Memories of Gold Read Online Free Page A

could enter. The house looked as it usually did—as if a small tornado had landed, tossing jackets and toys wildly around. It was a homey, comfortable mess clearly made by happy, energetic children. It lifted Mary’s heart to see it. “How are you today, Mrs. Harper?”
    Mrs. Harper smiled again. “Oh, just as crazed as usual, but the boys will be calming down for dinner here in a few minutes.”
    The woman’s smile dropped from her face as she continued. “Emma has had a rough morning, though. She was playing with the others, happy as can be, yesterday. Today she won’t do more than sit on the couch and lets nobody near her, not even me.”
    Mary looked over towards the couch and sighed. A small girl, twelve years old with mousy brown hair covering her face, sat wedged into the farthest corner of the piece of furniture, looking away from the door. Mary went and sat beside her, putting on a smile and a lighthearted tone. “Emma! You look right pretty today, except for your hair all over your face. Let me just move that so we can see your pretty blue eyes.”
    Mary reached over to touch Emma’s hair, only to get her hand pushed away by the little girl, who then huddled into a small protective ball. Mary moved away a little, knowing that it would be pointless to do more while the girl was in this mood. Usually describing her eyes would be enough to make her interact, since she loved the fact that her eyes matched Mary’s. They both had their father’s eyes.
    Emma had been four when Mary found out that her father had another child. Emma’s mother had walked up to their tent, talked to her father quietly for a few minutes, and walked away without the child despite his protestations. He didn’t want another child to take care of, especially not one that was…different.
    Emma had not been able to talk or fend for herself at all when she was four. Even at twelve, she only spoke single words and used gestures to explain herself. Their father had ignored the strange girl, effectively putting Mary in the role of parent, and she was often the only person that could get Emma to cooperate.
    When their father had died, Mary had to find a place for Emma to stay where she’d be taken care of while Mary tried to earn enough money to provide for both of them. Mrs. Harper asked a fair price for taking in Emma, but it would have been an impossible amount if Mary hadn’t gone to work in the saloon.
    Mary missed the freedom of just taking care of herself, missed the fun she had when playing around the camp with her best friend, the one she still looked for night after night, but those times were long gone, and her responsibility to Emma was tantamount, even if it was a burden at times. She loved the girl, though, and was unwilling to shut her away.
    Mary sat there for several more minutes, talking occasionally to lift the girl’s mood, but to no avail. Emma continued to sit, not moving or looking at her half-sister, until finally Mary got up to leave. She found Mrs. Harper setting food out on the table. “You were right. She is in a terrible state today, Mrs. Harper. I’ll come back tomorrow and try my luck again. Here is what I owe you for the next few weeks.”
    She poured the golden nuggets she had so carefully saved into the woman’s hand. They smiled and nodded at each other, and Mary left much sooner than she had expected. Outside, she leaned against the side of the house and took a deep breath. Having Emma in her life certainly didn’t make things easy, and days like this made it even harder. She reminded herself of the days when Emma would smile and hug her, chattering happily in a language only she understood. It helped ease the pain a little.
    She let out one long, low breath and headed back towards her room.
    She whiled away the afternoon finishing Jane Eyre, then napping to prepare herself for the long evening ahead, and finally looking up the words she could not understand on the first few pages of Les