Chapter 18: Long Live The Queen

When the proud new father returned to visit his wife and his baby the following afternoon, Reba was already there. Standing beside her was the tall almost white waiter who had served them at the now renamed Lotus Garden. He turned toward Jimmy and smiled. He looked uncertain what welcome he might receive from the big man.

"He bring you?" Jimmy asked Reba.

"Yes he did. He's not like my brother in law. At least Charles brought me along to see my sister." She stuck her chin out at him.

"I looked for you and you weren't out in your cottage so I came on in."

"I was with Charles."

"You play a musical instrument?" Jimmy asked Charles.

"Why yes, I play piano." Charles looked at Jimmy, uncertain what Jimmy was getting at. I shall not get on this man's bad side, Charles decided to himself as he remembered the stories he had heard. In addition, he had seen what Jimmy did to those two who killed Senator Friend.

"Well, you want to be a member of this family you better practice hard and play good. Your life will be miserable if you don't."

"What instrument do you play, Jimmy?" Charles asked.

"Oh I don't play anything. That's why my life is so miserable," he told Charles deadpan. Then his lips curved up in a smile.

"Jimmy Honey, you just made a funny joke on purpose." Ruby motioned Jimmy to come over to the bed. "Hi Daddy," she whispered.

"Hi Mommy," he whispered back to her. He gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. "You have given me so much and I ... so little ... Oh Ruby, thank you."

"Have you seen our baby yet?" she asked. "I named her Opal after your mama. Is that okay with you?"

Jimmy ignored her question, "Oh Honey, She looks just like you. I'm going to be the best daddy in the wide world." His love for his wife shone on his face. Jimmy's throat ached and his voice broke as he told her, "You are already the best Mommy."

Reba looked at her brother in law. She shook her head. "All I have ever heard since I got here is how Jimmy Ray Haggard lifted up cars threw people through walls and took guns away from bad guys. And what do I hear coming from his mouth is mushy baby talk."

Charles grinned down at her, "Jimmy is big enough and tough enough to talk any way he so desires. I'm not going to try to stop him."

"Charles, if you ever want to get some of what you been trying to get from me, you better stand tall like a man."

"Even with Jimmy?" he asked in mock horror.

"Especially with Jimmy," Reba told him.

"Jimmy, would you make it quick and painless?" Charles asked.

"Huh? What? Make what quick and painless?" Jimmy asked. All his attention had been and still was directed toward Ruby.

"When you beat me up for defying you, please make it as fast as you can." Charles' eyes shone with humor. After a lifetime of Chinese jokes, it felt great to interact with people who looked inside him and saw a man.

"No, Jimmy. Make it long and hard and..." Reba got embarrassed as she thought of what she just said. "I mean Charles' beating."

Ruby gave her sister a suspicious look. "Little Sis, just what in hell are you blabbering about?"

"Uh, Charles long and hard..." she stumbled over her own words, "Charles getting his butt kicked."

Jimmy turned to Charles, "What is she talking about?"

Charles shrugged and shook his head. "Does she usually carry on like this? There are times when Little Sis confuses me."

"Oh, look at the time. I have to get to the station," Reba exclaimed. "Come, Charles. You drive me."

"What was that all about?"

Ruby took his hand and kissed it. "Little Sis is in love and she just stuck her foot in her mouth."

"Honey, I did not care for the way she said long and hard about me. You better believe me, I never ever even thought about it with her. It's all in her mind."

"Sweetheart I am more sure of your love than I am the sun rising tomorrow. I would trust you in a whole roomful of naked Rebas."

"Well, just don't trust me in with a whole room of naked Rubys." He kissed her on the forehead. "I would be a daddy a whole bunch of times all over again."

Fear shot through her in a queasy thrill. Oh god, Jimmy I pray you never find out what a ... She could not finish the thought. Tears filled her eyes. "Oh Jimmy, I would lay down my life for you. If it was not for you I would have no life."

The nurse brought the baby in and Jimmy watched his little daughter nurse. His chest expanded and the lump was back in his throat. "Tomorrow you come home and I'll get to watch you feed her all the time."

"Uh, Honey..." Jimmy looked toward the floor instead of at her.

"Okay, what is it Jimmy Ray Haggard, what did you do now?" Ruby was well aware of what his guilty expression meant. He had decided to do something concerning her without consulting her.

"You have a couple of maids waiting for you when you get home with our baby." Head still down, he raised his eyes and added in a hurry, "Greta said it was okay. She sent them."

In a rush, Reba understood what she had tried to ignore. She was only one person. She could not handle it all by herself. The house was too much for one person. Her outside interests were more than she could handle and still be a full time mother. "Thank you, Jimmy. I need the help."

