Chapter 19

It was a little before eleven a.m. when Ruby entered the hospital. Her heart was racing, and there was a knot in the pit of her stomach. Seeing Peanut was an emotional trip, but she didn’t want to convey her anxiety to him. By the time she rode the elevator up to the critical care floor, she felt calmer.

“Good morning,” she said, as she passed by the nurses’ station.

Rhonda looked up and smiled. “Morning, Ruby. That turquoise looks good on you.”

“Thank you, Rhonda,” Ruby said, hoping the color would brighten Peanut’s day. It was why she’d worn it.

He was asleep again as she entered his room. It had been four days since the shooting, and while the remnants of her kidnapping were fading from her face, the bandage on the side of his head was an ugly reminder of what had happened.

Ruby put her purse on the window ledge and then leaned over and kissed his cheek.

His eyes opened.

“It’s just me, Ruby,” she said, and caressed his cheek.

He reached for her hand. “You came back,” he said.

“I promised I would.”

His eyelids dropped again, and then a few seconds later, they opened.

“You’re my girl?”

Ruby tried not to let it bother her that he was already uncertain again.

“Yes, sweetheart, I’m your girl.”

He looked at her hair, then her face, and then the sweater she was wearing. “So pretty.”

She smiled. “That’s what you keep telling me.”

“I do?” Peanut said.

His confusion was still bothering her, so she changed the subject.

“It’s a bit chilly outside today. I’ll be ready for warmer weather when it finally comes.”

He was watching the way the words came out of her mouth, how her lips shaped as she spoke, and how peaceful the look was in her eyes. Even though he didn’t remember her, she felt safe—like he knew he could trust her.

And then a pain shot through his head, moving from one temple to the other so fast and so sharp that it felt like he’d been stabbed.

“What’s wrong?” Ruby asked.

“Head. Pain,” he mumbled, then light flashed before his eyes, and in a panic, he tightened his fingers around hers. “Help mupple worp!”

Ruby’s heart skipped a beat. “Peanut?”

He groaned. “Pluralrolabout,” he mumbled, and then his hand suddenly went limp.

Alarms on his monitors began going off, and two nurses were already running toward his room as Ruby cried out, “Help! Help, somebody, help!”

She still had hold of his hand, afraid to let go for fear he’d go too far away to come back.

Rhonda glanced at the readouts as she checked his pulse, then looked at the other nurse. “His pulse is erratic, and his blood pressure is spiking. Get his doctor in here stat,” Rhonda said.

The other nurse ran for a phone.

Rhonda glanced back at Ruby. “What happened?”

“I don’t know! He was talking, then said his head hurt. After that, his words quit making any sense.”

Ruby heard a page go out all over the hospital as nurses swarmed Peanut’s room. She backed into a corner and didn’t move for fear they’d make her leave.

It felt like forever, but it was only a couple of minutes before a doctor raced into the room. He saw the readings, flashed a light in both of Peanut’s eyes, and then tried to get him to respond, but it was useless.

“I need a CT scan on his head, stat. I’m not sure what’s causing this, but my first guess would be that he’s thrown a clot. Get them on the phone, and let them know we’re coming down,” he said.

“Yes, sir,” Rhonda said, and headed for the nurses’ desk.

“What does that mean?” Ruby cried.

The doctor turned, startled that she was there. “We’ll know more after the CT scan,” he said.

When they wheeled Peanut out, Ruby started to follow.

“No, Ruby. I’m sorry, but you can’t go.” Rhonda took her by the arm and led her in the opposite direction. “You need to go to the waiting room. Someone will let you know what’s happening as soon as they get a prognosis,” she said.

Ruby staggered there on shaky legs, too scared to cry. Thirty minutes turned into an hour and counting before Rhonda came into the waiting room and sat down beside her.

“What’s wrong?” Ruby asked.

“There’s a blood clot in a part of the brain that controls speech. Doctor thinks it might have something to do with his memory loss as well. They’ve already taken him into surgery.”

“They’re going to operate? Oh my God! I thought they tried to dissolve blood clots.”

“It’s always the doctor’s call as to the urgency and need,” Rhonda said. “The doctor will come give you an update after surgery. Keep the faith, Ruby.”

Ruby felt like she was going to throw up. When one hour moved into the next without a word, she started to cry. She was still crying when her phone began to ring, and when she saw it was Lovey, she answered without thinking.

