Alicia's Misfortune

by Sarah Silver

  “I think it’s time for a cinnamon roll, Leila.” Emily got up and then ordered a roll from Martha. She sat down, pulled it apart, and then gave half to Leila. The two nibbled and giggled for the next hour, both of them feeling the levity of having some time away from the dreary confines of the textile building. When dusk rolled around, they both got up and bid their goodbyes to Martha.

  “You two take good care, and stop back in some time soon.” Martha waved goodbye then went back to waiting on a long line of customers who had recently filed into the café. When Emily and Leila stepped outside, the snow was already up to their ankles.

  “This is the kind of snow that we used to love for making snow men and snow angels.” Emily looked up to the sky and then stuck out her tongue. Leila laughed as she watched Emily catch a series of large snowflakes. The two giggled and walked until they reached the front of their apartment. Then they walked up the steps and unlocked the door, stepped inside and kicked off their shoes.

  “I’m ready for a long bath now.” Leila walked into the bathroom and Emily stood by the windowsill. At times like these, she often thought about her parents. They both lived in London now because Emily’s father was trying to get into a medical science program at the university. Emily had traveled out once to visit them, but found that they were both too preoccupied with her father’s new aspirations to pay much attention to her. She sighed and then at down on the plaid, wool couch.

  When night fell on the town, both Emily and Leila readied themselves for bed. The snow had tapered off, and a thick white blanket settled over the rooftops. They decided that they might as well assume that work would be scheduled for tomorrow, but they both secretly hoped it would be cancelled. At six a.m. Emily looked out the window and watched the townspeople make their way on foot into work. “I think we should get dressed and prepare to go in.” She sighed and then opened her closet to pull out her textiles clothes.

  Leila rolled out of bed and got dressed, but she wasn’t feeling as disappointed about going into work as Emily was. “You know, Emily. Maybe Finn will open a new factory sometime soon, in a different part of town. Then you’d at least have the opportunity to meet some other people, to get out of the same building.” Leila realized that her cousin had a different personality, that she was more of an adventure seeker, and that she craved creativity and spontaneity.

  “Maybe.” Emily shrugged, and the two made their way down the steps and outside into the cold. The snow crunched under their boots and the two reached the front of Finn’s building just as the sun peeked out from behind a heavy cloud cover. “Good morning, girls.” He greeted them at the door and let them both inside. Emily’s smiled disappeared as soon as she walked down the long, dark corridor to her work station. The scent of peppermint mochas still in her head, she pretended to be outside making snow angels and tossing snow balls.

  The cousins took off their coats and then walked into their work-room. The other girls were already inside, all of them dressed in the same drab work clothes as Emily and Leila. None of them smiled, and none of them spoke. Emily plopped down on her stool, and then reached for a skein of yarn. She looked at Leila who was already spinning a long line of yearn onto a spool, and then sighed. Then she got to work threading her yarn, and daydreamed about a different life.

  Chapter 2

  Emily sat down on her stool Wednesday morning, just as she did every morning. The ritual was almost exact, every day that she stepped into the factory. She took off her coat and hung it on a wooden hook. Then she reached for her skein of yarn that was always stuffed into a large basket in the middle of the table. She knew that there had to be more to life than whittling away her days inside such a gloomy factory, but as of yet she had no alternative. The better paying jobs were reserved for the university students, and it was difficult finding anyone who would hire her without much experience.

  Just as she was about to ask Leila a question about how much yarn was left in the basket, a loud explosion sounded at the end of the building. The walls shook and the spools rolled off the table. Leila’s face grew white with fear. Before Emily could say a word, an alarm rang off in the work room. Finn threw open the door, his face contorted in bewilderment. “Fire!” He screamed at the top of his lungs and then ran out of the room. Emily bolted from her stool and yanked Leila by the arm. The girls in the work room screamed, and a temporary chaos ensued.

  “Out!Out the back door and down the escape!” Emily ran to the front of the room and bellowed her command. The girls in the work room looked frightened and confused as they scrambled in various directions, some attempting to grab their coats and other just focused on getting out of the room. Emily, making sure that Leila was right behind her, rushed to the doorway and ushered the girls out. When she was sure that nobody was left behind, she herded them down the corridor and out to the escape.

