Sandy Vrooman
Relationships between men and women end up containing a given that is unwritten and not comprehended by either party until it is too late. In 1849 that meant, no matter how romantic the situation, a wife was the sole property of her husband.
Lilly fed the chickens and slopped the pigs after she did the laundry then went in to bathe. Jared was waiting to bind her tightly into her corset so they could stroll down the streets of San Francisco as if they were still gentry. Lilly was glad to draw on gloves. Without them, the façade of being a lady would not hold up.
She had seen Jared as an exciting escape from the vice grip that caused her Mother to take her life, the madness of a brilliant, but confined woman. By the time they went west, Jared put Lilly on a shelf and found other play things to amuse him. Being a gentleman, he would not do manual labor. His idea was to continue life as he had in Boston. He must have figured the gold would rush to him. Without a staff to support his life style Lilly now had to keep a house on her own. It was what everyone expected, except Lilly. She felt herself being consumed by her mistake.
When the out house burned down with Jared inside, Lilly was out shopping. No one suspected a lady capable of such an act. Contractual obligations fulfilled, she contemplated her new life.
First published: Aug, 2008
comments to the writer: doorknobsandbodypaint@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment