The Secret Book Club (4 page)

Ruby Northrop stepped out of Needle and Thread and sat on the bench in front of the window. She made up a little song and sang it aloud to a tune she remembered from day camp, a tune about a dog named Bingo:
“There was a day in summertime when Ruby had no plans-oh
.
B-O-R-E-D, B-O-R-E-D
,
B-O-R-E-D
,
and Ruby had no plans!”
Ruby edged closer to the open door and sang more loudly:
“THERE WAS A DAY IN SUMMERTIME WHEN RUBY HAD NO PLANS-OH
.
B-O-R-E-D
,
B-O-R-E-D
,
B-O-R-E-D
,
AND RUBY HAD NO PLANS!”

“Ruby,” called Min from within the store. “Please come here for a moment.”

Ruby sighed. She had wanted Min to hear her, but now she felt nervous about the tone of Min's voice.

“What,” said Ruby fatly as she reentered the store.

“Any person,” Min began, taking Ruby by the elbow and seating her on one of the couches, “with all the brains and personality you were lucky enough to have bestowed upon you, should not be bored. There is no good reason for it.”

“But I don't have chorus or rehearsals or
any
thing until Turbo Tappers begins.”

“What about the book club?” asked Min.

“I read
The Saturdays
.”

“And
Mrs. Frisby
?”

“I have partially read
Mrs. Frisby
,” Ruby replied cautiously.

“How about finishing it?”

“It's at home.”

Min drew in a very deep breath and then said slowly, “Ruby. If you
want
to be bored, that can be accomplished easily. But so can not being bored. Go to the art store and buy a crafts kit. I'll lend you the money. Think about your ‘green' project. Write a play. Go to the library. Call Lacey Morris and see what she's doing. You are smart, Ruby.” Min tapped her head. “
Smart
. And creative. So please find something to do.”

“I think,” said Ruby, rising from the couch, “that I'll take a walk.”

“Stay on Main Street,” said Min.

Ruby didn't reply. She walked out of the store, and Min turned to Gigi and said, “Saints preserve us.”

Ruby turned right when she left Needle and Thread.
Maybe, she thought, she would go into every store in town. That would be a good project. And it would probably take up the rest of the day. It was too bad she didn't have more money with her.

Ruby poked her head into Zack's, the hardware store. Hardware stores held little interest for her, but Olivia had told her that if she peeked through the knotholes in the old wooden floor, she could see down into the basement below. What might a person see in an ancient basement? Ruby walked up and down the aisles of Zack's until she found what she thought was the biggest knothole in the store. She lay on her stomach, closed her left eye, and pressed her right eye to the hole.

“Who goes there?” said a loud voice.

Ruby jumped. She widened her right eye and stared and stared into the darkness, wondering what kind of basement creature said, “Who goes there?”

“Hello?” called Ruby.

“Hello?” said the voice, and Ruby felt a tap on her shoulder. She pulled her head up and scrambled to her feet. Zack was standing behind her.

“Looking for treasure?” he asked.

Ruby blushed. “No, just … looking.”

Ruby left Zack's in a hurry. She wandered through Heaven, glancing aimlessly at the jewelry. Already, the prospect of visiting
every
store on Main Street seemed less exciting.

Next to Heaven, though, was Sincerely Yours, Olivia's store. Ruby had barely entered when Robby Edwards called loudly, “Good afternoon, Ruby!”

“Hi, Robby,” Ruby replied.

“Are you here to get a basket? I can help you. Do you need a birthday basket for someone? How about this birthday mug and some chocolates and look at these funny hats. We just got them in.” Robby proudly led Ruby to a shelf near the cash register. “These are all new items,” he told her.

Ruby looked around at the Walters' store. Olivia's parents sold candies and baked goods (made by Mrs. Walter) and everything a person could need to create a gift basket for any occasion. Robby had been working in the store for several weeks. It was his first job ever, and he took it seriously.

Ruby held out her empty hands. “I don't have any money,” she said. She felt in her pocket. “Well, I have a little. But I'm just walking around.”

“Can I offer you a piece of chocolate?” asked Olivia's father from behind the counter.

