Wings

by Sandra R Neeley

  Ruby looked down at him. The way he held her had her rising just a little taller than he was. “And tomorrow?”

  “Tomorrow will take care of itself. We’ll see what it brings.”

  “And if all I want is tonight?”

  “I’ll give you all I’ve got tonight. And we’ll worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.”

  Ruby looked down into his eyes for only a second more. He rolled his hips against her, and she slowly lowered her head until her lips just almost touched his. “Give me more, then.”

  Ruby opened her eyes, squinting around the dimly sunlit room. Her body was sore in the best way, in all the right places. She rolled over and stretched out on the full size bed, stretching to her full length and making little snarling sounds while giving her muscles a chance to wake up.

  She sat up and looked around the room. True to his word, Jaime had loved her well, then left. Her eyes locked on a mound of torn wrappers on her table beside her ice chest. And empty vanilla frappe’ bottles. “Bastard!” she accused to the empty room. She threw back the sheet and went to inspect. Yep. Jaime had eaten all her pies and drunk all her vanilla frappes before he left. Ruby plunged her hand into the bag, feeling around. “Not one damn pie!” She raised her voice, not that anyone was there to hear her. “You could have left me one!” She lifted the edge of the ice-chest lid and peeked in. Nothing but bottled water. “Really? You ate my tamales! And not even one damned coffee? I needs my coffee, dude!” she whined hopelessly at the empty room.

  Grabbing a change of clothes, her brush and a towel she traveled with, she slipped her feet into her hiking boots and shuffled in them, untied to the back door of the diner and went straight into the bathroom. She locked the door, then piled her clothes in the corner. She turned on the cold water and plunged her head under it, being sure to completely soak her hair and scalp. She leaned a little further into the sink and splashed water up and over her shoulders and upper back. She stood up, allowing the cold water to course down her body. Ruby reached for the bar of soap and lathered it up, going for her face first and washing it so roughly that it shone pink when she was done. Without opening her eyes or washing away the soap from her face, she blindly reached for the soap again and lathered it again. Ruby dropped it in the sink and used her hands to lather her chest, ribs and belly. She leaned over the sink again and splashed cold water over herself to wash away the soap. She did her best to clean away any proof of her night with Jaime, but hesitated to use too much soap since she didn’t actually have a tub or a shower, and nothing was more irritating than soap in your most sensitive areas with no way to wash it away. She debated washing her hair with the soap and finally decided against it. She’d never get all the soap out of there either. She’d have to figure out something else for later that evening, but today — this was as good as it got. She grabbed her towel and dried off, wrapping her hair in it when she was done. Then she dressed and looked down at the drain in the middle of the cement floor, to be sure there were no soap suds left lingering. Satisfied that she’d not left the bathroom any worse than when she first entered it, she turned back to the mirror to try to make some sense of her hair. Walking over to it and leaning her hips against the sink, she took the towel from her hair and started brushing through her curls. She raised her hands over her head and started braiding the thick mass of bright red hair into a French braid. Then she looked at herself. Her eyebrows pulled down into a scowl. “Nooooo. No, he did not!” she whispered to herself, leaning closer to the mirror. She pressed her fingertips to her neck and then the top edge of her cleavage peaking out from her tank top. “Sonofabitch!” she shouted.

  “Everything alright in there, Ruby?” an old man’s voice called.

  Ruby eyed herself in the mirror again, scowling. “Yeah. I’m fine, Clarence,” she mumbled back.

  “Just making sure. Thought I heard you cussing.”

  “I did. But I’m fine.”

  “A’right, then. I’ll leave you to it.”

  Ruby glared at herself in the mirror, then hurriedly turned around and pulled her shirt up, straining to look over her shoulders at the reflection of her own back. “Damn it!” she hissed. All up and down her back, on the back of her shoulder, on her neck and at the very top of her cleavage, were love bites, hickeys, passion marks. Whatever they were called, there they were. Purple, blue and red, all over her damned pale skin.

