10 — Walking Out
October 12, 1938
Nola had the cab let her out at a corner. The neighborhood looked interesting, and a stroll to soak up some atmosphere was always lovely.
The houses here looked old, some slightly dingy, but there was a whiff of comfort in the air. A few young teenagers were jostling around on a corner, perusing a comic book. Down a wide alley, Nola saw some young men pitching pennies, though their game broke up as a large, well-polished car drove through. The young men stared at it in awe, a few even following it as it turned onto the street and stopped at what looked to be a boarding house.
Nola, curious, followed too, and watched a slim, eager-faced fellow hop out of the car and race up the steps to knock rapidly at the door of the house. A moment later, a girl emerged, elegantly dressed and chattering away cheerfully to her apparent beau.
Further along, a scattered group of children were playing what looked to be hopscotch, apparently using cracks in the pavement as lines for their court. They waved to Nola as she passed, and she nervously waved in return.
At last, Nola reached the address she had been seeking. The house was narrow, made of very dark stone with patches of mixed brickwork here and there on the facade. After a few moments of study, she made her way up and knocked at the door.
A gentleman, quite thin and a bit stooped with age, but smiling, answered.
"Well hello!" he chuckled.
"You must be our Ruby's friend."
"Yes sir. I'm Nola Charpentier."
Rather than shake her hand when offered, the man turned and cried out into the depths of the house.
"Ruby! Ruby, your friend is here!"
"Christ, Pop!" Ruby called in return, tripping down the stairs and sliding on her shoes.
"Give a girl a heart attack, why don'cha?"
She smiled when she saw Nola, still standing on the front steps, hand outstretched. Slipping past her father, Ruby shook Nola's hand, then reached back to grab her coat.
"Well, I see you've met my father," she sighed.
"Passingly, yes," Nola nodded.
The old man, meanwhile, had disappeared somewhere into the house. He cried out to Ruby one more time before she could close the door.
"You see Becky playing out there, you tell her to come inside now, hear?"
"Right, Pop!"
Slamming the door firmly, Ruby slipped her arm through Nola's.
"Well, shall we be off?" she smiled.
They were down the steps and on the sidewalk before Nola spoke.
"Who's Becky? A little sister or something?"
"Well, I did have a sister called Rebecca, but she died when we were little."
"So is your father a bit..."
"Oh! Oh, no, he meant my Becky. My little girl."
"Your little..." Nola managed, then trailed off.
"Yep. She lives with him, since my apartment's not so big and I'm always working and such. I visit four times a week, though, work and life permitting."
"I see. I... Well, this is quite..."
The thought was paused as one of the children from the impromptu hopscotch court ran up to them.
"Mama!" the small, dark-haired girl cried, and flung herself at Ruby, who crouched slightly and caught her up.
"Hello, sugar! Having a good time playing?"
"Yes. Oh, Mama, are you leaving?"
"Mm-hmm. I'm going somewhere with my friend Nola here. Say hello."
The girl regarded Nola gravely for a time, then smiled and held out her hand.
"Hi!"
"Hello, miss," Nola said, and shook the small hand.
"Sugar," Ruby said, "Granpa says you gotta head inside now, okay?"
"Aw, Mama, do I..."
"Yes, you hafta. Granpa's in charge here, remember?"
Ruby kissed her daughter's cheek, hugged her fiercely, then set her down.
"Run on, now. I'll be back Friday, all right? I'll have a present for you."
"Okay. I love you, Mama."
"I love you too, sugar."
They stood there for a while, watching the child run home. As Nola looked to Ruby, she thought she saw a glint of tears in the dark eyes.
"She's a lovely child," Nola whispered.
"She is, isn't she? She looks like my mother's side of the family, thank goodness."
"And the... Her father?"
"Not important," Ruby said quickly, turning and walking away.
Nola rushed to follow, catching up at last and offering her arm again. Ruby took it, but then released the hold.
"I... This wasn't intentional, you know. I thought she'd be in bed, or out of the way, before you picked me up. Thought you'd just be meeting my father, maybe Mother if she was around. I didn't mean..."
"I don't... I mean, I wish I'd known. I'd've brought something for her. Sweets or something."
They walked on for a while, and Nola dared to slip an arm around Ruby's shoulders. Sighing, Ruby seemed to settle into the contact.
"Most of the other gals who've found out... Well, I suppose those that aren't in show business assume right off I'm only two steps up from a whore, being a performer."
"That's not... I mean, they shouldn't... "
"Nola, I've done what I had to sometimes, for work. Most of them make the assumption and are okay with it. But a kid... Well, a kid is proof."
"So? Most people have done things out of necessity, good or bad or in-between. Doesn't mean much, except people want to survive."
Ruby stopped, bringing Nola to a halt as well.
"Are you being kind, or are you saying my having a kid doesn't bother you?"
"Why would it bother me?" Nola shrugged.
"Plenty of people have children. Why, believe it or not, my own parents have quite a few."
Ruby let out a delightful laugh and once more pressed into Nola's half-embrace.
"You know, someone once told me all you southerners are absolutely nuts. I think I'm inclined to agree."
Nola grinned.
"Does it bother you?"
"Not a bit."
Posted Oct 10, 2019, 2:48 PM UTC · edited