September
“Every
weekend it’s the same thing,” Papa Hudson said as he stood in the doorway of Ruby’s
bedroom. “Every weekend, you go and hang out in nasty clubs with those fast
tail girls. You ain’t never gone find a husband that way.”
I’m not looking for one,
Ruby mused, keeping that thought to herself.
Though
she was twenty-five and could certainly speak her mind if she wanted to, the fact
that she didn’t want to cause her father any unnecessary stress prompted Ruby
to keep her mouth closed today. Every day, in fact. The quieter she stayed
during his weekly tirade, the quicker it would all be over.
Papa
Hudson wasn’t happy about her choice of friends or with her wild weekend lifestyle.
He wanted all three of his daughters married with children. The older two got married
right after high school. Ruby went off to college instead. When she was
summoned home, she remained far from matrimony. In fact, she was doing
everything in her power to stay single forever.
“Men
don’t want to marry loose women, baby girl,” Papa Hudson continued, once again trying
to convince her to permanently change her ways. “You changed your rural accent
because you believed it held you back in society. Why can’t you change your
wild ways? They’re keeping you from a good man.”
As usual I get no appreciation for how
much I’ve changed already, Ruby thought with a frustrated sigh.
Monday
through Thursday, she was a model daughter to her parents and a model citizen
of Blue-eyed Hollow, a small Virginian town in the Blue Ridge Mountain area. Yet
on Fridays and Saturdays, she became something else altogether. Not in Blue-eyed
Hollow, of course. But rather in Cleavertown, which was almost an hour away and
was a much larger city.
“Loose
women end up old and alone, surrounded by hundreds of cats,” Papa Hudson went
on to say.
Good thing I like cats,
Ruby thought, still maintaining her silence as she packed her overnight bag. She
was spending the next two days at her friend Peggy Lee Spears’ apartment as she
often did on weekends. Nancy Lennox, her other friend, still lived with her
mother. Nancy’s mother did not allow outside females to sleep over for fear
that they would seduce one of her many lovers, particularly her longest kept
lover.
“Are
you hearing me, baby girl?” Papa Hudson asked, when Ruby failed to respond to
anything he’d said so far.
“Yes,
Papa.” She paused to look at him. “I heard every word you said. I always listen to you.” As usual, her
voice was respectful and demure.
“But
you never heed my advice. Hearing and
heeding are two different things. If you did heed my words, you would’ve been
married to Logan Benjamin by now. Probably pregnant with your first child.”
Ruby
frowned at the mention of her high school sweetheart. “Logan is not and never was the man for me, Papa. Trust me
when I say that.”
Papa
Hudson’s blue eyes flashed ire. “Well, he’s certainly the only decent man
around these parts that still wants to marry you after what you did.”
Ruby
lowered her eyes in shame. Times like these she wanted to pack up and run as far
away as she could get. Just leave this small town where people still lived on
small farms and kept traditional lifestyles, speech, and narrow mindsets.
At
her age, Ruby didn’t really have to run away at all. She could just walk away
from Blue-eyed Hollow and go anywhere she wanted. Yet she wouldn’t. The guilt
of what she’d done to her family kept Ruby right where she was. It also kept
her trying to repay them for all the shame and pain she caused them with that
wretched video.
“I’ll
be back on Sunday in time for supper, Papa.” Ruby kept her eyes lowered as she
spoke. Then she zipped up her bag, eased past him in the doorway, and made her
way out to her car. Each step away from her father made her feel lighter and lighter.
© 2014 by Mi’Chelle Dodson/Suprina
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