The Haunting of Ruby Shane (part 5)

I couldn't stay gone for 2 weeks. Go figure.. I missed you all too much, and I missed writing . This is part 5 of the story I have been working on..
Part 4 is all the way back on June 12 th.
Today is my 400th post.


The Haunting of Ruby Shane

I stood there with my head hung down, with a purple eye and bleeding lips. Shame clothing me like an undergarment under the thread bare dress I wore.

"Uh, right now isn't a good time to be here." I stammered through my swollen lips.

I slowly looked up and Thomas was crying.

He grabbed me and held me to him. His shirt smelled of wood and earth. From the two jobs he held down, one as a carpenter and the other landscaping. It was a pleasant smell..

His tears mingled with mine. I hadn't wanted to cry but found myself crying when Thomas did.

"Mam, can I please take Ruby for a drive?" He asked Momma softly.

"Yes, Thomas go ahead she needs to get out of here for awhile." Momma was crying too.

I didn't even know Momma knew Thomas. He held my arm as I made my way to his old Ford pick-up, and he helped me in.

"How did you know where I lived?" I asked him as he started the truck.

He looked at me and said something I will always remember.

"You never forget where the brightest star in the sky is, and I have never forgot where you lived. I use to ride with my Daddy past your house in the Summer time when we were in grade school, and I would see you playing in your front yard. I thought that you had to be the most beautiful girl in the world. Even when your hair was messed up and your face was dirty."

"What about when I gave you the wrong address that day?" I asked quietly.

"I thought you had moved and so I stayed there for hours until the boy next door told me you didn't live there. I figured you needed some time, so I waited until I couldn't wait anymore then came to see you."


I cried when he told me that..The reason I had cried before was out of shame, now it was because no one had ever told me something that beautiful.

to be continued on Tuesday night...

story by Nita Barrow- Zimmerman

song tonight, Johnny and June
1st video, 2nd clip

by the way, Thanks Jeanne..Your words mean a lot.