Today is laundry day and Elizabeth kneels at the tub with her mother, scrubbing her filthy dress against the washboard. She sighs, looking outside the window and up at an extending branch of the oak tree next to their home.

“Beth, don’t scrub too hard. And pay attention to what yer doing. Yer gonna damage your nice dress.”

“Aw, Ma,” Elizabeth says. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t payin’ attention.”

She sighs, “Just like yer pa, I tell ya. Just like him.” She turns away, her back facing Elizabeth’s.

“Ma?” Elizabeth scoots herself closer and hesitates for a moment, but then places a gentle hand on her mother’s back. “Is everything okay?”

She hears her mother sniffle then turn back to face the tub, resuming her scrubbing. Elizabeth watches as the dirt from the gown. flows down to the drain.

“Yeah, I’m alright. Just a memory. That’s all.”

Elizabeth nods, then throws her arms around her mother. “I’m sorry. I miss him too.” The tears cloud her eyes.

“Yes… Yer pa used to do this with me before you were born. And one day, when I was too pregnant to bend, he took all the laundry for himself. I was just rememberin’ that. How special he was…”

Elizabeth closes her eyes, fighting back tears. “I know.” The lump in her throat is rising. “He was special. We can make new memories, y’know? Pa wouldn’t want us to sit here, cryin’ and moanin’, no matter how hard it is to not… Pa didn’t even cry over Grampy’s death. He looked at me once and said, ‘Yer Grampy’s in Heaven now. No use cryin’ over him. If he’s with God then he’s happy. We should be happy for him too.’”

Elizabeth’s mother cries out. “Yer right, Beth… Yer right…” She turns, wipes her eyes and smiles. “Pa did say that, didn’t he?”

“Yessum, he did. Let’s finish up in here and we can drink some iced tea after we finish our laundry… Which’ll probably be three hours from now.” Elizabeth chuckles.

The both of them resume their scrubbing. After a while, the labor begins to hurt Elizabeth’s back, but she still resumes scrubbing. It is only a matter of time before they have to put the clothes on the line outside. It is her favorite part of laundry business. Elizabeth loves it when the wind pics up a little and gently kisses her face. It is warm outside, but there is a little breeze coming in from the open window. It is absolutely perfect to her.

    

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 It happens-- the wind picks up and the sheets are being hung up on the line. Elizabeth hums her favorite tune, something her father used to play on the piano. Though she feels the pain of his absence as the melody resonates in her body, she feels as if the wind just might be his spirit surrounding them. She turns to look at her mother, who is focused on her work. Elizabeth wonders if she notices that the wind might be Pa. But sighing, Elizabeth returns to hanging clothes.850Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6VtdjcEt0e
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“Beth, you’re too slow. Let’s pick up the pace if you wanna drink tea.”

“Yeah,” she says.850Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYHhM1KKEtM

Elizabeth moves her line of vision to the street and sees a figure walking. She then notices the puff of white snow following after him. It’s Mr. Guillory walking with his dog, Celie. Within moments, the memory of her meeting with him that past Saturday come into her mind. The mansion. She had almost forgotten about it. Curiosity is creeping in now, and she forgets about the prospect of drinking tea later. She wants to leave to go to the mansion.

“Look, Ma! It’s Mr. Guillory. You know the man that walked me home the other day.”

“Oh,” she asks, looking at her daughter. “Is it?”

“He’s walking that little dog of his. Her name is Celie. Oh Ma, can I go see her? She’s so cute!”

Her mother’s shoulder’s sink. She bites her lips and narrows her eyes, as if her eyes are burning right past Elizabeth. She can’t help but gulp. Her hands are getting sweaty. She hates it when her mother looks at her in this fashion. Elizabeth blinks for what feels like several moments.850Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2gAQnKjI2

“I suppose you can. Just come right back.”

“Really? I can?” Elizabeth’s eyes are sparkling as she looks past her mother. Her heart is thundering. She doesn’t want to miss the opportunity of feeling Celie’s soft puff against her face, or the possibility of affectionate licks.

“Yeah, go on ahead.” Her mother waves.

“Thanks, Ma!”

Elizabeth dashes without a single moment’s thought.

“Mr. Paul! Mr. Paul!” she exclaims, in hopes that he’d hear her. She runs faster to catch up with him and Celie. “Wait for me! Wait for me!”

