Traveling Vivian

Chapter Fifteen - Shadows

Traveling Vivian

Part Fifteen

A few days after the Derby, Lady was acting strange. She wouldn’t get out of bed like she used to. She relied on Daddy to get me up from the bed and ready for the day. I was worried for her. One day she was eating dinner with us and the chef served us duck breast with fingerling potatoes and colored carrots with peas. Lady had a bite of the duck breast and then tried to feed me some of the duck breast to me. I was sitting right next to her when she turned to me and threw up. It landed on my shoulder and down the high chair and some on my legs. Daddy was shocked as he picked me up and brought me to the downstairs bathroom. Lady was crying over herself as Juliet came in to  clean up the mess. The cook came from the kitchen and into the dining room, cursing in a foreign language.

“Mrs. Callis! You think my food is horrible?” He snapped.

Lady cried and shook her head. “No, Rodrigo! It is delicious! I just don’t feel well right now.”

“I busted my ass to get this job and you humiliate me by throwing up my food!” Rodrigo always had a feminine side so he tossed his hips and swayed back to the kitchen.

Lady cried harder as Peggy came to help her up. She led her to the bathroom upstairs.

It did not stop there. When daddy finished giving me a bath, daddy asked Rodrigo to make me a plate. I was still hungry. He placed me down the table as Rodrigo gave me a plate of the same dinner. I was hungry so I gobbled it up instantly.

Daddy looked at me and told Jean to watch me. He walked upstairs to check on Lady. Immediately the door slammed shut as Daddy started yelling at her. Lady screamed back then I heard things falling to the floor, crashing left and right.

Jean looked at Rodrigo as the other maids came in.

Rodrigo hummed and then said, “girls, do you want some tea?”

The girls all nodded and sat themselves in the island counter.

“I do not know why they bother with each other. After Melly died, the house became cold and frightening. It’s harder when you see them together. You do not know when one or the other start to strike each other.” Peggy said as she shook her head. I watched her pour milk in her cup.

Rodrigo clapped his hands and turned on the dock. He started playing some music when Lady started screaming. She screamed out, “you rapist! Don’t touch me!”  Rodrigo turned to me and smiled at me.

I looked up at Jean as she sat next to me drinking her tea. “It is a pity that this little one has to hear it. Was your last household just as bad?” She looked at me and fed me carrots.

I  did not know how to answer that. I do not know what was worse. Was it better to live with a whore of a mother than two adults who fought with each other every day? I did not know. Lady tries to hit me sometimes too while living with my biological mother, she would not care a damn hair on my head.

I finished eating as Jean brought me upstairs to sleep. The other maids and Rodrigo went back to their old homes and Jean stayed the night. Jean placed me into the crib as Daddy came slugging into the room. He glared at Jean and snapped at her to leave. I was worried. Being in a room with a drunk daddy was never a good sign.

Daddy then stopped Jean. He grabbed her hands and slapped her. “You puke on little Vivian! How could you?”

Jean cried and ran out of the room. I heard her run to the guest room and locked it tightly.

Daddy then turned to me and petted my head.  “It’ll be okay, my sweet Melly. No one will hurt you.”

My heart sank. None of them were over the death of their late daughter. Now I want to know how she died. I looked at Daddy as he sat in a rocking chair besides my bed. He sang a little lullaby and turned the mobile one. I looked up at the mobile and cried. Was I living in her shadow?

I saw from a distance, as their bedroom door was opened, Lady was lying on the bed. Her nightgown all torn apart as her hair was messy. She laid still looking up at the ceiling. Her bottoms were showing and her hands laid still beside her. She was laying still like a statue.

I looked at Daddy as he smiled down at me. "Melly why did you have to leave us?" He said quietly to himself as he looked down crying. "Melly you were just a small girl. You were ready to venture into the world as a child but life took it's grasp on you and you went. Why?" He shook my crib hard as i woke up by bumping my head with the dashboard. I looekd at Daddy as he cried. He wiped his tears and picked me up from my crib. I knew i was not going to get any sleep tonight.

Daddy looked at me straight in the eye. He kissed my cheeks and then slapped it. He kissed it again and slapped it harder. My eyes started tearing up from the pain and confusion. Daddy then looked at me while holding me up in the air. "You aren't Melly. But you are just as small as her. You have her hair color and her eyes. You are like Melly but just brattier." He said as he kissed my head. He held me as i started crying. Daddy brought us to the rocking chair and rocked me. He continued singing the same lullaby again to me. He stroked my long brown wavy hair. When he was done singing the lullaby, he picked me up and kissed my head.

"Little Melly, would you like to ride the horses again?" He asked.

I shook my head. The horses were big and i did not know how to hang on to them.

Without even listening to me, Daddy threw me over his shoudlers and brought me the Daisy. Daisy wasn't sleeping but running around the horse yard. Daddy placed me down as i struggled to crawl back to the house. Daddy settled Daisy and placed a saddle on her. He petted her and combed her hair. When she was settled and ready to be ridden, Daddy looked around for me. He found me half way between the horse field and he picked me up.

"Melly, don't be scared! It's just a horse! We cannot wait for you to be racing in the Derby with the other guys!" Daddy said as he hugged me.

I was crying. I was afraid. What the heck was he thinking? Melly was four when she rode on a pony! I was only three and I am going to be riding an adult horse! I looked at Daisy as she stared down at me. Daddy placed me on top of Daisy and I was so confused. I did not know what to do.

Daddy gave me the reins and told me to cling on to the reins. I nodded and hung on to them as Daddy gave Daisy a smack to the hips.

Daisy sprinted around the field as Daddy clapped his hands watching me ride the horse. Daisy ran around the field one more time... two more time... three more times. I was in awe of the speed Daisy had that iI let go of the reins and waved my hands up in the air. Daisy ran past the gates ot the field and into the training grounds. My heart panicked. I clung on to reins as it fell off to the horse's side. I screeched as I leapt forward to reach it. When I did, i held Daisy's reins tighter. Daisy turned towards one of the loops. My head started spinning as I screamed for help! "DADDY!" I cried out.

I saw Daddy running towards us but Daisy ran faster and faster. I felt my grip on the reins loosen up and when Daisy leaped into the loop, I let go on the rains and I smashed my head into the rocks that were inside the pond. I laid there still as my brain started feeling fuzzy. Daddy got to me and wailed out screaming for help. I felt stiff when he touched my arm. I looked to the main house as the lights all turned on. Lady came running out in her torn lingerie as Jean came with her cotton pajamas. Jean took out her cell phone and dialed 911 while Lady gasped and covered her mouth. I looked into the water and the water wasn't crystal clear anymore but the color of dark red. My heart fell like it was barely beating... slower... slower... and slower... until everything became dark.