THE LEGACY – CHAPTER 21
Winter was finally giving up its grip on Chicago. Well, maybe giving up is a bit strong, because winter doesn't give up Chicago easily. Maybe it's better to say that winter's grip was easing up a bit. Tax day had come and gone and Ruth Camden was busy. Thanks to Mike's coaching, she was back at a hundred percent physically, and after a couple of long talks with both Marissa and Toni, she was OK emotionally as well. School was winding down at last; the job offer hadn't been made yet, but Dr. Pearson had told her that it would be made after graduation and even if it fell through, Ruthie had several other options right there in Chicago. She and Teressa were closer than ever, and still taking Tae Kwon Do; but Teressa and Grace were no longer dating. It had been a mutual decision; they had decided that as much as they liked each other, a romantic conclusion just wasn't in the cards. They had remained friends, but that was all, and both admitted to themselves that that was probably best.
Ruthie was giving up her Friday studio time so Gary could take some courses in sailing from the Coast Guard. He didn't want to do it on the weekends because he wanted it to be a surprise for Toni. Marissa was dating again, much to everyone's quiet delight. Leon was a bass in the church choir, which is where Marissa first met him. He was a cop and had transferred to Chicago from Phoenix to take a promotion. He was a Vice Lieutenant in Toni's precinct, and in the short time he had been there had already added to his considerable reputation as a good cop. All in all, that spring was one of those times when you look back and can't believe that such happy times actually exist and aren't part of some selective memory delusion. The thing is, everyone knew that chaos was coming, not because they felt that there was some mystical force at work, but because Simon Camden's wedding was fast approaching. And everyone knew that weddings were times when everything that could come unhinged; did. They had planned it for the first Saturday in May, which both families thought was way too fast. Ruthie suspected that it was that way so neither family would have a chance to throw a serious monkey wrench into the works. Not that the couple was afraid that the families could break them up, they were too much in love for that, it was just that they could do without the hassle of dealing with scheming relatives.
Lily had tapped Marjorie Babcock, an old friend and fellow law student, to be her Maid of Honor, but she had asked both Ruthie and Teressa to be Bridesmaids along with her sister Veronica. This of course meant that they would be subjected to horrible dresses and endless fittings and such. Ruthie had pleaded to allow the three of them to wear the same tuxes as the groomsmen. Simon didn't care and ultimately Lily didn't mind either. The only difference would be that the color of the cummerbund and tie would match Marjorie's dress. Marjorie was a little ticked that she had to wear a dress and the others didn't, but that was the price of being the Maid of Honor.
At the moment though, Ruthie had put all of the wedding chaos out of her mind, because the life of a young boy depended on her. He was lost in an abandoned building and would soon fall and break his neck if she didn't find him first. She had to move swiftly, but carefully so she didn't condemn him by getting injured herself. She eased her way into what used to be the foyer, its former grandeur was stripped away and now it was this hollow shell that smelled of urine and time.
"Andy" she yelled "Andy Vesage; my name is Ruth, and I'm here to help you."
"I don't need your help" a small voice floated back to her.
"This place isn't safe Andy, a friend of mine inspects buildings and he told be about how bad this place is. It's dangerous, so come on down the front stairs and let's get you home; what do you say."
"Are you gonna tell my mom I was here?"
"Nope, this is our secret; I just want to get you out of this place."
"OK"
She heard movement upstairs and soon saw a young boy headed for the stairs. The landing groaned, and plaster dusted down, but the structure held. Ruthie knew that he was supposed to fall through the floor, so she felt pretty confident that he would be fine once he was on the stairs. He came slowly down the stairs, looking at her with a bit of suspicion, but no hostility; "how do you know me" he asked.
I just moved into an apartment near here" she said "and I try to keep an eye on my neighbors. I saw you getting bullied earlier and figured you'd find somewhere to be alone."
"Did you do that when you were a kid?"
She smiled at that, he thought that she was old; "yeah, sometimes you just need to be on your own, you just need to be a bit more careful about it."
Together they headed out the front of the building "you wanna get some ice cream or just head back to your house" she asked the young boy.
He thought for a second "I probably ought to get home" he said "I don't want to be late for dinner; Mom's making lasagna, that's my favorite."
