Susan Pfeffer - Shade of the Moon

“What’ll become of her?” Jon asked, trying not to look at Ruby, at the bruises and the tears and the terror.

“Jail, until we got a truckful to send to the mines,” Sergeant Hawkins replied. “Once she gets there, well, a pretty girl like this one will keep busy enough.” He and the officer laughed.

“How long will that be?” Jon asked. “Before there’s a truckful?”

Officer Summers shrugged. “I’d say we’re about halfway there,” he said. “Enough potka, enough Sundays off, a couple of weeks maybe.”

“Please, Mr. Jon,” Ruby said. “I’m begging you. Save me.”

Officer Summers slapped her. “Keep your mouth shut, grub,” he said. “This is none of your concern.”

Jon didn’t want Ruby to be sent to the mines. None of what had happened was her fault. But even more than that, he didn’t want Ruby stuck in a jail cell telling whoever would listen that Miranda was Mr. Jon’s sister, Mrs. Evans’s stepdaughter. By now Sarah was probably safe in Virginia and Alex was on his way to the town Matt had told them about. They were all right. But Jon wouldn’t be.

“What if I marry her?” Jon asked, almost as startled by the words as the policemen seemed to be.

“Marry her?” Sergeant Hawkins said. “Marry this grub?”

“Yes,” Jon said. “Right now.”

“I never heard of that,” Officer Summers said. “A claver marrying a grub. Can he do that?”

“I don’t see why not,” Sergeant Hawkins replied. “No law against it that I know of.”

“Fine,” Jon said. “Good. Give her to me, and we’ll get married. Then I’ll take her home and find out what she did to Gabe.”

“Wait a second,” Ruby said. “Maybe I don’t want to marry you.”

“So what?” Jon said. “We’re getting married. Let her go, Sergeant Hawkins. The church is only a couple of blocks away. Reverend Minter can perform the ceremony.”

“Not so fast,” Sergeant Hawkins said. “Yeah, you can marry the grub. No law against that. But you can’t take her home and act like nothing’s changed. You marry a grub, you can’t be a claver. It’s that simple.”

Jon wasn’t going to be a claver much longer if Ruby started talking. “Fine,” he said. “We’ll go the church, get married, go home, get my things, and leave Sexton.”

“You’d do that for her?” Officer Summers asked. “Give up being a claver for some little grub?”

“It’d be worth it to me to find out where my brother is,” Jon said. “Besides, she looks better in bed. Can we go now?”

“You can’t go back to the house,” Sergeant Hawkins said. “That’s the rule. You marry a grub, you can’t go back. Understand? I’ll go to the church with you, and we’ll find the reverend and he’ll marry you. Then you give me your claver ID badge and get the hell out of here.”

Jon knew the sergeant was making up the rules as he went along, but he also knew he had to get Ruby as far away from Sexton as possible. He needed to protect them both.

“Look, the kid is probably dead,” Sergeant Hawkins said. “The grub killed him, or maybe his mama did. You still want to get married? You can change your mind, and we’ll put the grub in jail, where she belongs. There are plenty of other grubber girls, and they look pretty much the same in bed.”

“I’ll marry her,” Jon said.

“Don’t say you weren’t warned,” the sergeant said. He grabbed Ruby’s arm and pulled her off the chair. “It’s your wedding day, grub girl,” he said. “Congratulations.”

“Here are the cuffs,” Officer Summers said, tossing a pair to the sergeant. “Don’t want the bride making a break for it.”

Jon watched as the sergeant cuffed Ruby’s wrists. He told himself it didn’t matter, none of this mattered. He loved Sarah, but she was in Virginia, lost to him forever.

If he wanted to stay alive and out of the mines, this was the only thing to do. The marriage was meaningless. Somehow he’d shake Ruby off and find Miranda and Alex.

The sergeant half dragged Ruby the few blocks to the church. “She sure isn’t crazy about marrying you,” he said.

“Yeah,” Jon said. “I’m the only one who’s crazy.”

The sergeant laughed. He laughed pretty much all the way to the church.

Lisa’s funeral had been there the day before, Jon thought. Reverend Minter had said the eulogy. Now he was being approached by the sergeant and asked to perform a quick but legal marriage ceremony.

“You sure about this, Jon?” Reverend Minter asked. “I don’t want you rushing into something if you’re not one hundred percent certain.”

“I’m certain,” Jon said. “Look, Reverend, I’ve known Ruby for a while. I have very strong feelings about her.”

The sergeant laughed even harder.

Jon ignored him and Ruby, who looked like she wanted to kill all of them. “Just perform the service,” Jon said. “Then we’ll leave Sexton and get out of your hair.”

“Keep it short,” Sergeant Hawkins said. “This one is real impatient.” He held up Ruby’s cuffed arms.

“Do you have a ring?” Reverend Minter asked.

Jon shook his head.

“Well, it doesn’t matter,” the reverend said. “All right. What are your full names?”

“Jon Evans,” Jon said. “Jonathan.”

“Ruby,” she whispered angrily.

“Come on, girl,” Reverend Minter said. “What’s your last name?”

“Tell him to let go of my hands,” Ruby said.

“Sergeant, please,” the reverend said.

Sergeant Hawkins let Ruby’s arms drop.

“Maybe you could remove her cuffs?” Reverend Minter asked.

“She stays cuffed until she’s out of Sexton,” the sergeant replied. “Think of them as her wedding ring.”

Jon nodded. “Ruby, tell them your name,” he said. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Grub,” Ruby said. “Ruby Grub.”

Sergeant Hawkins struck her hard against her cheek.

“No!” she cried. “That is my real name. Ruby Grubb. G-R-U-B-B.”

The three men burst out laughing. When one of them stopped, one of the others would make a joke about really marrying a grub, and they’d laugh all over again.

Reverend Minter was still snorting when he began the ceremony. “Do you, Jonathan Evans, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to honor and cherish her, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, to be faithful only unto her?”

“I do,” Jon said.

“And do you, Ruby Grubb”—and here the reverend cracked up again— “do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to honor and obey him, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, to be faithful only unto him?”

Ruby nodded. The sergeant kicked her.

“I do,” she mumbled.

“Take her wrist,” the minister said. “Now repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed.”

“With this ring, I thee wed,” Jon said, holding on to the handcuff.

“Look, Reverend, could you speed this up?” Sergeant Hawkins asked.

“I now pronounce you man and wife,” the reverend said.

Sergeant Hawkins tossed the handcuff key to Jon. “You may now uncuff the bride,” he said. “Give me your ID badge, Evans, and get going.”

Jon uncuffed Ruby and then removed his badge. He hoped the sergeant didn’t see him shaking. It was one thing to participate in this sham of a wedding. It was another to give up the badge that had protected him for so long.

Sergeant Hawkins grabbed the ID badge and then cuffed Jon to Ruby. “All right,” he said. “Sooner the two of you are out of Sexton the better.”

“Good luck, Jon,” Reverend Minter exclaimed as the sergeant pushed Jon and Ruby onto the street.