-----------------------RUBY AND MILLIE-----------------------------

“Ruby, are you feelin’ OK?” Seeing her sisters tears, Millie also notices an angry red bruise swelling under her eye along the top of her battered cheek and she has a large red hand print on her arm.

“Pa just had a hissy fit, called me a floozy, sis. He can’t find out I got knocked-up. He hit me again, twice, then grabbed my arm and flung me onto the sofa. My shoulder really hurts, Sis. I just can’t take it anymore.”

“We’re his punching bags, he’s blitzed all the time. We need to split, Sis.” She looks at her sister. “You know, we could pass as twins? Blond curls give us away.” She holds a cool washcloth on her sister’s painful cheek.

I won’t be 18 until October 4th. ‘Til then I need his signature to marry John but he’d rather take a shotgun to his hide. He’ll never ever help me.”

Millie puts down the wash rag and brushes Ruby’s hair at the vanity, taking away the knots created when she was pushed around, “Pa’s been actin’ crazy since ma died. He misses her. She’d hate that he gets soused all the time. He smells bad, his clothes look like rags even though we wash and iron them. He pounds his feet across the floor when he comes home from the bars. He slams doors, and is always mad. He blew a fuse when he found out about you dating. I’d take a powder if I had a place to go. I’m old enough to marry, being 18 ½. He’d never find me. So far he doesn’t know about Hank.”

“John’s family is moving to Indiana. I’ll never see him again. I don’t know what to do Sis. If I can get away I won’t even write home because of pa. He’d find out where I am if I write to you. He could kill me. I never ever could come back.”

Two weeks later their pa overhears them talking about Ruby’s pregnancy. Ruby is sick to her stomach and retches. Pa bursts into the bathroom, grabs Ruby by her arm, and drags her into the old clunker of their car with Millie chasing them. “Stop”, She screams “NO, Don’t do this. STOP!” He drives off drunk. The last thing Millie hears from the old goat, “You’re going to the Christian Home for Unwed Mothers in Oakdale.”

The last thing she sees of her sister is her sobbing as they drive off.  While pa is taking Ruby away, she packs her few belongings and calls Hank, who comes right over. They take off.  Millie never looks back. They only move 54 miles away, north to a one-horse town called Rosevine and get married by the justice. Both take jobs at the truck stop diner. Not long after they split from home, she reads in the paper that her pa had died. An attorney calls and tells her he has papers for her to sign.

She inherited the family farm. The Will and Testament had been made out before ma died. It reads that I have to look after Ruby until she is grown up at which time she gains half ownership of the farm, land and is to include all buildings. After much discussing, She and Hank decide to move back to the farm and make it their own. Pa kicked the bucket three months after the two girls made tracks away from the farm.

The ‘Home’ wouldn’t let Ruby get any phone calls. Millie wrote to her but all her letters were returned. “It gets under my skin, Hank, to be blocked from contact with my own sister.”

“She is in a hiding place until she gives birth, Millie. They put them in a lock down like the joint.  Its nuts, if you ask me.”

 “She must be hangdog miserable.” Millie marks off the months until her sister is due to give birth. “I miss her.”

 Right around her due date, she and Hank drive down to the home. Millie hopes they will let them see her, even though so far nothing has worked.

 

---------------------------Ralph--------------------

“Hot dog, School’s out.” Ralph yells at the top of his lungs as he runs home.  “I can’t wait to poke into every crevice and hole on the ‘Murphy property’,” He says to nobody but the wind.

His mind is racing, “I could eat a horse. I’ve just gotta’ grab some cookies and a sandwich. This is gonna’ be the best summer ever, I just know it.” His dog, ‘Buddy’ is by his side, greeting him with a few yaps and bouncing around him.

 “Mom”, he runs into the house, drops his book bag on the nearest chair and heads into the kitchen.

“I’m in here, child. Be quiet, the baby’s sleeping and I’m listening to Senator Mc Carthy on the radio.” She takes a look at her boy seeing a lanky 11 year old, scruffy blond curly hair hanging in his eyes, his freckles beginning to show more from the spring sunshine. “Get to the bathroom and spruce up a bit before you come into my kitchen.”  Her blond hair is pulled back with playful wild curly wisps sticking out around her face. She has an expression of tenderness, looking at Ralph.

