CHAPTER 59
T
IME MOVED ON FOR RUBY AND OTHELLA. OTHELLA’S NEXT
lover arrived less than two months after she’d given birth to her eighth child. When she didn’t get pregnant by him during the three months that he courted her, she decided that her baby-making equipment had finally shut down and not a minute, or a baby, too soon.
Ruby purposely got involved with a man who had fathered twenty children with three different women. “If
his
sap ain’t strong enough to make me a girl baby, I’m goin’ to throw in the towel and get me a girl puppy,” Ruby said to herself two days after her son’s eleventh birthday. She was joking, of course. Because by now Ruby was convinced that she would never have another child.
Ruby, Othella, all of their children, and Bo, the man Ruby was involved with at the time, celebrated Ruby’s birthday that May in Ruby’s backyard. Bo and the two oldest boys, Virgil and Clyde, had built a picnic table where they all sat munching on spicy ribs that Bo, who was from Jamaica, had cooked using his mama’s special recipe. It was May 21.
“This is de best cookout I’ve attended since I left de island,” Bo said, giving Ruby a loving look. Ruby thought that he was too good looking for his own good, with his naturally curly red hair and dimples. Which meant he wouldn’t be with her too much longer. Men who looked like him, who approached women who looked like her, were usually after the same basic things: convenient sex, a few home-cooked meals, a “few dollars till I get on my feet” that they never paid back, and a place to sleep until they found one better.
“You should have seen what all we had last year at Mama’s birthday cookout,” said Othella’s son Clyde. He was lucky that he had inherited her good looks and build, and not his beastly, short-legged father’s—who hadn’t been seen or heard from in years now.
“Oh? When was that?” Bo asked, smacking on a roll, looking around the table at each face. He didn’t like kids, and that was the only reason he’d approached Ruby instead of Othella at the juke joint the night they’d met. He could deal with the one that Ruby had, but not the mob that Othella had produced. “I hope I’m able to attend it this year. When is your birthday?” he said, looking at Othella.
She didn’t have a chance to answer. Ruby did it for her. “Fourth of July,” she said in a strong voice.
“Ow wow wow! On de holiday! We’ll have a double celebration! And oh, what a happy day it will be!” Bo sang.
Like so many others before him, his lip service was just that—lip service. Bo had gone on his merry way by the time July rolled around, and it was just as well. Even though it was Othella’s milestone birthday, and she wanted to mark the occasion, Ruby came down with a devastating summer cold and had to remain in bed for a week and a half. The very next day after she recovered, Othella took to her bed with the same symptoms. Then the kids took turns getting sick with one childhood malady after another.
By September, they had all forgotten about celebrating Othella’s thirtieth birthday. For once, Ruby was glad. Each year she dreaded that day in July. And even though the tragedy that had made it such an undesirable date in her life had occurred fifteen years ago, it still caused her a tremendous amount of pain. By now, she knew that it would be painful until the day she died, or until the day she got her baby girl back. . . .
A few weeks later, Othella got sick again at Ruby’s house. This time it was nausea, a migraine headache, and dizziness. She reluctantly broke the news to Ruby that she suspected she was pregnant again. That information didn’t even faze Ruby. As a matter of fact, she even made a joke about it.
“If this one is a girl, I just might run off with it.” She laughed, rubbing Othella’s belly.
Ruby said the same thing a few months later when Othella went into labor as they sat drinking beer in Ruby’s kitchen.
“You might steal my baby and run off? Ha! You done said that so many times! But I know you better than that. Mama Ruby, you ain’t the kind of woman that would steal another woman’s baby.”
Ruby stared at her kitchen wall as if in a trance. She took her time speaking again. “Let’s have a cookout in my backyard to celebrate this new baby. I got that record by that new singer we seen on
The Steve Allen Show
the other week. That Elvis Presley. Remember him?”
Othella nodded vigorously and squealed like a teenager. “Oh yeah! He plays a mean guitar, and he ain’t a bad singer for a white boy. A cookout is a good plan. I should be up and about, day after tomorrow, if it comes tonight like I have a feelin’ it will.” Othella got quiet as she drew imaginary circles with her finger on the top of Ruby’s kitchen table. “Would you do that to me?” Othella asked, snapping her fingers to get Ruby’s attention.
“A cookout? I’ve done it with all them other babies you had. What makes you think I wouldn’t do it for this new one that’s fixin’ to come in a few hours?” Ruby replied, turning slowly to face Othella.
“I didn’t mean that. I meant, what you said about stealin’ my baby.”
“Oh. Would I steal your baby?” Ruby laughed. She didn’t answer Othella’s peculiar question because at this point, she didn’t know if she was the kind of woman who’d steal another woman’s baby. She stopped laughing and snapped her fingers because she suddenly remembered something. “Oh, before I forget . . .” She stopped talking, removed a folded envelope out of her bra and handed it to Othella. “The mailman put it in my box by mistake. It’s from your mama.”
