A Turn in the Road (Blossom Street #8)(59)

“Earlier, when you were shopping.”

“What did he say?” Again it was Annie who asked, leaning forward in her enthusiasm to hear. “I’ll bet he was glad you called.”

“I think so…I think he even recognized my voice. I certainly recognized his. It hasn’t changed a bit. He sounded the same as he did at eighteen.”

“How did the conversation go?” Bethanne didn’t want to appear too eager, but judging by the look on Ruth’s face, she already had her answer.

“We agreed to meet before the reunion to talk.”

“Oh, Ruth, that’s wonderful.” Bethanne was pleased for her and grateful that the conversation had gone well. She’d wondered if Ruth would find the courage to contact Royce—and hoped she would.

“I talked to Jane, too.”

“Is everyone excited about the reunion?” Annie sank back against the pillow and yawned.

“Yes, and everything seems to be coming together nicely,” Ruth said, her eyes bright. “Jane told me they have the high school gym for the dinner and dance, just the way we did for the senior prom. She heard from Jim Maxwell and Alice Coan. They’ve been married for fifty years now, so it’s a double celebration for them.”

“Do you remember your senior prom?” Annie said, studying her grandmother.

Ruth laughed. “I doubt I’ll ever forget it.”

“Were you with Royce?”

“Oh, yes,” she said dreamily.

“It must’ve been so romantic.”

“Hardly.” Ruth shook her head. “Actually, it was one of the worst nights of my life.”

“Grandma, how can you say that? What happened?”

Ruth pulled down the covers and sat on the edge of the bed. “It’s quite a story.”

“Tell us,” Bethanne urged.

“Well…I might have mentioned that Royce’s parents didn’t have a lot of money. The Jamesons sold everything they owned for the opportunity to purchase an orange grove. Unfortunately, for the first couple of years the crops didn’t meet their expectations. Royce worked with his brothers and parents, but there never seemed to be enough money.”

“Did purchasing the grove pay off over time?” Bethanne asked. She hated the thought of that kind of effort going unrewarded.

“I believe so, but not while Royce was living at home.”

“What happened at the prom?” Annie asked again.

“Oh, yes, our senior prom.” Ruth smiled as she said it. “Royce asked me, and naturally I said yes.”

“Naturally,” Annie echoed.

“He couldn’t afford to buy me a corsage for the dance, so his mother did her best to make me one from orange blossoms, but it just wouldn’t stay together. Not wanting to offend her, Royce took the corsage she’d made but when it fell apart he bought me a plastic rose.”

“He bought you a plastic rose for the prom?” Annie sounded incredulous.

“Annie,” Bethanne said, “that was all he could afford.”

“Did he wear a tux?” her daughter asked, despite Bethanne’s caution.

“A tux?” Ruth repeated. “My heavens, no. He had on his Sunday best, but it wouldn’t have mattered to me if he’d been in his coveralls. He was still the handsomest boy in his class.”

Annie stared at her, clearly fascinated by this glimpse into a life so different from her own.

“He picked me up in this vehicle they used in the groves. It didn’t have a top, although it might have at one time.”

“Oh, no,” Annie gasped. “Can this get any worse?”

“I’m afraid so. It rained on our way to the prom.”

“No!”

“Oh, yes, and until you see rain in Florida, you haven’t seen rain. The drizzle we get in the Pacific Northwest can’t compare.”

“And you were in your prom dress?”

She nodded. “With my hair all done up and my new chiffon dress. I arrived at the prom looking like something that had crawled out of the Everglades.”

“Oh, Grandma.”

“Royce felt terrible.”

“The poor boy,” Bethanne said, picturing the nightmarish scene. She couldn’t imagine anything else going wrong.

“And yet Royce was wonderful about everything. He wiped the streaming mascara from my face and kissed away my tears.”

“He must have been drenched, too.”

“Oh, for sure, but he didn’t care about himself. All he wanted was to make the night special for me, and he’d tried so hard.” She smiled wryly. “We didn’t end up going to the prom, of course. He took me home and went back to his own place to change, then we spent the rest of the evening watching TV.”

Bethanne hadn’t met Royce yet, but she liked him already.

“Do you think he’s changed much over the years?” Annie asked.

“I don’t know about him,” Ruth said, “but I have.”

“We all change,” Annie said, sounding mature. “Because of the things that happen to us.”

Bethanne nodded. She’d changed since Grant had left their marriage. Changed in many ways, some of which she was only beginning to understand.