The Price of Love

By Bonnie Sedgemore

What am I to do now, Sally thought as she trudged down the macadam road with her few possessions. It was getting dark. She was without family, home, money or food. She had no place to go for the night and she knew what happened to young girls on the street. Her mother, selfish and mean, had abandoned her, disappeared without a trace after giving her away to strangers. Anyway, living with her family had been disastrous. Her mother and stepfather had both mistreated her.

She was not a typical 14-year-old after being rejected by her mother many times and living in so many homes with strangers. She was conscientious and helpful, always willing to work for her room and board even when she was younger.

Now, the family Sally lived with forced her to leave as they could no longer afford her. The time had come for her to fend for herself, but how was she to do it?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Dec 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9781649794109

Bonnie Sedgemore

Bonnie Sedgemore lives in a small farming community in Washington with her cat, Boots. She once was a newspaper reporter, but tended to get into too much trouble doing that. She went to school, and then went to school, and when she finished going to school, she simply took classes. Now she writes and still takes classes.

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About the Author

Bonnie Sedgemore raised four children during the time she was a newspaper reporter in Texas and owned a restaurant. Then she was an accountant in Seattle. She always wrote in a closet that always served as an office. Even little, she even took her portable typewriter into a closet at night. She sold articles and stories through these years.

Dedication

To Lyn; I didn’t know how much I loved you.

Copyright Information ©

Bonnie Sedgemore 2022

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Ordering Information

Quantity sales: Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.

Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data

Sedgemore, Bonnie

The Price of Love

ISBN 9781649794093 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781649794109 (ePub e-book)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022919664

www.austinmacauley.com/us

First Published 2022

Austin Macauley Publishers LLC

40 Wall Street, 33rd Floor, Suite 3302

New York, NY 10005

USA

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Acknowledgment

I wish to acknowledge two teachers from long ago who called me many times, long after I graduated, to encourage me, and who got me my first newspaper job at age sixteen. Their faith has stuck with me, and magazine editors who actually wrote me letters of encouragement. Each one meant something.

Sally and Janey

1 June 1944

The house was boring. Neither of the girls liked it. They looked at each other and wrinkled up their faces. Mother had driven them around Green Lake and up a small hill to a red-bricked home, with a perfectly manicured yard. The front of the house was plain red brick without any prettiness. A small flower garden was the only adornment. Mother didn’t bother to explain to Sally and Janey, but they knew what was happening. Before they left their house, Mother called them inside and pointed to the boxes on their beds.

Put your clothes in the boxes. Anything you forget, you’ll have to do without, so pack carefully.

So they knew. Mother was giving them away again. Sally was the oldest by eighteen months. Janey was the youngest. Usually, they went to relatives and usually it was Sally only. This was different. Only four and six, they took care of each other.

They were both small for their ages. Sally was dark with almost black hair, hazel eyes, and a dark complexion. Janey was blond, with blond hair, blue eyes, and white skin. And as opposite as they looked, they were equally different in personalities. Sally active, always talking and a bit of a stinker, while Janey had to almost be threatened before she spoke and went about by herself. But Janey tended to be in trouble most of the time. The two girls were close and always defended each other. Mother parked at the curb.

Get out and behave yourselves.

Mother got out of the car, leaving the door open for the girls but not waiting for them. She went up the walk and knocked on the black front door, listening to the scuffle of feet on the other side. The girls arrived, carrying their boxes and standing behind her. An elderly lady opened the door a crack.

We’ve been watching for you. Could you wait a minute until we get Miguel’s cage moved to the corner. He’s our parrot and he’s out of his cage right now. That’s why I’m holding the door. He gets emotional when strangers come.

Sally’s dislike of this lady was immediate. She whispered to Janey, She’s an old fuddy-duddy.

Janey nodded her head in agreement. Sally’s impression was based on the lady’s look. Dark brown hair in braids tightly wound around the top of her head gave her a severe look. Her cheeks moved like steel when she talked. Now judging harshly, Sally saw that the woman’s black witching shoes laced up high on her feet. She looked too stern.