  She huffed as she looked at her reflection. Shaking her head, deciding there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about them now, she grumbled as she gathered her dirty clothes from the corner she’d tossed them into. Cursing aloud again when she noticed a particularly dark one on the inside of her thigh, just barely covered by the shorts she wore. She snatched her towel from the sink and whipped the door of the bathroom opened. Everybody in the diner stopped what they were doing, all conversation silenced to look up at her.

  She stared them all down. “Good morning!” she forced out, obviously fake smile in place.

  “Mornin’, Ruby!” Clarence called jovially.

  Ruby stared down everyone looking at her expectantly, then turned on her heel, hurrying out of the back door and straight to her room. She came to a stop outside her room, looking at her potted plants. They weren’t on the ground anymore. They were hanging from nails that had been bent into the shape of hooks from beneath the overhang on either side of her door. Despite her irritation at looking like she was last night’s dinner for a particularly hungry sucker fish, she smiled. She liked her plants hanging in their baskets. She opened her door and deposited her things inside, then pulled her door closed behind her, locked it and smiled at her plants again. This must be what all the ruckus was about last night. Jaime must have been hammering in nails to bend and hang her plants from before he let himself into her room. She couldn’t remember if they were hanging when she walked past this morning, but they most likely were. She was not a morning person and didn’t notice much until after 10:00AM.

  She reached up, running a finger across the bottom of one of her plants, setting it into a lazy swing, then made her way back into the diner.

  Jaime pulled into the gas station and went straight to the coolers in the back. He walked back and forth, scanning the shelves in the refrigerated section until he found just what he wanted. “Aha! Good deal, Andy,” he whispered. Jaime scooped all six bottles of Vanilla Frappe’ Iced Coffee into his arms and headed for the counter.

  “Mornin’, Jaime.”

  “Mornin’, Addie. How you today?”

  “I’m doin’. You up early this mornin’.”

  “Yup. Hey, can you order some more of this coffee?”

  “This one? Yeah. I can get some more in here. We must have sold a dozen bottles between yesterday and this mornin’. I need to order some anyway — Andy left me a note to up the inventory on it. I’ll get some extras to be sure we have it on hand for you. Developed an affinity for it?” she asked.

  Jaime grinned. “Something like that.”

  Addie looked at Jaime, her eyebrow raised. “You feeling okay, today?”

  “Yeah, why?” he asked, whistling to himself while he gathered up the plastic bags filled with the bottled iced coffee.

  “You’re smilin’. You don’t smile. You barely speak.”

  “Nah. I always smile,” he answered.

  “And you’re whistling,” Addie commented.

  “No, I’m not.”

  “Yeah. You are. If I’d known you’d like that fancy coffee so much, I’d have recommended it years ago.”

  Jaime laughed on his way out of the door. “Maybe you should have.” He winked at her and let the door close behind himself. He had one more stop to make before he could deliver the coffees he’d just bought.

  Chapter 6

  Ms. Patty heard her dogs start barking just before she heard a knock on her back door. She could see the outline of a tall man with dark hair through the pretty, white, lacy curtains she had over the windows in her back door. She pulled back the curtain and peek
ed out. She smiled to herself, pleased to have this particular young man visit her. She always kept up with him and how he was doing, but he didn’t come around much anymore.

  “Jaime Claremont. What are you doing here this early?”

  “Good morning, Ms. Patty. I apologize for being here so early, but I remembered from back in school that you were always an early riser.”

  “I am. Been up for a couple hours now.”

  “I’m hoping my nose is right, and I’m picking up the scent of fresh baked peach pies this morning.”

  “You are. I make them every day. You know that.”

  “Yes, ma’am, I do. I was hoping to buy about a dozen from you.”

  “Really?! And you can’t wait ‘til I get to the farmer’s market this afternoon?”

  “No ma’am. I kinda need them this morning.”