He haphazardly gives his mom a hug before going to get cleaned up.

In just a minute he runs down the stairs yellin’, “I’m starvin’. Gotta get to the back forty. Did you bake cookies? I’m famished.” He runs smack dab into his sister. She falls to the floor on her rump with a scream, her blond curls flying, arms flailing, “Dang nabbit, watch where you’re goin’.” She’s only eight but ornery.

“Don’t flip your wig, I didn’t mean it. Sorry Penny. He comes to an abrupt halt in front of his ma. Her apron always on and a smile lingers on her face.

She watches the play out between the two kids. “I sure did. Peanut Butter, they’re sitting right on the counter, enough for both of you. You can make yourself a sandwich if you want. I have some slices of roast beef in the fridge. Your pa ate most of the cookies so you better move in on them fast.”

He’s thinking about his pa, Hank, working on their tractor out near the garage. He’s a big guy, strong as an ox and going bald. He has a great sense of humor and always teases Ralph. “Sure will, Yummy, thanks mom.”

He grabs his food along with a fist full of cookies, turns toward the screened back door and runs right into his pa. “Careful there, son.” His voice booms with a familiar sound.

“Cheeze, Sorry Pa.”  He just crashed into Penny too. Better ease up, he thinks.

With that he zips past his pa yelling back to his ma,  “I love these cookies, thanks, Ma.” Millie hears the compliment from Ralph, and gives Hank a big hug as he comes into the kitchen. Hank and Millie sit down at the table with a fresh poured cup of coffee. Penny runs outside to play, sandwich in one hand and cookies in the other.

Hank says, “You know girl, we are pretty lucky to have Ralph. We’ve got a blessed family, with two girls adding to our good fortune.” He squeezes her hand.

“We are blessed, Hank. Let me get you a fine lunch now since you’ve been working since the crack of dawn. You lost another button from your shirt.” She runs her fingers across the front of his shirt and looks gently into his eyes, “I’ll fix it tonight,” she softly whispers against his neck.

“I’m looking forward to it. Shall I pull more off?”

Millie giggles, four-month-old baby Maggie wakes up. She goes to the screen door to yell at Ralph before picking the baby up to nurse. Afterward she fixes Hanks lunch.

“Here, Buddy,’ his Curb Stone Setter runs up to him begging for a bite.  “Okay boy, I’ll break off just a little bit for you.” Ralph skips awhile heading toward the back forty. He hears his mom yell at him. “You be careful now and be back by dinner.”

“K” he yells back.

He picks up a straight long stick that’s lying on the ground, uses it like a sword. Bored with that he pokes stuff on the ground along the way. Soon he’s at his favorite tree. For the first time ever he notices a big heart,  JD + RM dug into the bark.  “Well,” he says out loud again. “I’m going to find a treasure today, right here.”  He throws the stick to the side since it’s useless as a shovel, then looks around until he finds a perfect flat piece of rough wood. He digs right under the initials. Ralph doesn’t mind digging ‘cause that’s how he finds worms for fishin’ in the pond.

His “shovel” soon hits something.  He reaches into the fresh hole the depth of his hand and sees a bright object. He gently picks up a tarnished silver jewelry box, lifts it carefully, opening it he sees a photograph of a beautiful girl and young man. Both are smiling. He shakes the loose dirt  from his hands then wipes them on his Levi’s so he can see the picture better without getting it all dirty.

It looks like a couple in love. He’s holding her hand and she’s smiling at the camera, cute like. She’s got blond curly hair and is dainty like mom. Then he picks up an old dime and looks for the year. Hey, he thinks, It’s the same year I was born, 1943. There‘s a tin ring with a design all around it. I think this is a friendship ring. I’ve seen ‘em before, he thinks.  He tries it on but it doesn’t quite fit. Too small. There’s a Cracker Jack box with the prize of a red buffalo still inside, the box is old. He sees a real pocket knife, a genuine bone colored Imperial Prov RI2 just like his pa’s. He tries to open it and with great effort, succeeds. ‘Gosh, this is killer-diller.” He sees a flattened rose, all dried up and figures it was the girls. Then he sees the diary. It has the name, “Ruby” on it. “Gosh, I really did find a treasure.” He says to Buddy, who licks his ear at the loud remark.

