by Abby Tyler
A woman with tight, short curls directed a young woman with a tray out of the room. “Make sure all the servers stay in the kitchen, now. We’re down to five minutes.”
She turned and spotted him. “The mayor! You’re here. I was worried you wouldn’t make it in time.” She took his arm and led him to a side room he hadn’t entered on his last visit. “Christina left her gift for her mother in this room and they’ll come straight here when they walk in. We want you to be front and center of the surprise.”
A dozen or so men and women stood in various places about the large room. A tall, handsome couple waited behind a black grand piano in the corner, waving when he looked their way. Two other women stood behind chairs, clutching the backs as if preparing to duck down.
More waited behind sofas and one peeked out from behind a large vase full of tall sticks.
“Christina told us all about you!” called a woman with glossy blond hair that curved into her chin. “Please, let’s talk after Ruth arrives.”
Shirley placed him directly behind the coffee table piled with shiny gifts. He placed his slender silver box onto the pile.
“Stand here, big and tall,” Shirley said. “She’ll see you first, and then the rest of us will pop out.”
T-bone tugged on his jacket and straightened his tie, then stood with his hands clasped together. He hadn’t seen Ruth face-to-face in over a month, but her texts had remained chipper and bright.
But doubts niggled at him. What if her daughter was wrong? What if she’d simply neglected to mention that the relationship with her mayor had fizzled, and she’d taken up with some other man? Another doctor from the hospital, perhaps?
Hot needles of worry began poking in his belly. This could be a disaster. He might ruin the whole night.
The man from the front door hurried into the room. “They’re a block away. Positions.”
Shirley let out a little squeal. They killed the lights and shuffling sounds broke the quiet as everyone settled in.
Headlights pierced the side windows, then cut out. One car door slammed, then another.
Footsteps rose up the stairs, then the lock twisted.
T-bone’s heart hammered painfully. He was here, and there was nothing to be done about it now. At worst, he could apologize for the intrusion and be on his way.
The door opened, and a light, high voice said, “Mom, let’s open the present I left for you in the front room.”
Ruth was next. “Of course, darling. I’d love to see it.”
Someone giggled behind him. Feet shuffled.
Then the lights blazed on.
“SURPRISE!”
T-bone was wound so tight, he forgot to say the word. He blinked to recover from the sudden brightness. Ruth glanced around, her hands on her cheeks. “Oh my goodness!” She smiled at the couple at the piano, then held out her hand to the women near the sofa.
Then she spotted him. “Theodore!”
His worries dissolved as she rushed forward and crashed against his chest. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and every good and warm thing T-bone had felt when he was with her came rushing back.
She lifted her face to his. “You came!”
“Your daughter wanted a surprise.”
Ruth released him. “Well, I am so surprised! Christina, what a delight.” She pressed a finger to the corner of her eyes. “Thank you so much! Thank you!”
The other guests moved forward, hugging Ruth and shaking T-bone’s hand. No one questioned him being there, glad to meet him. Ruth never left his side, pulling him down to sit with her as she accepted bits of fancy food and, later, a slice of cake.
He spoke with lawyers and bankers and the doctor who took over Harry’s practice. They asked about Applebottom and what sort of business he ran, and no one looked down on his RV park.
The gifts were opened, bright scarves and fancy bottles, but Shirley cleverly set aside his and another, which he assumed was Christina’s.
When there were only two, he quaked at how his present would be seen by all the others. But Lorelei, a young woman from Applebottom, had helped him with it. So maybe it would be all right.
“Open mine now,” Christina said.
Ruth lifted a glass bowl swirled with colors from the box. “It’s exquisite,” she said. “Is this from the new furnace?”
Christina nodded. “This was my very first piece.”
Ruth leaned over to press her hands against the younger woman’s cheeks. “I’m so proud of you. Live your dream, darling. Thank you.”
Only T-bone’s gift remained. Ruth laid her hands over his. “I’m so happy to see you. That is really gift enough.”
“Don’t give the men ideas,” Shirley said, sending laughter through the group.
Ruth lifted the long, slender box, biting her lip in that youthful way that made his heart speed up.
She untied the bow and removed the lid, revealing the silver strands. “How lovely,” she said, holding it up.
“It’s a bracelet,” someone whispered.
Small, sparkling charms caught the light. “This is the ice cream cone we got on our first date,” Ruth said, holding it up. Each scoop was a pale gem. “I’ve never seen such a lovely charm!”
She shifted the bracelet in the light. “And this is the lemon pie from my first visit to Applebottom!”
She fingered another one. “And this is the statue outside your mayor’s office where we almost had our first kiss before getting caught by security!”
This made the crowd roar with laughter and bawdy comments.
Ruth lifted the fourth. “I’m not sure what this is?” She turned to T-bone.
“That’s between you and me,” T-bone said.
Ruth shifted her arm so he could fasten the bracelet to her wrist. She leaned in. “I can’t wait to hear.”
The group gave a collective sigh and broke out in light claps.
“Well done, Mayor,” Shirley said. “Men, take note.”
The crowd moved along, back to filling their drinks and chattering amongst themselves.
