Endless Chain by Emilie Richards

Author:Emilie Richards [Richards, Emilie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: MIRA
Published: 2005-11-21T20:00:00+00:00

C HAPTER Nineteen

Elisa liked fall mornings in the countryside. She could lie in bed without opening her eyes and pretend she was in one of the mountain villages that she and Gabrio had visited. There, just as they did here, roosters announced the sunrise, and the dew-saturated air swept in through open windows and cracks in the walls.

If it was market day in the mountains, the family would be up before dawn readying produce or handicrafts for the journey. The air would be scented with coffee, smoke from the cooking fire and, too often, the acrid odor of inconsistent sanitation and poverty. But no matter how poor people were—and many of them had been all too desperate—they had shared what little they had, grateful for what she and Gabrio could offer in return, grateful that someone they could trust had come to listen.

Elisa knew at exactly what point in her reminiscences to force her eyelids open. As dawn slowly lit the room she would stare at the ceiling above her bed and resolutely follow the spiderweb crackling of the paint, compelling herself to seal her memories back in the box she envisioned deep inside her—a box far too close to her heart.

On November first she knew better than to allow herself even those few moments of remembrance. Some dates were so powerful that the memories became a plague, a feverish infestation of images she couldn’t bear. On this morning she slipped out from under the covers immediately upon waking and made the bed, folding and draping the extra quilts neatly across the footboard.

The sun was not yet up. Normally she would have been careful not to wake Helen, who wasn’t a sound sleeper, but Helen was in Richmond, spending the weekend with Nancy and Billy, and Elisa was alone in the house. This was not good for her state of mind. With people around her, she could exist in the present. Without them, it was too easy to let her mind drift. She scooped up clean clothes and took them to the bathroom, where she showered quickly, changed and left through the back door.

The sun was just lighting the horizon when she trooped out to the barn to feed the bevy of fat unnamed cats Helen swore she didn’t love. The morning was already warmer than she’d expected, promising a glorious Indian summer day. She removed the sweater she’d been sure she would need and flung it over her shoulders; then she continued on to the chicken yard to scatter feed and check for eggs. Finding none, she fastened the chicken wire fence, made sure the house was locked and left for church.

Nothing special was on the schedule today, and there were no unusual meetings to prepare for. A community group that normally rented the social hall on first Saturdays had postponed until December, since they had celebrated Halloween last night with a party at the American Legion Hall. Unless something unexpected had occurred, her work would be minimal. Then she would have the rest of a long day to get through alone.

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