"Well, that's a relief, I thought you were going to cloud up and rain all over me." He laughed and added, "We got two ugly little pups coming over too."

The next morning, when Jimmy pulled up the circular drive and stopped at the front porch, the front door opened and two strange black faces, young women in bright flowered maid's uniforms stepped outside to greet them. Reba stepped out behind them holding two squirming young pups. "Hey, Big Sis," she called.

One of the maids stepped forward and took the baby from Ruby's arms. She hurried inside with her precious bundle as Jimmy helped the new mother out of the car. "Watch your step, Honey," he told her.

Reba felt a flash of sadness that no one had ever talked to her in such a tender and loving way. It just isn't fair. She shoved the sad thoughts out of her mind, worked up a smile and said, "These are your two watch dogs, Big Sis."

As Jimmy eased her into the big reclining chair, Ruby laughed. "From the looks of them, that's about they can do is watch."

"Hon, these little guys are four months old. Wait till they are a year or so. They eat German Shepherds for breakfast. These are two of the All American breed."

His reassurances caused more fear. "Will they be safe around our baby?"

"I had one when I was a boy. He was the nicest dog you ever could meet. He was my only friend when I was growing up. These are family dogs." Jimmy decided not to tell her the All American Dog was also called a pit bull. He felt she had enough on her mind right then.

When the doorbell rang, Jimmy hurried to answer it. The delegation from the new governor stood waiting to be let in. Jimmy led them into the living room. Ruby looked up at the newcomers, smiled and introduced them to Opal Mae Haggard, the newest Haggard in the family.

"Now we wait," the governor's assistant said.

Jimmy was angry at the way this stranger came into his house and started to give orders. He turned to the man and said, "You better have a damned good reason to wait. My wife is tired. She needs her rest."

Wally knocked and entered. "Reba just threatened to dismember two gentlemen from the press. They insisted they were going to set up and make a movie of Ruby's first press interview since she was sworn in. She let me come in to ask you what you want her to do."

Jimmy started toward the door, his lips set in a firm line. Ruby told him, "Homey, please let them in and tell them to make it fast. I'm tired."

The movie camera was set up. Ruby gave her interview on camera. Still pictures were taken and Jimmy ran everybody out. "We need our privacy," he said.

"What brought that on, Hon?" Ruby asked.

"Well, we got this fine new place and we got baby Opal and all. I don't want nothin' to happen to you and our baby. There is just too much happening around us. We need our privacy. Maybe I better have the whole place fenced in."

"I'll trust your judgment, Jimmy. But that might seem a little unfriendly." She leaned back in the big easy chair and went to sleep. Jimmy stared in wonder at mother and child and decided all over again he was the luckiest man alive. He motioned for one of their new maids to take the baby.

The next day, Jimmy came home at noon and announced, "I just took a vacation."

"Jimmy Ray Haggard, whatever in the world are you talking about?"

"The people I hired to help me in DC are all doing a real good job. I want to spend some time with my family. Also I want to do some thinking." He did look as if he had a lot on his mind.

"What is it, Baby?"

Reba listened to the two lovebirds. She found it difficult to think of Jimmy as "baby" anything. In her own way, Reba had trouble making sense of this new world. Her brother in law bought her sister a new home, a regular god blessed palace and thought no more of it than if he had brought home a bottle of milk.

Not very long ago, Reba worried about the money to buy a cup of coffee. Today, after the afternoon show was over Reba planned to permit Charles to help her choose a car of her own. That brought up another problem; Charles was a Chink. She had overheard a couple of remarks around the station about her and Charles.

Mama planned to come for a visit and to see the new baby. Maybe she could help. What made it all worse was Reba was in love with Charles, head over heels in love.

One month later, the state legislature was called into executive session and Ruby eased into her new role of state senator.

Ruby had already been shown her new office. It was the size of a broom closet. Henry's small staff had greeted her as an old friend and told her the new office was in retaliation for the trouble she had caused the party.

"Mister Chairman, may I be recognized," Ruby called as soon as the floor was opened to new business.

"The chair recognizes temporary Senator Haggard."

Ruby controlled the urge to verbally flay the fat, round politician. "Well, goodness, I hope so," she began in a voice heavy laden with sand hill twang. "After all the trouble you and a few others went to prevent me from taking Henry Friend's place, I would surely hate to have you think I was anonymous."

She held up a piece of paper. "I had so much trouble finding this inky dinky little document after someone searched all of Henry's records and removed oh so many files and then stuck me in that little old broom closet."