He gently opens the diary and begins to read. It talks about a boyfriend, John Duncan, she tells how he likes to whittle. He made her a heart that she made into a necklace. He likes to work with wood and made a bench for her and her family. He thinks to himself, “Gosh, we have a homemade bench in the yard too.” She talks about being worried about John going to war. Then he reads a little further, stops, closes the diary, puts it back into the jewelry box, picks it up carefully and runs home.

He hurries into the house carrying the precious treasure close to his heart. He finds his mom vacuuming the living room. “Ma, me and Buddy found a silver jewelry box out in the back forty. It’s got a picture and everything.”

“Bring it here, let me see it, son.” She sits on the sofa and holds her hands out. Staring at the jewelry box, her mouth opens and she looks like she’s gonna’ cry.

 “Where did you get this, Ralph?”

Jeepers, Ma, I told ya’ I was in the back forty. It was buried under a tree with initials on it.

“What were the initials, son?”

JD+RM

Millie gently picks up the photograph. Ralph jumps in and says, “Is that you, Ma?”

“No, son, it’s my sister. The initials stand for Ruby Murphy and John Duncan. I need to talk real important like to you. Sit here Ralph.”

“Long ago my sister got pregnant. She wasn’t married. You know people not married can’t have children because it’s frowned upon. Back then it was even worse. Ruby went to a home for unwed mothers. I haven’t seen her since. Wait here while I fetch your pa.” 

He could hear her call from the back door. Pa came a running. She took him aside and whispered to him.

Hank came into the living room, arms hanging down, holding his cap in his hands. He sits next to Ralph and looks at him serious like. Ralph swallows hard, “Did I do somethin’ wrong Pa?”

“No son.” Millie sits in front of Ralph. Now Ralph is freaking out, “We have a story to tell you. When Ruby was pregnant, she had to go away to have the baby. She would have been outcast if she stayed here.  Right after she gave birth, she disappeared. We adopted you by the pure luck of God. You are her baby, and we haven’t seen her for years. Eleven years to be exact. We’ve tried to find her.  She and John were in love. He is your father.” She points to John in the picture.

I don’t know what to say. I just stare at them. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Millie looks seriously at Ralph, “We thought we’d wait until we found your mom and dad. You see, son, your grandpa was a mean spirited, ill-tempered hothead and believed in the knuckle sandwich as an answer to his anger. Your mom and I took the brunt of his fists for a long time. He missed your grandma. She died and that made our lives miserable. He took to drinking all the time and that made him go bonkers. Nothing was the same. My mom died of pneumonia, fast like. He took it out on us.”

 

--------------------------SID-----------------------------

‘Gosh darn’, he stubs his bare toe against the sink pedestal again.  I hit the darn thing every mornin’, It’s in my way. He rubs his toe before going to the bedroom to get dressed, and then goes downstairs for breakfast.

Busy packing lunch for Sid, his mom is nearly finished before she realizes it’s Saturday and summer vacation has begun to boot. “Gosh durn, I need some shut eye.”  She thinks as she pours coffee into a big white mug and sits down at the table where breakfast for the family is laid out. As she waits for Sid and her three active, growing daughters, she brushes a curly blond wisp of hair out of her eyes. She may as well eat too. Pouring cereal and milk into her bowl, she grabs a spoon and digs in. Sid comes running into the kitchen like any ten-year-old, plops on the chair at the table, all as fast as a hurricane.  “Don’t run in the house, Sid.” She scrutinizes him and says, “You’re getting mighty tall outgrowing your clothes faster than I can buy them.” She looks over at Sid with a smile. “I have a surprise for you. You’re going to summer camp next week.”

Sid drops his spoon into the cereal and looks up at his mom. “Really, gosh mom, that’s swell.”

Sid finishes eating just as his three sisters come down the stairs for breakfast. He calls them Do Re Mi., May as well. They really are Dorothy, Renee and Mimi. He grabs his basketball and heads for the court on the corner.

Today he joins five neighborhood kids and they play all afternoon.

 

-------------------------CAMP--------------------------------

June 15, time to pack.

Ralph talks aloud to his dog, “I’m going to summer camp. Whoopee.”

He doesn’t know what to bring. He just packs his jeans, and precious little else. ”Ma, what should I bring?”

