THE LEGACY – CHAPTER 13

Ruthie figured that technically this wasn't breaking and entering because Teressa had left a window unlocked so she wasn't breaking in. She had to deliver her painting to Gary, but didn't want anyone else to see it;a midnight delivery seemed like the best solution. She slid the window that Teressa had marked upwards and climbed in. She had to go around to the door to get the painting because it was too large to come in the same way that she had. She closed and locked the window, then went around to the kitchen entrance and opened the door as quietly as possible.

She brought her painting in and closed the door behind her; she didn't turn on any lights. All her years of sneaking around the Camden house had taught her that you get caught every time you use a flashlight, so she had gotten used to getting around in the dark. She was making her way through the office when a voice came out of the darkness "is there something I could do for you Ruth?"

She didn't make a sound, she was proud of that, but her heart started doing a good imitation of a jack-hammer in her chest. "Marissa" she said "this isn't what you're probably thinking."

"Oh" she said "and what am I probably thinking?"

"That I came here to trash the place or something like that."

"No, I wasn't thinking that, you always seemed like someone who was a lot less direct than most, trashing the entire restaurant just to get back at Gary wouldn't be your style. I was thinking you were leaving something for him, something that would more adequately express your anger than simple words, am I right?"

"Yes" the young woman said "I was gonna leave the painting I did outside his door, so it would be the first thing he saw in the morning."

"Can I assume it shows him in a less than flattering light?"

"That would certainly be one way to interpret the work" Ruthie answered.

Marissa sighed, seeming to come to a decision "just leave it with me; I'll see that it gets where it needs to be."

Ruthie was astounded; she knew that Marissa and Gary had been friends for the longest of times, almost closer than siblings, and now she was offering to help with something that would bring her friend pain. "Why would you help me? Don't get me wrong, I appreciate it, but this is between me and Gary, you don't want to become mixed up in it."

"Yes I do, you're both friends, and I need to understand, I've heard what Gary has to say, I'd hear your side if you'd tell it."

"It started my freshman year; I had gone to sketch some statues. . . . . So Ruthie spilled everything, her suspicions, her evidence and her conclusions. She talked about going to the Sun-Times and what she learned there, about talking with Diaz. She told of her wanting to do something to help, but not being sure about how to go about it. She recounted the conversation with her father, his advice and her resolution to help Gary, and her way of approaching him. It all came out while Marissa just sat there in the dark, like a Sphinx; just listening.

When Ruthie had finished Marissa still just sat, the silence drew out like a blade until, finally, Marissa heaved a sigh and said "I see, thank you Ruth; you head on back and like I said, I'll make sure your painting gets to where it needs to be."

"Thanks Marissa" the younger girl said "I miss you, you know", then she turned and left out the back door, and headed back to school.

Marissa sat there in the dark of McGinty's office, she heard the door close and the outside lock fasten, but still she sat and didn't move except for a slight tremble in her shoulders. She could empathize with the young woman. Marissa knew what it was like, wanting to help and having that offer thoughtlessly rejected. Slowly the trembling eased and her emotions were once again under her control. She stood and lifted the painting, it was pretty big, then wraith-like, she moved through the bar and up to the loft; making no more sound than a breeze. She propped it outside Gary's door so it would be the first thing he saw when he opened the door at six thirty. She went back downstairs and stretched out on the couch. She loved Gary, but knew that there were times when he took the people around him for granted. Maybe Ruth's present would remind him of the price of such an attitude. "I miss you too, Ruth" the woman whispered, and then drifted off to sleep.

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Meow . . . . . THUMP

"Look for more snow today. ." Gary's hand came down on the alarm. He rolled over, trying to find Toni, but she wasn't there. His eyes shot open as he remembered that she was coming back Saturday. She had been in Pontiac over New Years, trying to reconcile with her family, he hoped it was going well, but she hadn't exactly been 'Chatty Cathy' the few times she'd called. Gary missed her, sometimes it surprised him just how huge a part of his life she had become. After all, he was not an emotional open book, as Marissa reminded him; or at least she used to. Cat was expressing his impatience at being ignored in the hallway, Gary groaned and got out of bed, as he headed towards the door, he hoped that the paper was light today; he really wanted to see RC and try to make amends for what had happened between them. He opened the door, and his eyes were immediately assaulted. It took a second to register what it was he was looking at; when he finally figured it out his heart sank, it didn't look like RC was in a very forgiving mood.

