“What did she do?”
“What any kid her age would do, she snuck out. She went into her room and climbed out the window. I knew where she went, but there was no way I could go after her with Susan and Tommy in tow. He wasn’t more than five or six at the time and a handful all by himself.”
“So what happened?” Rose was listening intently, imagining a thirteen year old Ronnie slipping out to spend time with friends at the mall.
“She and a couple of friends of hers decided they wanted to try cigarettes. Well of course no store in the mall was going to sell three teenage girls a pack of cigarettes. Ronnie was tall for her age but still…. Anyway, they decided that if they couldn’t buy them that they’d shoplift them.”
“Oooh, did they get caught?”
“Not in the store. The silly girls were walking down Consaul Road smoking and wearing their school jackets. A policeman saw and picked them up.”
“I bet you were furious.”
“At first I was, but then I found out she took all the blame even though the cigarettes were found in one of the other girls’ pockets.”
“You mean she took the blame for someone else?”
Maria nodded and took another sip of her soda. “I didn’t tell her father. I figured that being dragged down to the police station was enough to put a scare into her.”
Rose sat quietly for a moment, deep in thought. It made perfect sense that Ronnie would try to protect others around her. She looked down at her broken legs and nodded., she thought to herself. “Maria, has Ronnie ever done something like this before?” She motioned at herself. “I mean, has she ever taken anyone in who had nowhere else to go?”
“Never,” the housekeeper replied. Rose sensed hesitation on Maria’s part and waited patiently for her to continue. “I was surprised when she brought Tabitha here and even more so when she called to say you would be staying. Ronnie is a very private woman.” She looked like she wanted to say more but decided against it.
“I have a house to clean and you have some lunch to finish up. She’ll be calling again soon.” Maria stood up and retrieved the glass from the desk. “By the way, remind her Tabitha’s appointment is tomorrow. They called today.”
“Oh, that’s right, I forgot.” Rose looked around to make sure the feline wasn’t around. “How long is she supposed to be there?”
“Just overnight,” the housekeeper replied.
“Poor thing.” The young woman’s face took on a sympathetic look. “She won’t even know what’s going on. But I suppose it’s better than letting her suffer through that heat again.”
“Oh, don’t remind me.” Maria shook her head. “I was ready to throw her out in the snowbank with all that yowling.”
“You weren’t the only one. I thought for sure Ronnie was going to do it the night she wouldn’t stop crying.” Just then the subject of conversation sauntered in and jumped on the bed to claim her nap space.
“Enjoy it while you can, Missy,” the housekeeper said to Tabitha, who responded by licking her paws and rubbing her ear.
“She’s so cute,” Rose said, reaching over to give the cat a pet.
“Cute, sure,” Maria scoffed. “You try making dinner with her underfoot and tell me how cute she is.” She leaned over and scratched Tabitha’s head. “If you’re a good kitty and stay in here while I get the mopping done I’ll give you an extra cat treat before I go, how’s that sound?”
“Oh, she likes that idea,” the young woman said when Tabitha began to purr. “I’ll keep an eye on her.”
Once Maria left, Rose set the cordless phone on her lap and waited for Ronnie’s usual after lunch phone call.
“There goes our bonus,” Susan sighed before tossing the report back on Ronnie’s desk. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a lower earnings quarter. Do you realize what a banner year it would have been without that?”
The executive opened the folder again, the numbers still incomprehensible. The losses in the Real Estate division were enough to make the entire year mediocre in terms of profit. Although all the members of the Board of Directors were family and knew exactly what was going on, the rest of the business world did not, and Cartwright Corporation had some serious explaining to do.
Ronnie ran her fingers through her hair and looked at her sister. “The whole year. He has wiped out everything we’ve done. You realize this is just the tip of the iceberg. What do you think those auditors are going to turn up when they go back to when he first took over?”
“You think he’s been stealing that long?”
“No, the annual audits would have picked up something like that. When did he start missing deadlines and taking lots of time off?”
“I don’t know…March, April maybe?”
Ronnie nodded. “Sounds right. He took that loan out in April.” She picked up her mechanical pencil and rested the tip against her lips. The action had a calming effect on her, reminding her of the fair-haired beauty waiting for her at home. “I think whatever drug he’s into he started doing back then. Probably crack or heroin.”
“Crack? Ronnie, only junkies do crack.”
“How do you think they became junkies, Sis? I don’t think crack cares if the person is rich or poor so long as they have enough for the next bag, or hit, or whatever it is they do with it.” She sighed and tapped the pencil rhythmically against her chin. “He needs help, Susan. Probably a rehab.”
“That’s pretty. When did you get it?” the redhead asked, changing the subject.
“Rose gave it to me for Christmas.” Ronnie stopped tapping it and held it out to look at the marbled swirls of blue and green accented by a thin gold band. “It has a matching pen.” Unbidden, a smile came to her lips, one that was not missed by her younger sister.
“So how’s she doing?”
It was a subject they had not spoken of since the party and Ronnie looked at her sister in surprise.
“She’s um…fine. Sees the doctor next week to have her casts changed. I think they’re going to give her a short one for her right leg.”
“Oh, that’s good.”
A silence fell between them. Ronnie usually could tell when her sister was just being solicitous but this time there seemed to be no hidden meaning, no secret agenda in her younger sibling’s words. “Um…yeah. We stopped having her nurse come because she’s able to get around pretty good all by herself.” She paused and smiled. “The itching is driving her batty, though.”
“Oh, I bet. Remember when you broke your arm? I don’t know how many times Mother caught you trying to stick a hanger or a ruler down there to scratch.” The redhead kicked her shoes off and sat down on the couch. “So, what did you get her? And come over here for a while. I’m tired of talking across the room.”
Dark eyebrows raised. “Since when have you wanted to talk about Rose?”
“I didn’t say I wanted to talk about her, I just asked you what you got her for Christmas, that’s all.” Susan looked down at her fingernails, obviously avoiding her sister’s gaze. Ronnie was hesitant to open up, uncertain about the sudden change of attitude.