-3rd pov-
TW: ABUSE, SA, TRAUMA, ISOLATION, SUGGESTIONS OF CRIME,PROSTITUTION, R@PE
"Thank you, angelface." a large man said with a wink as daisy poured whiskey into his glass
"Yes, sir, my p-pleasure.." she nervously responded.
Elton had four of the men he worked with over for dinner that evening, and strictly advised her to stay clear out of their way with the exception of serving them.
If she was honest, she hadn't a clue what Elton did for work, as she had never thought it important enough to ask. She never knew what might set him off, and didn't want to risk it with rather meaningless questions.
The men drank, and enjoyed their roast and cigars around the table she had set.
"She's a real looker." the man said to Elton.
Elton snorted in amusement
"Maybe after getting all dolled up." he said, taking a drink.
"But you should see her with her clothes off."
The men chuckled.
"This the broad you bought?" a smaller, thinner man asked
"What do you think, Mickey, how the hell else would this sap land a wife?" said the larger man, laughing a raspy, deep-bellied chuckle.
"Can-it, james." Elton snarled in response
The other three men made various 'ooo's in response to his comment.
" 'ay. You watch it, pal. That's your damn boss you're talkin' to." said the large man, pointing his cigar in Elton's direction.
He put his hands up defensively.
"Alright. Alright."
The man tapped the cigar with his fat, ringed fingers, dusting the ash onto the ground.
"Come here sweetheart, come here." James said, beckoning daisy over from the kitchen.
He had a sick tone and a heavily prominent Chicago accent.
Daisy came to the man's side, only to be grabbed around the waist by the man's large arm, and pulled against him.
"How much Elton." the man asked, his cigar drooping from the corner of his mouth.
"Highest you'll go?"
James looked up and down the length of her body.
"$5"
(hard to believe but, in the year 1934, $5 then = $108 now)
"$5.75" Elton said ($125)
James grunted and shoved a five-dollar bill and three quarters across to Elton, who pocketed the money in his coat pocket.
"Take the tart, go on." Elton said, rolling his eyes and waving them away.
~time skip~
"Goddamn, sugar. I cheated him out of something there."
Daisy did not reply, instead, she lay silent in the bed, facing away from the man. Her tears soaked into the sheets beside her face as she cried. Crying.
What a familiar feeling, a painfully familiar feeling. She wondered, if each tear she shed was collected, what rivers and ponds would they fill. If tears never disappeared, if they never tried, how long ago would she have drowned in them.
It often felt like all she ever did was cry, and then again, each time she cried it still felt so needed. Despite how much she cried, it never felt as if it was for no good reason.
She showered in cold water for some time to clear her mind before she took her place in the kitchen once more.
Over the sounds of her mixing batter, she could hear bits of conversation in the dining room.
"...oh yeah, Ricky..."
The muffled sentence faded into laughter
"He took care of 'em nice and good.."
She winced, she hoped they weren't criminals. She told herself they weren't, and that whatever job he worked was a perfectly legal one. But she had a feeling in her gut that it was all a lie she was telling herself to feel better about the situation.
Sometimes her optimism was so blind that she herself could tell. Yet, she chose to continue lying to her mind.
Names were mentioned, slang was used, drinks were had, and the night went on, daisy coming in from time to time to provide alcohol and cigars to the group of sleazy men.
She had baked a cake for the men, and in the later hours of their meeting, she served it. The men ate and drank lite gluttons, leaving filthy plates for daisy as some twisted sign of gratitude.
After all, women had no purpose if not doing chores, and making babies. Daisy wondered, if she was able, would she choose to have a child? She wished, more than anything, for a child.
Unfortunately, her countless desperate prayers were in vain. For, she was defective, unworthy, and less of a woman. Her hands ran over her the length of her torso tracing the faded scars on either side of her lower stomach. that stretched down it.
She had a total salpingectomy at 16, a salpingectomy being the partial or total removal of one or both of the fallopian tubes. It was impossible that she get pregnant in her time, ivfs not being available for years to come.
Daisy picked the sponge back up, and once again, she gazed longingly out the window as she washed the dishes like she had the day before, and many days before that.
Her life felt like a cycle that would never be broken, the only thing changing being her dwindling sense of optimism for the future. The further she looked into her future the clearer it got, which frightened her.
Each day in her future she saw the same bleak life, the same longing for something new, and the same tears she would cry.
Once the men finished their gluttonous feast and migrated to the living room, daisy sat down at the table, staring at the scattered scraps of leftover food gone cold.
She looked through the picked-over bits of food, wondering what might be salvageable.
She settled on half of a roll, some scraps of meat, and various steamed vegetables.
She ate in silence, alone, cringing at the coldness of the food. The men would be awake for many more hours, and she knew Elton would demand sex once they did, so, she made haste in her nighttime routine.
Daisy looked out the window once more before turning and heading to their bedroom. She hoped one day she too could be outside, and not outside under Elton's constant control, outside of her own free will.
YOU ARE READING
sweet tea. -tkam
Fanfictionshe was like sunshine for the south, softer than butter and sweeter than sweet tea. she was kindhearted and compassionate, a young woman whose heart was bigger than anything else, even sometimes bigger than her logic. but one thing she adored most a...