He hauled both the paper and the painting in and closed the door, for once he wasn't interested in what the paper had to say, he was staring at the painting in spite of himself, it was the angriest thing he had ever seen. The background was a mottled red and purple. When he looked at it Gary almost felt like if you could give hate a color, this would be it. Filling in around the central subject were rolled up newspapers, but where the masthead went, the words 'Screw You' had been substituted, but not typed. No, the words were in a bright red and looked as though they had been cut into the paper with a razor. Not surprisingly, the central figure was him, in triplicate. Ruthie had rendered his face three times, the middle face looked the most like him, but he could read every negative trait and emotion in this face. Gary could see his arrogance, his condescension and most of all, his selfishness stamped all over the rendering of his face. The right face simply made him look like an idiot, the kind that struggled with adding two and two together. The left face was the masterpiece though, it was anger. It was Gary's face, even his mother would recognize him, but somehow Ruthie had just morphed his features a little bit and rendered it a living portrait of mindless rage, raving and snarling. Looking at that face made him remember a line from Stevenson's 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'; "He must be deformed somewhere, he gives a strong feeling of deformity, although I couldn't specify the point". The third face of Gary showed the beast that is in all of us, just under the skin. 'This is how I appeared to her' he thought. He finally turned away, disgusted with himself. He picked up the paper, wanting to find something, anything to take his thoughts away from the canvas behind him.

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'Heart Attack in Whirlpool' was the only headline he saw that merited his special attention. Helen Vandemeer, thirty five and single, was going to die of a heart attack at the Melrose Park Spa for Women. She would fall asleep in the whirlpool and the heat would aggravate an unsuspected heart defect, causing her death. 'Spa for Women' how the heck was he supposed to get in there, no matter he thought Toni could, then he remembered; Toni wasn't there, Marissa couldn't do it and Meredith was at a seminar; crap. Unfortunately there was a grand total of one female in Chicago that knew about the paper and could pull off this save, but she wasn't talking to him. Well, at least it wasn't supposed to happen until two this afternoon, there was time. 'No time like the present to make peace' Gary thought and went downstairs to ask Marissa for advice.

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For the first time in four years, Ruthie was homesick. Something happened to her on the way back from McGinty's, as though leaving the painting meant leaving her love of Chicago as well. Right now she just wanted to be on some golden sand beach with the endless Pacific breaking in front of her. 'Damn' she thought 'I just need to get my head back in the game'. Then suddenly, with a gleam in her eye she picks out a CD, picks a tune and pushes the repeat button. She sets up a new canvas to the sound of 'California Dreamin' and starts to paint.

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"So how did you like your present" Marissa asked as soon as Gary opened the door to the office.

"You knew about that" Gary asked, a bit surprised at his partner.

"I was here last night when she brought it in. We had quite a talk, well she talked and I listened. I gotta tell you Gary, when you say the wrong things, you don't go half way. I don't think there's anything you could have said to make her angrier and more humiliated."

"Well, if you saw the painting that bit of information kinda comes across."

"What does it look like?"

Gary described the painting to her, as well as the feelings it generated in him; Marissa found it amazing that Ruth could put so much emotion into simple paint and canvas. Eventually Gary got to the paper and telling Marissa what he had to do. "How do I apologize to the girl, and at the same time ask her to pick up a burden that she says she doesn't want?"

"You think Ruth going in there is the only way to save this woman?"

"No, but I think it's the best way."

"Well there you go, do your best to apologize, and if it falls through, then go with the back up plan."

"I suppose" Gary grimaced "I better get going before I lose my nerve."

"Good luck Gary" Marissa said, and then as an afterthought "don't forget flowers Gary, you never apologize to a woman without flowers."

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Ruthie smelled the flowers before she heard the knock. She was pretty sure who it was, but she didn't hesitate to say "come in"; surprisingly she didn't pick up her Super-Soaker. She heard the door open as she pushed the pause button. She just stood in the middle of the room, facing the far wall; she didn't trust herself enough to face him yet.

