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Ruby frowned at the audience. "Did he call her a filly? Tell me I heard wrong . . .
Laughter.
Elsa ignored it. “You heard right. Congressman-”
“Call me Sanford. ” He pulled almost four syllables out of his name.
“The measure of a society is its compassion. ”
“What about compassion for the victims family,” Joe said, “or do you bleeding-heart liberals just want us to be compassionate toward the murderer?” He looked at Ruby. “You know something about toxic parents, Ruby. Is everything wrong in your life your mothers fault?”
Elsa nodded. “Yes, Ruby, you of all people should understand how deeply a parent can wound a child. I mean, your mother is a huge proponent of marriage. She positively waxes poetic about the sanctity of the vows-”
Ruby laughed. “So does Bill Clinton. ”
Elsa wouldnt be sidetracked by the audiences laughter. “You were probably the only person in America who wasnt surprised by the Tattler today. ”
“I dont read the tabloids,” Ruby answered.
A whisper moved through the audience, chairs squeaked. Joes enthusiastic smile dimmed. He shot a quick look at bird woman, who was standing just off-stage. Then he leaned forward. “You havent read todays Tattler?”
Rubys frown deepened. “Is that a crime now?”
Joe reached down, and for the first time Ruby noticed the newspaper folded beneath his chair. He picked it up, handed it to her. “Im sorry. You were supposed to have known. ”
Ruby felt a sudden tension in the room, the kind of hush that fell just before a bar fight started. She took the newspaper from him, opened it. At first, all she noticed was the headline: RAISING MORE THAN SPIRITS. It made her smile. How did they come up with this stuff?
Then she saw the photograph.
It was a blurry, grainy shot of two naked people entwined. The editors had carefully placed black “privacy strips” across the pertinent body parts, but there was no denying what was going on. Or who the woman was.
Ruby looked helplessly at the faces around her. Joe appeared focused, a dog poised on the scent. The therapist frowned thoughtfully. They were imagining her pain.
She tossed the newspaper down in disgust. It landed on the floor with a muffled thwack. "Theres a lesson to women everywhere in this. When your lover says,
“One little photo, honey, just for us,” you better cover your naked ass and run. "
Elsa leaned forward. “How does it make you feel to see-”
Joe raised his hands. “Were getting off the topic here. The question is, how much of our screw ups are our fault? Does a bad parent give someone a free ride to commit crime?”
“This countrys gone excuse crazy,” the congressman said, not meeting Rubys gaze. “Every time some loony bin goes crazy, we put his mother on trial. It aint right. ”
“Exactly!” Joe said. “Too damn bad if you were abused. If you do the crime, yo
u do the time. ”
Ruby sat perfectly still. There was no reason for her to speak, and truthfully, she couldnt think of a thing to say. She knew shed given Uproar what it had wanted--a reaction. Her surprise was icing on the cake. By tomorrow, she knew her blank-eyed, dimwitted reaction to the scandal would lead every report. Shed look like an idiot from coast to coast.
She should have known it would be like this . . . her big break. What a joke. How could she have been so naive?
Finally, she heard Joe wrapping up. She blinked, trying to look normal.
“Thats all the time we have for today, folks. Tune in next week, when our subject will be communicating with the dead-possible? Or just plain fraud? Thank you. ”
The applause sign lit up and the audience responded immediately, clapping thunderously.
Ruby rose from her chair and moved blindly across the stage. People were talking to her; but she couldnt hear anything they were saying.
