THE LEGACY – CHAPTER 7

Tuesday was the first day of rehearsals for the play, Ruthie tried to get down there early, but stuff kept coming up, so she was running late. When she finally got there it seemed like the entire cast was in mourning.

"What's the matter" she whispered to Darlene, who seemed to be Crumb's girlfriend, and was playing the Widow.

"Sophie got transferred; she's got to move to Tampa by the end of the week."

"What are you all gonna do."

Darlene's answer was interrupted by Bonnie's voice "what's with all the long faces my darlings; we've overcome worse occurrences than this. We are theater people, we improvise and strive onward. I know we will all miss Sophie, she can't be replaced, but that does not mean that someone else can not make the role theirs. We need someone who is quiet and reserved, but has an inner fire, a hidden strength." She had been walking around while talking, but now slowed and stood in the middle of a ring of actors. "We need someone with the face of an angel and the soul of an artist" she said.

Ruthie looked around and noticed that everyone was staring at her.

"Me" she squeaked "I've never acted before."

"I hadn't either until a couple of years ago" Gary said. "Give it a try, you might like it."

"But what about the scenery and props" she said in a rush, looking for an excuse.

"Teressa's been helping you with it all, I'm sure she could handle that" Reggie said.

Ruthie grimaced and Bonnie smiled as the girl's best excuse was shot down. "Well, if you don't think I'll be too awful" she said. The cast cheered.

"All right darlings, we have rehearsals to conduct and a new actress to work with, let's get started."

Ruthie gave it her best shot, but she was nervous and it showed. She was so intent on the words that she began to drone on like she was reading the phone book. Finally Bonnie took her aside.

"You've got sisters don't you?"

"Two, both older."

"Did you ever envy them for things they had and did, only to find out that they were envious of you?"

"Sure"

"Well, that's where this character is coming from."

"But I've never done this before, and you all are so good, I'm dragging everyone down."

"Listen; everyone in this play has been where you are, and remember this is Toni's first time on stage. Get help from her and Gary and Marion, they can help you get better, but only if you want to. And don't worry about the dialogue, get the character and then be the character, the words come later."

"You really think I could be Bianca?"

"There's a lot of Bianca in you, just let her out and you'll be fine; you've got the attitude, just trust yourself to let it out."

"I'll try" Ruthie said.

"That's all we expect" Bonnie answered.

They rejoined the rehearsal, and Ruthie tried it again. She tried to focus on what the other characters were saying to her, and trying to respond in character. It made for some funny moments when her California vernacular would pop out of the dialogue. Once she had done it, Brigatti started as well, and pretty soon the rest of the company was listening to Chicago slang dueling with California slang.

Finally Bonnie stopped the two women "alright ladies, you definitely have the characters down, lets work a bit more on the proper dialogue." So the rest of the night was devoted to lines, but by the end of rehearsal Ruthie had a feel for what she had to do, and found herself enjoying acting.

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Ruthie left at the same time as Gary and Toni. She was about to say something when Gary gave a start, like he had been reminded of something and said "get her back to school Toni; I just remembered an errand I need to take care of". Both women watched him head off, shaking their heads, the man was a flake, Crumb was right about that.

They were strolling back towards the school when Brigatti asked "who were you picturing when you were talking to me?"

"My sister Mary, mostly; she kept trying to do the big sister routine even though her life was a mess at the time. It really pissed me off to have this person who had made so many bad decisions trying to tell me what to do."

"Maybe she was speaking from experience, trying to make sure you didn't do what she had done."

"Yeah, that occurred to me eventually, but I was still pissed off."

Brigatti laughed "I know exactly what you mean. I was the baby of the family, two older sisters and one older brother, and they never let me forget that I was the youngest. They always had plenty of advice and tried to tell me what I should and shouldn't do. Needless to say all they really managed to do was piss me off."

"Well, I'm not the youngest, but I am the youngest girl. I try to avoid giving Sam or Dave any free advice, but sometimes that's hard."

"What about your folks, how are they on the advice front?"

"They offer a bit of advice now and again, but mostly what they do is compare."

"Compare, I don't get it."

"They say things like 'your sister Lucy is pregnant again' or 'Mary just got a promotion'; then they ask 'what's new with you', forcing you to compare your life to the other kids. They just can't let me be me; they keep trying to make me into my 'more successful' siblings."

"You think they don't do that to the other kids?"

"Nah, I'm sure they do, that doesn't mean I have to like it though."

"True, and it must be a bite with your dad being a preacher and all, having a bunch of gossipy old women talking about every screw up you commit."

