who lives in Bayfield. We talk all the time. The gossip is thick up there, seeing as it’s rather isolated, especially in the winters.”
“What kind of gossip?” I ask. “I mean Eau Claire’s pretty darn chatty, if you ask me.”
“Well, Lilly, that’s my cousin’s name, has been telling me about some creep—Al, I think is his name—who owns the Liquor Lounge on the island. It’s a bar,” she spits out “bar” like it’s a dirty word. “Apparently he’s his own best customer and Bonnie, the poor wife, has been in and out of the hospital with suspicious injuries. Word has it”—Dorothy leans way in and half-whispers—“he’s been in jail a few times, even.” She leans back with a “Top that one” look.
I’m thinking what gossips we are, but—that being said—I pull closer and ask, “Just how do you know all this?”
“Lilly has a lady friend that works in the gift shop at the medical center.”
“God, what is it with some women?” Watts offers. “I would never let a guy hit me; he’d be on his butt in seconds flat and I guarantee he’d never have children either!”
“Oh shoot, let’s get back to my up-and-coming headache,” Dorothy says. “Maybe one more little sip.”
“Leave it to Ruby,” I reply. “I don’t think there’s anything left. Hey! What the hell was that?” I say, hearing a loud pinging sound.
“Sounds like someone threw a rock at your balcony door,” Watts says.
“What the…?” I open the glass door so I can look down and yell at the jerk for pinging something at my door, but I’m met by a resounding…
“SURPRISE!!!”
There must be close to a hundred people crammed into my back alley, all looking up at me. I about pee my panties. The other three girls gather around me, and we all look down. Watts lifts her glass and leads the whole group in a “Hip-hip-hooray!” Over and over. Then there’s a huge wave of voices as everyone starts talking and yelling for me to come down. Music from somewhere blends into the fray.
Ruby puts her arm around me and yells into my ear, “I’m so proud of you, Eve Moss. Now get down there and enjoy yourself!” She gives me a squeeze.
Watts grabs my hand and down into the crazy crowd we go. I look up to see Ruby and Dorothy looking back with tears in their eyes, as are in mine, too. In this moment, I feel so darn lucky.
It was way into the early dawn before the bash-of-my-life broke up. I think I talked to every client I ever had in my chair. Had a bottomless glass of wine and far too many smokes. But the hugs, well wishes, promise of visits and all that love was amazing.
This morning, wrapped up tight in my furry yellow robe with several pairs of warm socks on my feet, I’m nursing my second mug of coffee. The sunshine is way too bright today. But any second now I’m going to fly into high-packing gear, as it’s time to box up my life and get things going.
“Did you have a nice time, Rocky?” I have him all snuggled in my lap. He’s purring like crazy. Looking around me, I realize how I’m not going to miss it as much as I thought after all. I slug down the rest of my java, root around for the phone and start down my list.
It’s almost three in the afternoon and Ruby and I have been at it here in my apartment for hours. We delivered tons of stuff to Goodwill, but I’m shocked by all the stuff I still have. We decided to hire a group of college kids to come over to Ruby’s place and haul away the heavy things. We want to have her house ready to put on the market by the end of the week.
“It’s hilarious—all the treasures we collect.” I shake my head. “We keep this crap, identify ourselves by it and on top of it, pay more money to have it insured—yikes!” I fold over the top of yet another box of stuff I could live without, maybe. “It seems a little lighter. Yet there’s still this mountain of boxes of all the stuff I can’t part with.” I follow the cord back to the phone and call Sammy’s. I order a large pizza with shrimp, pineapple and tons of cheese; it’s a favorite of ours—we’ve earned the fat grams.
“I want to donate as much as they’ll take of my lot, too.” Ruby pulls the coffee table closer and puts her feet up. “Good heavens, who knows what we’ll find in my attic, not to mention the basement. I only want a few treasures; the rest goes. Speaking of…I’ve got more clothes than a woman ought to, but parting with them, that’s going to be nearly impossible.”
“I really want to feel as though we’re starting fresh. Just think, no Target or Details to shop at, no Kerm’s Foods or—”
“What will we do? Oh my God, have we lost our minds?” Ruby sits up, then stands, tossing her head back, laughing her deep, huge laugh. I stare at her, waiting for her head to spin around. “Free! Oh my God, we’ll be free of all that crazy spending. Think of all the money we’ll save, all the time we’ll have to do other things. Like, take a walk along the lake or do some canning or plant a garden and really for once, smell the goddamned coffee.” She sits back down and I shake my head.
“So…you’ve finally come to your senses and lost your mind on the way, great. There’s the pizza…Clear a place—some place—and let’s chow.” I go to pay the kid standing outside my door.