Ruth and T-bone wandered away from the revelry and out to the back porch. The wind picked up, sending leaves circling on the patio. T-bone let Ruth take the lead as they walked to the rail overlooking a long expanse of grass.
“I wasn’t sure where we stood,” Ruth said. “We haven’t seen each other in a while.”
T-bone hesitated. “You told me once that a baby gets a man to thinking about his life.”
“I did. That first day.”
“Well, so does deciding to take a chance.”
Ruth turned to him. “Is that what you’re doing?”
“I just wondered for a while if I was the man for you.”
She slid in close, and he wrapped his arm around her waist. “Was it my house? You changed after that day.”
“I had to adjust. I’m sorry that I was slow. I’m not a man who takes to change very easily.”
“That’s okay.”
T-bone cleared his throat after an unexpected tightness. “I think I’m ready now.”
“I am, too.” Ruth held the bracelet up so that it caught the light from the strings of bulbs in the trees. “So are you going to tell me about this?”
“A girl in town makes them. An artist, a bit like your Christina.”
“She’s very talented. And the last charm?”
“It’s a daffodil. For new beginnings.”
“Is this our new beginning?” she asked.
“Maybe. I don’t know,” he said, now unsure how to explain. He wasn’t meant for romance. “I should have seen you more.”
“Well,” she said. “You’re here now. So how would you like to make this a new beginning?”
T-bone didn’t have the words to convey what he wanted to say. So instead he could only show her.
Her eyes sparkled, bright and happy as he leaned in.
Her lips were soft, and a fancy-scented shampoo enveloped him. He touched the strands of hair he’d adm
ired from the beginning, silky and loose on her shoulders.
Despite the years, he hadn’t forgotten what to do, but certainly didn’t remember how it felt. As Ruth leaned into him, his troubles fell away like a cord of wood rolling down a hill.
He’d almost run scared. He should have let this closeness carry them all along. The proof that they worked had been there from the very first meeting. She’d made him laugh. She’d involved his family at every step.
Ruth gripped his waist, and he felt strong and protective, but most of all, he felt right. He was more than the scruffy RV park owner nobody crossed. He was a man, a person with a family. A son, a daughter-in-law, a grandbaby.
And perhaps, at last, Mayor T-bone — Theodore — would belong to somebody, too.
Ruth
Five months later.
* * *
Ruth swung her legs off the end of the dock near the RV park like a teenager. Spring had sprung in Applebottom, and all the trees were budding out. It was warm enough to go without a jacket in the heat of the afternoon, and she and Theodore had kicked off their shoes, occasionally dragging their toes through the water.
“You hungry for dinner yet?” Theodore asked. His beard had grown a little longer, but was still neat and trimmed. He was more likely to wear jeans than khaki pants these days, but that suited his work. Ruth liked that he didn’t try to dress up for her all the time. She wanted to meet Theodore where he was at, not where he thought he ought to be. She’d even taken to calling him T-bone when they were in Applebottom.
“We should plan our dessert first,” she said.
He nodded in agreement. “The most important part of our food pyramid.”
This made her break out in a laugh. She’d told Theodore somewhere along the way about Harold’s penchant for nutritional balance, and he admitted that he wouldn’t know a vitamin if it punched him in the eye.
They were coasting along, not too serious, but also never going more than a few days without seeing each other. Ruth had met all the important members of Applebottom, and on her days off, she sometimes even joined the morning coffee of the Town Square proprietors. They’d named her an honorary member.
Car doors slammed near the store, and Theodore stood to see if someone had arrived to take an RV slot.
“It’s Luke’s truck,” he said, reaching down to help Ruth up from the dock.
“Do they have that sweet baby with them?”
“If they’re both here, I reckon so.”
Ruth reached down to scoop up her shoes. They hurried down the wood planks, and only paused to put on their footwear when they reached the edge of the sand that Theodore hauled along the shore to create a little beach.
Luke and Savannah spotted them, baby Maybelle on her hip.
Luke carried a beach blanket, so she and Theodore paused, assuming they intended to spend a little time in the sun.
“Mighty pretty day,” Luke said.
“To what do we owe this lovely surprise?” Ruth asked.
Savannah lifted Maybelle to her face. “You going to show them, baby girl?”
Luke spread the blanket out on the sand and kneeled on one corner. “Hand her over.”
Savannah passed the baby to her husband.
“All right, little one. Show everybody your new trick,” Luke said.
Maybelle gazed up at Theodore with big round eyes. She wore a onesie that read Applebottom Princess and a big fluffy pink tutu.
Luke set her on the blanket and spread her little feet like a tripod.
Ruth clasped her hands together, remembering Christina in that pose as a baby. But she didn’t say anything. She couldn’t spoil the surprise for Theodore.
Luke slowly moved his hands away from the baby’s waist, and Maybelle sat there just as pretty as you please.
“She can sit up by herself!” Theodore said.
“She sure can,” Savannah said. “Just started this morning.”
Maybelle tilted too far and started to tumble. Luke swept her up and kissed her cheek. “Right on time. Perfect baby milestone.”
Ruth held out her arms. “I’ll say. Can I have her?”
