Garnet or Garnets Curse

sat down next to me. “Have you had any supper?” she whispered.
    “And what would it have been?” I asked her angrily. The realization of my own words caused me to weep.
    “Shh,” she warned. “Nell does not like crying. You don’t want to make Nell mad before she has had her whisky,” she laughed, but I knew she was serious. “I brought you some fish and bread from the cafe. Let’s go warm it up.”
    Like a little lost lamb, I followed her into the kitchen. Arlene was kind, she trusted and confided in me, but I could not even tell her my real name. I felt dishonest and not worthy of her affection.
    The fish was delicious. Arlene opened up her bag and stocked the shelves with items she had stolen from the cafe: a bag of rice, a sack of potatoes and a jar of pickles. “Here, this will do you for a day or two. You can count on me to bring you some supper from the cafe.” I felt like a pauper. I sat there in a daze and did not respond. “Margo,” she called out. “I am sorry, but this is the best I can do!”
    “Oh no, it is fine. Really it will do,” I said, trying to convince myself as well.
    The evening went much the same as the night before. We played cards and Arlene talked. She told me in a matter-of-fact manner that her lover had left the village. “If that hairy monkey thinks I will miss him, he has another thing coming,” she said, laughing. “I only let that bastard have a go with me because he promised to take me away from here. Liars! That’s what all men are. Sometimes I think we would all be better off if we all were like Nell,” she said, stopping and taking a drink of whisky.
    “Like Nell?” I asked.
    Arlene looked at me for a moment before she spoke. “Oh you know, Nell, she is selfish and doesn’t give a damn about anyone else. And if the truth be known, she doesn’t give a damn about herself either.”
    “I see,” I answered, but I felt there was something else she was implying.
    “Well, tell me about him,” she said, with a big fake smile on her face.
    “Him?” I asked.
    “Don’t play dumb to me. Nell told me all about it. Did your father walk in and catch the two of you shagging?”
    Suddenly, I realized she was speaking of the great lie that Father had told Nell. I, too, was now forced to be part of the lie. “It was nothing like that. Father just feels he is not right for me,” I said, reaching up and rubbing my nose, thinking of Pinocchio.
    “Well, if you ask me, nobody ’ s got a right to interfere in matters of love. If I ever find someone that loves me, ain’t nobody going to stop me from loving him back. Not even Nell!” she said in a loud voice.
    “Quiet, Arlene. Nell is going to hear you,” I scolded.
    “I don’t care if she does. I have had enough of her and if she comes in that door right now, I will tell her so!” Arlene said, and flopped back on the bed laughing.
    Arlene’s drunkenness was my excuse to cut off the conversation. “You better get some sleep or you will not be fit for work tomorrow. Goodnight Arlene.”
    It was not normal for mid-October to have turned off so cold, but again not much about this place was proving to be normal.
    Self-pity is not a formula for survival, I told myself. There was a woodshed out back and a fireplace in my room. A healthy young woman like myself was more than capable of carrying wood up the stairs. In a trancelike state, I stepped out in the night air and walked directly to the woodshed. In short order, I had gathered up an armful of firewood and turned toward the house.
    Just before I reached the back door, a man stepped out of the shadows. I screamed and dropped the wood. “ I have something for you, ” he called out.
    Even in the moonlight, his beastly looking face was frightening. He was stooped over with low-hanging arms that swung from side to side as he walked. I wanted to run, but my feet were frozen.
    Nell must have heard me scream and the back door flew open. “ Get inside, you stupid girl, before old Ox gets you, ” she shouted.
    I did not look back and ran to the house. Nell left the door open and walked out to meet the man. Seconds later, I heard them laughing. I stood behind the door and watched them walk around the house together.
    The armful of firewood lay just feet away from the door, but I did not dare step outside to collect it. A thousand thoughts were racing through my head as I climbed the steps to my room. On the top step, I cringed as I felt something brush against my