Magnolia Nights by Ashley Farley

Author:Ashley Farley [Farley, Ashley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kindle Press
Published: 2017-09-12T04:00:00+00:00

Ellie, feeling safe in Julian’s guest bedroom, hadn’t planned to read anymore that night, but her unanswered questions nagged at her, keeping her awake. She read until nearly three o’clock in the morning—two journals that covered the time frame between the birth of her and her twin sister to their third birthday. Her mother’s words weighed heavily on her heart. Nothing she learned was earth-shattering, but the combination of events proved that her grandmother had been mentally ill. Taking care of two babies can be exhausting for a healthy woman, but her mother, in her weakened state, barely managed to keep up. She was too proud to ask for help. It wouldn’t have done any good anyway. She’d once overheard Maddie offering to take care of the twins. “Miss Ashton looks so tired, Miss Pringle. I’m finished with my other work. Why don’t I sit with the babies awhile and give her a break?”

“If I wanted a nanny for those children, I would hire a nanny for those children,” Eleanor had responded in a stern voice. “If you’re finished with your other work, you can clean out the fireplace in the library.”

Ellie heard the sadness and fear in her mother’s words when she talked about Abraham’s sudden death from a heart attack. He seemed so healthy, so vibrant, but he died in his sleep one night with no warning signs. Is that how it will be for me?

By night, Ashton dreamed of escaping, but her brutal reality returned by the light of day. Her heart was growing weaker, her will to live along with it. She had dedicated page after page of her journals to her musings. One day she seemed optimistic about her health, and the next she fretted over her daughters’ futures. She wrote about the new life she wanted to create for her small family in places like Atlanta or Raleigh or Richmond. A week later, in her next entry, realizing she lacked the resources to start that new life, she weighed the pros and cons of putting her daughters up for adoption. She worried about how they would learn if they didn’t go to school. And how they would get well without antibiotics when they fell ill. She worried about how they would adapt to the real world once they were freed. She knew her mother wouldn’t live forever, but neither would she. Based on how puny she felt, she would be the first to go. She kept her strength up as best she could by climbing the stairs and doing floor exercises in her room. But the time would eventually come when she could no longer take care of the girls. Wouldn’t they be better off living separate lives with good families than staying together in hell?

Once, in a moment of desperation, she mentioned getting in touch with Abbott. The girls would be better off with their father, even if they had a stepmother, than they would be stuck here with Mother after I die.

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