Coming Apart (9780545356152) (18 page)

Ruby sat on the floor of her bedroom, counting her Valentines. “Twenty-seven,” she said aloud. “That's a nice haul.”

From her own bedroom, Flora called, “How many did you send?”

There was a slight pause. “Thirty-four.”

“Huh.”

“Well, twenty-seven is still a lot. How many did you get?”

“I didn't bother to count.”

“I'll bet you didn't need to count. You could just look at them spread out in front of you and say, ‘Oh, I got four.'”

Flora didn't respond.

“You know what my best Valentine's Day present was?” Ruby called.

“Your
best
one? How many did you get?” It was February 15
^th
, and the previous day had not included the giving of any gifts that Flora was aware of.

“Well, just one. Ms. Angelo called a few minutes before you got home this afternoon and said my probation will be over on March first if I keep up my good work. That's in just two weeks!”

“Yippee,” muttered Flora.

Min's reaction to the news was slightly different. When she returned from Needle and Thread that evening and heard about the phone call, she said, “Ruby, the change in you has been remarkable. You really are growing up. It's been weeks since I've had to remind you to do your chores.”

“You haven't had to remind me, either,” Flora pointed out as she finished setting the table in the kitchen.

“You never need reminding,” Min replied.

“You're practically perfect in every way,” added Ruby. “Just like Mary Poppins. I, on the other hand, am not. I mean, I'm not naturally perfect. I have to work at it. You're so lucky. Things come easily for you.”

“In any case, Ruby,” Min continued, “I'm very pleased with everything — your chores, your homework, the news about your probation.”

“We get progress reports in school tomorrow,” said Ruby. “I hope mine will show the results of all my efforts.”

“Luckily, you're modest,” said Flora.

“Luckily, you're jealous,” said Ruby.

“Girls,” said Min. “Please.”

 

Ruby's progress report was better than even she could have imagined. “I might almost make straight A's on my next report card!” she exclaimed at dinnertime as Min read her teacher's comments. “Flora, have you ever made straight A's?”

“Twice.”

“When was the last time?”

“Ruby, I don't know. Sixth grade, okay?”

“J-E-A-L-O-U-S,” sang Ruby. “Min, would you like more pasta?”

Min was shaking her head in disbelief. “Ruby, I'm mighty proud of you, honey. You've worked very hard. I think we ought to celebrate. We'll go out to dinner this weekend, the three of us and Rudy Pennington. How would you like to go to Fig Tree?”

“Really? We can go to Fig Tree?” squeaked Ruby.

“You're kidding? We're going to Fig Tree?” squeaked Flora.

Fig Tree was the most expensive restaurant in Camden Falls, and a reservation was made there for special occasions only.

Min glanced briefly at Flora and then said, “Yes. Fig Tree it is. Good work, Ruby.”

Ruby finished her supper with a smile on her face. “May I be excused?” she asked, and when Min said yes, Ruby carried her plate to the sink, rinsed it off, and stashed it in the dishwasher. “I have to do my math homework,” she announced, and disappeared upstairs.

Ruby sat at her desk with two worksheets before her. Twice she picked up her pencil and then put it down again. Her hand drifted to the bottom drawer of her desk. She glanced into the hallway. Empty. She listened for the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Nothing.

Silently, Ruby opened the drawer and found the envelope she'd stuffed into the back. It wasn't labeled, since she didn't want anyone to know what was in it — and it was very fat, since it was stuffed with bills. Ruby slid them out and counted them. She now had enough money so that she could go back to the fancy jewelry store and tell the haughty clerk that he could put the crystal owl on hold for her. She would be able to pay for it in just a few weeks. Pay for it
in full
. She had worked hard, and very soon she would be able to right her wrong.

“What's that?”

Ruby jumped at the sound of the voice, and the bills scattered across her desk. She scrambled to gather them into a pile. “Haven't you ever heard of knocking?” she exclaimed as she slid them back in the envelope.

“Your door was open,” Flora replied.

Ruby knew she'd been careless. What if Min had seen her? “Well, you still could have knocked.”

Flora ignored her. She sat on Ruby's bed. “I suppose that's the owl money?”

“Yup.” Ruby returned the envelope to the desk and shut the drawer firmly.

“So you're really going through with this?”

Ruby scowled at her sister. “How many times do we have to talk about it? Min's not going to be able to —” She glanced at her open door, crossed the room, closed it, and sat at her desk again. “Min's not going to be able to tell the owls apart,” she said quietly. “She'll never know anything happened, so she won't have to get upset. I'm just trying to spare her feelings.”

“Spare yourself, you mean.”

“Well, what do you want me to do?”

“Tell Min the truth!”

“I haven't lied to her! And if I do tell the truth …” Ruby paused and injected an impressive quaver into her voice. “If I t-tell her,” (sob) “it w-will just m-make her start reliving the a-accident and everything again.”

Flora shook her head. “Do you really believe what you're saying?”

“Look, if you think what I'm doing is so wrong, why don't
you
tell Min about the owl?”

“Because then I'd be a tattletale.”

“Yup.”

“And anyway,
you
should be the one to tell her.”

“Exactly. This is none of your business. You even said so yourself.”

