Beulah by Abbott Zina

Author:Abbott, Zina
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-12-08T00:00:00+00:00

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Chapter 7

~o0o~

October 9, 1896

B eulah walked toward the woman who now occasionally shared the kitchen. “I wonder if Mrs. Burdock intends for us all to come into her classroom at the same time, or if she will bring us in one at a time?”

“You outta know.” Humor in her tone, Mabel stopped the motion of the rag she used to wipe the stovetop as she turned to Beulah with a smile. “You’ve done this before, not me.”

“Not really. I did give this same presentation last year, but I was Mrs. Burdock’s only employee. This year, she has three of us.”

“Well, at least, you got some idea what it’s about. Me, I’m shaking clear down into my boots. I’ve never been no public speaker.” Her brow crunched, Mabel squeezed her lips together and shook her head.

“You’ll be talking to girls, Mabel. Just think of it like saying something to them when you put food on the table. Or, maybe like when you told your children bedtime stories.” Beulah hesitated and stepped over to the kitchen table. To keep her hands busy while her thoughts transported her to the past, she rearranged the fruit in the wooden bowl. Did my mama tell bedtime stories? She seemed to recall her mother had, but what the stories were, she could not remember. “Just keep in mind, you look very nice today, Mabel—like a professional housekeeper.” One who might take my job.

“Bedtime stories. I’ll try that, although my life’s not been no fairy tale.” Mabel nodded. “Wore my Sunday best and hoped, by keeping my biggest apron on, I won’t go getting it stained. And I can’t thank Mrs. Burdock enough for paying her sister to sew these special caps to keep this flyaway hair of mine out of the food. Looks better than tying that old rag on my head like I do scrubbing laundry.”

At Mabel’s mention of her hair, Beulah glanced at the frizzy wisps—a blend of faded brown and gray—that framed the woman’s face. Beulah had her own challenges with curly hair that refused to be styled into a pompadour, the reason behind her wearing her hair pulled back into a tight bun while working. If company was present when she served supper, she fought her locks around the “rat” which supported the pompadour style and donned a white cap.

“Why does she want us to do this, anyway? Those girls don’t care about some old woman who scrubs other people’s clothes and helps cook their meals.”

“I asked the same question last year. Mrs. Burdock wants the girls to understand that life for women does not always go as planned. She wishes to use our live’s experiences as examples to help illustrate what can happen.”

“Well, my life sure didn’t go as I thought, especially after my Ezra up and left me to go chasing after gold in Arizona Territory. Received two letters from him before a stranger wrote saying he got injured real bad and passed.” Mabel choked on the last word. She blinked and inhaled before facing Beulah.

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