Before It's Too Late

One

As I swept the streets of Paris with a wooden broom, I thought of when I could go home to see my family. The sun was relentlessly beating down on me causing beads of sweat to trickle down my forehead. My dress clung to my moist skin as my dark hair stuck to my neck. I had been working for about six hours and have earned five francs. It wasn't the best pay, but I had enough get a loaf of bread for my family. I had only hoped that my brother was earning pay cleaning the gutters. My papa was a drunk, often poisoning our family with his presence. My mama was very ill and had to stay home for her own good. My sister was too young. It wasn't much of a life, some might say, but what can you do when you live in the slums of Paris? A sudden voice broke my thoughts.

"Adéle, you daydream more than you work," It was the shrill voice of Jeanne. She's always had something against me. I shot her a dirty glare. "How can you work for a family of five? I bet I know how you pick up the extra!" she giggled to her annoying friends. They joined in on the laugh, covering their mouths pettily with their hands.

"Shut up!" I yelled. I let my broom drop to the ground and balled my fists up. Just as I was about to threaten Jeanne, our supervisor interrupted me.

"Adéle, you better get back to work or else--!" he boomed, shaking his finger at me.

"Yes, Monsieur," I hurriedly picked the wooden broom and kept my eyes low, ashamed. And then something happened that I did not expect. The supervisor stalked up to me and whispered in my ear.

"But, if you do lose this job, you can always count on me," Out of instinct I slapped him, square across the face. It happened before I even realized what my body was doing. He grabbed my shoulders and brought my face close to his. I could smell his putrid breath. "Do you know what you just did? You just assaulted a grown man." His grip was getting tighter and tighter. I couldn't help but yelp a little in pain. He threw me down to the ground and I landed flat on my butt. I winced, gasping sharply. "Your work here is done!" he screamed. He threw down some francs at me. I stood up and brushed the dust off my dress. I didn't dare make eye contact with anybody. I picked up my pay and walked off silently, regretting every single thing that had just occurred. I wished I had never said anything to Jeanne. I couldn't wrap my mind around what had just happened. Tears fell before I could stop them. They were cold against my hot skin.

Now, what am I going to do? My family is going to suffer due to my foolish decisions, I thought.

I rubbed my eyes with my dirty hands and sighed. How could I have let this happen? I was too upset and distracted to pay attention to where I was going, and I rammed right into somebody.

"Hey, watch where-" the boy turned around. He looked about twenty-three. Chiseled features appeared on his face with a light stubble of a beard. His pink lips were thin and turned down in a frown. His eyes were a crystal blue, and I couldn't help but get a little bit lost in them for the duration of time that I stared into them. He was dressed nicely with a red, white, and blue pin clipped to his maroon jacket. He was very handsome. I wondered what somebody like him would be doing in a poor neighborhood such as Saint Michele. "Oh, I am so sorry, Madame. Please forgive me." he bowed his head at me. I smiled, almost completely forgetting what had occurred only a couple of minutes ago. He stared at me for a while, not blinking. "What is your name, mademoiselle?" he brushed a lock of his curly blond hair out of his eyes.

"My name is Adéle," I curtsied, butterflies tickling my insides. I had never seen such a handsome man. I had never been so nervous.

"And mine is Enjolras," he said, grinning. "What is a fine lady-" another boy came up to him. He looked a little bit younger than Enjolras but just as attractive. He wore a tar black jacket and his brown hair was neatly styled. Freckles splashed his fine complexion.

"It's time, Enjolras. We must start the speech now," he whispered, laying his hand on Enjolras's shoulder. He took one glance at me, then quickly looked away as he stepped back up onto the stage behind him.

"That was my friend Marius," Enjolras paused for a second. "I'm sorry. I must be leaving now. I have a speech to present."

"That's alright," I stared downward, a little disappointed that he had to leave so soon. "Good luck with your speech."

"Can you stay for it?" he asked. I thought about saying yes, but then I knew how much I needed to get home.

"I can't. I must be going as well."

"There will be another speech tomorrow. Will you come then?" he persisted.

"Yes. I guess I can." a small grin formed on my lips.

"Okay. Merci, mademoiselle." He bowed once more, returning the grin, bearing his white teeth.

And then he was gone.

---

The rest of the walk home I thought about Enjolras. He was unforgettable, especially when he was so polite...and handsome.

I finally reached the opening of my home, and I was relieved to finally be getting home after a long day.

"I'm home!" I said as I entered the tiny kitchen.

"Hi, honey. What are you doing home from work so early?" I hear my mother stifle a cough. She came limping into the room, but she still managed a warm smile.

How am I going to tell her that I lost my job?

"Something terrible happened today at work, Mama."

She coughed again. "What was it, sweetheart?" she stared at me in the eyes. I looked down quickly.

"I lost my job," I mumbled reluctantly. I waited for her to scream and tell me how I was a terrible child, but she was silent.

After a long time, she simply asked, "why?"

"Jeanne was being annoying and then the supervisor..." my voice trailed off.

"What did he do?" Mama asked.

"He said that if I lose my job I can count on him," I whispered. Tears threatened to fall out of the corner of my eyes.

"That's terrible," Mama said, touching my face softly like she always does. "Don't listen to him."

---

Later that evening I played with my younger sister, Clémence. We played with rag dolls she made out of old cloths she found. I probably shouldn't have been playing with dolls when I was seventeen, but it was very entertaining. I would do anything for my sister.

Clémence is six years old with blond hair, like Mama's. She looks very underweight, just like the rest of us. I couldn't help but think what she would be like if our family wasn't so poor.

After we were done playing, we went into the kitchen and waited patiently for my brother and Papa to get home. Papa was the first to get home.

He burst through the door with a wine bottle in his hand. He took a huge chug and slammed it on the kitchen table when the bottle was empty.

"Hi, Papa." Clémence greeted innocently. He didn't reply. Instead, he stormed off into the other room. I heard Clémence whimper a little.

"It's okay, Clémence. Papa is just a little tired." I tried to sound convincing. Suddenly, my brother walked in.

"Claude, you're home!" Clémence squealed with joy. She ran up to him and he swooped her up in his arms. She giggled. Claude then set her down gently and also set down a loaf of bread. Just one sight of it made my stomach growl. My tastes buds yearned for a slice.

Each family member sat down and took a slice. I bit into mine and my senses were overwhelmed. I couldn't believe how good the bread tasted. Maybe it was because I had a bad day at work. I wasn't quite sure.

---

That night, I got into bed. I couldn't help but think of what I would do instead of working tomorrow morning. Also, I couldn't help but think of Enjolras and what he was going to say tomorrow during his speech. I fell into a pleasant slumber thinking these things. Thinking of tomorrow.