"That part does kind of suck, but guess that all in all they're pretty decent people; at least they've never let me down, what's your family like?"

"My dad worked the assembly lines and bowled and went to Mass. Other than my ma and us kids, that was his life. He never complained about it, not in front of us at least, but he always had this look when he got home, like working there was killing some part of him. He died two weeks after he retired. I just came home one day, and there he was in his chair. I figured he was asleep and started fixing dinner, then my brother and his wife come over while I'm in the kitchen and she starts screaming. For the longest time I think my brother blamed me, like if I had noticed something sooner then the ambulance guys could have brought him back or something. Eventually that went away, but I'm still not over the pain that all that caused."

"So you're not close to your family?"

"Not really, my sister Marie is a couple years older than me, and we're pretty tight, but she's traveling all the time so I don't see her much. The rest of the family tolerates me, and that's about it, and I pretty much feel the same way about them. So is your family close?"

"Yes and no. You've got Matt and Lucy and their spouses and kids that live in Glen Oak along with my parents and the twins, then there's me and Simon here in Chicago, and Mary in Buffalo. But everyone still speaks to everyone else, so we're close that way."

The two were approaching Ruthie's dorm. "Thanks for walking me home Toni."

"No problem kiddo, it was fun yaking with ya; besides I want my time on the stage, we can't afford to loose anyone else."

Ruthie laughed "I'll try to behave."

"See that ya do, or I'll bust your chops."

"Goodnight Toni"

"Later RC" the older woman said as she headed back to McGinty's. Ruthie was supposed to have been mugged that night. It had just been Toni with her because Gary was off making sure a house didn't burn down. As she headed on, all thoughts of the play left her head, and she was just left hoping that her sometimes reckless husband was alright.

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As November ran on, Ruthie found herself working more at her role than her art. That was a first for her, but she didn't mind. Anyway, her grades certainly didn't suffer; she had enough work built up to last half the class the rest of the year. In addition to learning her role as Bianca, she also found herself working with Teressa on the mobile. She was doing a piece in glass that went from red to amber, with little bits of white and blue thrown in, but relatively little. Ruthie wasn't sure what effect Teressa was trying to create, but she needed the help and Ruth was there to help, it was her Camden nature after all. Another thing she found herself doing was spending a lot of time with Brigatti, and this was good for several reasons. One, Brigatti was a neat lady and Ruth enjoyed getting to know her. Two, it gave Ruth a chance to ask questions about her husband, and she got some very interesting clues. And three it allowed her more opportunity to watch her boss's comings and goings, and all this was added to the information pool. Before she knew it, the performance was almost there.

It was the Friday before the play, and Ruth was helping Teressa with the mobile, she was too nervous to work on her own stuff. For some reason Teressa wanted to call it 'Chicago's Legacy'; that didn't make a whole lot of sense to Ruthie, but then again it wasn't her piece.

"You scared about tomorrow Camden?"

"God yes, I think I'm gonna puke and pass out every time I even think about it, who knows what I'll be like at curtain time."

"You'll do fine; but even if you suck, the set and costumes are great."

"Thanks, I think."

"I'm sure you'll do fine, any chance your folks are gonna make it out here?"

"From California, no way; Simon said he'd be there though."

"You're pretty tight with your brother, aren't you?"

"Yeah, he's my best friend, other than you, and he's always been there for me, but how about you, any brothers or sisters."

"Nope, I'm an only child."

"Your folks coming up to see your brilliant set design?" As soon as Ruthie asked the question, she could sense that it upset her friend. "Hey, just forget I asked, and I'm sorry."

"No, it's alright; at least it's not your fault. It's just that my family life was pretty twisted for a while."

"Hey, my dad's a preacher; we've had every kind of weird come through our house for counseling and stuff. Not to mention the stuff that goes on in every family. So if you want to talk about it, I'm here to listen, and if not; well that's cool too."

"No, I think I want to tell you. I mean it's been four years, you'd think I'd be ready to deal with it, but it still hurts." Ruthie said nothing, knowing her friend would continue when and if she wanted.

"My folks got divorced when I was twelve or so, and it was pretty rocky before that. Anyway, it was real messy with all kinds of accusations and charges flying back and forth. I was scared most of the time; it was the worst time of my life. Finally it ended and I was with my mom, and things were pretty good. But then she died, and I had to go live with my dad."

"Was that so bad?"

"We'll just leave it at 'my dad is a raving psychotic'. I ran away and came up here, and when he found out where I was he came up and beat the crap out of Brent and Gary."

"Oh my God, where is he now?"

"Serving twenty to fifty in the Tennessee state penitentiary. If I never see him again, it'll be too soon."

