The Sky Never Ends

Sunday's Best

Selah's weekend of leisure had been cut into, because Clara was slow to come out of her gloom. Which meant Selah was still being run rampant. Her back was aching and she was exhausted. She wanted to give Clara all the time she needed, but she wasn't sure how long she could withstand doing all the chores and minding the children. Oliver was fast as fox on the prowl. She couldn't look away from him for a second so she often had to ask Nora or Elizabeth to look after him when Clara refused to leave her room. She was a lucky woman to be able to abandon everything she was responsible for, even her children. Stephen was definitely not around to help. It was a test of Selah's temperament, which was running low. 

Finally, on Sunday morning Clara actually left her alcove. She seemed to be in an alright mood, her shoulders were no longer slouched over and she was dressed demurely as normal, though it looked like she'd lost some weight. She profusely thanked Selah for picking up her slack and doing the work all week. She gave Selah the day off. Thank God, she thought. Selah gave her a smile, asked her if she was doing alright, Clara nodded. So Selah dismissed herself before she could change her mind.

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After she cleaned up in the stream, Selah donned in a simple cream colored dress that she thought complemented her necklace and skin tone, she hadn't worn the necklace all week because she was caring for Oliver and Elias, she was sure one of them would reach out and break it, Elias enjoyed yanking on Selah's long hair. 

But, since this was her day of leisure she decided she would wear it, to show Ikal how much she appreciated it. 

Selah and Mae made breakfast together after they'd dressed. The very first thing Mae said when she saw Selah, was tell her how much she loved her gorgeous necklace and how beautiful it looked on her. Seeing her reaction, Selah was worried it would draw too much attention to her, but Mae assured her that everyone would be too preoccupied with breakfast to notice. She and Selah were going to eat together this morning by themselves, so hardly anyone would see her. Selah was slightly more convinced, but after she made breakfast she took her hair down to help obscure how much it stood out.

The girls served the breakfast to the family, while it was still early morning. Dew still clinging on the blades of grass and leaves. There was a lull of quiet conversation between them, catching up on the weeks events. The family ate at the large dinner table in the center of the property. Ikal was the only one missing from the table per usual. Clara sat down across from her husband and next to Charlotte, she seemed to still be in better spirits, or at least she was doing a good job at faking it. Stephen was his typical uptight self, barely contributing to the conversation, a pensive look on his face. Noah perched at the end of the table, dead silent. His back was hunched over, there were bags beneath his eyes, his hair was sticking out in different directions. He looked visibly stressed. He ate his food, then quickly excused himself disappearing into edge of the forest. Selah was concerned about him, but realized there wasn't anything she could do at the moment.

Selah and Mae took their plates with them beneath the large oak tree. After breakfast was cleaned up, they spent the morning chatting, each reminiscent of their pasts, and also dreading the next week of activities. Selah leaned her head against the tree trunk, and looked up at the clear blue sky, not a cloud insight.

"Honestly Selah, where on earth did you get such a unique necklace? I haven't ever seen anything like it." Mae asked, staring at her throat. "I've seen a lot a jewelry in my life, and nothing remotely close. There is no gold, and very little silver, but it looks elegant.

Selah blushed. "Oh... you know the um, farm hand, I think he called it?"

"Ikal?"

She nodded then explained to Mae how her and Ikal started off on bad terms, him being very brazen when she first met him and her not liking him very much. Then she told her that the necklace was a peace offering from him, made with her in mind. Mae was gushing about it like she was watching a dramatic play. Selah tried to shush her, and tell her it wasn't anything to get excited about, just how thoughtful it was for him to think of her and still extend his kindness to her when she'd been rude. Mae was firmly convinced that it was much more significant. Selah reminded her that she wasn't looking for a relationship or marriage, she just wanted to do her time and return to her family. Mae suggested it would be fun to the idea entertain for the moment, but Selah didn't want to frivolously play with anyone emotions. She already had enough emotional distress from Noah. Mae let it go, and asked Selah if Ikal would make her one. Selah bursted out laughing and Mae joined in.