Millie comes up and helps. “Son, you haven’t packed much of anything you’ll need. Here,” she sets aside all the necessary personal stuff for him to pack. “ You need underwear, tooth brush, comb, my word son, what are you thinking? What you use every day is how you plan your packing. Get to thinking, here.” She sets out all that he will really need and goes downstairs to tend to dinner.

After his mom leaves he looks carefully around his bedroom and goes to his treasure. Picking it up, he decides to take it with him. He packs it carefully.

He’s ready just in time. He joins his ma, grabs a bite, gives her a hug, then walks out to the edge of the road and waits for the Camp bus to come and take him to the camp that’s kinda’ close to the big city. He stuffed cookies into his pockets, just for emergencies.

 

-----------------------------------AT CAMP-----------------------------

Sid’s bus is the first to get to camp. He looks around. The lake is calm, the mountain behind is touched with snow at the very top and the trees are thick. He sees two eagles circling above the lake. There are 10 cabins. In the center is a big building.  His paper says it’s for food, meetings, and bathrooms with showers. He has a paper in his hand that roughly describes where everything is and what some of the activities will be.

After a look see, he goes to the basketball hoop. He sees a ball against a post, picks it up and begins to play.

 

--------------

Ralph’s bus pulls up to the campground. He counts 10 rustic cabins and sees one big building. He guesses it’s for eating and stuff. Like school, kind of.

He chooses the second cabin, goes inside and drops his belongings on the top bunk closest to the door, since the bunk below is already taken. He puts a couple of things on the top bunk, then all the rest he tucks away in a footlocker, neat like. He sees that the bunks have wool blankets on them. “Geeze, guess I got to put up with them itchy covers.” Then heads outside.

He sees canoes, a huge lake, a big mountain topped with snow that looks like ice cream, and lots of trees all around. He heads to a basketball court not far away. A kid is playing there alone. He heads on over, “Hi”.

Sid turns to him and reaches out his hand, “Hi, I’m Sid.”

“I’m Ralph.”

“What grade you in?”

“I’m going into the 5^th grade, and you?”

“Heck, me too.”

“Got any hobbies?”

 “Nope, nothing but basketball. And You?”

Ralph stops to think a bit. “Well, I’ve got a dog and we play in the back forty, got lots of stuff to do there.”

“What kinda dog is it?”

“Geez, he’s just a dog. Big and friendly like. I call him Buddy.”

“Do you like basketball?”

“Don’t know, I’ve never played.”

“Come on, I’ll teach you.”

A triangle rings loudly and they see everyone running to the big center building where a man is on the porch with a stick, hitting the triangle with gusto. Guess there’s a meeting or something going on there.

Inside they see a big fat man that smells like he needs a bath, dressed in a khaki colored uniform, has a cap on with hair sticking out all around it, introduces himself as Big Jim. He’s the big wig of the joint. “I want you all to introduce yourselves around and come back for grub when the big triangle outside is rung at 5:30 P.M.  Be prompt.    Director Derick is outside waiting for you with instructions and games you can play now and later. He’ll answer all your questions.  You’ll be told where to put your things.”  Big Jim just stands there after he gives them the information.

Derick has a crew cut, is stick thin and has a high whinny voice. He is clean enough to shine.

They listen to all the stuff the crew director has to say. He finally finishes.  Ralph taunts Sid, “Beat you to the court”.   Off they run to play basketball.

So went the first day at camp, and they got the cabin and bunks they asked for since they had already claimed them.

After dinner they sat around a big campfire and some guy with a guitar sang. They teased him bout being like Gene Autry. Everybody joined in. Later the two went to their cabin to hit the sack.

“We got lucky here getting the same bunk.” Sid plops down on his lower bunk.

“Yup. I like it here.”

“Me too. See you in the morning. Hey, you don’t snore or anything, do you?”

“Heck no. Do you?”

“Nope.”

“Good night, see ya in the morning.” Ralph smiles and wiggles to avoid skin contact with his itchy blanket.  Soon he drifts off to sleep,

Morning brought a few showers. Nobody cared. They had pancakes and scrambled eggs with tons of bacon in the mess. That’s what they call it, mess.

“Where are you from?”