“Hello.”

Lovey Cooper frowned. “Are you crying? What happened?”

“Oh, Lovey, it’s Peanut. I came to visit him this morning. While I was here, a blood clot came loose and went to a part of his brain. He’s been in surgery for close to two hours.”

“Oh lord! Why didn’t you call me? I would have come to sit with you.”

“Because you can’t do anything for me or him except pray. Just pray for him, Lovey.”

Lovey hung up, then called their pastor and told him what was happening. The pastor started a prayer chain, and that’s how the people in Blessings found out Peanut Butterman’s life was still in danger.

Ruby clutched her phone as the room began to spin. She rolled over onto the sofa and closed her eyes, willing the vertigo to stop. She was still there when she heard footsteps. Someone was coming into the waiting room, but she couldn’t move. Then she felt a touch on her shoulder.

“It’s just me,” Lovey said, then scooted onto the sofa beside her.

“Oh, Lovey,” Ruby whispered. “This can’t be the end.”

* * *

More than five hours had passed since they took Peanut to surgery. Ruby had paced and prayed, gone through anger and guilt, and for the past hour she’d been standing at the window overlooking the parking lot of the ER, numb to everything around her.

Lovey suddenly called out, “Ruby!”

Ruby turned around as a different doctor in surgical scrubs entered the room. She couldn’t tell by the look on his face what he was going to say, and didn’t wait for him to speak.

“How is he?” she asked.

“I’m Dr. Rousch, the neurosurgeon who operated on Mr. Butterman. He came through surgery. For the time being, we have him in a medical coma. We’ll monitor his progress, and as he heals, we’ll slowly bring him out of it.”

“Thank God,” Ruby said. “Will he come back to critical care?”

“No. He’ll be in the ICU during this time with no visitors allowed.”

“I understand. Would it be against protocol if I called the ICU to check on him?”

“That would be fine. I’ll make sure to note on his orders that you are allowed to receive updates on his progress.”

Tears blurred Ruby’s vision. “Thank you. Is there anything else you can tell me? Barring problems, what would you say was a normal recovery time?”

Rousch hesitated. “There isn’t really a normal when it comes to head injuries. I won’t venture a guess.”

It wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but she understood. “One last thing… Thank you for saving his life.”

He smiled. “Go home and get some rest,” and then he was gone.

Ruby looked at Lovey, then shook her head in disbelief.

“Come home with me, honey,” Lovey said. “I don’t want you to spend the night by yourself.”

Ruby needed to be alone with this. “Thank you, but no. I have too much to do before work tomorrow.”

Lovey didn’t bother to hide her surprise. “You’re going to work tomorrow?”

Ruby shrugged. “I’ve been off a week. I can’t see Peanut. What good would it do to stay home alone and lose my mind?”

Lovey started crying. “This is breaking my heart.”

Ruby put her arms around her best friend’s neck and hugged her.

“You are the sister I never had,” Ruby said. “Thank you for caring.” Then she got her purse.

“I’ll walk out with you,” Lovey said.

They rode the elevator down in silence, then walked out into the parking lot, got into their respective cars, and drove away.

Ruby went into her house in a daze.

The wonderful aroma of pot roast filled the air, reminding her that the meat she’d put in the slow cooker early this morning was most likely done. She changed her clothes and went to the kitchen.

The roast was indeed done. She turned off the heat in the cooker without realizing she was crying until tears dropped onto the backs of her hands. Her world was crashing, and she had no way to stop it.

She dropped to her knees, rocked back on her heels, and screamed.

* * *

But while Ruby’s world was coming apart, the chaos of Alice Conroy’s was coming to an end. She’d called Jewel Easley at DHS the moment she got home. Jewel was both surprised and delighted that Alice Conroy was making a real effort to support her family.

“I guess you’ll have to cancel our assistance,” Alice said.

“Not cancel, but adjust it some. You’ll still qualify for SNAP because you have children, and we’ll see how the rest is affected when I enter the new data. However, huge congratulations on the new job.”

“Thank you for coming to our rescue,” Alice said.

“You are so welcome,” Jewel said. “You’ll get a letter with your card and information on what you do qualify for. You’ll still be able to qualify for Medicaid as well.”

“Oh, that is such a relief,” Alice said.

“Call me any time you have concerns,” Jewel said, and disconnected.