  Smoke was already filling the building when they descended the fire escape. Emily’s heart pounded and she could feel a bead of perspiration forming on her forehead as the heat form the flames enveloped the building. For a second she wondered what had become of Finn, but she knew that she couldn’t go back in and look for him. The girls at the bottom of the fire escape stood in a huddle, some of them crying, and others simply stunned.

  “Go! Get away from the building!” Emily urged everyone toward the hills, and in a matter of minutes, they had all migrated toward the edge of the parking area. The stood with their hands over their mouths, watching in horror as Lancashire Textile Company erupted in flames. Emily gulped and reached for Leila’s arm.

  Large red fire trucks appeared on the scene a few minutes later, and the girls watched as a team of firemen unrolled thick rubber hoses. Their first spray attempted to put out a thick flame that licked the side of the building, but it was unsuccessful. A police car flew up to the parking area, and then an ambulance. Emily’s mouth dropped open as she watched their efforts to get the fire under control. One of the police officers stepped out of the car and then grabbed a megaphone from inside the vehicle.

  “We need everyone to back away from the building. If you live close by, please start to make your way home. If you need transportation, one of our officers will assist you. Please. Stay away from the building.” He clicked the off-switch and then climbed back inside his car. Emily took Leila’s hand and then inched away from the lot. Most of the girls were too shocked to move very far, but slowly, they all made their way toward town.

  When they could barely see the building behind them, Emily and Leila stood quietly on the sidewalk. Leila started to cry and Emily draped an arm around her shoulder. People looked at them as they made their way through town, wondering why they looked so forsaken. The two listened as the sound of sirens echoed in the distance, and then eventually made their way up the steps and into the apartment. Emily turned on the radio that sat on their coffee table and tuned in the news. The story of the Lancashire Textile Company fire was all over the airwaves.

  “What are we going to do?” Leila sat on the edge of the couch and cried. “The building is gone.” She buried her face in her hands and then reached across the table for a tissue. Emily shook her head and then moved closer to Leila.

  “Don’t worry yet, Leila. They haven’t even said what would happen. What’s important now is that everyone made it out safe. I’m sure that when it all settles down, we’ll hear form Finn and he’ll give us instructions on where to go next.” Emily nodded her head, confident that Finn would somehow come to their rescue as soon as he knew what he was going to do next.

  “Emily, we don’t know if he even had insurance. It costs building owners a lot of money to carry it, and around here I think it’s pretty rare if they do. If he just lost his building and has no insurance…” She shook her head slowly and then sighed. “Then we aren’t going to have any kind of job.” She dropped her gaze to the floor and Emily realized that Leila might be right. What would they do if Finn had nothing to offer them?

  The sky grew dark and a somber
aura fell over the town. The sirens had eased up and both Emily and Leila looked out her window to see if they could make out any activity coming from the building. When they were convinced that all was now said and done, they both changed for bed and got ready to go to sleep. “Leila?” Emily called out to her cousin from across the room.

  “What, Em?” Leila lied awake, staring at the ceiling, wondering what the next day would bring.

  “Maybe this is like a purging.” Emily looked across the room and then turned her head back toward her pillow. “Maybe this all happened for a reason.” She wasn’t one to put too much faith in the supernatural, but in the pit of her stomach, she had a peculiar feeling that the fire was symbolic. “I mean, maybe this is what we’ve been waiting for all along.” She looked over at Leila but got no response.

  “The only thing that this fire symbolized was faulty wiring in an old, stone building, Emily. And I’ll bet you my last dime that tomorrow morning the news reveals that Finn had no insurance. All of us are going to be out of work. What’s so symbolic about that?” Leila huffed and then turned over in her bed. Emily sighed and then fluffed up her pillow.

  “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.” Emily figured that Leila would probably be right. Yet she still thought that the fire meant something, that it didn’t just destroy their workplace for no reason. There had to be something deeper to what would happen next. If they really did find themselves with no work, then they’d just have to forge ahead like they’d always done, and find new means for survival.

  By the time Emily and Leila had fallen asleep, the latest news report revealed that Finn Dillmore, sole proprietor of Lancashire Textile Company, had just lost his building and all of its contents to an unexplained fire. The report further explained that Mr. Dillmore had no insurance, and that he had no intentions of re-opening the company in another building since all of his assets had been destroyed in the fire.