“I live in the country, on a farm outside of Oakdale.   My ma and pa are farmers. And you?”

“I live in Oakdale, right in the middle of the city. My mom’s a seamstress and my pa drives a tanker. That kept him out of the war.”

“My pa has a bum knee so he was rejected.”

They sat in the big room looking out at the rain. There are games around them. They see most kids play checkers, Chinese checkers, cards, or Old Maid. They settled on rummy until it quit raining. They all took turns going on a canoe trip when things dried out after lunch.

On the last day at camp it rained like crazy, harder than it had all week. They just sat looking around kinda bored. Suddenly Ralph perked up. “Hey, wanta’ see something fantabulous?”

“Sure.”

They walk back to the cabin in the heavy rain. Sid and Ralph wipe the dripping water off their heads with a towel to dry up. They are soaked through and through. He grabs his knapsack and carefully lifts the jewelry box out. Sid comes over close to look at it. Both sit on Sid’s bed as Ralph tells him how he found it.

“I was at a big tree in the back forty and saw  JD+RM dug deep into the tree. I found a flat piece of wood and dug right under the initials in the tree and found this treasure.”

Ralph excitedly watches as Sid gently holds it with interest.  He reaches inside, picks up the old photograph and his mouth opens, his eyes widen and he looks up at me, “How did you get a picture of my mother and father? My mom has this same photo in our living room.”

“What? My ma, who is really my aunt,  said these people in the photograph are my real ma and pa. She said it’s her sister and probably, hopefully, her husband.  If what you say is true, you’re my real genuine brother.”

For a minute neither one moves, they just stare at each other, and then look back at the picture.

Sid says, “You have my hair, you aren’t much taller than me and you are lanky like me and pa. You also have a crooked little finger like pa and me. See.” He holds his hands out for Ralph’s inspection. “Gee Willikers, we’re brothers.”

“Let’s exchange addresses and phone numbers. OK?  We should share this with our folks as soon as we get home.”

 

-----------------------HOME--------------------------- 

Ralph gets off the bus ready to bust a gut.  He runs into the house yelling, “Hey, everybody, come here. I got stuff that’ll flip your wigs.”

Pa comes into the kitchen from the living room, holding a car part. I don’t see my sisters, but notice ma drying her hands on her apron. “Pa, Ma, when I was at the camp I had a gas, took my treasure with me to camp, met my real brother, too. That picture I showed you from the silver jewelry box is the same one in his living room. You and your sister look alike. That guy, John and Ruby are married, too. He’s my first Pa. I have their phone number.” He hands the paper with Sid’s address and phone number on it. Ma’s hands are shaking and she is white as a ghost.

She looks at pa, kisses his cheek and goes into the living room to the telephone. We all follow her.

She dials the number, puts the phone to her ear and sits down on the couch. We all stand right near her. “Hi, is this Ruby?”

Ruby answers apprehensively, thinking it’s some salesman. “Yes, may I help you?”

“I’m your sister, Millie. Ralph, your son, just got home from camp and met Sid. They exchanged phone numbers and addresses. We finally found you.” Behind Ruby, the front door slams and an excited Sid runs up to his mom with a paper in his hand.

She takes it, rubs Sid’s head lovingly but absentmindedly. “Oh, my God, it’s really you. I’ve missed you so much.” Ruby is sobbing now. “Sid just came in the house from camp. I’m so happy to hear your voice, Sis. After all these lone years. I’ve been so worried about you and couldn’t figure out where you were. I never heard Hank’s last name and couldn’t call home. Pa would have killed John.”

The sisters grapple as to what to fill in first. “Ruby, Stop a second, I’m gonna start first from the beginning. OK?”

“Oh, please, please.” Ruby holds the phone close to her ear, sits on the couch and listens with eyes wide open. Sid watches his mom and has an idea who is on the other side calling.

“Right after you and pa pulled out of the driveway, I phoned Hank. He came right over and helped me pack up. We drove away leaving no note at all. We went to Rivervine, got married and worked at the truck stop diner. Then soon afterward we got a letter from an attorney. Pa died. He left the farm to both of us.  We decided to move back there and make it our home; after all, ma lived there before our screw-up dad became dangerous. Hank left our address to Ernie, thinking he might know John. His family moved away and we didn’t have a clue how to find them. We prayed he’d find you.”

