Free The Truth about Mary Rose by Marilyn Sachs Page B

holding a gold banner in the center.
    My father never smoked cigars, but I had seen those paper cigar rings before. I knew you could slip them on your fingers. Mary Rose had glued the backs of them, and they were all flattened out and looked mashed.
    It seemed strange that she would have kept them in the midst of all those real jewels. I mean they weren’t real either, being paper, but they were pictures of real things, and the cigar rings were only cigar rings.
    My mother came up the next day, and looked at all the jewels in Mary Rose’s box. She began shaking her head. I knew she was going to start again about Mary Rose being a “poor, little thing,” and I didn’t want to hear that. So I said, “Mom, where did these cigar rings come from?”
    “Ralph smoked cigars,” my mother said. “Not that often, but on special occasions. I guess he must have given her the rings. I don’t really remember.”
    That evening, Uncle Stanley called. This time he had some other news to tell. Aunt Claudia was in the hospital, and there was a new addition to the family. His name was Ralph Edward, and he weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces.
    “About time too,” said my grandmother. But then she began to cry, and said she was happy that it was a boy, and she was even happier that his name was Ralph.
    She and my mother drove to the hospital, and I couldn’t help noticing that my grandmother walked very quickly down the stairs, and didn’t really seem to need her cane at all.
    Uncle Stanley came back with them.
    “I never saw a baby like this one,” said my grandmother. “He’s the image of Stanley, and has the most beautiful, little face you ever saw. All those people looking in the nursery window, you could just see they couldn’t take their eyes off him.”
    Uncle Stanley laughed. “Oh, Mama, you know that’s not so.”
    “Now, Stanley, it’s not because he’s mine. You know I’m not like that. I always say what’s true, and I tell you I never saw such a gorgeous baby in my entire life.”
    “And when Margaret was born ... ?” Uncle Stanley said.
    “Well, it was true. She had a head of curls on her, Veronica,” said my grandmother. “I wish you could have seen her. And I know newborn babies aren’t supposed to smile, but I tell you that Margaret was smiling.”
    Uncle Stanley laughed some more. He was very happy. My mother got up, and hugged and kissed him, and he didn’t seem at all embarrassed.
    “I’ll get a few things together, Stanley,” my mother said, “and we’ll go. Come on, Mary Rose.”
    “Where are we going?”
    “Oh, I forgot to tell you. Stanley’s baby-sitter can’t stay tonight or tomorrow. She’ll come back on Saturday, and I thought we’d go along and fill in. There’s plenty of food here, and both Manny and Ray are planning to be home tomorrow. Manny can cook— I know he’d enjoy staying with Grandma—right, Manny?”
    “Right,” Manny said, in a low voice with a tight smile.
    “And Ray too,” said my mother. “Right, Ray?”
    “Oh, sure,” said Ray.
    “I could stay,” I said. “I like to take care of Grandma.”
    “That’s all right,” said my mother. “I know how much you look forward to seeing Pam, and how much she looks forward to seeing you. The boys can manage, and Daddy will be in and out too.”
    “I’m so lucky,” my grandmother said, reaching out, and taking Manny’s hand. He kept smiling, but he wasn’t exactly looking at her. She turned and smiled at Ray, and reached out a hand for him too. So he came over after a minute, and took her hand, and stood sideways near her chair.
    “I’m a very lucky woman,” my grandmother said. “My children are good to me, and my grandchildren can’t do enough for me.” She started crying. “I’m so lucky ... if Mary Rose could only have lived ...”
    I put Mary Rose’s box in my overnight bag. Sooner or later, Pam was going to have to know, so I might as well get it over with. I just hoped she wouldn’t stay mad. I