Mother turned to look at them, giving the girls a cold stare. You’ll show respect.

When the door opened again, Mother instantly changed, becoming pleasant and innocent. She replaced her nasty expression that she had used when she talked to the girls, with a smile, a fake smile put on for these women whom she needed to please. It was important that the women liked her.

She stepped inside as the woman moved back to open the door wide. Another elderly woman, her lookalike, appeared and stood off to one side. Both girls followed Mother into the house, holding their boxes. Their arms were tired and they wanted to set the boxes down, but didn’t dare.

One of the women said to the girls, You may call me Tia. This woman is Rita. Come with me. You can set your boxes on the bed until we get them unpacked.

They followed her, leaving Mother in deep conversation with Rita. Both women were twice as old as Mother. Rita inspected the girls by looking at them out the corner of her eyes, as if they were criminals. Both girls felt uncomfortable at this. Rita, too, looked old and formidable. She had gray hair in a bun at her neck. She wore a house dress with an apron, and both women wore the same black shoes that laced up high on the feet. Rita’s breasts were large and hung down around her waist. In a moment when the women and their mother weren’t watching, Sally tried to walk stiffly with her bottom stuck out as she saw the two women walk, doing this for Janey to get her to laugh.

Mother was talking, pleading in her sad, sorrowful way. I don’t have any money. Work every day and sometimes on weekends but I can’t keep up and their father doesn’t help. I can’t even buy food. I don’t want them to go hungry. It’s killing me to watch them when they ask for something and I can’t get it for them. I don’t want my children to starve.

Sally thought the women should be able to tell she wasn’t starving.

Mother promised to send the women money as soon as she had some. She sure would appreciate their kindness. They were good kids. They wouldn’t cause them any trouble. Mother had this speech down pat. It wasn’t the first time Sally had heard it.

The thing was Sally thought they lived in a house better and nicer than this house with furniture newer and more expensive and fine oil paintings on the wall. And Mother would never send these women money.

Sally was little, six years old and short for her size but definitely not starving. She had a sharp memory and greater than average intellect. One time, Mother brought home a box of apricots, a gift from one of her admirers, and said, Eat these. I don’t have money for anything else. That was a rare occurrence but Sally knew Mother had money. She would spend it going to bars after work and on weekends. In the end, Mother did something that caused her to give way and buy some bread and peanut butter. She let the girls know she had to sacrifice to buy them.

* * * * *

Both girls and Tia rejoined Mother and Rita in the living room. The girls were walking around the room while the women talked. They were listening to the conversation, surprised that they would have to stay in this house with these two old women. Neither of them liked the house or the women. Sally didn’t feel like the women wanted them. They didn’t want Mother to leave them.

Sally stood at the parrot’s cage. Miguel sat on a perch halfway up the cage. It was a huge cage, about six feet tall. The bird was colorful and bright. Sally put her forehead against the side of the cage and wound her fingers in the wire. She was talking to the bird.

Hey, get your fingers out of the cage. Get them out. That bird could bite your fingers right off. Tia came running toward Sally.

Sally pulled her hand away and stepped back picturing in her mind her finger hanging from the mouth of the bird. He seemed like such a nice bird. He hadn’t made any move toward her, just sat on the perch and bobbed his head, once in a while raising his foot, spreading and shaking his feathers and bobbing his head. She had been excited by the bird and thought that would make the place more inviting. Now, she saw him differently. He was a big bird that was there to bite her fingers off.

One of the ladies told Mother, We bought him from a sailor, the son of a friend and he taught him to say those awful words. We’ve been trying to teach him other words, to get him to stop cursing, but it’s not working.

Mother came to Sally. He won’t be out of the cage, Sally. He won’t bite you. Stay away from the cage and you’ll be fine.

But Sally wasn’t so sure.

