Seasons of Her Life Page 9

“The Ambassador Hotel at Fourteenth and K. Have you ever been there?”

  Ruby thought it a stupid question, but she shook her head. “Have you?”

  “No, but I’ve heard a lot about it.”

  “Who’s going to be there? Is it a big party?”

  Andrew shrugged. “I guess we’ll have to wait till we get there.”

  The lobby of the Ambassador hotel was beautifully decorated. Nola would say it was smart and tastefully furnished. She liked the seascapes and all the brass which was polished to a high sheen. The carpet felt as plush as feathers and cotton. She felt grand, elegant, walking with Andrew. Several couples turned to look at them, their gazes approving, but then, who could not look approvingly at Andrew, who was as handsome as sin. If she were in love with him, this would be so exciting, but since she wasn’t, it was just a wonderful experience to cross the lobby and ride the elevator to the party.

  But the moment Ruby saw Andrew fit the key into the lock, she knew he’d bamboozled her. There was no party. He had rented a room. Her eyes were furious as she blocked the doorway. So that’s why people were watching her in the lobby. They knew. Why else would a serviceman be at this hotel? “Damn you, Andrew!” she exploded.

  “Wait a minute, Ruby, I know what you think, and you’re right, but only to a point. Yes, I had ulterior motives, and yes, I lied to you. I’m sorry. This is all paid for, so we might as well sit for a while and ... talk. I know you’re mad, but I’m mad, too. You’re stringing me along and going out with that ... that bird from the air force. That’s not very nice,” Andrew said.

  Ruby was stunned. “I suppose next you’re going to tell me you followed me.” At his sheepish look, Ruby exploded a second time. “What a dirty, mean, sneaky thing to do. And here I thought you were so self-assured. You’re just a stooge and I want to leave. Now!”

  “Ruby, wait, let me explain!”

  “You can tell me in the elevator or outside, but not in this room. Don’t you get it, Andrew?”

  “I was just trying to one-up the pineapple.”

  “That’s it! That’s it!” Ruby screeched.

  “For God’s sake, lower your voice before they send up the house dick,” Andrew ordered as he tried to muffle her screeches with his hand.

  Ruby lashed out, driving her elbow into Andrew’s stomach with all the force she could summon. She stomped on his foot twice before she spun away from him, her eyes furiously sparking. “Don’t you ever lay a hand on me again. I’m going downstairs and ... and reporting you to the desk manager, and when I’m done doing that, I’m going to call your C.O. and tell him how you got me here under false pretenses.”

  “Jesus Christ! Will you listen to me! I’m not going to do anything to you. You sound like a male cat the way you’re wailing and carrying on. I never forced myself on a girl before, and I’m not about to start now.” He made a mistake then by reaching for her arm. Ruby clenched her fist and hauled off and socked him in the nose, dead center. Blood spurted in every direction.

  “That’s for thinking I’m easy. You, Andrew, are a cur!” she said dramatically, and she sailed through the door.

  Andrew Blue had made a bet with the guys at the barracks that today would be the day he nailed Ruby Connors, but now he cursed himself for going through with it. He had made an obsession of her, of the challenge she represented to him. No girl had ever turned him down before. And when he had followed her two Sundays ago, and he had seen her with that pineapple from the air force, he had told himself that this little hayseed from Pennsylvania was using him, Andrew Blue, to cover for her with her sister. He wasn’t going to lose out to some flip with a little dick and no balls. That’s when he’d become so enraged that he made the bet and marked the calendar.

  Now he was sorry. He was sorry because when he’d told her she was nice and that he liked her, he had realized he was telling the truth. He did like her. She was real, genuine, honest. But his pride wouldn’t allow him to lose the bet. He shook his head. Not only had he lost the bet, he’d probably lost her as well.

  He wanted to run after her, to apologize, but he had to see to his nose before he ruined the fancy gold-threaded bedspread, not to mention his uniform. “Son of a bitch!” he snarled as he ran cold water on a snowy washcloth. Now what in the goddamn hell was he supposed to do? Sleep, of course, that’s what most people did in a hotel. As he drifted into sleep, he wondered if he was falling in love with the smalltown hayseed named Ruby Connors.

