Saving Sumac

PROLOGUE: SAVING SUMAC

"Come on, Doctor Ruby, now that you're done with school, you should get a pad around here," the petite olive-skinned Fraea eyed her tall, fair cousin. "I know you love it in Raleigh, and Dezzy can take care of himself, you know."

Fraea had many reasons for wanting her heroine to stay close to NC State University and Ruby had many reasons to resist.

"You know my brother's been waiting years for me to finish school. We've been planning to start our business since we were kids and he's already got our first client in a contract." Ruby leaned on her autopod taking a break from packing all the odds and ends that her college education led her to acquire. "Besides, I'll have to fight off enough gold diggers as is. Women act like damn piranhas around the good Doctor Dezzy-Man." Ruby was being facetious, not about Desmond's double doctorates, but about the way women often acted as if the PhDs he had from MIT had a moment of medical school behind them.

"I seriously doubt the Dezzy-Man has more 'patients' than he can handle, or that those hungry little fishes are hurting him any more than he wants them to. You could learn a lot about how to deal with a swarm from him. I mean look at all the hot guys and girls who are in love with you." For Fraea, the last four year's mission had been to get Ruby to show any interest in romance at all. To no avail.

"I've seen em. Heck, I could've quit looking after the first one, 'cause I can't tell any difference between the first or the last." Ruby had no desire to waste time on a sucker's game, and from what life had shown her, love was the oldest scam out there.

She'd watched her Mom stress about whether she was doing enough to keep her man - man after man. But Meadow had been so damaged after Ruby and Desmond's father had vanished that the men never lasted as long as the promises they made.

Ruby, a true dirty-blond bombshell, with brassy highlights and just a few freckles on her rosy cheeks was truly beautiful as a young woman. But her rock-hard body had a rock for a heart when it came to romance.

The Apalachee heiresses made another trip into their sorority house, through the growing crowd of exuberant young adults in graduation gowns (and probably not much else) to get the last of Ruby's things. As they came out of the house, the late afternoon sun painted sparse, wispy clouds a coppery gold, and the eastern sky was already purple. The City of Oaks smelled of summer flowers and fresh cut grass. They were in the frat-court off Hillsborough Street, where those smells were joined by the distinctive odor of pot. Weed had been legalized for so long it wasn't a big deal. Not even a 'thrill' anymore.

No sirens blared, no horns honked, only the sound of youth celebrating. Shouts of joy and laughter that echoed off the old brick walls of the grand University buildings. A dozen different stereos all played different songs.

You never heard sirens, because there was virtually no crime. Litter, poverty, pollution were all things of the past in US cities. The world had moved on, leaving many of its bad habits behind. People walked alone, day or night, without fear and approached total strangers with smiles and brotherhood. Much different from their parent's college days.

"I think I can get the rest on my own. If you're gonna make it to The Pour House in time to beat cover, you'd better get going," Ruby told Fraea.

"If I'm late for Uncle Phenom's soundcheck, he'll forget to do it. I'm supposed to man the EQ board tonight anyway. Don't wanna lose my last party ally."

"He is NOT your last ally!" Ruby insisted. "All our sisters do is party. They should have all flunked out. It's a miracle even one of them managed to graduate."

It was then that Ruby noticed the glistening streaks running down Fraea's cheeks, shining gold with the sunset.

"Oh-my-lanta!" she exclaimed. "Honey it's not like I'm going that far, and your house is only a few miles away from mine."