Luke passed the baby over. Ruth held the sweet nugget to her cheek, inhaling the smell of milk and baby powder. It was one of the most perfect scents in the whole world.
She smashed her lips against the baby’s cheeks. “You will be crawling before too long. Then you’ll be into everything.”
“Let me have a turn for that sweet baby love,” Theodore said. Ruth lifted the baby to him. “You guys staying for lunch?”
“Sure,” Savannah said. “We could order a pizza from Louisa.”
“Sounds perfect,” Ruth said. “Should I run up to Theodore’s house and find another blanket?”
“I’ll go with you,” Luke said.
Theodore and Savannah settled with the baby as Ruth and Luke headed up to the house.
“I have some news for you and Dad,” Luke said.
News? Ruth wondered what it could possibly be. “What’s that?”
“This may be neither here nor there,” Luke said. “I don’t know what you or Dad’s plans are long term. But he did say to me once he was worried that there wasn’t a house in Applebottom that would suit you.”
Ruth cast her gaze to the ground. “I don’t think we worry too much about that these days.”
“If you guys want to maintain the status quo, then you absolutely stay right at it. But if you’re thinking that maybe there’s no place for Dad in Branson, I wanted you to know that the Town Council discussed it last week, and they decided it would be all right if the mayor didn’t live in the Applebottom city limits. As long as he owns a business here, he’s perfectly eligible to continue to serve as mayor.”
“That’s good to know.”
They sorted through one of Theodore’s closets until they found a large blanket suitable for spreading on the sand. Then they made a quick stop by the store to load up a cooler with Big Red and peach tea, Savannah’s favorite.
By the time they returned, Savannah had unloaded the contents of their diaper bag, and Theodore was spooning baby food into Maybelle’s birdlike mouth.
“There they are,” Theodore said. “I called and ordered a couple of pizzas. It’s a mighty fine evening for dinner on the beach.”
Luke snapped out the second blanket and lined it up with the other. They anchored it with the water cooler and waited for the pizzas, watching the sun burn bright on the water over the shore.
A finer day in Applebottom couldn’t be had. Ruth tucked the news Luke had given her away for the moment. The future could decide itself.
All the options remained in front of them. She and Theodore could keep their separate lives as well as the one they shared. Or they could take the next step. Either way, she knew she loved him, and they were as good a match as any she had known.
Epilogue
T-bone didn’t have a single hook-up free in the RV park.
Summer was in full swing, and the Fourth of July was always a big deal in Applebottom.
Dozens of people milled along the shore of the lake and colorful umbrellas broke the stretch of sand at intervals, their long poles secured inside PVC pipes he and Luke had pummeled into the ground.
Ruth sat under one near the dock, jiggling Maybelle on her lap. Her daughter Christina and son-in-law Jason sat with her in the shade. Jason might’ve fallen asleep. He hadn’t moved in a fair bit.
Not much made T-bone nervous, but tonight definitely was going to do the trick. Half the town was in on the plan, but that didn’t mean the outcome was a sure thing.
It was all in what Ruth might say.
Luke strolled up beside him. “Operation Boat is in progress.”
“Who’s driving it over?”
“Micah.”
“He knows how to handle a boat?”
“Seemed pretty good at it.”
T-bone nodded. “All righty then.”
“How are you feeling?”
&
nbsp; “Probably about like you did a few years back.”
Luke laughed. “Didn’t think you’d get here?”
“Not even a little bit.”
Luke shaded his eyes. “She sure does love Maybelle.”
“Took a bit of pressure off Christina, I think, too.”
“How’s her glass shop coming?”
“Should be opening in a couple of months.”
Luke turned back to T-bone’s house. “I’ll go find Savannah. We’ll all be in place whenever you work up the gumption.” He smacked his father on the shoulder. “If you ever do.”
“Hush now. You’ll run me off.”
“Like I could. Besides, Gertrude will have your hide since she done baked enough lemon pie for the whole crowd.”
“Nobody wants on Gertrude’s bad side.”
“Exactly.”
Luke sauntered off. Even though it was too early, T-bone checked the water for the boat the citizens of Applebottom had drummed up for him. It had been sitting under a covered dock on Alfred Felmont’s property for two decades.
It had needed a serious cleaning and the motor required a tune-up, but Alfred had been happy to donate it to the cause.
In fact, if their plan got a yes from Ruth, it might make sense for T-bone to build a cover for his own dock to protect the vessel. They’d be using it a fair bit, he figured.
Regina, his newest teen helper for the summer, crossed the park with the picnic basket he’d asked her to put together. He wasn’t a fancy man, so he’d solicited the opinions of several people he trusted for what should go in it. Bread and crackers. Grapes. Cheese he couldn’t pronounce.
And of course, a bit of pie. Nine months since the night they met, and they always tried to eat dessert first.
He took the basket from Regina and headed toward Ruth. Baby Maybelle scooted forward in her trademark army crawl when she saw him, her eyes alight. She didn’t have any words yet, but they were all gunning to be the first — Mama or Dada or Pops.
“Looks like we know who her favorite is,” Ruth said, lifting Maybelle from the blanket right before a fist could sink into the sand. She was known to eat it if she got the chance.