Young Jane Young(50)

If she was Aaron’s daughter, it would be completely out of character for Aviva Grossman to have kept such a secret for so long. That girl was the most indiscreet person Embeth had ever encountered. Have an affair with my husband, if you must, but don’t write about it on the Internet! Certainly don’t write about having anal sex with him, for the love of God. Even if you changed the names, it was only a matter of time.

“Mrs. Levin,” Tasha said, jumping out of her desk chair. “I told them to tell me when you were coming up.”

“I’m slippery,” Embeth said.

“That’s her,” Tasha said.

“Yes, I assumed a second girl hadn’t shown up,” Embeth said.

“I couldn’t find a closet, so I left her here,” Tasha said.

“I’m going to speak to her. Would you give us a moment? And Tasha, please. I’m counting on you not to breathe a word of this to anyone.”

Tasha left the office, and Embeth sat on the love seat next to the girl.

“We’re wearing the same sneakers,” Embeth said.

The girl took off her headphones. “What?” she said.

“We’re wearing the same sneakers,” Embeth said.

“Yours are black,” she said. “Mine are the pink ones, which I had to wait two extra weeks to get. Some people I know don’t like pink.”

“It’s not my favorite color,” Embeth admitted. She would love to die without ever having to see another pink ribbon for breast cancer, for instance.

“Me neither,” she said. “It’s my second favorite color. Mrs. Morgan says that not liking pink is a way of saying you don’t like women. Because women are so associated with pink.”

“I see Mrs. Morgan’s point,” Embeth said. “But, it’s worth remembering that pink is forced on women from a young age – the ubiquity of pink for girls and blue for boys in baby stores, for example. So to resist the wearing of pink is to reject old-fashioned ideas about what it means to be a woman.”

“Hmm,” the girl said. “But it’s not pink’s fault that people do that. And no one feels about blue the same way they do about pink. And the blue is forced on the boys as much as the pink is forced on the girls, so I think the issue is complicated. I think the issue is nuanced, which is one of my new favorite words. Nuanced means —”

“I’m Embeth,” Embeth managed to interject. “Embeth,” she repeated. “The congressman’s wife.”

“I know. I googled the congressman. I’m Ruby. I’m here to meet the congressman, but Tasha told you that when she called. Sorry, I heard her side. And I’m also sorry I didn’t make an appointment,” she said.

“Yes, you probably should have made an appointment, but we are where we are. Let us not be Lot’s wife, looking back toward Sodom.”

“You’re hilarious,” Ruby said.

This comment momentarily disarmed Embeth. She hadn’t meant to be funny, and also, no one had ever thought Embeth was hilarious. Occasionally, Embeth’s dry wit was noted. “I can possibly arrange a meeting for you with the congressman, but you need to answer a few questions first.”

Ruby nodded.

“Your mother is Aviva?” Embeth asked.

“Yes. She calls herself Jane now,” Ruby said.

“Why does she do that?” Embeth said.

“Because she’s a liar,” Ruby said.

Embeth had to admit that the girl had an appealing directness.

“Because she’s ashamed of herself, I think,” Ruby said in a gentler tone. “And because she’s scared people will judge her because of what she did with your husb – congressman.”

“She’s probably right. Why are you here?” Embeth said.

“I want to meet my father. I’m not sure if the congressman is him, but I want to know if he is,” Ruby said.

“And no one’s encouraged you to come here this week, of all weeks?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Ruby said.

“For instance, your mother? Might she have put you up to this?”

“My mom doesn’t know where I am,” Ruby said. “I left her a note.”

“You seem rather young to travel alone,” Embeth said.

“I am, but I’m very mature for my age. I’ve always had a lot of responsibility. My mom is an event planner, and I’ve been working for her for years.”

Embeth sighed. “You seem like a good person, Ruby —”

“I’m not,” Ruby said. “I’ve done terrible things.”

Embeth paused. “What have you done?”

“I don’t want to say. It wasn’t illegal, but it was possibly immoral,” Ruby said. “Maybe it wasn’t immoral, but it was definitely disloyal. Maybe —”

“Never mind, this seems terribly complicated,” said Embeth. “Let’s put a pin in that. You must admit, the timing of your visit is somewhat suspicious. Do you know what an election is?”

“Yes, of course I do,” Ruby said.

Embeth could tell she had insulted her. In her defense, it was difficult to know what any given child knew. “Congressman Levin is up for reelection next week, and your presence could be less than ideal for him. Whether you turn out to be the congressman’s daughter or not, there are many people who would love to dredge up the ancient scandal between him and your mother. I don’t know how much you know about that?”