THE LEGACY – CHAPTER 4
It was another week before she saw the very busy Mr. Hobson again. She had been trying to catch him to tell him 'thank you' for the tickets, but he just hadn't been around. But she walked in on Monday, and there he was. "How's it going RC" he asked.
The nickname that Brent had bestowed on her had grown until only Marissa called her Ruth. Even Teressa, who had always called her 'Camden', used 'RC' on occasion. Ruthie didn't mind at all, in fact she felt a bit honored that they noticed her enough to even give her a nickname.
"Could I talk to you for a second" her boss asked.
"Sure" she said "just let me hang my stuff up, and I'll be right there."
When she got back to the bar, he hadn't changed positions, but now the ginger tabby was on the bar next to him, and Gary was absently stroking its back.
"He's beautiful" Ruthie said, stroking the cat as well "what's his name?"
"He doesn't really have one, so I just call him Cat."
Ruthie looked into the cat's green eyes for a second "it fit's" she said at last.
"I was wondering if you could do me a favor."
"Sure Mr. Hobson, what do you need?"
"Well you might want to hear what it is first, before you say yes."
"After those tickets, I owe you one."
Gary just shook his head in denial, but plowed on. "I'm in the 'Orchard Street Shakespeare Company' and we're doing 'Taming of the Shrew' this year. I was wondering if you could do the sets and scenery and stuff."
"Sure, when do you need it, and where's the theater?"
"The play is the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and I'm headed down there tomorrow at four in the afternoon, could you come with me then?"
"Like I said, sure; was there anything else?"
"Just one, your parents don't know do they?"
"Know about what" she answered quickly, suddenly nervous.
Gary just shook his head "they don't have the first clue".
"About what Mr. Hobson?"
"About how good you are, how talented you are. They think art school is some sort of pastime until you find a husband or something, don't they?"
Ruthie didn't want to answer, she suddenly felt ashamed of her parents and their attitude, how they had never asked her why she did what she did, had never asked her what she wanted to do with her life; or worse, had laughed when she told them the truth, unwilling to believe that she was serious. "Nope, no clue whatsoever. They have their lives Mr. Hobson, art isn't a major part of it."
"But their kids are, from what little I've heard I know that much."
She leaned forward on the bar, her face suddenly fierce "do you know what they called it, the best art school in America; they called it 'that place'. They couldn't even say the name. And even though I got a full scholarship, they weren't going to let me come here until Simon got a job here in Chicago. They already have my life planned out for me Mr. Hobson, in their eyes; all I'm doing is delaying it a bit."
"Does your brother know?"
"Not yet, but from what I told him last Monday, he should be close to figuring it out."
"But the National Gallery, Time Magazine, how could they not know?"
"I don't know, I just keep waiting for them to mention it, and they never do."
"Maybe you should tell them, it might help them understand the life you want to lead."
"Are you speaking from experience", sheasked with a waspish tone.
"Yeah, I am" he replied, ignoring the tone of her question. "I was this hot-shot stock broker, then it just stopped being what I wanted to do. I quit, and later took over this place. My folks were not real understanding at first, and I resented them for it. But eventually we talked and they realized how much happier I was. Once I showed them that, things got a lot better."
"Maybe I should. I mean communication does go both ways after all. She sighed "Thanks for the advice Mr. Hobson, I won't guarantee I'll take it, but I will think about it."
"Understood" Gary replied. "Actually there is one more question I had." When Ruth turned to look at him, he continued "why haven't you sold anything, you wouldn't need to be working here, that's for certain?"
Ruthie glared at him for a second, and then realized that he honestly didn't understand; "would you sell your cat,Mr. Hobsonor your parents, or your wife, or your friends? No, of course you wouldn't, but you would allow them to be with other people, people that cared about them for who they were, not what they represent. I could never put a price on my art, it would be like pricing my kids, but if someone genuinely loves it for what it is and what it says, and not because my name is on it, then I let it go, but never for money." With that, she went to get ready to work.
Gary wandered back into the office, from the look on her face, he didn't' need to ask Marissa if she'd heard the conversation. "Well what do you think?"
"I think I understand why most people think artists are a few cards short of a full deck; they just don't look at life the same way that most people do."
"Do you think she's alright?"
"Are you asking my professional opinion?"