"You OK getting home" she asked "or do you want me to walk you there."
"I'm OK, are you gonna be OK getting back to your place?"
She just nodded at the boy; he was so cute "I'll be fine Andy, thanks for asking."
With that he waved and headed for his home. She shot a wistful smile at his back, and headed for O'Hare, now that she was done for the day. The wedding party was beginning to arrive, and she was the official greeter. She wondered why life could never be as uncomplicated as it was when you were twelve.
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"So Mrs. Doster, you're sure this is the person that warned you that your car was going to explode?"
The middle aged woman squinted at the picture for a moment, then sat back "well not exactly, I mean that's the girl, it's just that she didn't warn me specifically."
"What did she do then?"
"Well, she was talking to her friend and I heard her mention something she had just seen that morning on CNN about a component in some cars that made them prone to fuel line failures and explosions. Well I went out to go to the grocery and I realized that my car was one of the ones she had mentioned. Anyway, I get in but the car wouldn't start. I got scared and went back into the diner to call my husband when I hear this big woosh. I turned around and there's my car, with flames pouring out of it. If that girl hadn't been talking to her friend that day, I'd be either badly burned or dead."
"Did you notice if she was there the entire time?"
"I believe so; she was in the diner when I first arrived and she was there when I left."
"Is there any chance she could have done anything to cause what happened to your car?"
The older woman looked horrified at the idea "no, there was no time, my back was to the car for less than a minute so there wouldn't have been a way without everyone noticing. Why would you even think that?"
"Because unfortunately I see a lot of bad people in my line of work, and I've got to check out every possibility, no matter how far fetched it might sound."
"That I understand, a good reporter has to be suspicious, but no, there's no way they could have caused what happened to the car. The insurance inspector said that my fuel line had failed rather badly and there was nothing that could have been done. I just thank God I wasn't on the highway or on some busy street when it happened; that would have been a disaster."
"True indeed" Janet said, standing up. "Thank you for your time ma'am, I can't guarantee that this will make it to the paper, but I will submit it; it's a good story."
"Do you know who this young lady is" Mrs. Doster asked.
"We've met before" Janet said.
"Please thank her for me when you see her again."
"I will, I promise" Janet said; and with that she left.
She thought about what she had just heard. The purpose of the interview hadn't been to get the story, but to confirm some details, not that Mrs. Doster was aware of that fact. The most important detail was the conversation that the artist girl had been having with her friend. That conversation had been a lie. Nowhere, not on CNN, MSNBC, any other news channel or any newspaper for that matter had the issue of balky fuel lines been discussed, not in the last two years. So how did she know that the explosion was going to happen? The short answer was she couldn't, and the follow up would be that she had caused it herself. The insurance inspector she had talked to shot that one down, there was no way it was the result of tampering, it was honest failure. Janet suspected that the conversation Mrs. Doster had overheard had been a one act play for her benefit, a way to get the woman the information to save herself without telling her directly that her car was going to blow up. It was subtle, indirect and brilliant, as far as Janet was concerned. But that brought back the question, how had she known that that one specific car was going to experience the very problem that she was discussing while she was sitting right next to the owner.
Janet grimaced, if this had been a one time shot, she would just shrug it off and move on, but in the last month she had collected more than ten credible stories that involved the young artist and the facts boiled down to one thing, the girl knew stuff she couldn't possibly know. Unlike most reporters, she didn't dismiss the idea that the girl was a genuine psychic out of hand. Janet was a thorough believer in Haldane's Maxim that states 'the universe is not only stranger than we imagine, but stranger than we are capable of imagining', more things on heaven and earth yadda yadda yadda. She pulled into the Sun-Times garage and shut off her car. A realization had just hit her, and she didn't like it. As solid as she could make this story, there was no way the editors would buy it; Carson might, but the editors, never. So, what could she do, she had this incredible career making story that she was in the process of confirming, but to what end. How was she ever gonna get it published in anything other than 'The National Enquirer' or some other rag like it. Then it hit her, direct confirmation, if the girl admitted to knowing what was going to happen, and Janet had all of the background material, they would be forced to run it, and she would be known everywhere. Now that was a motivational thought the reporter realized.
