Ruby has never met her mother's parents, she doesn't even know where they live, or even if they're still alive, but her story begins with them. Not too long after gold was discovered in California, Ruby's grandfather got plumb fed up with being a poor cotton farmer in North Carolina and decided to head for San Francisco. Ruby's grandmother, of course, didn't get much say in the matter, nor did their 16-year-old daughter, Pearl. So they packed up all their worldly goods, which wasn't much at all, and joined a wagon train heading West. An unscrupulous fellow by the name of Mackay Tarleton had also joined that very same wagon train. At least he told everyone that was his name. Mackay was a very handsome fellow, and he knew it. Ladies would readily abandon their virtue when Mackay's eyes lingered on their charms and he smiled that special smile of his. Pearl was just another sweet young thing ripe for the picking, as far as Mackay was concerned, but to Pearl he was the sun, moon and stars. She was sure he was as much in love with her as she was with him. Pearl and her parents were members of a strict fundamentalist religion common to the area of North Carolina where they used to live, which explained Pearl's naivete and impressionability. As you can imagine, Mackay swept Pearl off her feet with very little effort on his part, and Pearl soon found herself in the family way. At the next town, Pearl went to Mackay and told him, thinking he would do the honorable thing and marry her. Instead, he laughed in her face, turned his horse around and left town in the opposite direction of the wagon train. Pearl gathered her courage and went to her parents. Her father's answer was straight to the point: he disowned his only daughter on the spot, despite the tears and pleadings of his wife. When the wagon train left town, Pearl stayed. Now there aren't many things an unmarried, pregnant 16-year-old can do to earn money in a frontier town, so Pearl did what she had to do. When her daughter was born, she named her Ruby. Two gems on their own, doing the best they can. Pearl continued doing what she had to do to make a living for herself and Ruby, moving from town to town as necessary to keep the money coming in. There was a time when Pearl had a fairly good job at a dance hall, the owner allowed Pearl to keep Ruby in the dressing room while Pearl was working. Ruby would help Pearl rehearse the dance numbers, and that's how she learned to dance. Pearl told Ruby the facts of life early on, because she didn't want Ruby to end up the way she did, even though she knew Ruby didn't have much chance of making a good life for herself, given the way things were. Pearl taught Ruby to read and write, and Ruby was a bright, inquisitive child, so she picked up a lot of learning from the world around her. And so life went on and the years passed. Pearl and Ruby found themselves living in Delano, across the Arkansas River from Wichita. Pearl had found a job with the Delano Dollies, entertaining at Red Beard's Saloon. One night there was a gunfight between Red Beard and his rival Rowdy Joe Lowe, and Rowdy Joe was killed. Unfortunately, so was Pearl. She had been caught in the crossfire. As you can imagine, Ruby was devastated. They had very little money, so Pearl had to be buried in an unmarked grave. Only 17, Ruby didn't know where to turn. Her friends the Delano Dollies had seen her dance, and with their encouragement she became Red Hot Ruby. The money keeps a roof over her head and food on her table. She's still in Delano for now, but she'll move on when the money starts slowing down. In the meantime, the Delano Dollies are the family she's never had, and she's grateful for their friendship.