"Sure, as a bar owner, tell me what you think."
Marissa laughed at his intentional misunderstanding, then got serious. "I think she's one of the best people I've ever met; she's kind, considerate, determined, and very ethical. The problem that most people will have with her is that they won't understand her point of view, few people really could."
"Teressa tried to explain it to me, now I think I'm beginning to understand."
The two friends fell silent, contemplating the dark haired girl in the other room. There was a third person contemplating the waitress, but Cat kept his opinions to himself.
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Tuesday was a pretty slow day, both for Ruthie and for McGinty's. She was able to leave work, get a bit done on a project, change into something a bit cleaner, and still be early. Gary was waiting for her, and together they headed over to the theater. They didn't really say much to each other on the way, yesterday they each had gotten more food for thought than they had expected or quite possibly wanted. They got to the theater and went in. There were about two dozen people there and they all greeted Gary warmly. He immediately introduced Ruthie as someone who had volunteered to work on the scenery and whatnot. He had no more than gotten this out of his mouth, than she was seized by a short, red haired woman.
"Ah, someone creative to help out our small production."
"Ruth Camden, this is Bonnie Russo, she's the director" Gary supplied.
Once the other woman had let go of Ruthie, she remembered her manners "nice to meet you" she said.
"And you darling, so what are you going to do for us?"
"Well, that depends, how do you want the production to look? Do you want it traditional, avant-garde, minimalist, you tell me what you want, then I create it. Oh, and commentary is appreciated, but I can be a bit stubborn at times when it comes to the things I'm creating."
Bonnie just smiled, "minimal scenery would do splendidly, and you have total control over it, I doubt I'll even suggest anything."
Ruthie thought for a second "sounds good, I can sketch something out and have it to you in a week and the finished product ready for rehearsals by November 3."
Bonnie just beamed at her, but as the girl turned to walk away, she spoke up "do you have any ideas for costumes?"
Ruth turned "I could make some suggestions, who's your costume person?"
"Why, you are dear. I do lighting and direction, you do props, costumes and scenery, that's why I asked Gary to find someone, I was swamped doing it all."
The younger girl just nodded. As she headed to the seats to start sketching ideas, she began to wonder if she hadn't bitten off more than she could chew.
She sat back, and in between sketches, she watched Bonnie and these obviously amateur actors. They were having such fun and seemed so comfortable together; truth be told, Ruthie was a bit jealous. Suddenly the doors banged open, and a short brunette walked into the theater like she owned it. "OK Hobson, I'm here".
Crumb started to laugh "Brigatti, he talked you into this nonsense; I didn't think that was possible."
"He just talked me into trying, and if you say one word Crumb, I'll let Winslow know about a few incidents in your past" the woman's eyes flashed warning, and Crumb wisely let it go.
Ruthie was just staring at the bristling woman, wondering who she was, and how she would have the opportunity to interact with someone like Mr. Hobson; someone who seemed totally different from her. Gary walked over, and Ruthie was preparing herself for more verbal fireworks, when the spitfire just melted into his arms. It was such a sudden and total transformation that Ruthie couldn't help but laugh; unfortunately it was pretty loud. Brigatti, who had been in the process of kissing her husband, whipped around "something funny kid"?
Throwing caution out the window, Ruthie answered "Yeah, there is. You just gave the most perfect audition for Katarina that I've ever seen. You are exactly that character, exactly; and I found it funny to see someone who just embodied a role so perfectly."
Brigatti turned to Hobson "cute kid, just who the hell is she?"
Hastily Gary made the introductions "Ruth Camden, waitress and scenery designer, Toni Brigatti, my wife and maybe Katarina."
Toni knew who the girl was, at least her name. It had been bugging Gary for a week because he couldn't place her, so he had asked Toni to do a search. The girl had come up clean, heck cleaner than clean; no wants, no warrants, no arrests, no tickets, not even a warning. Brigatti had even called up some people from the girl's school, just to see if there had been some trouble that had been dealt with 'in house'. Not only was there nothing like that, but from what Toni gathered they all loved the kid, they were even thinking about offering her a job after graduation. Ruth Camden might not be a saint, but she was certainly in the ball park. Toni had heard about the painting she had done for Marissa, and thought that maybe her teachers understated the girl's quality.