  “Hmpf. Well, come on in, then,” she said, pushing the screen door opened for him. Jaime followed her into her kitchen and stood there, unsure of what to do with himself, while he waited for her to package up the pies.

  “Now, these are still hot. Don’t bite into one for another ten minutes or so, or you’re going to burn your mouth.”

  “No, ma’am, I won’t. I’ll be careful.”

  Patty wrapped his pies, then handed the bag to him. “Here you go.”

  “Thank you, Ms. Patty. And, here’s your money.” Jaime handed her four twenties.

  “Jaime, this is too much money. They’re only a dollar fifty each,” she said, trying to give him back the extra money.

  “No, ma’am. I inconvenienced you by coming by before you were ready to go out and start your day. You keep that. Besides, I may need some more soon.”

  Patty looked at the money in her hand. It would go a long way toward helping her make ends meet. She’d retired from teaching several years before, and the pies, along with a meager retirement from the local high school were her only income. She had no one here to rely on other than herself, and she was okay with that — it had been a choice she’d made long, long ago. But a little unexpected help was always appreciated. “Well, if you’re sure.”

  “I’m sure, Ms. Patty. And thank you,” he said, smiling at her as he backed toward her door.

  “Have a good day, Jaime. You take care, hear? And you come back whenever you like,” she called after him, hoping he’d come by for a visit from time to time. She’d always had a soft spot for the boy. She’d watched him grow from a skinny, lonely little boy into the handsome, capable young man he was today. He’d been practically alone all of his life. Most of the others in town afraid of him, or where he came from anyway. But not her. She knew from the first time she’d laid eyes on him as a tiny squalling infant, he was destined to be a strong Prime.

  The little boy he’d once been had tugged at her heart strings. She’d watched over him best as she could, knowing the pain of being alone herself. She’d always made him sweet treats and slipped them to him before school, so he’d have a special treat at break time in the mornings.

  She knew he was a mechanic now and had a place out on the opposite side of town. And from what she could tell he was still alone. Some of the girls had shown an interest in him, and he’d dated a few, but nothing more serious than a couple of dates and he’d move on. The sad part was that some of the girls’ own mothers lusted after the boy. He couldn’t get a moment’s peace. If the men of the town weren’t running him away from their daughters, they were running their wives away from him — not that Jaime ever cared too terribly much about any of them. But he had a hard enough time with all the prejudices against him, without grown women throwing themselves at him, making him more trouble he wasn’t even responsible for. But his kind had that effect on women, without even trying.

  She watched him back out of her driveway and smiled to herself. He didn’t seem quite so sullen as he always had before. Maybe he’d found someone. She hoped he had. Maybe someone as bright and happy as that pretty red-headed girl that had been passing through town the day before. That was what he needed, someone who could clear away all his clouds, pshaw the rumors he was raised in and see the good heart of the lonely little boy underneath it all.

  <<<<<<<>>>>>>>

  Ruby went back into the diner and up to the front counter. “Morning, Mildred.”

  “Ruby.”

  “Can I have…” she hesitated while she looked at the menu above Mildred’s head.

  “It’s the same as yesterday, girl.”

  “I know. I just don’t have what I want, so I’m having trouble picking out something else,” Ruby explained.

  “What do you want?” Mildred asked.

  “Peach pies. I had some Patty’s Peach Pies saved for this morning. And some Vanilla Frappe’s that I love so much. Then when I woke up this morning, they were gone. All of them!” Ruby growled, her voice rising. “He ate every damn one and drank all my coffees!”

  Mildred knew full well exactly who had eaten and drunk all Ruby’s food, and who’d spent the night with her. And secretly, she couldn’t be more pleased. But she didn’t feel the need to let on, just yet.

  “Who?”

  “Ja… Doesn’t matter. It’s all gone.”

  Mildred did her best to hide a smirk. A woman like her didn’t smile, she smirked. “How about some eggs? And a plain ole regular coffee, with cream and sugar?”

