Strangers of The Midst

“Hump! How long is he planning to be away this time, and with you in your condition?”

“Only a few days,” Jone said and changed the subject. “Are you thirsty? I made some lemonade from the lemons Mrs. Stewart’s son Billy brought over yesterday.”

Not waiting for a reply, Jone struggled up and went into the house. Old Gram followed her in and took a seat at the scared wooden kitchen table, dropping her bag wearily at her feet. She watched Jone waddle to the cellar door and frowned. Then Gram stood up and winced at her aching bones but her voice was soft when she spoke. “Let me, I’ll get it. You shouldn’t be traipsing down no stairs either dear.”

Julia paused and stood aside as Gram cautiously went down the cellar stairs.

“Thank you, it’s in the ice box.”

Old Gram meant well, but at times like this, Jone was in no mood to hear her lectures. It was a shame that her neighbors knew too much of her business and it was even worse that they pitied her and her young daughter. And humiliating as it was, they were right about her husband. Charles would never amount to much and he was no good for her. He was always making up fanciful stories on how he was going to strike it rich one day, how he would spoil her rotten,  how little Julia would be sent away to attend the best schools and become a real lady. He only said those things after a severe beating, when she did something to displease him as she always did. Jone liked to think it was the guilt, why he promised her the things he did, but she knew better. She was nothing more than a vessel for him to release his twisted lust on and most times – anger.

 After eight years of broken promises, Jone resigned herself to just do the best she could and be content with the life she had. Secretly, she thanked the good Lord every day for the neighbor’s generosity because without them, she and Julia would have starved long ago from hunger.

“Here you go, nice and cold too,” Gram said, interrupting her thoughts.

“Thank you Gram.”

Gram took her seat again and watched Jone pore the lemonade into the glasses. It saddened her to see Jone struggle. She knew enough about Jone’s past to understand that she wasn’t cut out for this kind of hard life. She should be living in a fancy house with plenty of servants to wait hand and foot on her. Instead, she was living in the middle of nowhere, dressed in hand me down rags with a worthless husband that did nothing but get her pregnant and leave her for months on end.