"So what happened when you got here?"

"Well, I lied and got a job at McGinty's; I guess Marissa figured something was twitchy and had Toni investigate me. Anyway, between the two of them they figured out what was up. I figured I had just got a one way ticket back to Memphis, then Marissa tells me she'll be my foster mom if I want. I couldn't believe it."

"She seems like a great lady."

"She is, she took me in when I was just some red-neck runaway, and treated me like I was her daughter. Her and Gary both, they're my family; just like I really was their kid. Did you know he pays my tuition, all of it, every year."

"Really, is he rich; I mean he doesn't act it or anything."

"I don't know if he's rich, but if anyone needs money you just ask and he comes through."

"Just like that?"

"Well if you make a case for it, I mean he won't just give you money for the asking, but he's real generous."

"Sounds like you've got a great situation."

"Yeah it does, but there's something funny going on."

"What do you mean?"

"It's like there's some secret that they won't let me in on, something huge that's always around but no one talks about it."

"You mean something about your past, or why they treat you like they have?"

"No" Teressa said "I don't think it has anything to do with me specifically, it's just something that they haven't let me in on."

"That's weird."

"Yeah, but I figure if it's important, they'll clue me in on it sooner or later." Teressa stepped back from her work and motioned Ruthie to do the same. "Help me raise this thing up and we'll see if it's close to what I hope."

The two girls pulled on a rope that went up to a pulley that was attached to a pretty thick beam over the middle of Teressa's studio area; the rope was attached to the mobile. As they raised the sculpture, there was a lot of tinkling as the glass pieces hit each other, but no breakage. Eventually it was up and secured, Ruthie looked at it critically, it was good but not spectacular. She looked over at her friend, trying to think of a nice way to say average, when she noticed that Teressa looked really pleased with herself. 'This is gonna be rough' Ruthie thought, but then really saw what her friend was looking at. There were some faintly yellow spotlights shining through the sculpture and this light created shadows on the floor, but because the glass was clear, the shadows were colored. On the floor and walls around it Teressa's mobile had created the illusion of fire. Suddenly the name 'Chicago's Legacy' made a heck of a lot more sense.

Ruthie looked at her friend, eyes getting wide "Teressa, its brilliant".

"You serious Camden" Teressa asked. Ruthie was known as a harsh but honest critic and Teressa had never heard her use the word brilliant unless she was discussing Chagall.

The dark haired girl just nodded, the mobile itself was OK, but when you added the fire illusion it created, the work took on a new level and significance. "This is definitely 'Guggenheim' material."

Now Teressa knew that Ruthie was jerking her chain, she looked over at her friend to protest but immediately saw that she was serious. "You really think so?"

"You know me, I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it. And I mean it, this is fantastic."

"Well, what do you say we quit while I'm ahead and let's get out butts down to the theater for dress rehearsal?"

"Sounds like a plan, as long as we go back to McGinty's and celebrate this thing properly afterwards."

"Deal" Teressa said.

As the girls were walking Teressa spoke up "thanks for everything Camden, the idea and the support and all, I appreciate it."

"You're welcome" Ruthie replied "and thanks for trusting me enough to tell me about your folks, I know that wasn't easy."

"What can I say; you're my friend after all."

"Well thank you for being my friend; it's something I really need, even if I don't admit it a lot."

Teressa could see her friend was blushing, she realized just how hard it was for Ruthie to admit she needed people and help, so "you're welcome" was all she said.

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After dress rehearsal, Ruthie, Teressa and the rest of the cast headed back to McGinty's. It was a pretty lively evening with a lot of singing; Reggie decided to teach the cast a bunch of English pub songs, and everyone in the bar joined in. Quigley, being Irish, didn't care much for them and headed out early for once. Ruthie was getting ready to head back to her dorm when Teressa caught her arm. "Not tonight Camden, you're coming home with us."

"Why?"

"Mostly because I think you'd get lost in your current condition, but also because I want you to get some decent sleep for a change and I know you'd be up early trying to work if you stayed at the school."

Ruthie would have been inclined to argue if she didn't think Teressa was right in both cases. So she stood around enjoying herself, but not drinking any more; soon it was closing time.

Then she headed out with Teressa and Marissa and Riley (of course). Once they got to Marissa's place she just bid the girls goodnight and asked that they keep it down. Teressa and Ruthie stayed up a bit talking about school and the play tomorrow (Reggie was a nice guy, but Ruthie wasn't looking forward to kissing him). Finally they fell asleep, and for once Ruthie Camden slept through the night with no distraction or disturbance.