Kate stayed awake a long time, listening for the motorcycle to pass by. She finally fell asleep. If Ruby came home, Kate didn’t hear the motorcycle bringing her. When she woke up it was late morning, which was okay, since it was Sunday. Mom had already gone to work, but she’d left a note saying that she and the Wilsons had agreed that it would be a good idea for Kate and Ruby to continue their candy-making. People should finish what they’d started, the note said. So after the morning chores, Kate, Chip, and Justin walked down to the Wilsons’. Kate was worried. What if Ruby still wasn’t back?
When they got to the house, Justin went around back to the workshop to see what Mr. Wilson was doing. Chip went with him, probably expecting Luther to be there, too. But when Kate went up on the porch and looked through the screen door, she saw Luther sitting on the couch next to Mrs. Wilson. She was reading to him from The Jungle Book.
“Baloo taught him the Wood and Water Laws, how to speak politely to the wild bees and how to warn the water snakes in the pools before he splashed down among them,” Mrs. Wilson read.
“Now the animals won’t hurt him, huh?” Luther asked.
“Animals are just like people, honey. Most of them won’t bother you if you don’t bother them. Only now and then you run into one that’s dangerous. You have to use a little common sense.”
Mrs. Wilson looked up and saw Kate. “Come on in, honey. Ruby’s not waked up yet, but you can go on in the kitchen and get started if you want. I’ll tell her you’re here.” To Luther she said, “I bet Chip’s around back. Why don’t you go out and show him how good you can drive old Billy now?”
Luther went out through the kitchen. Mrs. Wilson went down the hall calling, “Ruby!”
There was no answer. For one terrible minute, Kate thought that Ruby wasn’t there—that Mrs. Wilson just thought she’d come home but she really hadn’t.
Then Mrs. Wilson spoke again, much louder. “You get your head out from under that pillow, girl! This is your mama speaking to you!”
“What time is it?” Kate heard Ruby ask.
“Late!” Mrs. Wilson snapped. “Get up, now, and help Kate fix that order for Miss Tutweiler.”
“I don’t owe that old biddy anything,” Ruby grumbled sleepily.
“No, but you owe those children something,” Mrs. Wilson told her.
“What children?”
“Your son. And Kate.”
“What are you talking about, Mama?”
Kate could see Mrs. Wilson standing in the hall with her hands on her hips, looking in at Ruby. “You owe them the self-same thing I give you, which is the example of a woman who works hard and keeps her word.”
“It’s my life!” Ruby’s voice was getting louder. “And my choice!”
Kate slipped into the kitchen so it wouldn’t look like she was eavesdropping. But even in the kitchen, she could hear Mrs. Wilson’s answer to that.
“Oh, yes, daughter, you have choices. You can stay home and raise your child, or you can get a job, or you can work your pretty painted fingernails to the bone trying to establish yourself in business. But you cannot hang out all night with some no-’count boy and lay up in bed all next day. That’s one choice you don’t have, not in this house!”
Ruby’s reply was sarcastic, but it came from the hall, meaning that at least she had gotten out of bed. “Is the sermon over?”
“I don’t intend to repeat myself,” Mrs. Wilson told her.
“Good, because I’d like to go to the bathroom.”
Kate heard the bathroom door slam. It was pretty obvious that Ruby was mad at her mother for the same reason Kate was mad at Mom. Here they were trying to work hard and earn some money, and they were both getting lectured and bossed around like they were little kids. Kate looked in the fridge. There were still a lot of centers left from the previous batch of candy. Kate got down Mrs. Wilson’s Joy of Cooking and found the recipe for chocolate coating. It didn’t sound too complicated. She found the double boiler pot Ruby had used before and got the chocolate out of the cupboard. She had her finger in the recipe book, trying to figure out what to do next, when Ruby appeared in the doorway.
Ruby was wearing a red silk wrapper, the sort of thing that normally would have made her look like a movie star. But this morning her hair was frowsy and her eyes all puffy.
“Hope you know what you’re doing,” she said in a nasty voice.
“I don’t,” Kate said. “But I’m trying.”
Ruby turned a burner on under the coffee. “Follow that recipe, you’ll get ordinary chocolate. Mine is something special. It’s what they used in that specialty shop where I used to work. It’s like what they make in Switzerland.” She pushed Kate aside and carefully measured some sugar and cream into the top of the double boiler, then dropped in several squares of chocolate. She set the pot on the stove, adjusted the flame under it, and handed Kate a big spoon. “There. Stir that.”
Kate stirred. Ruby poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down. “Reckon I didn’t get more than two hours’ sleep,” she said grumpily.
“Reckon you had a good time,” Kate retorted.
“How would you know?” Ruby asked.
“Riding motorcycles is supposed to be fun,” Kate said, trying to sound equally sarcastic.
“There’s more to it than that,” Ruby mumbled.
Kate didn’t want to seem interested, but she was curious. “You didn’t like him?” she asked.
Ruby snorted. “Now what’s there to like about a fool like Bubba Lee? All he’s got is a fancy motorcycle. And how do you figure he got the money for it anyway, bragging how he doesn’t have to work like common folks?”
Ruby came to the stove, took the spoon from Kate’s hand, and checked the thickness of the chocolate. “I told him, ‘Bubba, I appreciate you taking me around, but don’t come by anymore. I got a son to raise and I can see right now you are not the helpful type.’”
“You said that to him? Right out like that?”
Ruby put her hands on her hips and gave Kate a look. “Listen, honey, with men you got to speak up for yourself. Times I didn’t, I got in a mess of trouble.”
Ruby lifted the hot, bubbling chocolate off the stove and looked at it like it was mud. “I don’t know how I got myself into this mess either. Sunday might be a day of rest for some, but looks like we got a lot of work ahead of us. How long till you get out of school for Christmas holidays?”
“Just this week and next,” Kate said. “Then I’ll be able to help more.”
“Good.” Ruby gave Kate something that could almost pass for a smile. “I’ll be needing all the help I can get.”