He still walks.

“Mr. Paul!”

Then he turns around and with furrowed eyebrows seemingly peers into the distance. Elizabeth is closer now and finally stops, panting for breath as she places her hands against her stomach.

“Hi, Mister! Remember me?”

He smiles and waves. “Oh, hello! Of course I remember ya! Howya doin’?”

“Oh, I’m alright. Just doin’ laundry with my Ma.”

“Ah.” He nods and smiles. “Goin’ fishin’ with Celie. Just like we do every Saturday.”

Elizabeth knows that there are several people who fish every Saturday by the river. Practically the whole town. She begins to wonder if Ma will go fishin as well, but instead of saying her goodbyes to Mr. Guillory to see if her mother would like to fish, Elizabeth kneels down and gestures for Celie to come closer to her. She smiles as she watches the dog limp slowly towards her.

“She really loves ya.”

“Yeah,” Elizabeth says feeling the puff of white come up to her face. It was like heaven on earth to her, or as close as heaven could get. “I love her too.”

Elizabeth hears a faint voice in the distance, but is not quite sure if it is the voice of her mother or not and resumes petting the dog. She coos to her and lets her hand slide across her back. Elizabeth marvels at her white coat. It really is softer than one imagines it would be. The dog is nuzzling her chest and bringing herself closer to her. She feels her closeness and for the first time in a while, Elizabeth feels complete again, as if everything has come together in the world and there is no depression. There is no pain in the eyes of men.

But her moment with Celie ceases when she hears her mother’s voice louder now.

“Yeah, Ma?” Elizabeth wastes no time in asking as she turns around to face her mother, who is walking closer to her.

“You were takin’ too long, so I just wanted to see what the hold up was.” She looks at Mr. Guillory. “Oh hello again.” She is half-smiling at him, then looks at her daughter.

“I just wanted to see the puppy, that’s all. Mr. Guillory is gonna go fishin’ with the dog. Can I go?”

Her mother’s eyes go dark and she bites her lips. “I dunno, Beth… We still gotta pick up vegetables from the garden.”

Right. I’m supposed to pick peas from the garden. Ma’s gonna do somethin’ with it. Maybe dry the peas… That was my chance to pretend to fish with Mr. Guillory and try to figure out what is in that mansion! Now I can’t go… I gotta find a way in.

“But Ma, I like the river.”

“I know ya do, but look, you gotta pick peas.”

“Alright,” she says.

Mr. Guillory chimes in. “I think you should listen to your Ma. After all, she knows best.”

“Yes, so say goodbye to him and you can come and finish up with me.”

“Bye, Mr. Guillory!” Elizabeth waves. “Bye Celie. I’m gonna miss ya. I’m gonna miss ya.” She bends down and kisses her face and Celie nuzzles her again, only to lick her face generously.

Elizabeth wiggles and stands up, watching the two leave. She frowns as she watches her favorite puff of snow disappear in the distance. 

    

---

Elizabeth and her mother say nothing as they walk towards the home, which to Elizabeth is almost lacking in color compared to Celie’s pure whiteness. She knows the house needs to be painted over again. There are spots in the paint that are fading out and the wood looks like it could give someone a splinter if they just graze their hands over it. They walk past the front porch and to the side of the house. She looks up and notices that the window to her mother’s room is wide open.850Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrI0WHCEe23

                                                                                       850Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlClL90oE7k
Ma’s trying to talk to Pa and David, ain’t she?”

Elizabeth recalls a memory of her childhood.

    

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Elizabeth’s mother is standing in the center of the room, in front of a makeshift vanity, styling her hair like the women in the fashion magazines. They don’t have any of those magazines in the home, but her mother likes to read them at the little convenience store a few blocks away from their home. Elizabeth sits at the foot of the bed, astonished at how elegant her mother’s gown is. It is one of those dresses that she’s dreamed of having. She smiles at the thought of her mother spending hours at the Singer machine, sewing it beautifully. Just so that she could wear it for her night out with Pa. The breeze from the open window comes in the room and she watches as the dress rustles with the movement of her mother and the breeze. Ma looks like she’s about to go dancing, doing the Savoy Hop and The Charleston all night long. Elizabeth feels herself getting more jealous by the second.850Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHd1znoCuS9
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That night still stays on Elizabeth’s heart and she feels the pressing pain as she remembers her brother, David. They never let her see him. She doesn’t want to talk to Ma about it, but she remembers now. Today is the anniversary of her brother’s death. Elizabeth didn’t know what happened that night until now. It hits her. Everything makes sense. Why her Ma is the way she is today.850Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9eZWwKFDA