“More upsettin’ news, no doubt,” Othella sighed, stuffing the envelope into her bra. “I wonder who died this week, or what new affliction my mama done contracted.”
Othella’s letters from home usually contained depressing news, especially the last few years. But not that long ago, Simone used to send letters that contained lots of uplifting information. She had reported that none of Othella’s three younger sisters had resorted to prostitution or a reckless lifestyle on any level. All three had graduated from high school. The two older girls had married truck drivers, and the other girl was engaged to marry a politician’s chauffeur. Othella’s brothers had also done quite well, considering the fact that they’d been raised by a prostitute. Two of her three brothers had finished high school, and all three had served in the military. They had all eventually secured respectable jobs. Every single one of her siblings occasionally attended Ruby’s father’s church, something they had never done as children. And every single one of them had children of their own. Othella smiled just thinking about all the good things that had happened to her family. But she still was in no hurry to read her mother’s letter.
“You ought to read Simone’s letter now, in case there’s somethin’ important in it,” Ruby suggested, popping the top off another bottle of beer with the teeth of a bent fork.
Othella shook her head. “I’ll read it when I go home. No, I’ll wait and read it after I have the baby. I know it’s goin’ to be somethin’ gloomy, so I ain’t in no rush.”
“When you write your mama back, tell her I said hi, and tell her to tell my folks I’m doin’ real good,” Ruby said, taking a long drink.
It was the one letter that Othella should have opened right away. Had she done so, it would have made all of the difference in the world to her, and to Ruby.
Simone wrote:
Dear Daughter,
My health is still as bad as it was like I mentioned in my last letter. If I live to see Christmas this year, I will be surprised. In case I don’t, I need to tell you something because it’s too heavy a burden for me to carry with me to my grave.
For years, you been trying to get me to tell you where Ruby’s baby was left off at. Now that the end is near for me, I realize that it was wrong for one mother to deny another woman her motherly rights. Last Friday, I managed to crawl out of my sick bed and drive to Bolton Road in Manchester. That’s where St. Augustine, that asylum home for the displaced and mentally challenged individuals, is located. I did a lot of checking around and it took me all day to get the information I needed. The folks who was in charge when I dropped off Ruby’s baby are no longer there. The folks who are in charge now didn’t want to reveal much information to me about Ruby’s baby. But I didn’t let up. Finally, one of the nicer nuns told me if I went up to the folks in the new wing office they added not too long ago, somebody there might be able to help me. The nun in that office told me that a lot of the original records was destroyed in a tornado some years ago. She told me to talk to her young assistant and she might be able to help me sift through what was left of the records and whatnot. That girl was off somewhere on a mission helping some other nuns feed the poor so I had to go back the next day. I went straight to the office where they told me the girl who might be able to help me worked. When I walked into that office and seen that girl’s face I knew who she was. She was Ruby’s child, all grown up. Oh! She is a beautiful and smart young woman!
But that’s not all. Lord help me! She IS my boy Ike’s child, which makes her your niece. There is no doubt whatsoever about that now. She looks enough like him to be his twin, all the way down to that same cat’s paw footprint mess of freckles on her face like Ike! It was her! I busted out crying and by the time I got the whole story out to her, she was crying, too. We hugged and hugged and hugged, me and my granddaughter. To make a long story short, she wants to meet her mama Ruby as soon as possible on account of she’s about to get married soon and she wants to get to know some of her blood kin. Now I didn’t tell Ike nothing yet. Maxine, that heifer he married, and them nine kids they got, is enough for him to deal with right now. I will not make another move until I hear from Ruby. Show her this letter and we’ll go from there. Ruby’s sweet daughter understands why I did what I did that night and why I thought it was wise to keep this information from Ruby’s folks. But once Ruby gets involved, she can decide what she wants to do about telling her daddy and mama they have another grandchild. This just goes to show that God is good.
By the way, Ruby’s girl was named after the nun whose arms I placed her in the night I dropped her off. That nun’s name was Sister Maureen and Maureen is Ruby’s daughter’s name. See, God is good!
Love,
Mother
“Mama Ruby, don’t you think it’s time you wrote a letter to your folks? Or maybe even go visit with them? It’s been so many years, and I am sure they’d love to meet Virgil and see you all growed up and settled,” Othella said, patting her bosom where she had stuck the envelope that contained her mother’s letter. “I know even without readin’ Mama’s letter that she’s goin’ to tell me to tell you to write home.”
“I will. Let me know when you answer your mama’s letter and I’ll slide a note into the same envelope with yours. Simone can give it to my daddy next time she see him.”
Othella looked toward the window with a heavy sigh on her lips. “The welfare woman said that after I have this baby, they’ll increase my check. But I’m goin’ to go back to work in the fields, too, and get paid under the table. That way I can have a little more money each month.”
“And you know you can always count on me when I get a few extra dollars, Othella. Which is more than I can say for that deadbeat ex of yours,” Ruby snickered, glad that the conversation had taken a slight detour. “That extra money you make workin’ in the fields will be a big help to you, praise the Lord.”
