She was standing on the porch of a sagging cabin with bright
yellow leaves collecting around her feet. As the cold wind
billowed her skirt, she shivered and wondered if the owner
of the purse really lived here. She knocked timidly and the
door quickly opened, revealing a tiny girl holding a
hideous, bald doll...
“Little girl, is your Mama home?”, Lindsay asked in a decidedly timid voice.
“Mama!”, the girl cried, walking towards a room with a partially closed door, dragging the bald doll with her. Lindsay could hear a woman’s deep, congested cough coming from behind the door.
Out of nowhere, a young woman appeared, dressed in an elegant emerald satin dancing dress and high-heeled satin slippers dyed to match, obviously just having gotten home from the night before. The dress was made all the more striking in the squalid cabin surroundings. The young woman was quite beautiful, with dark auburn hair and green eyes that matched her dress, but her beauty was dimmed somewhat by shadows under her eyes, and a sadness within them.
“Francie, why are you crying and yelling for Mama like that? You know she’s too sick to come.”, the young woman admonished her little sister, but she patted her on her head of auburn curls, and hugged her. When she saw Lindsay, she stood up, and smiled. “Francie, honey, why don’t you take your doll out to the kitchen and fix her some breakfast? I’ll bet she’s hungry.” She waited until the little girl disappeared before she spoke to Lindsay.
“Hello. What can I do for you? “, the young woman said simply and directly, but her eyes drank in Lindsay’s elegant clothes and manner. She began to wither inside, fearing that she KNEW why the other young woman was here.
“I……I found this at the dance last night…..I think it’s yours?”, Lindsay stammered, producing an emerald green satin clutch that clearly matched the dress the girl was wearing. “You must have lost, or forgotten it?”
Rose reached out and accepted the purse. In her haste to leave the dance last night after what had happened, she had forgotten that she was even carrying it. “Thank you. “, she replied, running her fingertips over the elegant clutch lightly. Once it had meant everything to her to have such a luxury; now it meant nothing at all. “I had to leave the festivities last night rather suddenly, and I did leave it behind. I am grateful to you for returning it……I am sorry, but I have nothing to offer you in the way of a reward.”, she finished, calmly and gracefully. Gone were the old days of using an opportunity like this to advance herself. Advance herself, indeed! Look where THAT had gotten her! Standing in a cold, squalid cabin, with a deathly ill mother, and two younger sisters to look after, no money, no food, and her own horrible secret, besides! How funny that it seemed so horrible now, having been pregnant, when only hours ago, she had believed that it was the answer to a prayer, and that because of it, everything would be alright. Now, facing the hard cold truth of things, she knew that nothing would ever be alright again. Or at least, not for a very long time.
Standing there in front of Lindsay, Rose allowed herself to remember what had happened when she’d left the dance, once she’d told Dan about the baby, confident that he would do the honorable thing and marry her. Instead, the spoiled, privileged young man had branded her a whore, and questioning the fact that it was even his child! Rose had fled in humiliation. In her haste to flee, she had left the elegant satin clutch behind on the table.
She went first to the river, pacing alongside it, trying to summon the courage to throw herself into its murky depths. But being Rose, she began to think of what her death would mean to her mother and her two younger sisters, and she found herself at the door of a local midwife, DuAnn, asking for help.
She didn’t remember much of what Duann did to her; her only memory was lying on a featherbed with her legs open and knees bent, Duann’s head between them. At least it hadn’t hurt any, although God knows what was in that concoction Duann had her drink beforehand… it was almost too simple, ridding herself of her pregnancy. And, when Duann was done, she put on her elegant green dress, and came home.
“Thank you for returning my purse.”, Rose repeated to Lindsay, at this point fatigued from her memories of the past night, and clearly wanting her to leave.
“You’re welcome.”, Lindsay said, swallowing hard. “I should go.” The words were barely out of her mouth before Rose had closed the cabin door after her.
billowed her skirt, she shivered and wondered if the owner
of the purse really lived here. She knocked timidly and the
door quickly opened, revealing a tiny girl holding a
hideous, bald doll...
“Little girl, is your Mama home?”, Lindsay asked in a decidedly timid voice.
“Mama!”, the girl cried, walking towards a room with a partially closed door, dragging the bald doll with her. Lindsay could hear a woman’s deep, congested cough coming from behind the door.
Out of nowhere, a young woman appeared, dressed in an elegant emerald satin dancing dress and high-heeled satin slippers dyed to match, obviously just having gotten home from the night before. The dress was made all the more striking in the squalid cabin surroundings. The young woman was quite beautiful, with dark auburn hair and green eyes that matched her dress, but her beauty was dimmed somewhat by shadows under her eyes, and a sadness within them.
“Francie, why are you crying and yelling for Mama like that? You know she’s too sick to come.”, the young woman admonished her little sister, but she patted her on her head of auburn curls, and hugged her. When she saw Lindsay, she stood up, and smiled. “Francie, honey, why don’t you take your doll out to the kitchen and fix her some breakfast? I’ll bet she’s hungry.” She waited until the little girl disappeared before she spoke to Lindsay.
“Hello. What can I do for you? “, the young woman said simply and directly, but her eyes drank in Lindsay’s elegant clothes and manner. She began to wither inside, fearing that she KNEW why the other young woman was here.
“I……I found this at the dance last night…..I think it’s yours?”, Lindsay stammered, producing an emerald green satin clutch that clearly matched the dress the girl was wearing. “You must have lost, or forgotten it?”
Rose reached out and accepted the purse. In her haste to leave the dance last night after what had happened, she had forgotten that she was even carrying it. “Thank you. “, she replied, running her fingertips over the elegant clutch lightly. Once it had meant everything to her to have such a luxury; now it meant nothing at all. “I had to leave the festivities last night rather suddenly, and I did leave it behind. I am grateful to you for returning it……I am sorry, but I have nothing to offer you in the way of a reward.”, she finished, calmly and gracefully. Gone were the old days of using an opportunity like this to advance herself. Advance herself, indeed! Look where THAT had gotten her! Standing in a cold, squalid cabin, with a deathly ill mother, and two younger sisters to look after, no money, no food, and her own horrible secret, besides! How funny that it seemed so horrible now, having been pregnant, when only hours ago, she had believed that it was the answer to a prayer, and that because of it, everything would be alright. Now, facing the hard cold truth of things, she knew that nothing would ever be alright again. Or at least, not for a very long time.
Standing there in front of Lindsay, Rose allowed herself to remember what had happened when she’d left the dance, once she’d told Dan about the baby, confident that he would do the honorable thing and marry her. Instead, the spoiled, privileged young man had branded her a whore, and questioning the fact that it was even his child! Rose had fled in humiliation. In her haste to flee, she had left the elegant satin clutch behind on the table.
She went first to the river, pacing alongside it, trying to summon the courage to throw herself into its murky depths. But being Rose, she began to think of what her death would mean to her mother and her two younger sisters, and she found herself at the door of a local midwife, DuAnn, asking for help.
She didn’t remember much of what Duann did to her; her only memory was lying on a featherbed with her legs open and knees bent, Duann’s head between them. At least it hadn’t hurt any, although God knows what was in that concoction Duann had her drink beforehand… it was almost too simple, ridding herself of her pregnancy. And, when Duann was done, she put on her elegant green dress, and came home.
“Thank you for returning my purse.”, Rose repeated to Lindsay, at this point fatigued from her memories of the past night, and clearly wanting her to leave.
“You’re welcome.”, Lindsay said, swallowing hard. “I should go.” The words were barely out of her mouth before Rose had closed the cabin door after her.
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