When the kids came home from school, they were full of excitement. Alice had milk and cookies waiting for them.

Delighted by the luxury of a snack, they began to talk, so Alice listened and rejoiced for them while saving her own news for when they were through sharing their day.

When Pitty-Pat accidentally dropped the last bite of her cookie, Booger bolted toward it and licked it off the floor before anyone could react. Pitty-Pat didn’t know whether to cry about losing her last bite or laugh at their dog, and when Charlie gave her his last bite instead, she popped it in her mouth and giggled.

“So, guess what I did today while you two were in school?” Alice said.

They both turned to stare.

She grinned. “I got a job. I start tomorrow.”

Charlie shuddered as the weight of the world fell off his shoulders. “Oh wow, Mama! That is amazing. What is the job? Where will you work?”

So she told them, ending up with the assurance that she would be off by five p.m. and home as fast as she could walk and would not be working weekends.

“Who’s gonna stay with us till you get home?” Pitty-Pat asked.

Charlie tweaked her nose, making her squeal.

“I will, you silly goof. I’m almost a man. I will take care of you.”

Pitty-Pat nodded, satisfied that the burden did not fall on her, and looked back at Alice. “What are we having for supper, Mama? I’m still hungry.”

“Beans and wieners. They’ll be done by the time you two go wash up.”

Charlie grinned. “We ate dessert first today.”

Alice laughed. “I guess we did.”

They ran out of the room to wash up, and Alice got up and turned the fire off under the pan and got out their three plates.

It had been a good day.

* * *

Melissa Dean’s first night in the sleigh bed was dreamless. She woke up to sunlight streaming through the curtains and then rolled over. Almost immediately, she remembered the call she’d gotten yesterday from the funeral home in Savannah, where Elmer’s body had been taken. They would be bringing his body to the Blessings cemetery this morning at ten a.m. to inter him.

She glanced at the clock. It was just after eight a.m. Time to get moving, because there was no way she would miss this. She got up, made her bed, and then jumped in the shower.

Thirty minutes later, she was on her way downstairs, dressed in dark slacks and a dark-green sweater as she headed for the kitchen.

Making her breakfast in Elmer’s kitchen felt like playing house, but it wouldn’t take long to put her own stamp on everything.

By the time she was finished and the kitchen cleaned, it was time to leave. She grabbed a coat and her purse as she headed out the door.

She stopped at the flower shop and bought a dozen daisies, then continued to the cemetery. She knew where Cora’s grave was located, and as she turned off the road and in through the gates, she could see three people already there. She parked closer, then got out with the flowers and started walking.

When she recognized the nieces from the reading of the will, she was a little uncertain how this would play out. To her surprise, they greeted her first.

“Hello, Melissa. I don’t know if you remember our names, but I’m Wilma, and that’s Loretta and Betsy. We had a lot to think about on our long drive home and want to thank you for taking care of Uncle Elmer as we should have. After such horrible neglect of our familial duties, coming to see him laid to rest is the last thing we can do for Mama. Come join us,” she said.

Melissa smiled. “Thank you. None of you know this, but I had just been fired from a job I’d had for nineteen years. I’m a widow and was scared to death of what was coming next for me when I got the call to show up for the reading. Elmer’s gift has been a godsend to me.”

The sisters gasped and then all began talking at once and hugging her.

“Mama always said everything happens for a reason,” Betsy said. “And this is proof. You needed this. We didn’t.”

“Thank you,” Melissa said, and then pointed toward the hearse coming toward them, followed by another car. “Here he comes. The last time I say goodbye to my old friend.”

They stood in silence, watching as men piled out of the car and then pulled the casket from the hearse and carried it to the gravesite.

One of the men stepped out of the group with a Bible, read the Twenty-Third Psalm, then said a prayer before speaking to the ladies present.

“It was Mr. Mathis’s request that his funeral be carried out in such a fashion. All he wanted was to lie down beside his Cora again, and now he’s with her for eternity. It has been my honor to know him. He was a kind and generous man. My sympathies for your loss,” he said.

They watched as the casket was lowered into the earth. Melissa stepped up, grabbed a handful of dirt, and tossed it onto the casket.

“Goodbye, my dear friend. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for how you blessed me. I brought flowers for Cora. Tell her I said hello.”