* * * * *

The women woke at six-thirty every morning and expected the girls to get up also and to be at the table for breakfast at eight. Their clothes were set out the evening before. Tia was the nicest to them, talking to them and doing things with them. Rita only talked to Tia about them, never to them. She was snooty. She walked with her back iron straight, but her bottom stuck out. Now both girls laughed about her walk, made fun of Rita in private, walking around their bedroom late at night in comedy. They would hide their giggles, not wanting to let the women know they weren’t in bed.

When they rose, at first, they had no idea what they were to do next. Sally sat up on the edge of the bed and waited for one of the women to come in the room. Janey was a bit wilder and jumped and danced, hanging onto the foot of the bed, acting silly, not being her usual sedate self. She didn’t harm anything or make too much noise.

Tia came into the room and spoke harshly to Janey, Behave. I expect you to act like a lady. Act with decorum.

Janey held onto the foot of the bed and looked with misunderstanding at Tia. She had no idea what decorum meant. Janey didn’t like Tia talking to her like that. She stuck her jaw out and didn’t move.

You’ll sit on the edge of the bed like your sister. Sit, Tia commanded.

Janey went around the bed to Sally’s open arms. You shouldn’t talk to my sister like that.

You’re a nasty little girl. You don’t talk back to me. Now, be quiet and I’ll tell you how we behave before breakfast. You will go to the restroom and brush your teeth and wash your face. You can do your eliminations at that time. We expect you to tell us when you have a bowel movement. And we’d like to see it before you flush. It’s important for us to watch that. After the bathroom, you can return here and get dressed. If you have morning prayers, you can do them then. Then wait here quietly for breakfast at eight.

She looked at both of them sternly. Do you understand? There was silence in the room, both girls looking with surprise at Tia. They had never had rules. No one had ever cared about their bowel movement.

Well, say something. So, you understand what you are to do?

Sally said, Yes.

Tia came back with, Yes, Ma’am.

And Sally answered, Yes, Ma’am.

When Tia left, Janey started crying. Sally put her arm around her sister and said, Come on. I have to go potty.

Janey broke free of Sally’s arm. I’m not going to tell her when I poo. That’s awful.

Me, neither.

* * * * *

Sally stood at her bedroom doorway with nothing to do. She held onto the wood around the door to balance herself as she swung her leg back and forth. The weight of her leg felt good as she set it back and forth. Suddenly, she heard the half scream-yell of Rita as she walked across the living room.

Do not touch the woodwork. We just spent good money to have it cleaned. Keep your hands off it, Rita howled.

Sally dropped her hand immediately. The episode upset her for the rest of the day. Sally didn’t like people being mad at her. She hadn’t meant to do anything wrong. She spent most of the rest of the day outside sitting on the red brick porch steps.

These two older women had so many regulations, so many things the girls weren’t accustomed to doing, like not talking at the table and sitting quietly in the evening. The two women sat in opposite chairs in the living room after the dinner dishes were done. They read books or looked at magazines. Sally and Janey didn’t know what to do, and anything they did that made any noise they were cautioned about.

Janey purposely put her hands on the wood molding in the dining room. She had told Sally she intended to do it. Sally begged her to not do it but Janey had a streak in her that pushed her to do it. She rubbed her hands in the flower garden dirt and went in the house, Sally following her. Janey waited until Rita came around the corner from the kitchen. She was in trouble. Tia explained they had to punish Janey. They would whip her, Tia explained. Tia had Janey bend over the bed, but when she started to whip her, Sally ran over and hugged her sister, getting in the way.

She won’t do it again. I promise. Don’t hit her, she cried.

Rita who was nearby came into the room and said it was okay this once. She didn’t say this with any warmth but Tia put the belt away. She told the girls to get up and go outside.

* * * * *

They didn’t have many clothes and most of their clothes were rags. T-shirts had holes in them, hems were uneven and torn loose, shorts were cinched with whatever they could find, string or a random belt around their waists. The girls didn’t even notice and didn’t care. The women were disgusted by them. They picked out the nicest