Chapter 5 Ruby

Chapter 5

Ruby

Tonight was the night.

The ballroom of The Blackstone was filled to bursting. The columns and intricate molding of the recently built hotel were inspired by classical designs and made Ruby feel like she had been transported back in time. The gold leaf in the ceiling glowed bright, and the chandeliers bathed the ballroom in radiant warmth. Red, white, and blue banners decorated the small stage built the night before. Framed posters featuring her father’s face reclined in their shoulder-height easels—the same images that had been circulating in the papers and had hung in store windows for months. They seemed to watch her every gesture now as she made her way about the room, thanking her father’s supporters for their donations or hard work.

Gathered around high-top tables, Chicago’s elite and a few of the city’s working-class leaders drank signature cocktails and regaled each other with stories of Mr.Tremaine’s goodwill as they awaited the election results.

“He stands with the men in the railroad union.”

“He backs Black-owned businesses.”

“I heard he and Dr.Dan are looking to increase funding for Provident Hospital.”

Ruby looked to where Dr.Daniel Hale Williams stood with the older gentlemen. As one of the first doctors to perform open-heart surgery successfully, he inspired many other aspiring Black doctors and nurses to apply for Provident’s training program, it was true. His endorsement was highly sought after. Ruby smiled. The doctor’s continued support was a good sign.

Their voices grew as the night rolled on. The air buzzed with alcohol and anticipation.

Ruby grinned. I didn’t know Papa could throw such a party! She was happy to see Arthur and Anna Barton advance through the room with a charming ease, though she noticed Harrison’s younger sister kept her distance from Helen. She was not surprised to spot Edgar “Just Carter” Carter and his sister, Odette, mingling with some of the younger guests. The sibling pair seemed to be everywhere Ruby turned since their appearance at her engagement party the other week. Odette had been singled out by Mrs.Johnson, a known gossip, as a new face. Now the younger Carter escorted the influential matron from the refreshments table back to her seat, speaking with their heads close together, save for the laughs they exchanged. Odette appeared as attentive as her brother was forward. The young people in Ruby’s set welcomed them with enthusiasm—Odette, especially. Her charm was magnetic.

Tonight, Ruby’s father would discover the strength of his own magnetism. He’d know the results of this election. His work, his family’s sacrifice—they would see if it was all worth it.

Ruby held her namesake necklace and bent her head toward Harrison. “I can’t wait for this all to be over and for things to return to normal.”

“Normal?” Harrison rubbed small circles on her back. “Your father—your family—may become more famous than you can imagine. The first Black mayor of Chicago.” He shook his head. “This could be the beginning of a new normal, but not the old one.”

Ruby lifted her chin. Harrison was right. Her father could make history. He could make the changes they all wanted for their city. Her family would be well-respected. People would think twice before whispering about their dwindled finances, their diminished home. It wouldn’t matter whom she chose to marry, or how she spent her time. She wouldn’t need to endure the curious glances thrown at her even as people sung her father’s praises.

She smoothed the front of her lavender dress. The bodice hugged her curves, and the pleats and ruffles added a whimsical touch that she rarely indulged. Yes, the silhouette turned heads, but the overall look was wholesome and endearing and everything a mayor’s daughter should be. Her hair was smoothed down and pinned behind her ears. The curls released from the rollers that afternoon were glossy and soft. Margaret, the maid she and her mother shared, was so excited about tonight’s events that she’d made a rose-shaped barrette from the remnant fabric of the dress—but only after grumbling over Ruby’s rough sketches, her vision for the final garment. One could never tell that Ruby’s whole outfit was repurposed from clothing she already owned.

“You’re right,” Ruby said now. “A new normal.” She held Harrison’s arm. For a moment, it felt like all eyes were on them. Then her father’s campaign team was on to the next group. They flitted about the room like a swarm of birds. One gentleman ran back and forth from the courthouse, where ballots were being tallied, to provide updates. Her mother entertained the wives, sharing their family’s calling for service.

She saw Olivia deep in conversation with an older woman—Mrs.Woodard, Ruby thought—and one of the maids who worked at Freeport. Hetty. Olivia appeared excited, despite her controlled manners. Ruby smiled to see her friend happy and in her element.

“We’ll need to make time to do publicity with my parents every so often,” Ruby continued.

Harrison slipped his arm around her waist and held her close. The tension in her back eased. “I expect as much,” he said. “You know I admire what your father is trying to do. So many need a voice, a champion.”

Ruby wished her parents could look past their snap judgments of Harrison, their prejudice at his mixed heritage, and see this side of him. The part of him that was wonder and regard and sensitive observation. He made her feel cherished and wanted in a way that caused the confidence she wore to be less of a shield and more a representation of her true self.

That is, until the stares coming her way took on a sharper glint. A razor’s edge. The whispers, their meaning just out of reach, seemed to stick her like pins. What had been curious looks now felt barbed.

“What’s going on?” Harrison frowned. His own confusion unsettled her, and she thought to look for her father.

Just as she did, Mr.Tremaine stood abruptly. The chair behind him fell back with a crack that drew gasps. He hastily buttoned his suit jacket closed as someone righted the chair. Ruby gripped Harrison’s arm tightly. Dread curled its fingers around her. “Something’s wrong,” she said.

Mr.Tremaine and the gentlemen around him stalked off to a private room to the side of the ballroom.

“Where is my mother?”