“Hey Eve, heard you were moving north,” the handsome teenager says through braces. “Put your money away; this one’s on the house. Man—all the times you way overtipped me.” He hands me the biggest pizza box I’ve ever seen, leans over it and gives me a kiss on the cheek, turns and takes the st
airs two at a time.
He can’t be more than seventeen. Tall and as skinny as a bean with the most beautiful brown eyes. Why do men get the lashes that hang clear down to their cheeks? I stand there in the door for a beat or two before turning back to my box-filled living room.
“We haven’t any glasses…you gave away your dishes and where in heaven’s name are the forks?” Ruby asks.
“Ruby…pour some water into that vase and bring it over here, the hell with etiquette. Anyway, I refuse to eat pizza with a fork.” I plunk the box down on the coffee table. Opening it, I take a big, glorious whiff. Sammy’s Pizza, this I’ll miss.
There are a lot of things I’ll miss. I glance over at Ruby and sigh. She plops some ice cubes into the vase, inserts two straws and plunks it down. This is just a place and I’m the one that’s filled it with all the memories. To be honest, it’s so full of them there’s little room for me anymore. I reach under the cushion, pull out the book that’s been poking me in the rear and toss it into a box. That comes with.
We lunge at the pizza, slurp big gulps out of the vase and end up stuffed, happy and pooped. Slumping back into my big old sofa, feet up, tummies full, both of us fall deliciously asleep.
We’re down in Ruby’s cramped basement. I have a mink stole wrapped around my neck and a huge broad-brimmed purple hat on my head. Looks great with my bib overalls and red Keds. We’ve been trying on ancient clothes, coats, gloves, hats, you name it and she’s got one in every color. All morning we’ve been lugging boxes upstairs and stacking them in the garage to be hauled somewhere.
Ruby’s wearing a pillbox hat with a long ostrich feather curving from the side, the netting pulled down over her face. We “yea” or “nay” to this frock or that scarf; a lot of these gems of yester-fashion we’ve decided to take with. You never know when you may need a snakeskin bag, rhinestone heels, or full-length vinyl coat—in bright orange, no less.
“We have to keep some of these dresses and the hats, not to mention all these great old jazz records you have. My God woman, have you never had a garage sale?” I ask, pulling on long, silky gloves.
“Oh, I’d lug a few things over to the neighbors when they had a sale, but no…never had one myself,” Ruby says. “I think some of this should go to the Chippewa Valley Museum. I’d say we’re about done here…then to the attic. When do we pick up the moving truck?”
“Three. The college kids said they’d help us load it. We need to make sure that Howard and Johnny can help us on the other end, though. We’re pretty much done down here. Let’s hit the attic!”
We take off our hats and gloves, tossing them into a boxy old suitcase. The top falls with a heavy clunk. We go up to the attic.
“There’s really not too much up here. That’s a relief.” I part a sheet of spider webs. We head over to a dark corner where a huge steamer trunk stands. I try to open the damn thing, but it’s stuck.
“Here, let me help you with that.” Ruby comes over to my side. “I think it’s latched in the middle. Of course—there.” She unsnaps a rusty hasp. We each take a side and pull. It opens like a book sitting on its spine.
“How cool is this.” I riffle around inside. “All these funny narrow drawers. One half is crammed full of clothes, looks mostly like suits. What’s that smell?”
“Mothballs, mildew, mustiness…take your pick,” Ruby replies. “This was Ed’s grandfather’s, I believe. He had a trucking business and traveled all over the states when he was a young man.”
“One of the drawers is locked, or stuck, or—oh, there, got it. That’s odd, this looks kind of new. Here, you open it.” I hand Ruby a leather notebook that’s zippered shut.
I keep on with my searching; I’m very nosy. Opening drawers and snooping is something I’ve always loved. Ruby goes and stands next to one of the attic windows, unzipping.
“Well, I’ll be damned.” She turns pages and tsk-tsks as some loose papers flutter to the floor followed by the clatter of a key.
“What is it?” I ask, bending down to pick up the papers as well as the key. I peer over her shoulder.
“It’s a journal of Ed’s when he was stationed over in Germany during the war. My my…I wonder if he put it here for me to find. How peculiar. He could have tucked it into a drawer downstairs or something. Oh look—some pictures of me in here, oh for…” Ruby’s voice fades away in thought.
“You look beautiful. Was that here in Eau Claire?” I ask, looking at the pictures as she hands them to me.
“Yes…my engagement party. I still have that dress somewhere. Here…this is our wedding picture that was in the Leader-Telegram.”
“Ed was so dashing, my God. I forgot how tall he was and how short you are,” I say.
“He filled this whole book up.” Ruby pages through the notebook. “Look…it goes all the way to when he retired from the university. That little devil; I had no idea. You just never know someone all the way through.”