  “Is it iced coffee?”

  “No. It’s hot. Like coffee is supposed to be.”

  “Alright. It’s better than nothing. But can I have a cup of ice, too.”

  “You’re gonna ice my coffee, aren’t you?”

  Ruby grinned at Mildred. “No?”

  Mildred scowled at her. “Go sit down. I’ll bring you your breakfast.”

  Ruby went back to her table in the back corner and pulled out her phone. She scrolled through some of the pictures she’d taken the night before and decided to send them to her sister.

  She pulled up her message account and shot them over. She smiled as she noted the last time her sister had been active on her own message account was five weeks ago. Well, at any rate, the pictures were there. So, as soon as she decided to join civilization again, they’d be waiting for her.

  The only thing she and her sister agreed on was going off on their own. But her sister took it to an extreme, off the grid, no electricity, no running water necessary. As far from civilization as she could get. Ruby, on the other hand, didn’t mind roughing it once in a while, but appreciated hot and cold running water and wifi at the ready.

  Ruby looked up when Mildred placed a plate of scrambled eggs and toast in front of her along with a cup of ice and a steaming hot cup of very black, very strong coffee. Mildred handed Ruby three small creamers and a few packets of sugar. “Here ya go. I know you most likely don’t want it black.”

  “Thank you, Mildred. Can I have some more sugar and creamer?”

  “How much more?”

  “Lots?” Ruby asked.

  Mildred grumbled and headed back to the kitchen.

  Ruby went back to her phone and started scrolling through her social media accounts.

  Something heavy hit the table, making her jump.

  Ruby looked up, her heart in her throat. “Are you crazy?” she snapped.

  Jaime seemed to be seriously considering it for a moment. “Probably.”

  “Why are you here? Look what you did to me!” she pulled down the edge of her tank top to show him the hickeys at the top of her cleavage and tossed her braided ponytail over her shoulder, while tilting her head to the side to show him the one on her neck.

  “I see ‘em,” he answered, grinning.

  “That’s it? I see ‘em?” she mimicked.

  “You got some on your back, too.”

  “I know! I saw them in the mirror.”

  “And your ass,” he finished, digging into the paper bag in front of him and taking out a pie.

  “My ass? They’re on my ass, too?” she asked, slowly realizing what he had in his hand. “What
are you holding? What is that?”

  “Yep. And more on your, well, to the side of your… you know.” He leaned back and peeked down at her lap on the other side of the table. “There’s more than just that one on your thigh, there.”

  Ruby looked down at her thigh, the purplish mark clear to see since her shorts had ridden up when she sat down.

  “Why would you do that?” she snapped, leaning over to snatch the peach pie out of his hand.

  “Hey! That’s my pie!” he said, feigning surprise.

  “It’s my pie. You ate all my pies and drank all my coffees and left me looking like something tried to eat me!”

  “I did eat you,” he said smugly, reaching into the bag for another pie.

  “Jaime!” she scolded.

  “What? I did. And you loved it.”

  Ruby was flustered, didn’t know what to say. She sputtered for a few moments trying to come up with anything at all to respond and ended up just taking a huge bite of the pie she now held and glaring at him while she chewed it.

  Jaime leaned across the table and raised an eyebrow at Ruby. “And I loved it, even more than you did. Gonna eat you again tonight.” He smiled smugly and sat back, taking another bite of his pie.

  “No, you will not!”

  Jaime didn’t argue with her, just grinned at her and reached into the other bag he had with him. He pulled out a Vanilla Frappe’ Iced Coffee and tore the plastic seal from around the lid. He popped the lid and tilted back the bottle, gulping down half of it and wiping across his mouth with the back of his arm.

  “Give me that!” Ruby demanded.

  Jaime smiled at her, held the bottle out to her and winked at her, inclining his head as though he was tipping a hat to her.

  Ruby snatched the bottle from him and very quickly drank down the rest of the bottle.

  “Oh, my God! I so needed that!”