“Oh, my gosh, John was actually at the doorstep as I left the Home.  They wouldn’t even let me see my baby. They informed me as an unwed mother I had no rights. They would find an appropriate home for my baby. I just knew it was a boy.  I turned 18 just a few days after getting out of the Home. We both got jobs, I’m a seamstress and John drives a tanker. We tried to hire a lawyer but it was god awful expensive. We have Sid, and three darling little girls. Sis, we have to get together. Our families have suffered long enough.” 

“Pa screamed at me the whole way to the Home, telling me how I dishonored the name of Murphy by whoring around and getting into trouble without the blessings of wedlock. Murphy’s have lived on this farm for generations and I shoot our family name all to hell. I’m an embarrassment and shame to my drunken father. Then he calls ME a screw up. He mumbled nothing coherent the rest of the trip. Weaving across the lines on the road the entire way to town. I was paralyzed in fear. He drove that jalopy like a mad man. I’ll never forget.  Guardian Angels guided us safely to the Home that day.”

Sid is whispering in his mother’s face, “Can I go visit Ralph?”

“Let me talk to John, he’s due home tonight. He has some vacation time coming. We can be there tomorrow. He’s going to be thrilled to meet Ralph, too. I’ll pack now. I can’t wait to see our son and you, Sis. I really missed you awful bad.”

Millie’s eyes are teared up, her face is red from crying. “I have two beautiful daughters too. We have peace, a lovely life and a house filled with love. The only think missing is you and your family. This farm is yours too, Sis. The Barker house in the back forty is vacant. They moved out last month.  Hank sure could use the help around here too. That house is big enough for your family. Think about it on your drive up.  See you tomorrow. I love you.”

“Gosh, I will think about moving up there. I’d love that. We both miss it there. Pa was the only reason we couldn’t even think about going back. That tanker job is not how John wants to spend his life. It’s hard on his back. We’ll see you tomorrow. I love you too. Give our son a hug, and tell him we love him, will ya?”

 

----------------------REUNION------------------------------

Ruby and John drive up, getting there by noon. They all scrambled out of the car like doves escaping hawks. Millie greets Ruby with hugs and kisses while John brings the girls over to their ma, and wait to introduce themselves. The littlest is held by John.

Immediately Ruby asks, “Where’s my son?”

Ralph runs over to Ruby, looks up to her and She all but smothers him in a gigantic hug.

Ralph remembers his manners, backs away a little and says, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ma.”

“You don’t have to be formal with me, son. I have cried over losing you for a long time. Your pa and I didn’t have any idea who adopted you and we couldn’t find out. It was awful, Ralph. You are one handsome young man. I’m so glad Millie and Hank could find you and adopt you. We are all so fortunate. Today is just the beginning for our big loving family to be together.”

Ralph gives her a big hug then runs off to find Sid.

The tears, smiles, laughter, stories told and many more hugs flow as all the time lost is rediscovered and the now big happy family reunites in an explosion of joy.

John goes up to Hank, “Hey, I want to thank you for trying to get word to me where Ruby was taken. The truth is, I came to this house and confronted the old goat. He was drunk on his ass. I roughed him up a lot until he told me where he had taken Ruby. He swung his fists at me and missed every time. That’s how I found where my sweetheart was.”

Hank tells him, “I’ve been worried all these years, I couldn’t find out if you two found each other or what happened. By the way, I could sure use a partner on the farm. It’s too much work just for me.”

“I need to hang up truck driving anyway. We’re excited about moving back. We talked about it the whole way up here. We just walked out on all our friends here. It will be wonderful to see everybody again.”

Sid ran toward Ralph, “Wow, brother, imagine that! We’re gonna move here.” Buddy joins them. “This your dog?”

“Yup, this is Buddy. We’re going to have a blast, Wanna see the big tree in the back forty?”

“Sure do.”

“You’re a hick, man.” Sid teased.

“Hey, somebody has to collect the eggs, feed the chickens, milk the cows and it seems we’ll be teaming up. Then of course there’s reaping season. I’ll show you where you’re gonna live. The house ain’t far past the tree. It’s big and real nice like. You’ll love it. Oh, gosh, I almost forgot, there’s a basketball hoop there too.”

                                                   End