On the other hand, Ruthie was a bit shocked; she hadn't known that Mr. Hobson had a girlfriend, let alone that he was married. And if she had known he was, this was the last person she would have picked as his wife. Suddenly it hit her, looking at these two very different people that were married to each other, the entire costuming scheme and the scenery was in her mind, clear as day. "Excuse me" she mumbled to Brigatti and snatched up her sketch pad.
Toni was a bit put off by the abrupt dismissal, but Bonnie was waiting to talk to her. Giving the oblivious girl a final glance, she went down to learn about her character and what was expected of her.
"Like I said, cute kid" Brigatti commented as she passed her husband. Gary looked up to see Ruth sketching away on a pad, blind to everything else around her, and then it hit him. He remembered where he had seen this girl before, sketching and statues and a diving tackle.
With a smile to himself, he went down to work with the new members of the company and learn more about his character.
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Ruthie looked up, apparently Bonnie had been calling her name for a minute now; "what?"
"I asked if you had anything to add."
"Not right now I want to talk to you after you're done, if you like my idea for the costumes then I'll present it at the next rehearsal".
Bonnie just nodded, talked for a minute or two and then dismissed the troupe. Reggie and Sophie stayed, and were running through some lines while Bonnie went up to see what Ruth had to say. Ruth showed her the sketches of the set and scenery that she had made, and she explained her idea for the costumes. When she got done Bonnie was stunned.
"You've never done anything like this before, designed sets, props, costumes?"
"No, never; is it that bad?"
"Bad, no my darling it is the most original design I've ever seen, and your costume idea is just brilliant. Did you have any idea what you were going to do before you got here?"
"No, it just came to me."
"Well if you ever want to do this full time just let me know, I could give you the names of some people in New York and Los Angeles who would be very interested in your work."
"Thanks Bonnie, but no; this is just a favor to Mr. Hobson. I've got other things I want to do with my life."
"All right, but be sure and let me know if you change your mind."
"I will, good night." And with that, Ruthie left the theater. She didn't take her usual route home; she wanted some time to think. Bonnie seemed to know what she was doing, and had loved Ruthie's work; maybe she should consider doing something like set design, at least to pay the bills. She was headed across the LaSalle Street Bridge, when she heard someone yell for help. She ran toward the sound, and saw a rather disheveled woman running the other way. Up ahead, under a street-light, she saw Mr. Hobson facing a guy with a knife.
"Listen buddy, she's gone and I'm broke, so why don't you call it a night."
"I need the money man, I need to score."
"Not here, and not now, so give it a rest huh."
"You chased away my mark, now I'm gonna take it outa your ass."
The younger man began to stalk Gary; Ruthie was looking around for a weapon or something so she could help, when help arrived.
"OK, drop the knife Zorro."
The young man looked up and Ruth looked over to see Toni Brigatti with a gun. "Come on; drop the thing before you hurt yourself."
"Why should I?"
"Because I'm pointing a 10 mm Smith and Wesson Police Special at you you moron, and the longer we talk, the more I'd rather shoot you and save myself the paper-work I'll have to go through to arrest your dumb ass."
Brigatti's tone and the fact that her pistol was drawing a steady bead on his forehead convinced the guy that she was serious. Slowly he put the knife down.
"Good boy, now hands above your head." As he complied, she frisked him, cuffed him, and sat him down by the bridges railing. Then she turned to her husband. "Dammit Hobson, why don't ya tell me when you're gonna stop something like this."
"It was just a mugging Toni, I thought I had it under control."
"Whatever, you just be more careful, I don't want to have to come down to the morgue and ID your dead ass because you thought you had something under control; alright."
"Your right Toni, I should have let you know."
"Be sure you do; hey did you at least get a 'thank you' this time?"
"Nah, I rarely get those, you know that. That's one reason I remembered RC, she actually thanked me, twice."
The rest of the conversation was drowned out when a patrol car pulled up. Brigatti identified herself, and had the officers take the mugger away. Ruthie used the noise and the lights to get out of there without being seen. She was still trying to figure out everything that she had just seen and heard. Two things, at least seemed crystal clear. Stopping a mugging was not unusual at all for Gary Hobson, and three and a half years ago, Gary Hobson had saved her life.