  Outside in the crisp afternoon air Ruby drew deep, gulping breaths as she walked to the nearest phone booth. She dropped in her dime and called Calvin, crossing her fingers that he was in his quarters. When she heard his voice, a sob caught in her throat. “I’m downtown. Can you meet me at the corner of Fourteenth and K?”

  The catch in her voice alarmed Calvin. “Don’t stand on the corner, look for a coffee shop or something. I’ll be there in an hour. I’ll find you,” he said reassuringly.

  An hour and ten minutes later, Calvin roared, “He did what! Jesus, Ruby. Are you okay?” He put his arm tightly around her shoulders.

  “Sure,” she hiccoughed. “You should have seen the blood, Calvin. It was all over. What if I broke his nose?”

  “I don’t think you have to worry about that. Are you going to call his C.O.?” he asked with a frown.

  “Maybe. I should. What do you think?”

  “It will go on his record, and if nothing really happened, you don’t want to cause trouble.”

  “Calvin, whose side are you on?” Ruby hiccoughed again.

  “Yours, of course. It’s just that there’s a man’s entire career at stake here. Look, don’t mind me, I’m kind of blue today. No pun intended.”

  Ruby was immediately full of concern. “What’s wrong?” “I’m being transferred.”

  “Where? When?” Ruby demanded, suddenly frightened.

  “Two weeks. Beale Air Force Base in California. I had a choice. California or Ladd Field in Alaska.”

  “California! That’s ... that’s ... so far away. Oh, Calvin,” Ruby cried.

  Calvin felt like crying himself. “Let’s get married,” he said desperately.

  “Married!”

  “Hitched. Yeah. Come with me to California. Don’t you want to?”

  Ruby wiped her eyes. Married. Marriage meant babies and ... her father would have to sign a consent form, something she knew he would never do. “I’m underage, Calvin. My parents ... my sister . . .”

  “But you said they don’t know about me. If you just ... left, disappeared, leave a note behind so the police won’t look for you ... how could they find you? I can take care of you, Ruby. I’m going to be a general someday. We can live on the base. You could even work if you wanted to. For now we could get married by a justice of the peace, and when it’s safe, we can be married in church. Don’t you love me, Ruby?” he asked anxiously, his dark eyes full of concern.

  “Of course I do. It’s just that I never gave marriage much thought. I’m only eighteen and I haven’t done anything yet. My parents ... some way my father will find me. My God, he’ll kill me.”

  “He can’t do that if we’re married. I’ll take care of you, Ruby, I swear I will. Do you want to marry me? Just say yes or no. We’ll work on the rest later.”

  Did she? He was waiting for her answer, his eyes pleading. Suddenly her legs felt like straw, her arms as limp as a rag doll’s. The thought of Calvin going up against her father was a nightmare. If it were Andrew Blue squaring off against George Connors, she might have a chance, but not Calvin. The thought was so disloyal, she felt like crying. Poor Calvin.

  But the moment Calvin’s shoulders slumped and she read the rejection in his eyes, she answered, “Yes!”

  Calvin looked deliriously happy.

  With his arm around Ruby’s trembling shoulders they walked up one street and down another, talking and planning until they completely lost their bearings. They walked on, not caring. After what seemed like hours later, they entered Rock Cre
ek Park, Ruby’s favorite place in all of Washington. At dusk their final plans were made.

  “It’s simple, Ruby. If we make it too complicated, something will foul up. Simple, cut and dried, that’s how we do things in the military. Don’t do anything out of the ordinary to make your sister suspicious. Write home to your grandmother, but don’t say anything. I’ll get you a ticket for California. You’ll have to decide, though, if you want to go by train or fly. The trip will take almost a week on the train.”

  “Fly? In the air! Oh, Calvin, I’ve never been on a plane. I just know I’ll get sick. Do you have that much money? Where will I stay?”

  “I have enough money, and I’ll find a boardinghouse or a Y, something. Just trust me, Ruby. Please.”

  “I do, Calvin ... this is so sudden . . . my job ... what if I ever need a reference? How can I leave Admiral Query in the lurch?”

  “Okay, okay. Give your notice. The admiral isn’t going to call your family. You’ll be safe on that score. All your expenses are covered at the apartment until the first of October, right?” Ruby nodded. “Good, then it’s their problem, not yours. Are you sure you can handle all of this, Ruby?”

