Once Upon a Time...

Part Fifteen

Amelia- 24

            When I got home my mother sent me into my room to change out of the trashed wedding dress, where I locked myself inside. I ignored all of the knocks on my door from her and my father, demanding I come out at once. Then, at about eleven o’clock, I heard a more tentative knock at the door.

            “Go away,” I begged.

            “Miss Amelia?” Maria’s quiet voice whispered through the door. I rose and opened it for her, gesturing for her to come in. She carefully took a seat on the edge of my bed. I set adjacent to her and waited for her to say something.

            “I sent the application in for the New York Academy of Fine Arts,” she said in a rushed voice. My jaw dropped.

            “You—what? Maria, I don’t know what to say…”

            “Can you do me one favor, Amelia?” she asked, cutting me off.

            I nodded enthusiastically.

            “Get the hell out of here.”

            I turned my whole body to face her.

            “Run. Take Matthew with you. I promise I won’t tell them, and they won’t wake up until morning. But by then you’ll be in New York.”

            “Maria, you know I can’t do that.”

            Her eyes had a fire in them I rarely saw from our soft-spoken housekeeper.

            “Yes, you can, Miss Amelia. It’s the least you could do for a woman who took the liberty to send in an application to the most prestigious musical university in the country for you. And I know you want to. So get out of here.”

            I remained still for another moment, thinking about what she just said.

            “What are you waiting for?” Her voice cut into my deep thinking. “Go. GO.” She nudged me off the bed gently and together we packed a small suitcase as quickly as we could. Less than five minutes later, with the bag and my acceptance letter in hand, I hugged Maria and ran downstairs to meet an eager Matthew.

            “What changed her mind?” was the first thing he asked.

            “She doesn’t know,” I replied, smiling. “Drive fast.”

            His mouth opened slightly in surprise and he stepped on the gas of his rented convertible.

            We drove all the way to the front gates in the dark, and as we passed under them I screamed at the top of my lungs, standing up in my seat.

            I was finally free.

Matthew- 25

            I was almost as excited as Amelia to be on that plane. We spent the whole two-hour ride talking, catching up on each other’s lives. I told her about how much I hated my job, and she went silent.

            “What’s wrong?”

            She spoke quietly. “I just realized… who is going to take over the company now that I’m gone?”