“That's not the point and you know it. You did something wrong, and you know the correct way to fix the problem. But you're taking the easy way out.”

“The
easy
way out?! You think what I've been doing is easy?”

“I guess lying and fooling people
is
pretty hard.” Flora stood up. “I hope you enjoy your special dinner, Ruby. It's exactly what a liar and a cheater deserves.”

 

The dinner at Fig Tree took place on Saturday evening.

“Fancy dress,” Min announced when she returned from Needle and Thread that afternoon. “A chance to get all gussied up.”

“Um, do we actually have to wear dresses?” asked Ruby.

When Min said yes, Ruby didn't press the point.

Min, Flora, and Ruby in their best dresses, and Mr. Pennington in his best winter suit, arrived at Fig Tree at six-thirty and were shown to a round table near the fireplace.

“Isn't this festive?” said Min.

“And cozy,” added Mr. Pennington. “There's nothing cozier than a fire.”

“Dinner is on me,” announced Min, “and this is a celebration, so please order whatever you want.”

“Could I have a cocktail?” asked Ruby.

“You may have a Shirley Temple,” Min replied, peering at Ruby over her reading glasses. “You too, Flora.”

“I'll just have a seltzer, thank you,” said Flora.

The waiter took their drink orders and Ruby studied her menu. “Prime rib!” she exclaimed.

Flora kicked her under the table, then leaned over and whispered, “That's the most expensive thing on the menu.”

“Well, I never almost got straight A's before. And anyway, Min said to order what we want.”

When the drinks arrived, Ruby reached for her Shirley Temple, but before she could take a sip, Min held her glass aloft and said, “Just a moment. I would like to make a toast. To Ruby, for all her hard work and for demonstrating what a responsible and mature young lady she's becoming.”

Ruby looked across the table at her grandmother's beaming face and saw that her eyes were glistening with tears. She detected a quaver (a genuine one) in her voice.

“Um, thank you,” said Ruby.

“I know these last two years haven't been easy for either of you,” Min continued, “and I'm proud of both my girls. You've overcome a lot of obstacles. And Ruby, you've made some remarkable choices in the last few weeks. Good for you.”

Ruby took a swallow of her Shirley Temple then, but an uncomfortable feeling was creeping into her chest. Remarkable choices.
Had
her choices been remarkable? (She knew what Flora would say: remarkably bad.)
Had
she been responsible and mature? Ruby had thought so. The decision to replace the owl in secret had been made in order to spare Min's feelings.

Hadn't it?

The waiter returned to the table. “Are you ready to order?” he asked.

Min gestured to Ruby. “You go first. The dinner is in your honor.”

“I'll have the chicken,” said Ruby in a small voice.

 

“You were pretty quiet at dinner tonight,” Flora said later as she perched on the edge of Ruby's bed. “I think Min wondered what was wrong.”

Ruby said nothing. She couldn't forget Min's face as she'd made the toast.

“You're starting to feel guilty, aren't you?”

“No!”

Flora looked smug. “Yes, you are. And you should be.”

“I am not. Anyway, the new owl is already on hold for me. I went to the store yesterday. I told that mean guy that I want to buy the owl as a birthday present for my grandmother, and he agreed to hold it for me for a month.”

“So you told another lie!” cried Flora.

“I told
a
lie. And I haven't lied to Min.”

“Not telling her about the owl is like lying.”

“
Like
lying.
Like
lying. It isn't
actually
lying.”

“Girls? What's going on in there?” called Min from the hallway.

“Nothing,” Flora said, and flounced back to her room.

Ruby threw herself onto her bed and buried her head underneath the pillow.

“Everybody ready?” called Nikki's mother from the front door of the Shermans' house.

“Ready!” replied Nikki.

“Mae?” said Mrs. Sherman.

“Almost ready.” Mae struggled down the stairs, carrying a bulging backpack.

“What on earth is in there?” asked Nikki.

“Some books, a sandwich, a banana, my crayons —”

“Mae! Why are you bringing all that to Needle and Thread?”

“You said we were going to spend the day there. So I brought lunch and also some stuff to do in case I get bored.”

“But, Mae, we're going to be working on the quilt. And you're going to be a helper. There will be plenty to do. Plus, I think Min and Gigi will have food for us.”

Mae set her backpack down and eyed it longingly. “I made a bologna and peanut butter sandwich. My favorite. Can I at least bring that?”

Nikki wrinkled her nose. “If you must.”

Mae fished the sandwich out of the backpack and followed her mother and Nikki to the car. She strapped herself into the backseat, and as Mrs. Sherman turned the car around she said, “Did we see the back end of your husband?”

“What?” asked Mrs. Sherman.

“That day, before he took my doll, your old husband said you wanted to see the back end of him.
Did
we see his back end?”

“I'm pretty sure we did,” replied Mrs. Sherman. “Remember? We talked about that? I have custody of you, and you don't have to visit your father unless you want to.”

“Okay,” said Mae.

In the days since Mr. Sherman had left, Nikki's family had tried to resume their lives. Tobias had gone back to school and had worked out some arrangement for making up his missed classes and exams. Nikki had gleefully turned her father's cleared-out workshop into a shelter for the stray dogs. And Mrs. Sherman was setting aside a little money each week to replace Peppy and the dollhouse.