A Snippet From Big House Dreams

I saw a quotation the other day that reminded me of the importance of appreciating each day and of valuing the people whom we love. It’s so easy to take things for granted. All right! I know that is a trite statement, but I understand it to be true. Here is a short passage from my first novel, Big House Dreams that, I believe, relates somewhat to the words in the quotation.

Melanie’s life had been rough from the beginning and Sheila truly wished better for her friend. Of all the girls, Melanie was the one who had held on to her principles and likely would until the day she died. Sheila could picture her even at this moment trudging home from work to a house that was unkempt and stale, smelling of camphor and alcohol as her mother sought a bogus remedy for her illness. The welfare doctors had diagnosed her with liver cancer too late for treatment. She had only months to live. Melanie chose not to burden anyone else with the news, so alone she cared for her mother and watched as her father’s anger at the life he considered a rotten mess selfishly turn a deceptive direction. He would be gone for days, leaving the two women alone. Melanie did what she could to preserve her mother’s dignity in her final days. She bathed her gently with warm, soapy sponges and combed her thinning hair, knotting it into a bun at the back of her neck. She patted her emaciated hand, fluffed her pillow and said, “It’s goin’ t’ be okay, now. Just rest a bit. Think ‘bout a good time when ya’ had the world by the tail! Remember your happiest day.” She would close the bedroom door then, wander into the kitchen, and numbly prepare soups or stews that lasted for days and provided sustenance for her mom when she was at work. She watched her mother’s skin dry into a paper-thin, yellow-grey hide that stretched over a skinny frame. Her face became a skeleton mask with eyes sunken deep into eye sockets that were flamed with deep purple and red. It was no wonder Melanie didn’t smile. She was the sole observer of her mother’s decline and her heart cracked a bit more with every passing day. It would be several months before the end came.