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Ruthie wondered if she had done something really bad in a past life, something that merited this level of torture. The families were arriving in Chicago for the wedding and Ruthie had volunteered to pick them up and shuttle them around the city and basically show them where they needed to go. Not just the Camden's but the Bainbridge's as well. All the Camden's were in town and staying at the Blackstone because it was close to both the church and McGinty's. Ruthie had no idea where the Bainbridge's were staying, even Lily didn't know. All Ruthie did know were their names: Andrew, Celeste, William and Veronica and that they were from Philadelphia. So here she was, standing in the middle of O'Hare with a silly looking cardboard sign and hoping that there was only one group named Bainbridge. She was looking around, people watching was always an amusing pastime for her, when a very cultured voice said "my name is Bainbridge".
Ruthie looked up to see and elegant woman in her early 50's "hi I'm"
"Yes, I'm sure you're competent, even if you are a trifle underdressed, well don't expect much of a tip" the woman interrupted "where is the baggage claim?"
Ruthie held onto her anger, but just barely, obviously this silly cow thought she was hired help, it would be interesting to eavesdrop for a bit to see what kind of people these were, without their public masks on. Silently she gestured to the left and down the escalator; the four of them followed her down to baggage claim. She listened as Celeste went on about the Camdens. "Two ministers in one family, they'll probably hand us a bunch of tracts and a bible or two and try to convert us; and the mother is a school teacher" the woman snorted with obvious disdain.
Ruthie went to get a luggage cart and took the opportunity to cool down. When she got back, the talk hadn't improved. "So now she'll be staying in this awful place, or worse; moving out to California him and becoming something dreadful, like a stay at home mother. Why couldn't she come home and work in Steven's firm like we had planned?"
"You mean like you had planned" Andrew said with a bit of an edge.
"Well she agreed to it" Celeste said with a splutter.
"Yeah, just to shut you up" Veronica muttered. It was so quiet that only Ruthie could hear her.
"Where is the reception at again" William asked. Ruthie hoped William would be nice, he was certainly cute enough but it was possible that he was just as much of a snob as his mother. He was a Junior at Princeton studying Political Science; Ruthie remembered Lily talking about him once.
"A bar called McGinty's" his dad answered.
"A bar, could it get any worse" Celeste said. "Lillian is marrying some bloodsucking corporate thug and living in this disgusting city and having her reception in a bar; thank God most of our friends won't be here."
Again Ruthie was able to contain her anger by removing the luggage that was coming off. As Celeste ranted on, Veronica was pointing out which bags were theirs. After quite a while, they had the lot and Ruthie silently led them out to the parking garage. In a couple of minutes, they were approaching the McGinty's van and then it got interesting.
"Excuse me" Celeste said "where's the limousine?"
"Ruthie turned with a rather feral grin on her face "there isn't one. Let me finish introducing myself, I'm Ruth Camden, the 'corporate thug's' sister. I'm picking you up as a favor for your daughter." With that she opened the back and started loading up the luggage. The Bainbridge's all looked stunned, but none more so than Mrs. Bainbridge. Silently they all climbed into the van, all except William. He actually helped her with the luggage and muttered "sorry" in her ear.
Ruthie gave him a warm smile and got in the driver's seat, and he got in the shotgun seat. "Where to" Ruthie asked.
"The Drake Hotel" Mr. Bainbridge said. "So what's the agenda Ms. Camden?"
Ruthie explained the itinerary to Lily's family as they rode in on the Kennedy. There was a meet the family thing tonight with the four parents and Simon and Lily going out together, meanwhile all the siblings and friends would be at McGinty's getting to know one another. Tomorrow evening would be the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner as well as the bachelor and bachelorette parties. Finally, at noon, two days from now would be the wedding, with the reception at McGinty's of course.
"Do you know where they're going for their honeymoon" William asked.
"St. John's in the Virgin Islands" Ruthie answered. "Simon's always wanted to go there and Lily said she thought it sounded great."
"What about you, anywhere you want to go?"
Ruthie looked at him for a moment, "nope, there's nowhere I'd rather be than Chicago."