  “Yes. I’ve done pretty good so far with Andrew and you. I ... I can do it, Calvin,” Ruby said nervously. Married? Oh, God!

  “I think it will be best if you come to California a week after I leave. I’ll need at least a week to scout out the area and get a place for you. I ... I might have a problem with my C.O. and chaplin, but there’s this guy in my outfit who ... well, what he did was he forged his girl’s parents’ names on the consent form. No one ever found out. He’s white, though, so I . . . there might be a problem, you have to be aware of that, Ruby.”

  Ruby bristled. “Calvin, I wish you wouldn’t keep referring to me and your buddies as white. It always sounds like you think you’re colored, and you’re not. You’re Asian.”

  “Dammit, Ruby, I’m different no matter how you say it.” He put his hand next to hers. “What color are you and what color am I?”

  Ruby giggled. “I’m off-white and you’re off-tan. Your skin is the color of honey or light coffee. Colored people are brown. You aren’t colored, Calvin.”

  “Okay, you win for now,” he said, sounding completely unconvinced. “We might not be able to get married right away with all the red tape. It might take a month or so. Is that okay?”

  Ruby nodded, although the worms were back in her stomach. “What about your family, Calvin? What are you going to tell them?”

  “After we get married, I’ll send them a picture of us. They’ll like you, and I know they’ll get used to the idea, but not right away. My mother is a sweet, kind lady and she only wants me to be happy. They’re very simple people, Ruby,” he said shyly.

  “I’ll love them, Calvin. I’ll write to them every week, the way I do my grandmother. Someday we’ll all get to meet one another. Your family, I mean. I don’t ever want you to meet my parents. That’s something you have to understand.”

  “Okay, it’s a deal. Do you think we missed anything?”

  Ruby wiggled her fingers in front of his nose. “No engagement ring.” Calvin’s face went blank. Ruby almost wept. “It isn’t important, I.have something better.” She told him about the czarina’s ring. “I want to wear it when we get married. We’ll tell everyone it’s my engagement ring, okay?”

  “If that’s what you want, Ruby, it’s okay with me. Someday, though, I’ll get you a real engagement ring. I promise.”

  “Are you going to wear a wedding band?” Ruby asked.

  “You’d damn well better believe I’m going to wear one. I was hoping you’d want me to wear one.”

  “You’re damn right. I don’t want one of those blond California girls trying to snatch you away from me.”

  “I love you, Ruby,” Calvin said in a shaky voice.

  Ruby’s voice was just as shaky when she uttered the same declaration, because she didn’t know if the words were true. Then, a second later, she was more certain of it than anything in her life. She loved Calvin Santos, heart and soul. Any doubts, any insecurities she had felt, disappeared in the warm evening air.

  Calvin seemed to sense the change in her. “You weren’t sure, were you, till just this minute?”

  “How did you know?”

  “I just knew. I guess you can say we’re on the same wavelength. It’s going to be perfect, Ruby, at least as perfect as I can make it.”

  “I’ll make it just as perfect for you, too, Calvin,” Ruby said happily.

  “Then nothing can possibly go wrong,” Calvin said.

  Ruby shivered in the dark night. Calvin was wrong, of course. Nothing was perfect. But she wasn’t going to think about that tonight. God, she could hardly wait to call Grace and tell her. And Nola would absolutely wet her pants at the news. Ruby laughed joyously, and Calvin kissed her. Then he promised her the world.

  The evening was so beautiful, star-spangled, Ruby thought as she walked from her accounting class at the Y to the trolley that would take her home to Mount Pleasant.

  Autumn here in Washington seemed different somehow from autumn in Pennsylvania. Here the air was thicker, the leaves changing earlier. She was wearing a sweater, a bargain Nola had found. She didn’t really need it this evening, but she liked to wear it cape-style over her shoulders. There were so many things she liked, things she would be giving up. Her fledgling independence for one thing, and the apartment, not to mention Nola and a few of her office friends. She liked Washington and wanted to be around to see the cherry blossoms in the spring. She wanted to continue her classes, too. She was doing so well, and she liked the instructor. In fact, she loved everything about her life. She adored Admiral Query and couldn’t wait to go to work in the morning. But she loved Calvin more. She would do anything for Calvin.

