Free Memories of Gold by Ali Olson Page B

with Angelina and had told Mrs. Harper she would visit Emma in the afternoon. Better yet, she had Wednesday nights off. Daisy gave each girl one of the slower weeknights off a week unless she was needed for some reason, and it felt like it had been years since she had last gotten a reprieve.
    When she knocked on Angelina’s door, she prayed that the older woman would help take her mind off Jimmy and Daisy’s and all the other issues that had been building up in her, threatening to overwhelm everything about her and leave Mary a tired, empty shell.
    The moment Angelina opened the door, the wrinkles around her eyes and on her forehead deepened as she squinted at Mary. “You look awful,” she stated bluntly.
    Mary’s hand ran over the thick braid of hair and down the side of her dress. She had looked in the mirror that morning and noticed her unkempt hair and clothing, the circles under her eyes, but it had seemed too much effort to fix. She didn’t want to think about the bags under her eyes or the sallow tone of her skin.
    Angelina ushered her in and sat her down at the table. “What has happened? Are you ill?”
    Mary shook her head. “No, I’m well. Things have been…a little difficult lately, but it will all be sorted out soon. I would rather not talk about it, if you don’t mind.”
    Though Angelina was one of her few good friends, Mary wanted nothing more than to ignore her troubles, and rehashing them for her friend seemed like more than she could bear. Thankfully, Angelina accepted her wish with a nod and pulled the copy of Les Miserables out of Mary’s hand. “How much of this have you read?”
    Mary lowered her gaze. “To tell the truth, only the first few pages. I haven’t been very diligent in my reading recently.”
    “Is it too difficult?”
    Mary felt guilt swirl inside her. “No. I mean, it is difficult, but I could do better. I’ve been distracted the past few days. I will read more, I promise, and when I come for my lesson on Saturday I will have made some progress.”
    Some reading might even keep her mind off of other, less palatable topics. Angelina nodded. “Well, find your place and begin reading aloud.”
    Mary opened to the correct page, woefully close to the beginning of the large tome, and began to read. Over the previous few weeks, Angelina’s corrections had become much less frequent, but today it seemed as if Mary could hardly pronounce a single word correctly, and she could barely decipher the text. After ten minutes of struggling that felt interminable, she closed the book in frustration. She was getting nowhere.
    It seemed Angelina felt the same way. “That’s enough French for today, I think. Let’s move on to writing and grammar.”
    Maria took a deep breath and calmed her mind, focusing on the task at hand as she grasped the pen and dipped it in the inkwell. Her hand shook a little, either from fatigue or stress or some other cause, she was unsure. But her letters and words flew smoothly onto the paper. She listened carefully to Angelina’s voice and followed the commands, allowing her mind to lose itself in the lines of ink.
    Angelina’s voice stopped at one point, but Mary’s hand continued across the page, almost as if it was working of its own accord. It was only when Angelina sat down beside her and placed her hand on Mary’s arm did she stop and look up. Angelina’s eyes were thoughtful. “Are you sure you have nothing you need to discuss?”
    Mary considered sharing everything with the older woman, but it felt wrong. She attempted a smile. “Thank you, Angelina, but I’ll figure it out right enough. I was a bit out of sorts today, but things will be better when I see you next.”
    She hoped it was true.
    Before she left, Mary took the paper full of her neat handwriting, folded it in half and half again, and tore it into pieces. She knew that whatever she had written, it was not something she wanted to read. Angelina said nothing, and Mary strode to the