The Strings That Attach

Chapter Two

I cooked a stew to feed the family and tried to make it seem special for Alsira's birthday. While I cooked, I let her play with a wooden spoon and stir the pot several times, so she felt included.

"Hey everyone, come sit down to eat!" I yell out to the other two in the bedroom. "Dad, are you joining us? It's Alsira's birthday, y'know,"

He shoots me a look that could kill: "You know exactly why I'm not joining her birthday party?" I don't even know why I asked.

I ran over to the kitchen to make sure she didn't hear what our awful father said about her. Luckily, she looks as happy as can be with her wooden spoon. I look down at her and give her a small, sad smile. "You ready to eat?" I ask them all as they walk into the kitchen.

"Sure thing!" Elidy exclaims and hops into a seat. I set the table for five spots and set up a picture of our mom in the fifth. It's a beautiful portrait of her that my best friend created for me. My mom was a tall, curvy, gorgeous woman with the prettiest dark skin to complement her brown hair and brown eyes. Surprisingly, she had long, straight hair, unlike all her kids.

I place a bowl in front of each kid before serving myself the minimum portion to survive. I sit and try to hide the bowl from the rest so they can sit and enjoy. Elidy starts talking about how he will soon find a job to help. I've told him a million times he doesn't need to worry about that until he's 12.

"And before you shut it down, Melia, the blacksmith at the end of the street, already said I could start training under him." He looks so excited, but I don't want him to have to grow up so soon.

I sigh, "Okay, Elidy, if this is something you really want to do, we'll walk down there tomorrow and see what he says, okay?"

He whips his head up and looks at me, "seriously?"

"Yes, Elidy, don't ask again, or I'll change my mind," I scowl at him. That makes him laugh and pretend to sew his lips shut. Out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly see a spoon slip a little extra food from a bowl into mine.

I look over at Nylisa and see her doing it. I give her a smile and mouth thank you to her. We don't always get along, but we will always love each other. "Nylisa, do you want to join us tomorrow?" I ask so she feels included.

She sighs. "I work early on the cart; Joe said he'd pay me double if I joined him an hour earlier. It'll be the day after Mabon, so we'll be extra busy with a brand-new harvest."

"Ah, I forgot. I'm sorry." I rub her hand gently with the back of mine, and she relaxes a little and gives me a nod. "Well, Alsira, I think it's time we celebrate you. Are you almost done eating?" I say as I eat my last bite.

"Yep!" She giggles and covers her bowl.

"Nope, let me see." I look at her, and her face falls slightly. I hate having to mother them sometimes, but I must. She shows me her bowl, and I smile at her. " If you finish two more bites, you can go upstairs and find your present."

Her eyes go as wide as the moon, and she quickly finishes her two more bites and adds a third even. I split up whatever she had left between the other two, and they ate up the two more bites they each got. "Okay, guys! The last one in the room is a smelly fish!" I whisper shout, and the two youngest run over to the room.

I pick up everyone's dishes and set them in the sink. Nylisa helps pick up the rest and brings the last bit of food to Dad. "Here you go first; I'll be the smelly fish." She smiles at me and heads in. I follow in after her, and the little ones jump on me and call me a smelly fish.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a smelly fish. Alsira, would you like your present?" I ask and go to the closet to find it. We don't have the money for fancy wrapping, so I must just hold it behind my back. I crouch down in front of her.

She gives me the biggest smile with her teeth, which have finally grown. "Please!"

I bring it out, and her whole face lights up. It's a simple doll with pale skin and a pink dress. She has blonde hair made from yarn. I hand it over to Alsira and stand up. She instantly plays with it and I smile down at her. I walk over to the pathetic stack of wooden drawers we call a closet and pull out the skimpy outfit they call a uniform. I head into the bathroom to change, but Nylisa follows me in here.

"I'm changing, so stay if you want to see me undress," I say to her monotone. I know she's not going to leave; I like giving her shit.

"How much was that doll?" she asked accusingly. She'd always been stressed about money, which is why she started helping with money at the age of ten.

"Five coppers," I sigh.

"You paid five coppers for that!" She whisper yells at me.

"Well, no..." I say, and she looks at me confused. "I stole it and didn't have enough for anything in the store for her."

I can't tell if she looks angrier about the money or me stealing it. "Please tell me it was not from the cheap shop down the street." She starts to rub her temples.

"It was, but I planned on going straight back with my tips tonight to pay for it to make it up."

"He better not ban us from that store, or I'll be pissed." She almost glares at me.

"He won't. I promise I'll fix it." She sighs and nods because she knows I will, no matter what. She walks out, and I put on my work clothes and makeup.

The shirt I must wear to my job at the bar is a black button-up with the top 3 buttons undone to show my cleavage and ends right above my belly button. At least it shows off my gold belly piercing. The shorts are black jean shorts that don't even pull above my hips. They are so short you can see the bottom of my ass sticking out. My makeup is dark, and I have a bright red lip to help draw attention to me. A girl must do what she must to make money and have good tips. I added knee-high black socks and black boots. I look in the mirror and let out a shaky breath. As much as I don't want him to grow up, we could make good money if Elidy becomes a blacksmith.

Finally, I wipe a smile on my face so no one else can see how much I hate this. I let my hair hang down my back as men love to see my braids. I head back into the room and see everyone changing into some sleepwear. It's Nylisa's turn to sleep on the floor with me tonight.

"Who wants a bedtime story before I go off to work?" I ask them, and Alsira and Elidy lie down excitedly. Nylisa turns over and pretends to go to sleep, but I know she's secretly listening. On nights that remind us of mom are extra hard on the two of us. I continue the story until the end, even after the young ones fall asleep, just for Nylisa. I get up off the end of the bed, lay a soft kiss on her forehead, and wipe some of her tears.

"I'm here, Nylisa. I'm sorry." She held my hand, and I let her hold me until I had to leave.