“I kind of like that. I think everyone has things and thoughts that are just theirs.”
“I don’t think I would ever want to know all of Ed’s thoughts. He was very deep, you know, yet so…tender, a darling.”
“These look like old receipts or something.” I try to read one of the loose papers. “The pencil writing is so faded, but the year is nineteen twenty-one…June thirteenth, and it’s about an order being sent out…thirty-two somethings. Signed G.P.”
“G.P. Hmm…” Ruby takes the paper from me and ponders it. “Of course. Gustave Prévost, Ed’s grandfather.”
“What a curious key and look at the design.” I hand it to Ruby.
“That’s peculiar—a toad.” Ruby rubs away some gunk and shows me. I’ll have to give this all a good going-over.” She zips the notebook slowly shut, then holds it close to her heart.
The house is full of college kids who are sorting, packing and hauling like crazy. The air crackles with good energy. Madonna is blasting “Holiday” on the stereo, keeping everyone moving. I’m rustling up some edibles for the crew to munch while Ruby chats up a storm on the phone.
Since she has one with the curly cord, it’s trailed over the kitchen counter and right on out the back door. I have to lift the damn thing every time I walk across the floor in search of this or that. I’m putting together a platter of cream cheese, lox, sliced onions and lettuce to put on your own bagel, while singing with Madonna. All the windows are open and a marvelous breeze is zipping around.
“Well, that’s that,” Ruby says, unwinding the cord from around my waist and hanging up the phone while adjusting her hair and closing the fridge door for me.
“Hmmm?” I ask.
“The house…it’s sold.” She admires my platter of tasteful eats.
“You have got to be kidding, it’s not even been shown yet, has it?”
“My amazing Realtor, Mister Gorgeous, at the Donnellan Agency. He knows a university professor who will take anything in this neighborhood. Didn’t even flinch at the price.”
“Hot damn woman, give me five.” We high five, then stand back, looking dazed. All four of our artfully shaped eyebrows are standing in “shocked mode.” “My God. This has been so…easy.”
“No kidding,” Ruby says.
A desperately skinny college dude with spiked blue hair and wearing the tightest T-shirt I’ve ever seen walks into the kitchen. He’s holding a stuffed deer head with an old necktie around its severed neck. “You want to donate this or—”
“Donate!” we say, then laugh.
CHAPTER NINE
Once again on the road, we’re headed north for the last time as residents of Eau Claire. We opted to pull my VW van behind the moving truck so we can sit together. Ruby’s house closing will be done through her attorney and Watts has started repainting what just a few days ago was my apartment. I made her promise not to paint anything black.
I’ve got on comfy clothes, imitation Ray Bans and, yes—a smoke between my lips. Rocky’s tucked into his basket all snuggled with a
mink stole. Ruby’s clad in leopard stretch pants. Her red shades match her lipstick. Of course.
“What are you staring at?” Ruby asks.
“I was just admiring your skin.” Ruby checks her lips in the visor mirror. Oh she’s got wrinkles, but when she smiles her face beams, defying time. I pull the visor down and look at my face. Bloodshot eyes peer back and I snap it back up.
“Thank you, darling,” Ruby replies. “I used to fuss more, then I saw a close-up of Katherine Hepburn and she was lovely. So I said—”
“What the hell!” I feel the same way. “You want to say a little something to properly send us off?”
She thinks for a second. “May the sun always shine, may the creek not rise too high, may the Lord protect us, may the furnace run, may the roof not leak, may the plumbing hold, may—”
“Jesus, Ruby,” I cut in. “How about ‘MADELINE ISLAND, HERE WE COME!’”
We raise our mugs of chocolate-laced coffee and tap them together over Rocky, who lifts his head. He looks at me—at Ruby—and then lets out the strangest meow. We laugh.
Why in the world we’ve left Eau Claire in such a flurry, I really don’t know. Maybe because we know in our hearts that life really, honestly does march by and by God, we have things to do!
We sail past the towns of Bloomer, New Auburn, Chetek, Cameron, and then, outside Rice Lake, it’s decided a little lunch is in order. I hang a right off 53 and head east to Pioneer Street in search of Norske Nook. Famous for their lefse, which they roll around anything, from cheeses to meats.
Lefse, by the way, are flat griddlecakes Norwegians are known for making, mostly around the Christmas season. Then there’s the pie. Blackberry cream cheese, cranberry apple, raspberry cheese and sour cream apple blueberry, just to name a few. Topped with half a pound of real whipped cream! Heaven.
We settle on two cups of the soup-of-the-day (vegetable noodle with chicken) and a slice of blueberry pie with two forks. Should do the trick.
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