And then she stepped back and put the daisies against the headstone under Cora Mathis’s name, as the three sisters each moved to the grave and apologized for failing him, and then it was over.

“Safe travels home,” Melissa said, and then left the sisters at the gravesite.

They might have more they wanted to do, and if so, they needed the privacy to do it. As for her, this was the closing of one chapter of her life and the opening of another. She had one more thing to do, but she had to go home to do it.

As soon as Melissa got back, she got the rabbit’s foot key chain and removed the extra key.

“Well, Little Bunny Foo Foo, it’s time to put you to rest too. I can’t look at this without thinking of the rabbit that you were.”

She went out the back door, got a little trowel from the tool shed, and then turned to look at the backyard, trying to find the best place to bury the rabbit’s foot.

She started walking toward a corner of the yard, then stopped beside the huge lilac bushes that would be in full bloom come spring and knelt down. She dug a little hole between two bushes, well away from any lawn mowers or planting, and dropped in the rabbit’s foot, then covered it back up with the rich, dark earth from the hole.

“There now,” she said, firmly tamping down the dirt. “The last bit of Elmer’s past has been laid to rest.”

* * *

About sundown, Ruby sat down in the kitchen to eat, but the food was just a knot in her stomach. It didn’t take long for nausea to strike, and she threw up what she’d eaten.

Even her body was rebelling against her. Worn out in both body and spirit, she cleaned up the kitchen and went to bed, after setting her alarm for six a.m. and turning out the lights.

The house was quiet. She could hear the occasional sound of a car driving past, and thought about all the times she’d gone past people’s houses without one thought for what was going on inside them. Never once wondering if they were sick, or grieving, or in some kind of despair. It was strange how one person’s life could be crumbling around them, while the rest of the world moved on in a normal fashion.

Ruby closed her eyes, but all she saw was the panic on Peanut’s face when he was trying to tell her that something was wrong.

Finally, she threw back the covers, then got up and knelt by the side of the bed and bowed her head.

“I don’t know how to pray, Lord, because I don’t know what to ask for without sounding selfish, but I want my sweetheart back. Please, God, if You are listening, he means so much to everyone, but to no one more than me. My parents turned their back on me. My husband betrayed me…twice. Peanut was the first person in my whole life who made me feel loved. I am asking for Your grace, Lord. Please give him back to me.”

Then she crawled back into bed and cried herself to sleep.

* * *

The alarm went off at six a.m.

Ruby slapped at it until it stopped squawking, then swung her legs off the side of the bed and sat up.

“Morning, Lord. Today, please help me curb my tongue, ease the pain in my heart, and take good care of my man.”

Then she got up and headed for the shower.

It was time for her to face the life she’d been given.

* * *

Ruby came in the back door of the shop, put away her things, and called the hospital to check on Peanut’s welfare, but there was no change.

“Thank you for the information,” she said, and hung up.

Then she turned on all the lights in the shop, put the change back in the register, and unlocked the front door. She looked out her front windows as she had so many times before, taking a look at the little town she called home, then turned the CLOSED sign to OPEN and went to the back to make coffee. It was time to start the day.

About fifteen minutes later, the twins came in, talking to each other without waiting for an answer, which always made Ruby smile, and today the brief moment of laughter was welcome.

“Do you guys ever hear what the other one is saying?” she asked.

“Well, yes, but we already know the answer, so there’s no need to say it,” Vera said.

Vesta grinned. “We brought doughnuts.”

Ruby glanced at her appointment book. “I have time for one and for the coffee to go with it,” she said.

She didn’t really want it, but she couldn’t go all day on an empty stomach. Surely the doughnut and coffee would stay down, and they did.

Ruby sat in her styling chair, licking sugar off her fingers and listening to the chatter, which increased threefold as soon as Mabel Jean arrived.

“Ooh…doughnuts, yum. I skipped breakfast,” she said. “I have three manicures back to back this morning.”

“Who are they?” Vera asked.

“The triple threat…Betina, Molly, and Angel.”

Ruby rolled her eyes. “Don’t let them get started tearing someone’s reputation apart today. I’m not in the mood to hear it.”

Mabel Jean giggled. “If they get out of hand, they’re all yours,” she said.

Ruby gave her a thumbs-up.

There was a lull in conversation. Ruby saw them all glancing at her. She knew they wanted to ask, but didn’t want to upset her.

