Ruby's Diamond

Contest Show Don't Tell

Ruby’s Diamond

*Ruby is colorblind, which causes her to see some tones, like red or green for example, as gray.
*While listening to a newscast, Ruby packs a picnic basket.
*She arrives at her favorite picnic spot, next to a lily pond in a forested park.
*A group of young men accost her, and her colorblindness leads to a misunderstanding.

Red seedless grapes washed and plucked from their branches. Cubes of white cheddar and mancheco. Crisp rounds of sour dough bread. A 4ounce bottle of chardonnay. A bottle of chilled water. A soft well-worn gray colored cotton napkin lay atop the snacks that Ruby packed into her basket. The temperature of the items brought joy to her senses. She could taste the chilled tangy first bite of the grapes, the smooth creamy texture of the cheese. The salty crunch of the toasted pantones. Aah, and the fruity sip of wine would balance the savory with the sweet. How similar this process was to the other picnics she had prepared for herself; the familiarity of it was comforting as she hummed a musical memory from the radio station playing in the background.
Suddenly the program was interrupted by a ‘breaking news’ item: there had been a robbery at a convenience store in a nearby neighborhood the night before. Police were still in pursuit of the suspect and were asking everyone to be on the lookout for a swarthy young man wearing a Spurs baseball cap and white t-shirt. They warned listeners to call the police with information and to not approach the suspect who was considered armed and dangerous. It was a brief message and the programming returned immediately to the 60’s music that Ruby loved. She knew the lyrics to most of the songs and sang along as she watered her vegetable garden, or dusted the furniture, or prepared meals. The commentator was back on, filling in details about the local crime.
Another robbery mused Ruby. They were more and more numerous by the day, especially at this end of town. Ruby’s mother had left her a little bungalow on the east side which had suffered in the past few years. Desire for real estate in her neighborhood had declined, but she loved the little cottage in which she had grown up. Everything was in its right place and things were easy to find. She had made a few changes since her mother had passed away, but for the most part it all was the same. She had not changed the curtains or the appliances, not interested in the brighter colors of the changing market. She appreciated the linens that were softened by time and many washings. Folding clothes right out of the dryer gave her great tactile pleasure, pressing the table napkins into perfect rectangles, smoothing the edges to erase the wrinkles, dividing the tea towels into thirds and then thirds again in order to fit into the kitchen drawers, flattening the placemats and replacing them on the table.
She had thought about moving to another area, but she was so comfortable on the cul de sac with the mature trees which provided shade, a respite from the intense summer heat. She liked waving to her neighbors as she drove to the store or went to work; she enjoyed having the children trick or treat on Halloween. She could hear them playing in the street on bikes or tossing a football or kicking a soccer ball. Here was the family she did not have. The traffic was much lighter than in other parts of the town; there were fewer traffic lights and driving was much safer for her. She was especially thankful for the fewer traffic lights which always caused her confusion. Being color blind, she had had to memorize the position of the light in the traffic signal in order to determine whether the light was red or green or yellow.
Although there had been a few break-ins in the neighborhood, Ruby knew there was very little to steal from her. Her life-style was simple, frugal. Her house had not been painted in 15 years. Her car had belonged to her mother, so there were a few dents and scratches, but it still got her to where she needed to go with only the occasional change of oil and inspection in order to keep it registered. When she was at home, walking to the mailbox, shopping for a few groceries she dressed in jeans and t-shirts as she always had. Her sweatshirt still advertised the one trip she and her mother had taken to South Padre Island.
The only item of value besides her one thousand square foot house was her mother’s diamond ring which she wore daily, never removing the precious reminder of her mother. It had been her grandmother’s ring and the engagement ring that her father had given to her mother when he asked her to marry him. She loved how it sparkled in the sunlight. The light splintered into a million tints of silver and gold. She had thought about taking it off when she went out, but it gave her such pleasure that she wore it constantly. She felt safe and protected and stronger when she felt the ring on her finger; it was the only piece of jewelry she ever wore.
