Carmella

The Past

Prelude

"I was sixteen when it happened. I was engaged to a man that I had known for a while. I thought he loved me. He said he did, but-" The young woman blinked a few times and squeezed her fists tightly around the blue skirt that hung around her waist. "But he lied. Got me pregnant and started runnin' a few states away." She sighed and darted her unusual eyes away from the questioner. "I was seventeen when I had William. My parents disowned me before he was even born. So I ran away to live here. Everything that I have, I made for myself." 

"And...your son?"

"He's the only boy in my life worth any time. I'd do anything to keep him safe." She looked at the sheriff with her brown and blue eyes. "Even if that meant risking everything."

-  -  -  -  -

Part One

March 8, 1869, was a particularly cold evening. The young woman had done all she could to keep warm, but she knew that the last embers of her fire would grow dim and cold. She blinked back tears as she remembered what her father had said to her earlier that month when he found out she was pregnant.

"I knew that boy was gon' be nothin' but trouble, ya hear? Now, I don't want no daughter o' mine to be roaming around here with her own baby to feed when yer momma and I can barely give our childrens' a meal." It had been the first time her pa had ever spoken to her in that regard.

"But you said that I would always be safe with you! Robbie took what he wanted and left!"

"Well, that's your own darn fault then!" Her father looked at her with contempt in his eyes, his twisted smile merciless to the pleads of his first daughter. "Now, get off my land before I make you!"

Tears welled up in her eyes. "But Papa, please! I don't know where to go. I don't have anywhere to stay! I'll work your fields, I'll farm, I'll do whatever you want! Just-" Her cries for help were silenced with a blow to her cheek. 

"LEAVE! It's your own fault you got pregnant by a man who wasn't gon' marry you. I woulda left you too if I knew how stubborn and useless ya are,"  he spat through gritted teeth. He picked her up by the shoulders and shoved her out onto the front porch. 

She sat there for a moment and continued to sob. A minute later, her father threw a large suitcase that had her few belongings. Belongings she thought she would have taken into her new life with her lover. Two dresses- one for Sunday mornings and another blue frock- were stuffed inside with other essentials, a corn husk doll, a pair of stockings, a canteen, and a locket with the name 'Carmella' engraved in silver. 

Carmella rubbed her cheek and thought to herself, "How can a man be so unforgiving to his daughter?" She picked up her belongings and began to walk towards the nearest town, desperate for someone who could help her. 

"At least that woman from the department store is kind enough to let me stay in her old barn." The place around her was decrepit and worn down from all the abuse it had endured from the dry winters, but a fireplace in the corner remained intact since it was the only thing not made of now rotting wood. The fire slowly became evermore dim, Carmella inched closer, covering her blue dress and hands in inky black soot. As the last of the embers died, Carmella pulled a sackcloth over her shoulders to help maintain any of the heat she gathered while the wind rustled outside, lulling her to sleep.

A new day had dawned. Carmella opened her eyes as the sun peeked through the holes in the ceiling of the old building. This would be a new day that she would try to find work. For a little while now, she had asked around the town in various places, hoping that someone would take pity on her and let her live with them. It didn't come to pass. She made the small trek to the heart of the town, looking for someone whom she hadn't talked to already. 

"Mommy mommy mommy! Is that the girl you were talking about?" A little girl pointed at Carmella and tugged at her mother's skirts. The woman quickly scooped the child up and glanced at Carmella nervously. 

Carmella sighed and looked down at her booted feet. She had been the gossip of the small town of Cherry Falls since she came. Not many of the locals looked at her with fondness since she was young, poor, pregnant, and alone. She was the person that mothers use as an example to tell their children about being unsuccessful and stupid in life. 

"Hey, you!"

Carmella whipped her head around to see who that someone was talking to. She froze when she saw an older man approach her. His beard was trimmed, spectacles placed lowly on his nose, and grey hair hidden behind a leather hat.

"You're the kid who's causing up quite the stir, ain't ya?"

Carmella's face fell. "That would be me, sir."

"Ah well, I thought so." He looked her up and down. "Young thing to have such a misfortune happen to ya."

Carmella felt ashamed.

"Well, I know it ain't much but I need a few chores done around the saloon. I reckon you can earn a lil' money to buy you somethin' to eat." He looked at her again and frowned. "Ya look skinny for a girl your age, darlin'." He waved at her to follow him. "My name's John Berkely, and I'm this town's saloon owner."

"Well sir," she started, "My name is Carmella. Carmella Hawthorne. I've been looking for work in this here town." She sighed. "I know I ain't much, but I'll do just about anything, Mr. Berkely."

"Child, I know how hard it can be to make a name for yourself in a new place. Now come, my store needs restocking." John Berkely smiled, the edges of his eyes revealing many wrinkles as he and Carmella walked over to the saloon.