“He came through surgery. The doctor put him in a medical coma to heal. He’s in the ICU. No visitors, no flowers. I get updates from the nurses in the ICU when I call. Say prayers.”

The three of them nodded.

Ruby looked at their faces, these beloved women with whom she’d spent the better part of the last fifteen years.

“And I love you all dearly, but don’t make me cry.”

“We love you, too, and we won’t, we won’t,” they said.

Then the bell over the front door jingled.

Ruby got up and went to greet her first client of the day.

“Good morning, LilyAnn. Come on back. How’s that little guy of yours? I bet he’s growing.”

Ruby heard something about “three teeth and walking” and then tuned it out as she snapped a cape around LilyAnn’s neck and settled her into a chair at the shampoo station.

And so the day began.

When the trouble trio arrived for back-to-back manicures at nine a.m., Ruby was bidding LilyAnn goodbye and sending a hello to her husband, Mike.

“Good morning, ladies,” Ruby said. “Mabel Jean is ready. Who’s first?”

“I am, because I’m meeting my husband for lunch,” Angel said.

“I’m second, because I won the coin toss,” Betina said.

Molly rolled her eyes. “And I’m last because I lost.”

Ruby patted her on the arm. “Someone has to be. There are doughnuts by the coffee, if you want one. Help yourselves.”

The offer of food and drink settled the two who were waiting, as Mabel Jean began to work on Angel.

The day moved slowly for Ruby, and by the time Precious Peters came in at two p.m. for her permanent, Ruby was numb. Everyone asked about Peanut, mentioned her bruises, talked about the little scar on her lip, and then moved on to other news.

“Hello, Precious, ready to get curly?” Ruby asked.

Precious nodded.

“How curly are we going this time?” Ruby asked, as she caped Precious and sat her down at the shampoo station.

“Not as curly as last time. My Rudy hated it, even though it was one of my favorite looks.”

Ruby patted her shoulder and smiled. “Who’s wearing the hair, you or Rudy?”

Precious blinked. “Uh, well, that would be me.”

“How does Rudy wear his hair?” Ruby asked.

Precious frowned. “Well, you know…he looks like an old hippie. That ponytail of his is long, but he’s thinning on the sides and top.”

“Umm-hmmm,” Ruby said, as she squirted soap on Precious’s hair and started scrubbing. “How do you like that ponytail?”

Precious rolled her eyes. “Well, I guess I hate it. Long hair in the sink. Long hair in the tub.”

“Well, I’ll say,” Ruby muttered, and began rinsing.

Precious was silent for a few moments, as Ruby began the second soaping.

“You know what?”

“What?” Ruby asked.

“I don’t care what that Rudy says. It’s my hair. I’ll wear it any old way I please.”

“Really? Well, good for you, Precious. I like a woman who knows what she wants.”

Precious smirked, and then sighed and closed her eyes, unaware that Ruby Dye had already worked her brand of magic by reminding the woman in her chair that she had the right to be who she wanted to be, and look how she wanted to look.

It was just after three-thirty when Precious left. She was beaming when she walked out the door, her curls bouncing as she went.

Vesta came up behind Ruby and hugged her.

Ruby smiled. “What’s that for?” she asked.

“For reminding all of us that we are supposed to be sailing our own ships.”

Ruby hugged her back.

Vesta grinned. “What was that for?” she asked.

“For reminding me that we’re all in this life together.”

Then Mabel Jean yelled from the back, “There’s one more doughnut! Does anybody want it?”

“You eat it,” the others said in unison, and then they all burst out laughing.

Ruby was the last to leave. She locked the front door and turned the OPEN sign to CLOSED, then counted out the money for the night deposit. The last thing she did was call the hospital to check on Peanut. The phone rang twice before the call was picked up.

“ICU, this is Franny.”

“Franny, this is Ruby. Just checking on my Peanut before I go home.”

“Hi, honey. His vital signs are steady, and there have been no issues.”

“Thank you for the info, and thank you for taking care of him.”

“You are very welcome. It’s what we do,” Franny said.

Ruby hung up the phone, then grabbed her things and left, locking the door behind her.

She dropped off the night deposit at the bank drive-through, waited for the receipt, and then went home.

The silence of her little house was exactly what she needed. She changed out of her work clothes, then went to the kitchen, dug out some roast and vegetables from the refrigerator, and this time when she sat down to eat, the food stayed down.