Ruby knew exactly where she would be going for her picnic! It was her favorite place outdoors. She could walk to the private spot; the weather had cooled so that walking was enjoyable. The slight breeze reminded her that the cotton sweatshirt and jeans were perfect clothing for the day. With her picnic tucked into her backpack with her sketch pad and a few sharpened pencils she walked along the woody path to a lily pond that lay beyond a stand of live oaks and cedars. The stretch of forest had been the promised playground that the developer had abandoned years ago when Ruby was still a child, hoping for swings and climbing structures and a soccer field. However, now it was the perfect place for visiting to see the seasons change; she watched for the crimson Creeping Charlie which wound its vines around the oaks, the Rosebud blossoms which brightened the woods in the spring, the shy Blue Bonnets poking through the fallen leaves. Years ago she had decided to carry out a chair that she could use instead of sitting on the ground. She headed for her chair now, dropped her backpack onto the naturally weathered -wood and stood looking out over the small pond.
As stood there waiting for her eyes to adjust to the light of the clearing, she thought she could hear rustling sounds in the dense cedars. Squirrels spent hours in the oak trees, collecting acorns and storing them for the colder months. She imagined them busy now as she listened for their scolding chirps, warning her to leave their habitat.
However, there were no sounds other than the rustling which seemed to be more pronounced, prolongated as she concentrated on it. Then slowly she thought she saw a slight change in the grayness of the cedar branches, as if a shadow were passing over it from a cloud above. The sky, however, was a brilliant blue. There were no clouds to create the shadow. The movement continued and out of the darkness emerged three figures dressed in very dark sweatpants, white t-shirts, and gray caps with the logo of the local basketball team, the Spurs. Something clicked in her memory back to the brief news article from earlier that morning.
Armed and dangerous! But here were three young males, one much smaller and much younger than the other two.
“What do you want? What are you doing here?” she asked. They were, after all in her space. She felt slightly surprised, frightened and yet confident of her familiar surroundings.
The older man spoke first, holding back the other two with his right arm. “Ma’am, sorry to startle you. We just need some food and water and then we will be on our way.”
“Are you the man who held up the convenience store last night?” Her confidence perhaps made her a bit too brave.
“I didn’t hold anybody up. I asked for some money, food, water anything that the clerk could give me. For my boys,” he added. “The clerk panicked and started to call the police, so we ran and have been hiding out here ever since.”
“Well, you do look rather ominous all dressed in black and gray. You do look as thought you are trying to hide something.”
“Ma’am? I know my jacket is dirty, but it is not black. It’s red. And the boys are wearing their blue school sweatshirts. We’re not trying to hide anything.”
“My mistake. This is not the first time I have made a mistake due to my being colorblind.”
“Ma’am, do you have any water in that bag? My sons haven’t had anything to drink in hours.”
“Yes, of course.” She handed him the bottle of water and the few snacks she had brought. She wished she had been more generous in packing her picnic. The few snacks were not enough to satisfy their obvious needs, but they seemed genuinely thankful.
The man and his sons had been polite, sullen, but not aggressive. She thought of herself as a good judge of character and trusted that the man was telling the truth.
“Now, tell me how you have found yourself in this predicament?”
“The short version is that we have been living out of our car for the last four months. I had found some work in a vineyard while they were planting vines, then harvest came and they needed more help. So, my boys and I worked at the vineyard during harvest. Harvest is over now and I cannot find work for myself and the boys should be in school. We are using every cent for food and water. We are out of the money I had saved from working. I am afraid I just don’t know what to do.”
This was not the first sad story that Ruby had ever heard. Having spent a lot of hours behind the tasting room bar at one of the local wineries she had listened to many stories about the challenges of life. At first, she had believed everyone and had even tried to help. Giving advice was one of her most familiar avenues of support. Her career as a caregiver at a retired home had provided the training she needed to listen and offer support to the seniors and their adult children. After retiring from the assisted living home, she had found part time work as a server at one of the wineries.
It was her skill as an active listener which made her so popular at the winery. What she came to understand and learned more effectively in her most recent experiences was that all the good advice in the world had no value unless the ideas came from the person in trouble and that that person took some action in his own behalf. With this new understanding in mind she became an even more effective listener because now she realized that by asking questions, people became more aware of what they really needed through their own answers. It was their consideration of their situation which shone a helpful light on their worries. So regular customers would return to “talk” with Ruby and buy the wine which she sold.
As the migrant family nibbled on her snacks and sipped the tepid water, she offered the father her Chardonnay. He declined and stood quietly casting his eyes away from Ruby and watched his sons share the picnic items.
“How old are your boys?”
“What?” He seemed distracted by his reflection on the scene before them.
“Your boys, how old are they?”
“Oh. Jerome is 14 and Joseph is 13.”
“They seem big for their age. And you are right they should be in school. Why aren’t they attending school? They could be getting breakfast and lunch there.”
“They have no clothes for attending school. And I have no way to register them. We have no permanent address.”
“What jobs have you tried so far since leaving the winery?”
“I’ve had a few part-time jobs gardening and landscaping which only gave us enough money to get from day to day. The weather is turning cold and there is not so much call for gardeners right now.”
“I’m afraid I’ve hit rock bottom. The convenience store was the last straw. I had hoped that I might get some water or milk or some snacks to just get us through. The boys’ mother is meeting me tonight to take them home with her. They want to stay with me, but I can’t support them any longer. I can’t even support myself. It will be better for them to be with her than to live this way.”
“Let’s get something to eat,” said Ruby. Come on boys, there are hamburgers just around the corner.”
They walked out of the park together and down to the local hamburger restaurant.
“My name is Joshua, by the way. Thank you for helping us.”
“I am Ruby. And you are welcome.”
As the boys and their father wolfed down quarter pounders and salty French fries, Ruby listened to more of Joshua’s story and discovered how he had found himself homeless. She had several ideas she wanted to share with him, but she held back, realizing if Joshua had time to think he would come up with conclusions which would fit his needs better than her.
“Why are you doing this for us?”
“Y’all seemed hungry!”
“Weren’t you afraid of us coming up on you in the woods that way?”
“At first, I was a little taken aback, but you looked more exhausted than desperate. Besides not many criminals travel with young children. And then, of course, you did notice my ring, didn’t you? An experienced thief would have already found a way to take this from me.” She held up her ring for him to see.
“The most important thing on your mind was taking care of your children.”
“You’re right about that!”
“Now let’s get down to business while the boys finish up. Do you know about the homeless shelter across town? You can stay there for a few days while you get on your feet. Your boys could get cleaned up before their mother gets here. They have clean clothes for both you and the boys. They also have money for gas so you can move on to another town if that is what you want to do. However, with your knowledge about vineyards you may find that you would fit in at the wineries.”
Ruby and Joshua spent the rest of lunch talking: Ruby asked questions and listened to Joshua; Joshua answered questions and listened to himself. By the end of their lunch and second cup of coffee, Joshua felt more hopeful than he had in days. Ruby walked with Joshua and the boys to the homeless shelter where she introduced them to the staff, her friends and colleagues from town. Joshua politely and thanked her again for her generosity. The boys were very thankful as well and thanked her with big, sincere smiles.
Ruby walked home feeling good about her accomplishments for the day. She looked down at her ring and realized how its presence had helped her feel confidence in dealing with the incident. She looked forward to returning to the pond on another day.
As usual the boys’ mother failed to show up that afternoon. In the days and weeks ahead, the shelter provided the springboard for Joshua to find food, shelter and clothing for the boys and himself so that he could look for work in the area and the boys could start school. The little family stayed together as they wanted to and Joshua found work at the winery where Ruby worked. He turned out to have a natural understanding of viticulture which only grew with experience.
The clerk of the convenience store dropped the charges because he realized he had been over excited by the incident and had not seen a weapon nor had the man been demanding in his entering the store. He had merely asked for help which the clerk felt unable to give.