“Sure enough. And I can finally buy me a set of them fake foam titties,” Othella said.
Othella would never purchase a pair of those fake foam titties. There would be no letter from Ruby to her family. There would be no cookout and no listening to that new singer Elvis Presley’s record to celebrate the birth of Othella’s latest child. There would soon be no relationship between Ruby and Othella after today.
In less than forty-eight hours, Othella would give birth to her last child and Ruby would finally carry out her threat to kidnap it to make up for the baby she lost. Ironically, she would name that baby Maureen after the madam who had taken them in, the same name of her real daughter.
Discussion Questions
1.
Do you think that if Ruby’s overly religious parents hadn’t been so strict, she would not have been so promiscuous and eager to be part of Othella’s wild crowd?
2.
By hiding her pregnancy for the entire nine months, Ruby jeopardized her own health as well as her baby’s. Do you think she should have told at least one person she was pregnant in case she had some serious complications?
3.
Do you think that Ruby should have defied Simone and Othella and kept the baby that she gave birth to at Othella’s party? Do you think that it was wrong for Simone to turn the baby over to that asylum orphanage to keep her from being “shunned” by Ruby’s family and friends for being a “rapist’s” child?
4.
If Ruby had kept her baby, do you think her parents would have accepted her story about an escaped convict raping her, and him being the baby’s father?
5.
There were several hints along the way that Ruby’s Bible-thumping father, Reverend Upshaw, was a philanderer. Were you surprised when Ruby and Othella caught him in bed with Othella’s mother?
6.
Ruby used the knowledge of her father’s affair as leverage against him, so he eagerly allowed her to quit school and move from Shreveport to New Orleans with Othella. Do you think that Reverend Upshaw should have confessed his indiscretion to his wife, and not let Ruby blackmail him into letting her leave home?
7.
Once Ruby and Othella made it to New Orleans and couldn’t find a motel room, they got so desperate they trusted a stranger and agreed to spend the night in his residence. But when Glenn Boates tried to force Othella and Ruby into a sexual situation with him, he made it clear that he was not going to take no for an answer. Do you think Ruby’s retaliation, castrating Glenn with her switchblade, was too severe. If so, what do you think she should have done to stop him from assaulting her and Othella?
8.
After Ruby and Othella escaped from Glenn Boates, things went from bad to worse for them. Their only choices were to go back home, live on the streets of New Orleans, or work in Miss Maureen’s brothel. Do you think that they should have returned to their parents’ homes?
9.
During the time period that this story is set in, it was unacceptable for a black person to “sass” a white person, let alone assault one. Were you glad that Ruby didn’t let that stop her from standing up for herself when she had to deal with hostile whites? Do you think she went too far when she beat up the man who had attacked her and Miss Maureen?
10.
Once Othella and Ruby were kicked out of the brothel, they joined a carnival and moved to Florida, and eventually found husbands. Their plan was to forget about their sordid pasts as prostitutes and live wholesome lives. Othella’s husband, Eugene, did not treat her well. But Ruby’s husband, Roy, treated her like a queen, until she caught him with another woman. Instead of trying to reason with Ruby when she confronted him, Roy viciously attacked her with his fists—even though she was eight months pregnant. Did Ruby overreact by shooting him with the same gun that he made her carry for protection?
11.
During her pregnancy, Ruby had convinced herself that her baby was going to be a girl. She gave birth shortly after she killed her husband. Even though it turned out to be a boy, that didn’t stop her from treating her son, Virgil, like a girl. She dressed him in girl clothes, and styled his long hair in girly ponytails and braids. But the boy was too strong-willed to let his mother’s bizarre behavior affect him. He eventually turned into a very “masculine” little boy anyway. Do you think that if Virgil had continued to allow himself to be raised as a girl, Ruby would not have kidnapped Othella’s last baby?
12.
On the day that Othella went into labor at Ruby’s house, Ruby gave Othella a letter from her mother that had been put in Ruby’s mailbox by mistake. This letter contained some crucial information that would have made a huge difference in Ruby’s and Othella’s lives. Unfortunately, Othella delayed reading that letter, and she would regret it for the rest of her life. Did the information in the letter surprise you?
13.
In her letter, Simone explained that she had contacted Ruby’s now grown daughter and told her everything regarding her birth, and the girl was anxious to meet her biological mother. Had Othella read the letter in time, Ruby would have known everything she wanted to know about the baby girl that she’d let Simone turn over to the asylum. If Ruby had received that information in time, she could have reunited with her daughter. But because of Ruby’s violent history, volatile personality, and peculiar habits, do you think that Ruby’s daughter was better off
not
having Ruby in her life?
14.
If you have already read
The Upper Room
(the sequel to this book) and know exactly what Ruby eventually did with Othella’s last baby (and to Othella when she tracked Ruby down twenty-five years later and confronted her), does the
reason
for the obsession that Ruby had to have a daughter of her own make you feel some sympathy for her?