She eyed him. “Do you have children?”
“None.”
“Wife?”
“Ex-wife.”
Sure. She’d heard that before.
He winced. “What’s that look for, then?”
“Sorry. Nothing. Troubles of my own.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“I wish Ruby could settle down, find a practical way to pursue what she enjoys doing.” She sighed. “I shouldn’t have given her a deadline.”
“Your logic made perfect sense to me. If it helps, she’s already found a job.”
“Where?”
“Here. We got to talking, and I told her that the manager was looking for an extra barmaid.”
“Here?” She tried to imagine Ruby toiling behind a bar, just like her grandfather. None of her classmates would be caught dead doing something so working-class.
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye out for her.”
“Thanks for doing that. She’s not an easy girl these days.”
“That’s all right. The tougher the better.”
Virginia finished up the last drop of whiskey. Her daughter had a job. Virginia had laid down the law, and the world hadn’t fallen apart. Sure, she still had her trials ahead of her, including a wretched love life, a mysterious stalker, and the looming decision of whether to turn in the painting, but, for the moment, everything seemed a little less painful.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
November 1974
Virginia woke up the next day with one purpose in mind: Get her family life in order.
Over breakfast, she apologized to Finn for not telling him about the cancer and promised to keep him in the loop going forward. He’d choked up and told her that he’d always be there for her.
“I love you, Vee.”
They’d never, ever exchanged those words before. The O’Connor family was one of “Sleep wells” and “Very good, thens.” She silently thanked Xavier for having made her brother feel safe and brave enough to say it first.
“I love you, too.”
When Ruby arrived back from her dad’s, Virginia suggested a walk in the park. Warily, her daughter agreed.
They circled around the pond where, in the warmer months, model sailboats zigzagged across the shallow waters. The morning was brisk; frost grayed the tips of the grass.
“I hear you’ve got yourself a job already.”
Ruby dug her hands into her pockets. “Yup.”
Virginia had a hard time imagining her shy daughter working in a bustling bar. She hoped it would be a good fit. The very fact that Ruby had accepted Ryan’s offer was a good sign, though. “That’s great.”
“Once I start getting paychecks, I’m going to take a class at the New York Institute of Photography.”
“You seem determined.”
Ruby nodded, staring out across the water. “I want to prove to you and Dad that this is the right path for me.”
“Did you mention it to your dad last night?”
Ruby made a noise like fireworks, her hands splayed out.
“I take it the idea went over well.”
A reluctant grin spread over Ruby’s face; then she laughed. “He lost it. I almost came back home to you.”
Virginia spoke quickly, grateful for the opening. “You can always come home to me. I won’t lose it. I have to admit I’m impressed. It’s not even been twenty-four hours and you have a plan.” She paused. “Can I ask what happened at Sarah Lawrence? I know you were upset about academics, but was it something else?”
For a moment, it looked like Ruby was about to turn sullen, close back down. Virginia waited, hoping the storm would pass quickly. Eventually, her daughter let out a quiet, resigned sigh, one that made her seem more like an ancient woman than a coltish girl. “I felt like I was falling behind from the very first day of classes. That I’d never catch up. Late one night, I was sitting out in the hall outside my dorm room, trying to study, and I heard my suite mates talking about me inside. I thought we were all friends, but they were saying that they couldn’t wait until next year so they could replace me with someone else. That I was a drag, a dimwit.”
“I’m so sorry.” Virginia put an arm around her. “They obviously didn’t get to know you.”
“I only got accepted there because Grandma pulled strings. I don’t belong. It’s like Finn at Juilliard—he knew it wouldn’t be a good fit.”
“I understand.”
“Do you, really?” Her chin jutted out, a challenge.
“You felt like you were in over your head. I was the same after the divorce.”
“You were? How?”
“I bought an apartment that was over my budget, as a way of trying to prove that I was something that I’m not. To prove to you that our lifestyle wouldn’t change. Well, it has. And no matter how much I pretended otherwise, I’m the daughter of an Irish bar owner, not some fancy East Side lady who lunches.”
“Don’t be embarrassed by that. I’m proud of you.”
Her words brought tears to Virginia’s eyes. She hugged her. “I’m proud of you, too. So much so, I want to offer you your first professional photography job. Although I can’t pay you much.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I want to go to Grand Central together one weekend and have you take some photos of the place before it loses its landmark status and gets destroyed. Will you do that for me?”
The idea had come to Virginia last night, in a furious flash. Even if the building came down, she’d have a visual testament to its beauty. It was a way to preserve the memory of the terminal as well as show Ruby that she supported her photography with more than hollow words.
“You really have a thing for that building, don’t you?”
Virginia smiled. “I do.”
“Well, then, I’m in.”
An hour later, Virginia waited in line at the Lost and Found in Grand Central, clutching the art portfolio with the watercolor inside, unsure. When the man behind the counter offered to be of service, she stammered out an apology and turned away.
The decision not to answer the letter writer’s threat, and instead keep her appointment with the Lorettes, wasn’t an easy one, but Virginia didn’t feel unsafe. The fire, in a strange way, was a blessing, because whoever was threatening her didn’t know that she’d relocated to the Carlyle, which meant they didn’t know how to find her outside of work.
Her curiosity kept her moving forward. She wanted to learn more about Clara Darden and Levon Zakarian and how the artwork came to be. If the Lorettes dismissed it as unimportant, then she’d turn it in and be done with it, just to get the ghost of Grand Central off her tail. If they didn’t, she’d have another risky decision to make.
For now, it was time to hightail it downtown.
A cold rain began to fall as Virginia made her way to the East Village address Mrs. Lorette had given her, the very same neighborhood that Virginia had warned Ruby about. She tucked the portfolio under one arm while struggling to open her umbrella.
“Give me that.”
She looked up, surprised to see a gaunt man standing in front of her. Did he want the umbrella? She was about to ask when she caught sight of the knife in his hand. Her first thought was exasperation, not fear. Really? She was getting mugged twice in two weeks?
“Hand it over!”
Right. She needed to think clearly, not do anything stupid. The street was empty of other pedestrians. The knife shook in the man’s hand, his nails dirty, his clothes ragged. She avoided his eyes, trying to convey that she was not a threat. “Okay, okay. You can have it. Take it, I won’t bother you.”
She lifted the strap from her purse off her shoulder.
“No. The other thing.”
She let it drop back down to her shoulder. “You want my umbrella?”
“Fuck, lady, no. The other thing.”
“The portfolio?”
He nodded.
“But I have money.” She unzipped her purse, reached inside.
“I don’t want money. Give me that other thing.”