made her feel much
older than she had only a few short months before.
Sophia and Elsa were invited to the
nearby home of Charles and Elenora Mason to share in the relatively
new tradition of Thanksgiving. They had a wonderful feast and
Sophia found that she could actually smile and be happy. Without
her father around, she and her mother were getting along better
than usual, but it was nice to have someone other than Elsa to talk
to and to break up the monotony of the increasingly colder
days.
Unfortunately, after they dined with
the Mason family her mother couldn’t stop talking about their son,
Michael, and how he would be such a good match for
Sophia.
“ Michael is a strong man
that knows how to work hard, Sophia. Besides, look at the land he
already owns and how much he will own as soon as his parents die,”
Elsa explained one December morning.
Michael had to be nearing forty years
old and the idea of being paired with him sent shivers up Sophia’s
spine. He was an unusually large man and something about him made
her feel uncomfortable, as if evil poured out of him in some unseen
way.
“ Mother, he barely spoke
five words the entire time we were visiting and that was to grunt
something about wanting more food passed down the table. I can’t be
with a man who doesn’t know how to carry on a conversation,” Sophia
complained.
“ But Sophia, dear, a girl in
your situation is never going to find anyone better,” Elsa snapped,
ending their chat as she stomped out of the room.
*****
For Christmas, Elsa and
Sophia stayed at home. Her mother wasn’t a particularly festive
person nor was she one to celebrate God, but Sophia loved the
excitement and joy that flooded out of everyone else during the
holiday season. Her parents had never joined in the tradition of
decorating a Christmas tree—that would just be absurd—but Sophia
strung popped corn onto string and draped it around the house with
little red bows fastened in the corners. She started sewing and
mending for the ladies in town and it felt nice to have some money
of her own that had been earned honestly . Her parents weren’t exactly
destitute, but they didn’t spend much of their money on her. Sophia
usually inherited Elsa’s clothes when she became bored with them
and she did her best to liven them up by adding bows and ribbons
and other homemade accessories.
That is why Sophia was so surprised to
find a package with her name on it, wrapped in brown paper, sitting
on the kitchen table on Christmas morning. Inside, Sophia found a
beautiful new burgundy dress with delicate white lace at the throat
and wrists. She was speechless for some time and couldn’t stop
running her hands over the silky material.
“ Oh, Mother. It’s beautiful.
Thank you.” Sophia gushed when Elsa walked into the
room.
Elsa’s usually hard face softened. “I
didn’t have much money growin’ up. And I never got nothin’ new
until I met your pa. I guess we haven’t been good at gettin’ nice
things for you. I saw this in a store window and thought you might
like it.”
Sophia gave Elsa a hug. She couldn’t
remember the last time they had done that. It felt awkward and a
little forced, but it needed to be done.
Elsa, unable to handle the physical
contact pulled away first. “Come now. No need to get carried away.
Our grandkids will be better off if their mother looks
nice.”
Sophia looked at Elsa in surprise.
“Grandkids? I’ve never heard you say that word before.” Sophia
paused, continuing to finger the silky material of the dress.
“Mother, why did you and Pa only have one child? Why don’t I have
any siblings?”
Elsa cleared her throat and busied
herself in the kitchen, ignoring the questions. “You’ll have a much
better chance of marrying someone with money if you look nice. Your
pa and I want to be taken care of in our old age, and that ain’t
gonna happen if you marry some poor farmhand.”
So there it was—the motive.
Just like
older than she had only a few short months before.
Sophia and Elsa were invited to the
nearby home of Charles and Elenora Mason to share in the relatively
new tradition of Thanksgiving. They had a wonderful feast and
Sophia found that she could actually smile and be happy. Without
her father around, she and her mother were getting along better
than usual, but it was nice to have someone other than Elsa to talk
to and to break up the monotony of the increasingly colder
days.
Unfortunately, after they dined with
the Mason family her mother couldn’t stop talking about their son,
Michael, and how he would be such a good match for
Sophia.
“ Michael is a strong man
that knows how to work hard, Sophia. Besides, look at the land he
already owns and how much he will own as soon as his parents die,”
Elsa explained one December morning.
Michael had to be nearing forty years
old and the idea of being paired with him sent shivers up Sophia’s
spine. He was an unusually large man and something about him made
her feel uncomfortable, as if evil poured out of him in some unseen
way.
“ Mother, he barely spoke
five words the entire time we were visiting and that was to grunt
something about wanting more food passed down the table. I can’t be
with a man who doesn’t know how to carry on a conversation,” Sophia
complained.
“ But Sophia, dear, a girl in
your situation is never going to find anyone better,” Elsa snapped,
ending their chat as she stomped out of the room.
*****
For Christmas, Elsa and
Sophia stayed at home. Her mother wasn’t a particularly festive
person nor was she one to celebrate God, but Sophia loved the
excitement and joy that flooded out of everyone else during the
holiday season. Her parents had never joined in the tradition of
decorating a Christmas tree—that would just be absurd—but Sophia
strung popped corn onto string and draped it around the house with
little red bows fastened in the corners. She started sewing and
mending for the ladies in town and it felt nice to have some money
of her own that had been earned honestly . Her parents weren’t exactly
destitute, but they didn’t spend much of their money on her. Sophia
usually inherited Elsa’s clothes when she became bored with them
and she did her best to liven them up by adding bows and ribbons
and other homemade accessories.
That is why Sophia was so surprised to
find a package with her name on it, wrapped in brown paper, sitting
on the kitchen table on Christmas morning. Inside, Sophia found a
beautiful new burgundy dress with delicate white lace at the throat
and wrists. She was speechless for some time and couldn’t stop
running her hands over the silky material.
“ Oh, Mother. It’s beautiful.
Thank you.” Sophia gushed when Elsa walked into the
room.
Elsa’s usually hard face softened. “I
didn’t have much money growin’ up. And I never got nothin’ new
until I met your pa. I guess we haven’t been good at gettin’ nice
things for you. I saw this in a store window and thought you might
like it.”
Sophia gave Elsa a hug. She couldn’t
remember the last time they had done that. It felt awkward and a
little forced, but it needed to be done.
Elsa, unable to handle the physical
contact pulled away first. “Come now. No need to get carried away.
Our grandkids will be better off if their mother looks
nice.”
Sophia looked at Elsa in surprise.
“Grandkids? I’ve never heard you say that word before.” Sophia
paused, continuing to finger the silky material of the dress.
“Mother, why did you and Pa only have one child? Why don’t I have
any siblings?”
Elsa cleared her throat and busied
herself in the kitchen, ignoring the questions. “You’ll have a much
better chance of marrying someone with money if you look nice. Your
pa and I want to be taken care of in our old age, and that ain’t
gonna happen if you marry some poor farmhand.”
So there it was—the motive.
Just like
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