by D. F. Jones
Brent walked out onto the deck. “You okay?”
“No, I’m not okay. But, like you said, things happen for a reason. Dawn approaches, and a new day begins. I’m not going to be able to sleep, but don’t let me stop you. I’m fine. I’m thinking.” Ruby looked back out over the lake.
He placed his hand on her shoulder. “Would it bother you if I stay with you while you think?” The stars above them had all but faded as the sky turned a pale blue.
She turned to face him. Ruby could see the longing in his eyes. His piercing green eyes stared back at her and her stomach flipped. “No, I don’t mind if you stay. I would like some coffee, please.”
Brent leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips. “Sure thing.” He walked back inside the cabin.
Ruby watched as the sun rose higher in the sky, casting streaks of sunlight through the russet and gold leaves of the trees. The water on the lake was like a sheet of black glass this morning and the fog below the cliff was beginning to lift. She felt cocooned, protected and isolated from the realities of the world.
Brent handed her a cup of coffee and smiled at her. He had remembered how she liked it. She placed the mug on the rail and then placed her hand over his and squeezed it. “Thank you, Brent.”
He let his hand drop away and went back into the kitchen to grab his mug. He returned to stand beside her, took a drink, and then said, “Are you cold? I could get you a blanket.”
“No, I’m fine. You have been good to me. I don’t deserve it.” She took another sip of coffee.
Ruby heard a car engine. Someone was pulling into the cabin’s driveway. Brent heard it, too. She said, “Do you think it’s your grandparents?”
“Maybe.”
They both turned to see Reed and Sandy walking swiftly around the corner of the cabin’s wraparound porch. Reed stormed out onto the deck. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing, bringing her up here?” Reed stood an inch from Brent. His chest was heaving with deep breaths. He didn’t even look at Ruby.
Brent dropped his mug on the deck and pushed Ruby behind him. Brent went into a boxing stance as he readied himself for a fight. “I’m protecting her from you!”
Reed clenched his fists at his sides and took one more step closer to Brent. His voice shook with fury. “You have exactly five seconds to move away from her.”
Brent spread his legs slightly farther apart. The muscles in his biceps flexed for a fight. “You have no right to be here. She came here with me, willingly.”
Ruby stepped between them. “Stop it, you two, please stop it. I don’t want the two of you fighting again.” Ruby tossed a perturbed glance over her shoulder to Sandy, and said, “Thanks a lot.”
Sandy crossed the deck to stand beside her. “I did this for your own good. Reed came to the house an hour ago. He drove like a bat out of hell to get here.”
Ruby turned her back to Reed and Sandy and then gently placed her hand against Brent’s cheek. “Please go inside with Sandy. I want to talk to Reed, okay?”
Brent kissed her hand and then looked over Ruby’s shoulders as he glared at Reed, and when he looked back to her, his expression softened. “I will do anything for you, sweet girl.” He bumped Reed’s shoulder hard as he walked by him.
Reed grabbed Brent’s shirt, pulling him an inch from his face. “I will kill you if I find out you have touched her.”
Brent jerked out of Reed’s grip. “Get your damn hands off me. Ask her yourself. I’m honorable. That’s more than I can say for you.”
Ruby stepped between them again. “Stop it, you two. Please go inside, Brent.” Turning to Sandy she said, “You, too. Please go inside with Brent.”
Reed’s hands shook and he was breathing hard. He closed his eyes and counted aloud to ten, took a breath and said, “I can’t believe you came up here with him.”
Ruby exploded with anger as she shouted at him, “I’d say that’s the pot calling the kettle black. What about you? You—You hooked up with Tammy before you left for Knoxville?”
Reed grabbed Ruby by the shoulders. “Are you going to listen to me?”
Ruby eased out of Reed’s hold, walked to the porch swing, and motioned for him to sit beside her. “Please, I’m all ears.”
“Tammy called me while you were in the shower. I didn’t tell you because I knew you would be furious. Her grandmother died. She was as close to her as you are with your grandfather. Tammy and I are friends. I only stopped by her place for about fifteen minutes, before I left, to offer my condolences. I saw Patti and knew she’d tell Brent. I just didn’t think Brent had the balls to tell you. It was nothing.”