"Uhhh RC, is this a bad time?"

"No worse than any other Mr. Hobson" she replied.

'Well at least she didn't shoot me or throw me out' Gary thought, 'that's a step in the right direction'. "Could I speak to you for a moment?"

Ruthie sighed "sure". Just keep it short she thought to herself. She was surprised at how his presence only made her sad now, all of her anger had been spent.

"I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am for the things I said to you. I was an idiot and I jumped to idiotic conclusions, and I accused you of things that I know you would never do. I don't expect you to trust me right away, but I do hope that in time you'll be able to at least look at me when I'm around."

She smiled at that; "was that a rehearsed speech or did you just wing it?"

"The idiot and idiotic conclusions were a prepared bit, I just worked it in" he replied, and she could hear the smile in his voice. She had noticed during the play how expressive Gary's voice could be, and now that she was listening she could hear the pain in it, underlying what he said.

"You can set the flowers on the table over there" she said, indicating a table in the corner. Gary was a bit relieved, but the girl still refused to look at him.

Ruthie heard him put the bouquet down and then retreat back to the doorway. "I also need to ask you something, a couple of things actually. The first is pretty standard which is please don't tell anyone what you know. I don't even want to think about what would happen if the paper became some kind of general knowledge."

"I promised I wouldn't and that still holds, what's number two?"

"Well, I know you said you didn't want this, but I need help; I need you to help me with the paper."

"In general"

"No, in about five hours."

Ruthie finally turned to look at him, surprise on her face "after everything you said, you want me to forgive you and help you out; just like that?"

"You don't have to forgive me, but I could really use your help."

"Why me?"

"Because you're a woman"

"Huh, why does that matter?"

"Because in five hours a woman is gonna have a heart attack in the middle of a women's health spa, someplace that I would be a bit conspicuous."

The young woman gave him a very calculating glance "how much of you being here is because you feel bad and how much is because you need my help?"

Gary honestly considered the question, "I would have come over to apologize today regardless, this just makes it more urgent" he finally said.

Ruthie just nodded "fair enough, I'll help you out, but I'm not sure if I've forgiven you just yet, understand."

Gary gave a little smile "understood" he said; "just meet me down at McGinty's about eleven, we'll work out what to do on the way over, and don't forget a bathing suit."

"Bathing suit, why?"

"Well if you're gonna be in a spa, ya gotta look like you belong there, right?"

"I suppose" Ruthie said "but just for the record, I hate wearing bathing suits."

"From California, but you hate bathing suits, that's a bit of a contradiction. I figured you'd have grown up on a beach somewhere and not worn anything else."

"What makes you think that" the girl asked.

Gary just pointed at the canvas; it was the beginning of a beautiful beach and a golden sunset. "No reason" Gary said with a grin, and with that, he left.

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Gary and Ruthie were driving towards Melrose Park; Ruthie was reading the article about the woman who was going to die.

"I can't believe you trust me with this?"

"I know you care, that's important; you're smart and resourceful and an actress and I know you don't care what other people think of you, that's a plus."

Ruthie looked over at the man driving the van "I bet you have a lot of people in this city who think you've lost it."

"Probably more than my share" Gary laughed.

They pulled up and Gary handed her about two hundred bucks and she handed him the paper "good luck RC" he said.

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Helen was looking forward to this; she'd been feeling down ever since she and Anne had decided to be apart. Well today was just for her, she'd splurged for the entire treatment, hot rock massage, a facial, manicure and pedicure, mud, the works. 'I need a bit of indulgence' she thought. She eased herself into the whirlpool, she gasped a bit at first at the temperature of the water, then slowly she sank down into the bath, savoring the feel of the hot water on her tired muscles; 'who knows' she thought 'I might meet someone interesting'. She put her head back closed her eyes and totally relaxed.

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Ruthie had impatiently gone through the basics, and spa rules and such with ill concealed impatience. The ditz behind the desk seemed enchanted by the sound of her own voice because she kept droning on and on about the same things, over and over. Ruthie sat there wondering if the woman wasn't really a robot with a bad program. "Oh, and one final thing" the bubblehead was saying "the spa has two sections to it, one is clothing optional".