It is the night of David’s passing that she and her father celebrated the pregnancy — for their future, for the baby. But her mother, upon leaving one of the restaurants downtown, began feeling the pains of labor far too soon. Then, at the hospital, they discovered that David’s heart stopped beating.

She cannot allow herself to talk about David Nicholas, or even barely mention his name. Her mother doesn’t talk about it either— and she knows why.  The pain of the loss is still too much for her mother to bear on top of losing Pa. She lets a tear trickle down her cheek. She’s never seen David Nicholas face to face, but sometimes, it’s like she’s communicating with his spirit. It is those small moments when she’s walking from another room, it is like she feels David there. Or when she’s feeling lonely and afraid, or even lonely and sad, it is like David is there holding her. She knows David and he knows her.

                                                                                     

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They saunter through the small garden in their humble backyard. There is not much there but staple vegetables, such as snap peas, okra, and potatoes. Elizabeth wishes for strawberries but knows that she has to go deep in the woods to pick them. Of course, it is an open invitation to go see that derelict mansion, but Elizabeth knows that is not the best way to do it. She will get lost and being lost in the Piney Woods, well that’s just a way to see ghosts and creepies. Her skin crawls as she thinks of those things.850Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyXabW50p33

   “Beth, are you gonna help me?”

   Elizabeth realizes that she is far too deep in thought and that she has been only standing there and not helping. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s alright. Just go over there and pick some peas. I’m gonna stay right here.”

  Elizabeth obeys her mother and kneels down to pick the peas but her mind isn’t fully engaged in what she is doing. Her mind is travelling, walking down the street where the mansion is. Her mind is going back to the day where she first really got to get a good look at it, when she first had met Mr. Guillory.

  “Ma?” Elizabeth asks, gulping. This is not going to end well— she knows it.

  “What?”

   “C-Can I see the mansion?” She winces, not looking directly at her mother’s figure.

   “What did I tell ya? Yer grounded. Grounded for as long as I say so.”850Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvOdaNyGkZZ
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    Elizabeth figures it is worth a shot, but her effort goes in vain. She sighs and puts the picked peas in the basket. If only…

   “I’m kinda bored, though.”

  “Well, that’s what ya get for goin’ off and doin’ yer own thing the other day. I needed help and you were gone. You’ve got no idea how worried I was aboutcha. In a few weeks time, I might change my tune.”

    So there is a possibility? Elizabeth cannot help but smile at the thought of not being grounded anymore. But then the reality hits her. She’s still grounded for as long as her mother says. She stands up and puts the basket of peas on top of their picnic table and sits down, resting her chin on her hand. After a while, she sees the shadow of her mother’s figure sit next to her.

  “Beth, you know how hard it’s been lately.”

   It’s because of David. I know it.

  “I know.”

  There is a spoken silence between them— a mutual understanding of David. Elizabeth sees it deep in her mother’s eyes. As if her soul is still sobbing as hard as she did the day her baby left the world. Elizabeth, though she is staring almost directly into her mother’s soul, cannot fully comprehend the pain of David’s absence. But at least for now she can be there with her mother. Once again, Elizabeth has forgotten that today is the day…

  Mighty selfish of me to wanna leave like that.

 “I just need ya here right now. ‘Kay?” She doesn’t look at Elizabeth at this moment. “Yer all I’ve got right now.”

  “I know.” It is all Elizabeth can say. At a loss for words, she tries to find the right words but they never come.

   Elizabeth mother walks away. The girl sits at the table, watching the other woman in her somber steps. Her shoulders slump even lower than usual. Her head is down and her movements are slow. Elizabeth thinks about her for several moments. Bringing the vibrant, yellow personality back is worth trying, even if it means that for the slightest, most brief moment, that her mother’s sparkling diamond eyes will return. That she will come back to her. That is all Elizabeth wants.