Ruby’s face was in full flush. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You go to your old girlfriend’s place and you’re seen kissing Tammy, and that’s nothing?” She gripped the porch swing’s arm.
Reed twisted in the seat to face her and tried to caress her face with his hand, but she shoved him away. “It was nothing. I didn’t kiss her back.”
Ruby wanted to scream, but instead she stood up and stomped her foot. “You knew I would be mad, but you did it anyway. A phone call to Tammy offering your condolences would have been sufficient. You should have told me, whether I got mad or not. Or you could have taken me with you. I would have understood. But instead you went inside her apartment behind my back! You were in her arms and you kissed her! I’m so dad blame mad at you, I can’t see straight!”
Reed stood and pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gone over there without telling you first. But that doesn’t excuse you from coming up here with him! Did you kiss him to get back at me? Please tell me you didn’t sleep with him.”
Ruby looked up into his eyes and her throat choked with emotion. Her voice quivered, “O ye of little faith.” He tried to wipe her tears away. “Don’t touch me, Reed. You’ve ripped me apart. I’ve had a miserable night because of you.”
Reed plopped down on a deck chair and cradled his face in his hands. “I’m in love with you, Ruby, only you.”
“And I only love you.” Her shoulders slumped as her heart broke into tiny pieces and she walked to the railing, looking out over the lake. The sun was up and it warmed her face. There was a fishing boat racing across the channel.
Reed went to stand beside her. He placed his hand inside his pocket and pulled out a jewelry box, twirling it over in his hand. “I should have asked you sooner. I left my home in East Tennessee at midnight and drove straight to your house. I knew I wanted to marry you for a while. Honestly, I’ve been fighting myself over loving you. I’ve been so afraid of committing to anyone, and then you came along and I wanted to change. Watching my parents over the past couple of days and seeing how much they love each other, I knew that’s what we have and I didn’t want to waste another minute. I couldn’t drive fast enough to get back to you. When I knocked on your door, Sandy answered, and before I could crawl in your bed, she stopped me.” His face was getting red and he pointed toward the kitchen. “She told me about you and him!”
Ruby drew in her breath, seeing the jewelry box in his hand. She steadied her hands on the railing and stared up at him. He was staring out at the lake. He looked good, even in a disheveled state.
Reed turned, grabbed her hand, and placed the jewelry box in it, awaiting a reply. “I want to marry you. I want to spend my life with you. I want you to be my wife, if you’ll have me.”
Ruby opened up the jewelry box and found a white gold and diamond engagement ring. Tears sprang into her eyes as she slipped the ring on her finger. She smiled up at Reed and said, “It fits. How did you know what size to get?”
He looked down at her, with a sideways grin. “I slipped a string around your finger while you were sleeping. Is that a yes?”
Ruby shoulder-bumped him. “Yes, but this doesn’t mean you’re out of the dog house.”
Reed pulled her into his arms and rested his forehead against hers. “So, may I kiss you now?”
She stood on tiptoe and put her arms
around his neck and kissed him soundly.
* * *
Brent and Sandy looked on from the sliding glass doors. Sandy placed her arm around Brent’s waist. “Well, you did give it the old college try. Come on. Let’s get a cup of coffee.” She walked over to the coffee pot, saying, “You know, Brent, you’re a really good dancer.” Brent followed Sandy to the kitchen with his eyes glued to her butt.
Chapter 12
Oh Girl
Ruby sat close to Reed on the drive back to Murfreesboro. There was a wintry chill in the air and the promise of snow lurked in the late October sky. The two-lane highway had double yellow lines with no shoulder. As they approached the stretch of the road called Dead Man’s Curve, Ruby looked up a second too late to see a deer run out of the woods and dart into the highway in front of Reed’s car.
“Reed, watch out!” she screamed.
Reed was driving too fast to react and tried slamming on his brakes, but he hit the deer. That was when everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Ruby heard the brakes screech, and she could smell burning rubber. She heard the violent crunch of metal as the car skidded in the gravel toward the ditch. She felt as if they were slowly floating through the air—and then, all at once, everything sped up, as Ruby heard the deafening grind of metal, and the car flipped on its side. Ruby’s head hit the windshield, and then there was nothing.