“Yes, thank you,” replied Ruby, who never, ever turned down free candy. She selected a peanut butter patty.

Ruby emerged from the cool of the store into the sticky warmth of the afternoon. Immediately, she could feel the last bite of her candy grow melty and slidey in her fingers. She thrust it into her mouth. Then she
stood in the shade, savoring the last of the chocolate, and looked across the street at Time and Again, the used bookstore. The display in the window read
FUN IN THE SUN — SUPER SUMMERTIME READING!
Ruby didn't care much about summertime reading, but she thought she would see whether Sonny Sutphin was working in the store.

She crossed Main Street and pushed open the door to Time and Again. And there was Sonny, sitting in his wheelchair behind the information desk. He was talking to Ruby's aunt Allie.

“Hi!” said Ruby, surprised to find her aunt in the store.

“Ruby!” exclaimed Allie, sounding equally surprised.

Aunt Allie, the younger sister of Ruby and Flora's mother, was a writer. A writer of books for grown-ups and famous in some circles, Min said. Which Ruby took to mean it was okay that she had never heard of any of her aunt's books. Allie had long lived in New York City, and Ruby had thought she must be terribly glamorous. Then Allie had come home to Camden Falls for Christmas the previous year, and Ruby had been dismayed to meet an uncomfortable, serious, and generally unappealing adult, one whose interest in food ran to tasteless, cardboardlike organic products, and whose lips would never admit a Twinkie or a cheese puff. Ruby was further dismayed when Allie announced that she
had decided to remain in Camden Falls permanently — and she ended up living with Ruby, Flora, and Min for months while she house hunted. Now, at long last, Allie had a home of her own, and Ruby's gratefulness knew no bounds.

But what was Aunt Allie doing out shopping in the middle of the day when she should be working? She was a very disciplined person (no surprise there), and, when she had lived at the Row House, had been capable of becoming quite crabby if Ruby or Flora interrupted her writing schedule.

This was probably why Aunt Allie now looked so startled to see Ruby enter Time and Again. Caught! Ruby had caught her aunt out shopping when, according to Allie's own schedule, she should be at home clacking away on her laptop.

“Hi,” said Ruby a second time. And then, not wanting to get caught up in a dreary conversation with her aunt, had added, “Well, I have to go now. See you later.”

Ruby ran out of the store. To be safe, she crossed Main Street again, ran by Needle and Thread, and then crossed Dodds Lane. There. That should put enough distance between her and her aunt. Ruby realized that she was now standing in front of the site of the fire. She was looking at the building (the windows of Plaza Drugs, Hulit's, and the diner were temporarily boarded up, so she couldn't see much) when around the corner
came the family who had bought the Marquis. What were their names? Ruby had been introduced to them on the day Min and Gigi had invited them to Needle and Thread for coffee. Nelson, that was their last name. And the kids were Hilary and Spencer.

“Hi,” said Ruby. “Remember me?”

Hilary regarded her seriously. “Is your name Ruby?” she asked.

Ruby nodded.

“Hi, Ruby,” said Mr. Nelson. “Nice to see you again.” He turned to Hilary and Spencer. “Kids, you wait outside while your mother and I check on the repairs.”

“Darn,” said Spencer, sitting right down on the sidewalk. “I wanted to go inside. You know what Mom and Dad get to wear in there? Hard hats. I want a hard hat.”

Hilary sighed, said nothing, and squatted next to her brother.

“Um,” said Ruby, “so …” She thought for a moment. “So where are you living now?” She recalled that the Nelsons had been living above the ruined diner. She raised her eyes to more boarded-up windows.

“In a house on Pond Road,” said Hilary.

“It has a swing in the backyard!” said Spencer.

“But we're just renting the house,” added Hilary. “It isn't ours.”

“Oh. How old are you?” asked Ruby.

“Ten.”

“Will you be in fifth grade this fall?”

“Yup.”

“At Camden Falls Elementary?”

Hilary nodded.

“Then maybe you'll be in my class!” said Ruby. “You'll be in my grade.”

“If we're still here,” said Hilary.

“What?” asked Ruby.

Hilary glanced at her brother. “Hey, Spencer,” she said. “Why don't you go sit on that bench? Here's your Game Boy. Mom said you could play it for fifteen minutes.”