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The meet and greets seemed to go pretty well, everyone returned from the parents gathering, and everyone still seemed to be talking to each other. As for the siblings, Veronica seemed to be a great girl, she Ruthie had hit it off pretty well, as she had with Teressa later. William was cute and charming; unfortunately he was also definitely taken. 'Just my luck' Ruthie thought, but he was still fun to hang with. Ruthie wandered over to where Teressa and Veronica were sitting. Upon seeing her, Veronica asked "so where are the bridesmaid dresses?"
"We're not wearing dresses" Ruthie answered with a bit of a smirk "we're wearing Tuxedos."
"Really" Veronica asked "that is so cool. Can I see mine?"
"Sure" Teressa said "they're back in the breakroom."
The three girls walked back there and they showed Veronica her Tux. "I love it" she said "whose idea was this anyway?"
"This was Camden's great contribution to the wedding" Teressa said with a grin "you see, neither of us are really dress type girls, plus this is cheaper."
"Makes sense" Veronica said. She started stripping the bag off of her Tux and Teressa asked her "what are you doing?"
"Making sure it fits" the girl replied.
The three of them chatted while Veronica got into her Tux. When she walked out into McGinty's Celeste was the first one to see her.
"Veronica, why are you wearing that horrid thing?"
"Because I'm a bridesmaid mother, this is what we're wearing."
"You are not wearing that at your sister's wedding!"
"Actually, mother, they all are, except Marjory and myself" Lily interjected. "We decided it was inexpensive and cute, and much more comfortable."
Celeste spluttered for a few more seconds, then realized she wouldn't win this one and relented. It was becoming painfully clear that Celeste would object to anything that wasn't traditional, unfortunately neither Simon nor Lily were very traditional.
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Both families made it through the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner without any serious fights or homicides. The bachelorette party was subdued due to the presence of both Annie and Celeste, but everyone still managed to have a good time. Ruthie never heard anything about the bachelor party, but Simon looked seriously hung over the next morning. The wedding didn't quite go off without a hitch, but the incidents were minor, and only served to provide a little extra drama to the scene. It was beautiful and people cried; Ruthie caught the bouquet much to her embarrassment. She honestly didn't think that this kind of day be part of her life; but every now and then it was nice thing to dream about.
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The reception got a bit rowdy, and then someone fired up the karaoke machine. Astoundingly enough, it was Celeste that took the first turn and belted out a very passable version of 'Can you feel the Love Tonight'. To say that everyone was flabbergasted would be a tremendous understatement considering how she had behaved earlier. Ruthie supposed she was trying to make up for being a pain in everyone's backside. Marissa pointed out that maybe she had been nervous about being accepted, and that had caused her to put on airs. Well, for whatever reason at the reception she really was the life of the party and the Camden's as a group were happy that Simon had married into such a nice family.
A couple of days later, after everyone was gone, Ruthie sat at a table in McGinty's and thought about the whole wedding as she stared out into the night. How two people of such different backgrounds could find each other seemed unbelievable to her. She was an artist, and therefore a romantic by default, but to find the one person that makes you complete was an impossible task as far as she was concerned. She supposed he was out there somewhere, but the odds of her bumping into him were astronomically against. Ruthie supposed that she was too picky, 'I'm looking for a custom fit in an off the rack world' she thought, and the thought was bittersweet because she wanted to be in love, but she didn't want to have to compromise to find it. With that she headed out into the night and back to her dorm and back to her single life. She figured that alone was just what she was meant to be.
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Janet Aguilera was reflecting in the dark as well. What were her options, honestly? She knew that she would need direct confirmation, but she also realized that the girl probably wanted to keep things quiet, so she wasn't going to blurt out that she was a psychic, certainly not to someone she didn't trust. She was going to have to be tricked into it, something that gave Janet pause. She was all for getting the story, but there were certain ethical lines that were dangerous to flirt with. Using a taped conversation to coerce a confirmation of a story was as old a trick as existed, which still didn't make it right. Janet had always felt that such stories were tainted somehow, like the reporter would have gotten the story with a bit more hard work. Now she was faced with the situation of sinking to a level she didn't want to work at to push through a story that she really thought needed to be written. Maybe Carson would be able to help, the girl thought. So she put out her light and rolled over and tried to sleep, it didn't come easily.