Vanity is a weakness indeed

Thirty years in a marriage can be a waste of a lifetime.

But it was for the sake of the children, prompted her inner voice. That was probably another mistake.

Ruby remembered her mother’s first visit to meet her grandson. That was also when Mommy met Viv.

It felt like a lifetime ago.

“Ruby, did you marry Viv because you felt sorry for him?”

“How could you even imagine that, Mommy? Wherever did you get such a odd idea?”

“Where else but from listening to Viv? Every day you were in the hospital he talked on and on about how hard it was for him before he met you. Every day. How he had no money, not even for his rent. How hungry he was that day Ted brought him to your apartment. He hadn’t had a meal in two days, he said. You served him garnaches and panades, and it tasted like heaven. He would have had to drop out of school, he said. He would have had to return to England, if he hadn’t moved in with you.”

“Yes, he’s quite a story teller, and he was going through a tough time. He was dead broke. But he’d be surprised he gave you the impression that I married him out of pity. We met, started dating, he wanted to marry me, and now we have a son.”

“Well, he talked so much about it, it made me wonder if he married you for food and shelter. Or if you married him because you felt sorry for him. After all, he doesn’t behave like a man in love with his wife. I’ve never seen him be affectionate to you.”

“Mommy, I’m not needy. If there’s one thing I’m certain about, it’s that Viv loves me.”

“I hope I’m wrong, Ruby. I pray that he deserves you.”

Ruby had dismissed her mother’s intuition.

Was vanity the reason for her certainty then?

She knew now that she hadn’t been the only female friend to have eased his way, though he had rendered a different history of girlfriends past.

She knew now that her appeal to Viv had been induced by his dire circumstances. Her personal attributes had been a bonus.

Vanity and naïveté had blinded her to calculated opportunism.