Spencer snatched the Game Boy from his sister and ran for the bench.

When he was staring intently at the screen, Hilary said quietly to Ruby, “We don't really have enough money to stay here. We spent all our money buying the diner and fixing it up.”

Ruby frowned. “I thought Min said — Min is my grandmother — I thought she said your insurance company would pay to fix up the diner.”

“They'll pay for some things but not everything,” said Hilary. “And they're not paying for us to rent a house.” She glanced at Ruby, then lowered her voice to a whisper. “I'm not supposed to talk about this. I'm not even really supposed to know what's going on. But I'm a worrier. That's what my parents say. So I know
exactly
what's going on. Mom and Dad spent all of our savings
on the diner. They wanted us to live in a small town. They thought it would be better for Spencer and me to grow up here. Which I guess it is. But …” (Hilary spread her hands) “now we have nothing. No money. I don't even know how Mom and Dad were able to rent the house. They must have borrowed money from someone. If we can't make things work here, I don't know what we'll do. Maybe move back to Boston and live with my grandparents.”

“Wow,” said Ruby. “Really?” She stood up and peered through the door to the murky interior of the Marquis Diner. She tried to recall what it had looked like before the fire. She had a dim memory of a long polished counter, booths with red vinyl seats, and on the walls, posters advertising Broadway shows. There had been photos of actors, too, and a board on which were listed the sandwiches the Marquis served. The sandwiches were named for famous people. Ruby wished for a sandwich named the Ruby Reuben. And after she became a famous Broadway actor herself, her own photo could go on the wall. Maybe right next to the cash register, where everyone would be sure to see it. But none of those things would happen if the Nelsons weren't able to go ahead with their plans. Their
dreams
, Ruby reminded herself, and immediately felt selfish for so much as thinking about her star photo and the Ruby Reuben.

Ruby turned back to Hilary. She saw a frail girl,
small for her age, with very sad eyes. An image of Timothy Frisby, the sick mouse child in
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
, came to Ruby's mind. How bravely and earnestly Timothy's mother, Mrs. Frisby, had fought to save his life. She had done things she didn't know she was capable of, and in the end, an entire community had rallied to help the Frisbys.

Ruby turned her gaze down Main Street. She thought about the fact that Min knew the owner of just about every store and business in town. Then Ruby realized that she herself knew lots of the people who worked in the stores. And those people were a community, the Main Street community.

Ruby could feel her heart begin to pound. “Hilary,” she said, “I'd better go. I have to check in with my grandmother.” (Not true.) “Come stop by our store anytime, okay? I'm there a lot. Unfortunately.”

Hilary grinned, and Ruby realized it was the first time she had seen her smile. “Okay,” said Hilary.

Ruby ran back across Dodds Lane. By the time she reached Dutch Haus on the opposite corner, an idea was taking shape in her brain. She pushed her way into the store. “Jeanne!” she said to the woman behind the counter. “You know the Nelsons? Whose diner burned down? I think we should have a big event to help raise money for them! The whole town could help out.” Ruby tried to relate in a calm and orderly fashion what she had learned from Hilary.

“Why, that's a wonderful idea, Ruby,” said Jeanne. “Let me put on my thinking cap. I know we can come up with something.”

“I'm going to go talk to everyone else!” said Ruby breathlessly.

And that is what she did. Ruby spent the rest of the afternoon stopping in at the stores on Main Street. She talked to Frank in Frank's Beans. She talked to Sonny in Time and Again. She talked to the Walters in Sincerely Yours. She even talked to the odious Mrs. Grindle in Stuff 'n' Nonsense. Then she talked to people in the T-shirt Emporium and the Cheshire Cat and the grocery store, and to the Fongs at their studio.

At last, exhausted but quite pleased with herself, Ruby returned to Needle and Thread and told Min and Gigi her idea for helping the Nelsons get back on their feet.

Min looked a bit startled. “You've already told the whole town about this?” she exclaimed.

“Oh. Should I have told you first?” said Ruby.

Min smiled and shook her head. “Never mind. I think your idea is terrific. If we all put our heads together, I know we'll think of the perfect project.”