Harrison turned as Ruby searched the faces around them. She couldn’t find Mrs.Tremaine. Had the band started playing louder? The notes bounced off the walls and pressed against her. She flinched when the symbols crashed.

“Ruby.” Mrs.Tremaine appeared at her side and looped her arm through her daughter’s. “Come with me.” Ruby sighed with relief. She grabbed Harrison’s hand before her mother could separate them with a look or a word.

They followed her mother into the smaller room. Ruby hoped for good news—hoped her instincts had been wrong.

Inside, her father sat against a desk. He blotted his face with his silk handkerchief. He was flushed. The tie at his neck loose. Men milled around him like sharks around a wounded whale.

“What’s happened?” her mother asked.

Ruby’s throat was too dry to speak. She swallowed hard.

The men turned slowly toward the youngest among them—a court clerk, the one tasked with relaying updates from the courthouse where the ballots were counted. He coughed, wringing his hat in his hands.

Mrs.Tremaine dropped Ruby’s arm and placed her hands on her hips, which flared gorgeously in the dark blue dress she’d chosen to ensure she looked formidable. She stared down the young man like he was a wayward child. “I’d prefer not to ask twice,” she said.

The young man with the hat stood his ground. “I’m afraid it’s the worst news.” He glanced back at Mr.Tremaine, his brow furrowing. “Mr.Tremaine has lost.”

Lost?

The word sounded foreign. The tightness in Ruby’s chest returned. She wasn’t sure if she should run to her father or demand a recount. Surely this young man was mistaken. Her mother passed her in a rustle of tulle. Mrs.Tremaine placed a hand on her husband’s shoulder and pressed her forehead to his. They exchanged words in a hushed tone, and pulled apart after a moment of uncomfortable silence, their faces tense.

Mr.Tremaine asked, “Do we know why?”

The men exchanged glances. They looked even more uneasy.

“Well, out with it!” her father shouted. Ruby had rarely heard him raise his voice. Even within the last year when the stress of the campaign had stretched his nerves thin and drained the wealth he’d worked so hard to accumulate. He didn’t even shout last week when the family lawyer came through to have their assets evaluated and auctioned off so they could keep their house. The whole thing was humiliating, despite his admirable ambitions and desire to help Black progress. Ruby nearly forgot herself in the journey. It had taken everything in her to stand up to her parents and choose the man who now stood beside her.

Again, it was the young gentleman who spoke first. He cleared his throat and said, “There are a few factors. Some cite your vocal support of Black initiatives as going too far and doubt your ability to appeal to the voters of the city at large . ” Meaning white voters, Ruby thought. “But there has also been talk. Rumors—unfounded, of course—that the virtuous Miss Tremaine and respectful Mr.Barton have been”—he cleared his throat—“intimate . ”

Ruby gasped and felt Harrison stiffen at her side.

“Mr.and Mrs.Tremaine, I assure you, we have been more than proper.” Harrison, poised but with an edge of panic, licked his lips, making Ruby think of how they felt pressed against hers. But surely, that—a kiss—wasn’t enough to warrant such terrible gossip.

“It isn’t true,” she said. “Papa, Mother, you must know. This is ridiculous.”

The young man rubbed his jaw. Slowly, anger seeped into the features of the men in front of her, forcing her to step away from her parents. She knew she hadn’t been the best, most obedient daughter. But she would never commit such a transgression as this.

“If it’s not with Mr.Barton,” said her father, “then with whom?”

“With no one!” Ruby’s skin burned as if her blood boiled beneath her skin. How could her own father suggest that she would not only be unfaithful to her fiancé but sabotage the campaign? After all the misery she’d endured, she’d wanted nothing but for him to win, and they’d finally be one step closer to the life and family she knew and missed.

But before Harrison, there was John, she thought.

Mr.Tremaine’s eyes narrowed at what Ruby knew was guilt in her expression. Her father paced to the wall and back. “Everybody, out!”

The men quickly scattered from the room. Ruby started to back away too when he pointed at her. “Not you.”

“Papa—”

“Mr.Tremaine,” Harrison started.

“Mr.Barton, I’d like to speak with my daughter alone.”

Harrison kept his gaze leveled at Mr.Tremaine. “If it’s all the same to you, sir, I’d like to stay.”

Ruby stilled. Her father looked hard at Harrison, and if she didn’t know better, she’d say there was a shift in his expression. Ruby pressed her shoulder to Harrison’s. “Papa?”

Her father cut his gaze to hers. “We have let your behavior go unchecked for far too long.” Mr.Tremaine vibrated with rage, the moment of tacit acknowledgment over—this is what he really thought of her. He loomed closer. “These flirtations are not harmless fun. You stole a dress from a department store! And left your mother to answer for your recklessness and suffer the shame in your absence. Only my good name saved you from jail.” He tugged on the lapels of his jacket. His chest heaved beneath it. He stood less than a foot from them now. Behind him, her mother stood quietly, listening. In that moment, Ruby could see what her father thought a bride and wife should be, what he thought she should be: obedient, dutiful, and in the background.

Ruby silenced Harrison with her eyes. He had begun to shift as if about to confront her father. It would only make things worse.

Outside the door, the party went on, the guests still unaware of the election results. The crowd laughed and danced to music that spilled into the streets. This was meant to be a celebration. Now all Ruby could think of was the mess she hadn’t, for a change, created, though everyone seemed sure she had.