"Huh" Ruthie said "clothing optional".

"You know" the girl said with a wink.

'Great' Ruthie thought 'I wonder which side she's on?' "Actually" Ruthie began tentatively "I was looking for a friend of the woman that recommended this place to me, could you tell me which side Helen Vandemeer is on?"

"We're not supposed to discuss specific clients" the girl said with a rather pointed stare.

Steeling herself, Ruthie leaned forward, put her hands on the other woman's and looking into her eyes said "it's kind of important". Maybe creating a bit of drama in the receptionists mind would get her to talk.

The receptionist just gave a little smile and squeezed Ruthie's hands "she's on the clothing optional side; I believe she should be in the whirlpool right now."

"Thank you" Ruthie said, and got up to go to the changing room. She was trying to appear as normal as possible, but it wasn't easy. Ruthie hated being naked for any reason except bathing. She got to the changing room and quickly stripped and wrapped a towel around herself while no one was around. She wasn't shy, you couldn't grow up in a houseful of people the way she had and be shy, but she had never been comfortable with her body, especially when there weren't many clothes on it. A lot of people from school had told her she could be a real hottie if she 'advertised' a bit, heck even Lucy had made a similar comment. But Ruthie had never really believed it, to the point where she hadn't had a two piece bathing suit since grade school. Now here she was running around a spa naked trying to prevent a lady from dying. That last thought firmed the young girls resolve; she needed to focus on what needed to be done, not her personal comfort level.

She walked up to the whirlpool, dropped her towel and climbed in. She saw a rather attractive and very thin blonde relaxing against the back wall of the pool; the woman's head was the only thing out of the water. Ruthie tried to be as casual as possible, now that she was here, how do you tell someone that they're in danger of having a heart attack. The woman lifted her hand out of the pool and placed it on the side as well; Ruthie had a sudden inspiration and went with it. "Excuse me" she said to the other woman.

Helen looked up, she didn't know that she had company, but there was a rather pretty brunette in the whirlpool with her. She studied the girl's face for a moment; she looked to be at least ten years younger. 'I don't rob cradles' Helen thought, but looking was still OK. "Yes"

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I noticed your hands" Ruthie said "do you really think you should be here in your condition?"

Helen gave the girl a strange look 'condition' what the hell was she talking about. "Excuse me, what condition is that?"

"Your heart condition" Ruthie replied sincerely.

"What makes you think I have a heart condition" Helen asked, both curious and angry. This little snip was spoiling her day.

"Your nails, the cuticles are discolored, and the nails are kind of blocky; both of those are signs of a serious heart condition. Are you short of breath a lot lately?"

Helen was taken aback "yes" she answered, "but it's been a fairly stressful time for me. Are you a medical student or something?"

"No, but my brother and sister in law are both doctors. He's an OB/Gyn but she's a heart specialist, that's how I know about the nails being a tell-tale."

Helen was now a bit worried, her father had a series of heart attacks when he was younger, maybe it was genetic and had been passed on. The girl had certainly been right about the shortness of breath. "Please excuse me" Helen said and quickly stood up and left the tub.

Ruthie just nodded and sat back in the tub. She rested there for about five minutes, just to make it look good, then got up and went back to the changing room and put her clothes back on. She needed to find out from Gary if the lady was going to be OK. She hurried out the door and into the McGinty's van. Gary's expression told her all that she had needed to know. She had actually saved someone's life; even if it never happened again, all the pain she had gone through was worth it. Together the two headed back to McGinty's, Gary owed the girl a beer.

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There was a fourth player in this little drama, but none of the others knew about her. Janet Aguilera had been sitting in the steam room looking out the window in the door. She had seen the girl that she had met at the paper get into the whirlpool have a little chat and then leave. Janet was curious; you didn't plunk down the money that this place cost just for a ten minute soak, not if you were an art student at least. Janet had been coming here a year and a half and had never seen the girl here before, so why was she here now, and why the quick dip and an exit. The reporter's instincts were clanging like fire bells in her head, something interesting was up.