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The large ornate iron gate
hung between two large pillars but she could
see the colorful garden with its flowers
in full bloom and trellising vines.
Sarah's heart picked up a
beat to think that she and Michael would
be living here for a time, then lurched
at the conditions in which they had left
Ellie behind in their house that was little
more than a shack. But she couldn't think
of that now. This was a new beginning for
them and as soon as they were settled she'd
work on a way to get her mother to leave
Missouri behind.
With the carpetbag in one hand and Michael's
tiny one in her other, she swung the gate
open and stepped into her aunt's garden.
Michael's grip tightened on hers as he looked
up at her with all of the apprehension and
anticipation that she felt too. What would
their new life hold in this fine house?
Would they fit in? Setting the carpetbag
down on the porch she raised her hand to
knock on the door, knowing they were about
to find the answers to all of their unasked
questions.
Within moments the door swung
open to reveal a small Chinese boy, not
much older than twelve or thirteen, dressed
in a simple white uniform. His hair was
long and pulled back into a simple braid
that hung down his back. Fear rose in Sarah's
heart that her mother had given her the
wrong address.
"What you want?"
he asked in poor English. She and Michael
stood motionless, panic stricken, as the
boy stared at them intently.
Sarah's voice wavered but
the words managed to come. "Does Charlotte
Johnson live here?" She tried to smile
but knew that it didn't reach her eyes.
The boy's eyes narrowed at
her and quickly said, "No work here.
You go now." He started to push the
door closed but Sarah found herself holding
the door open. Her look was more intent
now.
"I ain't lookin' fer
work. I'm lookin' fer Charlotte Johnson.
Does she live here?" she asked again.
"Missy Charlotte not
home. You go." He tried to close the
door again, but Sarah would not be put out.
They'd come too far to be thrown out into
the street by a boy.
"Where is she? Can we
wait for her?" The boy looked her up
and down as if inspecting her.
"What you want with
her. I never seen you before here."
Sarah breathed a sigh of relief
when the boy stopped fighting with the door
and listened to her. "We came all the
way from Missour-ah. My Ma wrote that she'd
be sendin' us and Charlotte said she had
a bed fer us. She's expectin' us."
"This not boarding house,"
he said firmly.
"We ain't lookin' ta
board. Charlotte is my Ma's sister. My aunt."
With that the boy's expression changed from
that of speculation to one of wholehearted
welcome.
"Why you not say so
in first place?" He reached down for
the carpetbag and quickly ushered them through
the door. "You wait in parlor. Missy
Charlotte come soon." He slid the parlor
door closed and Sarah heard him shuffling
down the hall.
She felt a tug on her skirt
and looked down to Michael, his arms outstretched
for her to lift him. She rocked him in her
arms, his face buried in her dirty hair.
She could hear him snuffling as he cried
to himself.
She wanted to sit but the
furniture was so fine and delicate looking
that she was afraid that she might break
something or stain it with her dingy clothes.
So she stood where she was, aching back
and all.
It was a long wait for Charlotte.
The boy must have told her the truth when
he said that Charlotte wasn't at home. She
wondered where the woman could have gone.
She looked around the room
while they waited. The windows were large
and shaded by lacy white curtains. Heavy
velvet curtains were tied back and framed
the windows. There was a large carpet spread
over polished wood floors; the fringe on
the edges was perfectly straight. Delicate
pieces of furniture were placed precisely
around the room. The sofa and chairs were
positioned for conversation and upholstered
in the same fabric, a deep green that matched
the velvet curtains. They were edged in
dark wood, the backs arching like scared
cats while the arms curled over gracefully.
The feet were carved to look like paws.
There was another set of
similar chairs situated in front of the
fireplace, which had a huge mantle of dark
wood that was ornately carved. On tables
around the room had large vases filled to
overflowing with fresh blooms. Their fragrance
permeated the room and gave life to an otherwise
lifeless room.
The walls were covered in
a fancy paper with a cream background and
pale pink flowers and large paintings hung
in ornate frames. Some were country scenes
and others were of the ocean. All were signed
"CJ".
She didn't know what caused
her to look up, but once she did her mouth
dropped open in awe, her breath catching
in her throat. Above her this whole time
was a beautiful chandelier. Teardrop shaped
pieces of glass hung from each tiny golden
arm. The daylight that filtered through
the windows caught in the glass and sparkled
effortlessly. She pointed up for Michael
to see and his eyes shot open with a gasp.
A big smile came to him and he reached up
trying to grasp the glittering gems.
Neither of them heard the
parlor door slide open or saw Charlotte
walk into the room. She watched as Sarah
and Michael looked up at the chandelier
with wonder in their eyes. From her sister's
letters she doubted if they'd ever seen
one before. Let alone any of the other finer
things in life that would now surround them.
She sighed heavily at the thought of being
given the change to show them the wonders
in life, as she was never able to show her
own children.
Michael was the first to
hear the sign and jumped with a started
in Sarah's arms. Sarah turned to see what
he was looking at and couldn't believe her
eyes. Before her stood the image of her
mother, only a bit older.
Charlotte was the first to
speak. "I came as soon as I found out
you were here." She walked over to
them with her arms outstretched, headless
of the state of their clothes and bodies.
"Yun Hee sent a messenger and I came
at once." She hugged them both tightly
then looked down to both of them. "I
trust your trip went smoothly." At
first she thought she saw fear in their
eyes then realized it was astonishment.
"Your mother and I were often mistaken
for the other. We fooled many people. One
day I'll tell you of some of our antics."
Charlotte stepped away from them and motioned
to the sofa. "Come and sit with me.
I would like to hear about your trip."
She sat and patted the seat next to her.
Sarah tried to put Michael
down, but he refused to let her go. So she
sat with him on her lap. And feeling self-conscious
herself, she sat silently as well.
Charlotte's Voice was sweet
and kind as she spoke and in no time Sarah
was speaking with her as if she'd known
her all her life. The resemblance to her
own mother probably helped her in the transition.
"Tell me of your journey. Was it fun?"
She looked down to Michael and smiled broadly,
hoping to hear what he had to say about
the trip.
" 'Twasn't zctly fun,
but we did see lots of critters through
the windows." Michael made a motion
as if he was terribly cold and Sarah was
reminded of their trip over the mountains.
"Oh ya. We also saw the snow on the
mountains."
"The Sierra's are some
of the highest mountains in the country.
Snow falls on them many times during the
year. But I'll bet you've seen snow before
living in Missouri."
"Yes, ma'am, we have.
But the trees here are different and the
mountains are a lot bigger. And it was a
might colder, I'd say." Sarah looked
to Michael. She was happy to see him adjust
to Charlotte so quickly. Maybe it was that
she looked so much like Ellie for him too.
"Tell me how your mother
is doing. I hadn't heard from her in over
fifteen years until she wrote me about you
two," said Charlotte.
"When did Ma start writin' you?"
Sarah looked into her aunt's eyes with deep
interest. She'd wondered all the way to
San Francisco how long her mother had planned
their 'escape'.
Thinking a moment Charlotte
finally said, "I think it was about
a year ago. Why do you ask?"
Sarrah's head went down immediately.
"Curious is all," she said, putting
Michael off her lap. She motioned for him
to bring her the carpetbag and he ran to
get it. She pulled out a piece of hard candy
that she'd purchased at one of their stops
and he gladly took it. Sarah smiled and
Charlotte watched in fascination.
Digging back into the bag
she found what she was looking for and pulled
it out, handing it to Charlotte. "Ma
sencha this. I was told to give it to you
ya as soon as we got here." Charlotte
took the letter from Sarah's shaking hands
and opened it carefully.
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