* * *
Reed woke to a coppery taste in his mouth and the smell of burnt rubber and antifreeze. His head ached with intense pain. It took about a second for him to remember what had happened. He looked down and found Ruby pinned underneath him. His car was flipped over on the passenger side. A surge of adrenaline pumped through his body as he lifted himself off Ruby and gently shook her.
Reed lifted her from the floorboard and held her in his arms. “Ruby, honey, wake up. Are you okay?” There was no movement from her. He screamed, “Ruby, honey, can you hear me? Please wake up, Ruby!” His hands shook as he felt for her pulse. Thank you, sweet Jesus! She’s alive!
Reed heard people screaming outside his car. There must have been at least a dozen people at the scene. He heard sirens in the distance as people approached the car.
Brent yelled, “Reed, help is coming! We’re going to try and place the car upright. Can you hold on to something?”
Reed braced himself with one arm so he would not fall on Ruby. With his other arm, he tried to secure her next to him, gently, so she wouldn’t hit the dash when the others flipped the car upright.
Brent hollered, “On the count of three: One! Two! Three!”
The car flipped upright and bounced like a buggy while Reed gently cradled Ruby in his arms.
Brent opened the driver’s side door and started to pull Reed out. Reed screamed, “Wait!! I’m not leaving Ruby! Has anyone called an ambulance?”
Reed glanced up to see the distraught look on Brent’s face when Brent first noticed Ruby. And then Brent fell backwards, nearly falling down. Ruby lay unconscious, nearly lifeless in Reed’s arms.
Brent regained his balance by placing his hand on the roof of the car, and his voice quivered, “Reed, I can see the ambulance lights now. The state trooper is here…you’re bleeding pretty badly.”
Reed was on the brink of hysteria. “Brent, I don’t care! I’m staying here with her.”
Someone handed Brent a couple of blankets. Reed noticed Brent’s hands were shaking, too, when he handed Reed the blankets. Brent said, “You need to place this over Ruby and one around you. The paramedics are here now.”
The paramedics were equipped with two gurneys, one for Reed and the other for Ruby. Minutes later the paramedics were pulling Reed from the car. He begged, “Please get Ruby first. I’m okay. Get Ruby out of the car.” Reed was out of his mind when he tried to punch one the paramedics as they were pulling him from the wreckage. He screamed and cried out, “Ruby! I’m here, darling! I’m not leaving you, baby! I’m right here!”
Ruby was still unconscious.
* * *
Ruby woke to the wonderful aroma of homemade apple pie and music from the 1940s playing on the radio. She blinked her eyes several times. She was in George and Lizzie’s cabin, but somehow it looked different. It looked like the old family photo that hung in the great room at Everglade Farms. Ruby was lying on the couch in the breezeway. There was an old rotator fan blowing on her from her granddaddy’s old desk.
That’s so weird. She thought the desk was in her mama’s house.
A warm breeze flowed through the cabin. This place didn’t seem real, as if she was in a dream, but she could feel the breeze blow against her skin, and it felt like love, surrounding her, embracing her in comfort.
A minute later, a woman in an ankle-length, navy blue dress with white polka dots sat down beside her. She resembled Ruby.
The woman asked, “Ruby, do you feel better?”
Ruby answered, “I feel fine. Do I smell homemade apple pie? It smells just like my mama’s cooking. Is she here?”
The woman answered, “No, child. She isn’t here. You’re here to rest for a spell. Then you can go back home.”
Ruby said, “Is this George’s cabin?”
The woman held Ruby’s hand. “This place is what you want it to be, Ruby. You must feel disoriented. I did too, the first time I came here. It will be all right.”
The lady stood and grabbed a cloth from a bowl of water. Then she wrung out the excess water and placed it on Ruby’s forehead. “I’m your grandmother, Ruby. Your grandmother on the Campbell side.”
Utterly befuddled, Ruby said, “But, you’re dead.”
