Touched by Mara White

Author:Mara White [White, Mara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General Fiction
Publisher: Heights bound
Published: 2017-09-22T16:00:00+00:00

Connecticut

Rags to riches are supposed to be happy stories. Tales of joy where the pauper is redeemed and the glorious wealth is payback for all he was deprived of. It seemed ungrateful and cold-hearted for Gem to not appreciate the windfall of having living relatives. Wealthy living relatives at that. But the transition was a doozy and both she and June fell into a numb state where having their needs met became more of a curse than a comfort. Because Gem and June ached with want their whole lives for basic needs and normalcy, life seemed too dull when everything was suddenly handed over without a fight. Problems became existential. Aunt Allison and Uncle Ben bought them clothing and cars, food, make-up and purses. They gave them money for “entertainment,” and offered to put both girls through college. Whenever Gem tried to say it was too much she’d get the same answer from her aunt: “If my brother were alive, it would be what he’d want for you.”

“But we just met you and it’s too much,” Gem said. Her aunt had just returned from a shopping trip and bought a bottle of expensive perfume for her niece. Gem had never worn fragrance before and found the very notion of the gift unsettling. Did she smell bad? Was this her aunt’s way of telling her she stunk? She yanked the imitation crystal top off, pressed down on the dispenser and sprayed it in her face by accident.

“Ack!” Gem ran to the faucet and began rinsing her eye. “It smells like soapy flowers! It’s in my mouth! Do I smell terrible, Aunt Allison?”

“Oh, God no, Gem. You smell just fine. I wanted to give you something special and I liked the bottle.” She handed Gem a whole kit of shampoo, soap and lotion. All matching the fake crystal and looking terribly expensive. She did stink, just like the kids back at home had teased her. She needed to huddle with June and figure out a way to conquer the hygiene issue.

Unsurprisingly, poverty proved to be sticky and hard to wash off. Both sisters hoarded everything their aunt and uncle gave them as if there were a coming apocalypse. They left new gifts unopened in their packaging. The girls were conservative with electricity, hot water and even watching the television. June often walked a mile to the nearest store instead of riding her new mountain bike or driving the car that Ben and Allison had purchased as soon as she passed her road test. Their aunt and uncle responded with a lot of reminders and heavy sighs. They often saw Uncle Ben’s frustration, but it was always Allison who suggested they use what had been provided for them. She’d pull Uncle Ben out of the kitchen or dining room and Gem and June would hear the tense exchanges, sometimes see their uncle gesticulating.

The girls had morality charged into their conservation; they thought only bad people spent and wasted and that safekeeping was a form of good behavior.

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