Sweat was dripping from her face and the paper envelope stuck to her hand. It felt as if her heart was going to jump right out of her chest. She hadn’t realized how important her decision had been until this very minute. Looking at it she saw a light scrawl stating that the letter was for her, Haddie Wolcott. Haddie had managed to survive to the ripe old age of twenty six. She wasn’t very tall and of late had noticed that her dress was hanging loosely on her frame. Hard work and little food does that to a person was her reasoning. Her green eyes scanned the paper in her hand and brushing a wet lock of red hair out of her eyes, she noticed it had the general store’s name on it and the name of the town. She had been expecting it for three months and had just about given up on getting any kind of a response to her letter. The return address stated that it came from a Ward Ryder of Stoneyford, Missouri. She tried to imagine what Mr. Ryder looked like but her nerves kept getting in the way. “Alright, Haddie old girl,” she said to herself. “You wanted this to happen so just sit down and read the damn thing!” The closest thing to a seat in this area was a little stool that stood in front of the ironing board, so she reached for it and pulled it over to her. Perching herself precariously on top of the three legged seat, she took a deep breath and began to tear the top off the envelope. Suddenly the door opened and a dozen people walked into the room and began to sort out the piles of dirty laundry scattered around the floor. Haddie knew that she was not going to be able to read her letter now so she jumped off the stool and shoved the letter down the front of her dress. A big woman had walked in behind the other workers and she began to shout orders to all of them. “Alright, you lazy people, I told you yesterday that we had a double batch of laundry to do today and for you to come in early. The only one I saw was Mrs. Wolcott when I came in. I see even she hasn’t started the ironing as she should have. I’m gonna fine each and every one of you a half a day pay for not being here. No, don’t give me any lip or I’ll take another half day away from you. Mr. Chu, get that water boiling and get the dirty clothes in there. Damn, do I have to do everything myself?” Haddie’s heart sank down to her knees. She couldn’t afford to lose any of her pay, not now, but she knew that there was no arguing with ‘Big Red,’ as everyone called her. She was one mean woman and would kick your ass without thinking twice if she thought you needed it. No one ever talked back to her. “That’s one woman I won’t miss after I’m gone,” thought Haddie. The rest of the day stretched out and by late afternoon Haddie was soaking wet. The weather was very muggy and between that and the fire she needed to heat the irons that she used all day, she had sweated herself dry. She was dying for a drink of water but each time she tried to sneak off to get one, she found Big Red watching her. It always made Haddie uncomfortable whenever she caught Big Red staring at her. She hated the look in the woman’s eyes and it made her real nervous. She couldn’t decide if the look was brought about by hate or something worse. Haddie couldn’t wait to get home and read the letter. She hoped that the contents were going to be her salvation. Not realizing what she was doing, she put her hand inside her dress and touched the envelope and as she pulled her hand out she was startled by Big Red’s voice whispering into her ear. “Hey, you don’t have time to play with yourself, Mrs. Wolcott. Get the damn ironing done. When you’re finished maybe you and I can get together and I’ll help you find whatever it is you’re looking for inside that dress.” A dirty, ungodly chuckle emitted from Big Red’s throat and she sounded so pleased with herself. A chill ran down Haddie’s back and she quickly picked up another hot iron from the fire and got back to work. It seemed like hours before Mr. Chu walked over and told her that this was the last basket of laundry to be ironed today. She was able to quickly finish it all and not waiting for Big Red to announce that the job was over for today, she picked up her lunch basket and ran out of the building. The temperature outside, while still hot, seemed cool and for a moment a gentle breeze cooled her face and she lifted her head to feel it. She and Tori, her nine year old son, lived in a little shanty shack on the edge of town. It couldn’t be called a house, but it was a roof over their heads until their lives took a turn for the better. It only took Haddie a few minutes to walk there and she knew that Tori would be in the shanty next door playing with his best friend, Howey. Glory, Howey’s mother, was an invalid and she had to sit in a chair all day. When evening came, Haddie would lift her onto her bed until the next morning when Haddie would lift her back onto the chair. The two women had become fast friends and after work Haddie would fix something for the two families to eat……………….
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