Page 42 of The Fadeaway

"Out of the mouths of babes," Sunday says.

"Out of the mouths of babes," Ruby repeats as she shakes her head.

Her girls never cease to amaze her, and she can only hope that neither of them ever feels the need to carry the weight of her life on their backs.

Ruby

"Let's skip the book this time," Marigold Pim says as she embraces Ruby in the middle of Marooned With a Book. "No one cares about Hemingway when we need to talk about you."

This makes Ruby laugh. "We don't need to talk about me! I'm just glad to be home and to see all of you."

As Marigold picks up a plate on a side table and inspects the variety of pizzas that Ruby and her girls baked and brought to the book club meeting, she winks at Ruby. "It hasn't been the same without you."

"I've been reading your Instagram posts," Ruby says to her. "It sounds like you're about to get a book deal? Did I read that right?"

Marigold makes a zipping motion across her mouth with one hand. "I can't say too much, but apparently an editor follows me on Insta, and she loves my stance on aging gracefully. They're offering a deal for a book that's not just a beauty book, or a how-to manual, but more of a real look at what it means to age as a woman."

"So a series of essays?" Sunday asks, picking up a plate and unceremoniously putting a vegetarian slice and a pepperoni oneon it. She tucks her curly hair behind one ear as she glances at Marigold.

“Yes, that’s what we’re thinking. I have tons of stories, and I’m even thinking of writing about us—our little group here.” Marigold gestures at the other women as they greet one another, hug, fill plates with pizza, and sit down in chairs that have been loosely pulled into a circle. “Having close, supportive friendships with other women is part of what makes aging bearable, don’t you agree?”

“One hundred percent.” Sunday chooses a chair and Marigold sits next to her. “And honestly, it just makes living better. I wouldn’t have gotten through my time in D.C. without Ruby, and our friendship ultimately brought me here. I wake up every day feeling grateful for that.”

“I’m listening to this whole exchange, and I have to agree.” Ruby sits on Sunday’s other side, resting her own plate of pizza on her knees. “We go through so many things in life alone, but we process them all with our women friends, and for me, that’s where I get my clarity. After talking with you all, I always feel less alone.”

“Hi, hi, hi!” Heather Charlton-Bicks sweeps into the bookstore, waving both hands as she greets everyone. “We missed you, Ruby!”

Ruby beams at her. “I missed all ofyou. It feels so good to be back on the island, and to be in my bookshop.” Ruby looks around at the shelves of Marooned With a Book, feeling a thrill of pleasure at the tiny business she’s created for herself. The bookstore isn’t really making her any money, but it brings such unfettered joy to her life that Ruby would spend a million dollars a year, if she could, just to keep the doors open.

“We don’t want to ask too many questions,” Vanessa, one of Ruby’s bookstore employees, says as she nibbles the end of apiece of pizza. “But we want to hear anything you feel like telling us.”

“Well.” Ruby sits back in her chair, forgetting all about her pizza for a moment. “I went everywhere and I saw everything,” she says. “I almost feel like I met my mom again for the first time, which sounds crazy, but I learned so much about her life, and about her as a person.”

“Your mom was one of a kind,” Marigold says. She reaches over Sunday’s lap and touches Ruby on the arm. “She lit up a room, and she told thebeststories.”

“Apparently she had them to tell.” Ruby smiles. “I guess, like anyone, you know someone in the capacity that you know them, but there’s this whole other angle that maybe you never get to see.”

“Particularly with your own mother,” Athena pipes up. Everyone turns to look at her and her cheeks go pink. “What? It’s true. I know my mom as my mom, and you all know her as a friend, and the whole world knows her as a First Lady. Plus there’s a ton of stuff she’s done in her life that I know nothing about.”

Ruby has to agree with this, though she feels as if she’s always been pretty transparent with her girls. She truly has nothing to hide from them.

"I bet she's got secrets," Harlow says as she chews on her pizza crust. "Mom was probably totally wild when she was our age."

Ruby smiles. "Actually, I wasn't," she protests mildly. "I think I missed out on the urge to be wild and unchained. I met Jack in my twenties and we settled down pretty quickly, then I became a mom. I don't even think I've had any terribly unusual friendships, and I found out that my mother had plenty of those—the kind of unexpected friendships that I actuallyreally admire, because they stood the test of time and defied explanation.”

“Well, I think the friendships we’ve made here have been the most rewarding of my life,” Molly says as sits down in the lone empty chair. She’s got a can of Diet Coke in one hand and a plate of pizza in the other. “You ladies have been the biggest surprise I could have imagined, if I’m being perfectly honest.” Molly, widowed in her twenties, is the owner of The Scuttlebutt and the elder stateswoman of the group. In her mid-sixties, Molly has traveled the world, lived alone, had several big love affairs, and is the most pragmatic of the group.

“For me as well,” Heather adds. “I’ve been married five times and have found and lost love over and over, but having a core group of women in my life has been such a solid feeling. I can’t imagine going through life without you girls.”

“All I can say about losing my mom and then taking this trip to discover more about her life is that it makes me even more grateful for having had her as a mother. She surprises me, even in death, and I’m pretty sure that she’s not done throwing me curveballs yet.”

The other women all look at one another and smile. “May we continue to throw each other curveballs just like Patty would have,” Sunday says. She raises her can of Diet Coke in the air in a toast and everyone joins her, holding up their various drinks.

“To Patty,” Marigold says, raising her arm high.

“To Patty,” everyone chimes in as they lift their cans. Ruby grins through her tears at this impromptu moment of remembrance. “To Patty,” she whispers quietly to herself.

The women eat and talk and catch up on island gossip for the next two hours, but one thing they do not do is discuss the book they’re reading. For as much as they all love to read, they’ve quickly come to realize that the novel they choose is just a toolto bring them together, and being together is the most important part.

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