  She really did want to marry Calvin, she told herself. It was normal for her to be jittery and anxious. Nola said she had to go with her feelings. Ruby frowned as the trolley ground to a halt. She’d expected Nola to be delighted with her news, and she had been, to a point, but her eyes were clouded with worry. The worry, however, Ruby found out later wasn’t for her, but for herself. Nola was pregnant and Alex, her boyfriend, had left four weeks earlier, transferred to someplace in the Midwest.

  “I’m going back home, Ruby. If I’m lucky, my parents will take me in and help me. I’ll find some kind of job. I’ll clean houses and take in ironing if I have to.”

  “What about your career?” Ruby asked, dumbfounded.

  Nola snorted. “A pipe dream, Ruby. A baby is reality. I don’t have any choices. Maybe someday. Oh, hey, look, here’s the sketch I made of the dress for the Harvest Ball. Sorry you won’t be going. If you’re getting married, you might want to have a dress made some day for a special occasion. I took the liberty of signing it. Swear on ... on your grandmother that if you ever have the dress made it will be sky blue, brilliant and dazzling.”

  “Do you have enough money to get home?” Ruby asked.

  Nola shrugged.

  “I have twenty-some dollars. Call it a loan if you’re too proud to take it. Nola, what if ... what if your parents . . .”

  “My parents love me. They’ll be disappointed for a few months, but they love kids, and a brand-new baby ... well, my mother will just love it to death.”

  “Did you tell Alex? Does he know? How could he leave like that with you ... it’s his flesh and blood.”

  “He shipped out before I found out for certain. Anyway, Alex is a free spirit. He doesn’t want to be tied down to a wife and kid. I’m on my own, Ruby. I don’t want you worrying about me, you have enough on your mind as it is. I’m leaving on Saturday. Everything is packed. Oh, Ruby, I hate going home with my tail between my legs. I made such grand promises and now I can’t deliver.” Nola cried. “All my dreams down the drain.”

  Ruby hugged her. “Let’s spend Friday evening together, just you and me. I’ll cancel my date with Calvin, but on Saturday we’ll take you
to the bus station. I want to see you off. I probably won’t see you for a very long time.”

  “We’ll probably never see each other again,” Nola wailed.

  “Of course we will. You’re going to be rich and famous someday, so you can track me down. Just call the base locator and give Calvin’s name, rank, and service number. You’ll find me.”

  Nola scribbled her parents’ address on Ruby’s notebook. “Oh, Ruby, I am going to miss you so much. Let’s write, okay? And keep on writing. Friends tend to lose touch,” Nola said tearfully. “I don’t want that to happen.”

  “I won’t let that happen, Nola,” Ruby said vehemently.

  “Are you happy, Ruby?” Nola asked wistfully.

  “I love Calvin.” Ruby was surprised at the stubborn tone in her own voice. “The truth is, I’m scared. Nola, I’m giving up everything. I gave my notice to Admiral Query today, and I started to cry. He gave me his handkerchief and I kept right on blubbering. I ... I told him the truth and ... and he said I was too young to get married. His wife is taking me to lunch tumor-row to try to talk me out of it. I have to be polite and go. I lied and told my boss my parents were signing the consent forms. I had this feeling ... still have it ... that he might call them and ... God, he could say anything. I think it was a mistake to tell him, but I couldn’t leave him in the lurch. He’s been so good to me. I just feel it in my gut, Nola, he’s going to call them. He’s so upright and old-fashioned.”

  “Well, then tomorrow you’ll have to convince Mrs. Query that isn’t a good idea,” Nola said with a hint of impatience. “I’m sorry, but I’m real tired, Ruby. I’ve been on my feet all day, and my ankles are swollen. Let’s call it a day. I’ll meet you Friday after work and you can tell me what happened. Where?”

  “A dive, someplace where we can both enjoy it because I have this feeling ... what I mean is ... our lives are changing and we should really enjoy ourselves. How about McGyver’s on Sixteenth? We’ll get ourselves dolled up enough to look twenty-one. Maybe we’ll get served.”