The little girl from her previous dream ran into the room. She looked at the old woman and smiled. Then she hopped on the couch next to Ruby. “Hi, Mama, are you feeling better?”
Ruby looked perplexed at the beautiful child. “Why are you calling me Mama, honey?”
The little girl giggled, and said, “Well, silly goose, because you are. I know you’re a little confused about this place, but it’s going to be okay. I want you to remember me when you get back.”
Ruby said, “Get back where?”
The little girl said, “Back home to Daddy. He’s very sad right now. He misses you.” Ruby looked around. “Where am I?”
The little girl said, “This is the in-between. You and Daddy were in a car wreck. You’re hurt right now. That’s why you can see me. You dreamed about me, remember? I’m your baby.”
The little girl climbed into Ruby’s lap. “I was in the accident, too, but I was too small to survive. I wanted to visit with you now, in the in-between, so when you go back, you won’t be sad. I’ll always be here waiting for you, Mama, when you come back home again, for good. You feel all the love here? The love here never goes away. Just like my love for you and Daddy. It’ll never go away. Remember, you and Daddy have been given a very precious gift. True love is very precious. Cherish each other, always, as I will cherish you both for eternity.”
Ruby was amazed at her little girl who spoke like an adult. Ruby was totally confused, but didn’t feel sad. She only felt love for this precious child who sat in her lap. Ruby touched the child’s cheek and asked, “What’s your name, precious?”
The little girl looked up at her and smiled. “Alisa”
Ruby’s grandmother went over and closed the shutters on the windows. “Honey, why don’t you take a nap? You’ll feel better when you wake up.”
Ruby stretched back out on the couch, with Alisa in her arms, and quickly fell asleep.
* * *
The paramedics pulled Ruby from the wreckage after they placed a brace around her neck to secure it. They removed her from the car carefully as Reed watched from his gurney and frantically begged to know her condition.
Reed said, “Is she okay? Please tell me she’s okay!”
The paramedic said, “Sir, you have to let us do our job. We’ll take care of her first and then move on to you, but you must sit still on the gurney. You’re bleeding.”
They
carried Ruby on the gurney and lifted her up into the ambulance. They had radioed the hospital and they instructed the paramedic to immediately start an IV, and arranged an echocardiogram monitor and oxygen.
A paramedic came back to Reed and asked, “Sir, what is your name?”
Reed replied, “I’m Reed Harley Jackson and that’s my fiancée, Ruby Jane Glenn.”
The paramedic said, “Sir, I need you to please lie back. We have to get you in the ambulance.”
Once Reed was in the ambulance, he propped himself up on an elbow and looked over at Ruby. The paramedic had cleaned the blood from her face. She was so pale, and that made Reed cry.
The paramedic said, “Mr. Jackson, I am going to start you on an IV.”
Reed noticed blood oozing from between Ruby’s legs. He was on the verge of passing out and he tried to speak, but all he could do was point toward Ruby’s legs. The paramedic turned and quickly adjusted her IV and began to place pads to soak up the heavy vaginal bleeding. Then Ruby’s blood pressure bottomed out, and the paramedic began doing chest compressions on Ruby.
The driver sped along the highway and radioed again to the hospital. “We have a code 226, six minutes until arrival. Be ready for us.”
Reed began hyperventilating. “She’s dead?”
The paramedic calmly addressed Reed. “Mr. Jackson, please remain calm.”
With a nod, Reed began to talk to Ruby in a quivering voice and said, “Ruby, honey, I need you. You can’t leave me. Can you hear me? I need you. You fight for me. I love you, Ruby Jane, please don’t leave me.”
The ambulance ploughed through red lights, weaving in and out of traffic, and turned on Bell Street heading to the ER entrance. The paramedic ripped opened a package and held the needle for the injection. Reed sucked in his breath and passed out the moment the needle entered her heart.
* * *
Brent and Sandy watched as the ambulance flew toward Murfreesboro. Sandy was crying as they walked back to his car. Brent stopped and held her in the circle of his arms. “Sandy, we have to go to the ER. I’ll call Reed’s parents, and you’ll have to call Ruby’s family.”
