Nyx [h.s]

Chapter three

June 1934

"Why are you glued to the window? For God's sake Emily I need help here." My mom says visibly annoyed from the kitchen as she prepares supper for the family.

Let's just say I am not in her best favour today after she saw the rip on my dress when I got home earlier today. My mind has been wondering since I got home this afternoon, constantly thinking about George and his promise of coming to my house to ask for my parent's permission to take me out Saturday. I do not know why I was feeling this way towards a boy with who I have talked to only once and shared only a few words with.

I guess it was enough to have him in my mind for the past hours.

My enthusiasm was slowly drifting away as time passed. It was now seven in the afternoon and still no sign of him. Supper was nearly ready so I highly doubt he will come after that time as it is very rude to show up during mealtime.

Maybe he was really playing with me, why would he want to go out with someone like me? The last time he saw me I was still a young girl, most likely still playing with dolls. Clearly, he thought it was amusing to make fun of me.

What was I expecting? I was on top of a fence about to steal some strawberries, I was asking to be laughed at.

"Emily, your father will be here at any minute now, you know how upset he gets when super is not ready on time." My mom says visibly tired and this time I have no other chance but to slowly walk away from the window to meet her in the small kitchen. 

Three of my oldest brothers had already left home to start their own families, leaving me with my other two brothers. They usually work late and in shifts in a factory which means my mom and I are in charge of the housework. Not that they help with chores anyway, sadly, it is not a men's work, even if they are the ones who make the biggest mess.

My mom was cooking some beans on the stove so I am guessing we will have it with some potatoes she is boiling in another pot. I pick up the plates from the cupboard to set the table so we can all eat. My brothers should be arriving at any minute as well as my dad who probably spent the afternoon in the pub spending the little money we had.

"I still want an explanation as to why you ripped the brand new dress I gave you last month." Mom says with a serious tone as she stirs the beans on the stove. It was not a brand-new dress, not that it mattered anyway, it was a clean and pretty looking dress which I adored and loved to get as a present for my birthday.

Mom is a great seamstress, she fixes, cleans and flat irons the clothes of those who have more financial power in town to make some extra money. That is how she got the dress, one of the ladies she works for offered her daughter's dress which no longer fitted her. My mom is not getting younger at fifty-five and the weight of a lifetime of hard labour is starting to have an effect on her. Dad on the other hand was perfectly fit for work if it was not for the missing left arm. He still could do some small jobs but instead, he prefers spending his day drinking.

"I already told you..." I sigh not wanting to repeat the story over again, knowing I would skip an important detail or diverge from the original story I told her.

"Now you will walk around with your dress ruined I do not care, I will not spend a single minute fixing it. If you want you can fix it yourself." I lower my head hoping she will move on to a different topic of conversation. Even if she is saying she will not fix it, she will never allow me to walk around town or go to school with my dress like that.

"Yes, mom." I simply say putting the plates on top of the table as I fetch the cutlery.

"Today I was talking to your brothers before they left to work and they said the factory was looking for new employers to start soon. I told them to put your name there so you can start right after you finish school." I stop what I was doing when I hear what my mom just said.