  Chapter 3

  “Well, you were right.” Emily pushed a newspaper in front of Leila as they sat inside Griffin Café. Martha had already given them hugs and expressed her condolences over their tragic loss. “He lost everything. We’ve got no work.” Emily shook her head and sipped her coffee. Leila opened up the paper and then scanned the front page.

  The article stated that the building was burned beyond recognition by a fire and that the cause was unknown. It went on to state that no restoration process would be initiated. Mr.Dillmore expressed his sadness for the loss, and was quoted saying that he “…saw no option for supplying further work to his employees.” Leila shook her head and then shoved the paper across the table. Emily raised her eyebrows.

  “So now what do we do?” The gears in Emily’s mind were already turning. How would they pay their rent next month? What would they do to make ends meet? There was no other textile company in all of Lancashire, and neither of the cousins had reliable transportation to get them over to London where they might find some kind of comparable work. The prospects seemed dismal.

  “We start to ask everyone we know, and we scour the newspaper.” Leila wasn’t one to accept defeat. She was a survivor and she knew that they could find something as long as they persisted. Emily wasn’t sure how to process the news. She wanted to feel relieved that she had finally gotten her wish and that she would no longer have to walk the long, dingy halls to her work space. Yet she also felt a pang of loss. She imagined how crushed Finn must feel, and she realized that there was nothing she could do to rectify the situation for anyone.

  “Maybe we should ask Martha if she needs any help in the café.” Emily whispered across the table and then had a sip of her coffee. “It’s worth a try, right?” She looked over her shoulder as Martha pulled a large rack of pastries from the oven. Leila shook her head.

  “Martha has both of her daughters here to help her out. I can guarantee that she does not need any extra hands.” Leila had opened up the classifieds section of the newspaper and was running her eyes across the ads. “I was thinking that maybe we could go down to the post office and see if they need any mail carriers or cashiers.” Leila sounded proud of her suggestion but Emily scoffed.

  “They would never hire us. We have no experience, and to be a carrier you need to know all of Lancashire like the back of your hand. We don’t have cars, and we haven’t even traveled to the south side of the town. I’m not being pessimistic, Leila, but I just know we need to think of something else.” Emily bit her lower lip.

  “Hey, Emily. What about this?” Leila scooted closer to the edge of her chair and then shoved the paper across the table. She had circled an ad with a red marker, and Emily read it over then laughed.

  “You’re joking, right?” Emily held the paper up to her face and then laughed out loud. “Texas rancher seeks submissive and domesticated woman for marriage of convenience?” Emily covered her mouth with her hand and then laughed out loud again. “Leila, this is some kind of joke, I’m sure.” Emily tossed the paper onto the table and then took a sip of her coffee. Leila snatched up the paper and then opened it back up to the ad.

  “Emily. Listen to the rest of it. He needs help.” Leila cleared her throat and then read the rest of the ad out loud. “I am a successful business man who requires assistance raining my two orphaned nieces, and in exchange for marriage, will offer you my plentiful acreage to live quietly and happily.” Leila shrugged and then set down the paper. “How bad could that really be?” She wondered why Emily didn’t think it was a good idea.

  “First of all…” Emily cleared her throat and then laughed. She just couldn’t take it seriously. “Okay, let me get myself together here, Leila.” She took a long sip of her coffee and then laughed out loud once more. “First of all, it is ludicrous. This is a total stranger. He claims to be a successful business man that owns some ranch and yet he can’t take care of two kids? Why doesn’t he just hire a nanny?”

  Emily scoffed and then walked away from the table. She ordered a red raspberry Danish from Martha, then carried it back to the table and sat down with a curious expression on her face. “You aren’t really considering this as an option, are you, Leila?” Emily was concerned that her cousin was thinking out of desperation.

  “Emily. It could turn out to be the perfect solution. Both of us are good with kids. We basically helped raise our little cousins back when Aunt Gussie and Uncle Tom were having problems, remember?” Leila had a serious expression on her face, and Emily realized that she was, indeed, serious about her proposition. “Why don’t we at least respond to the ad and see what he has to say?” Leila couldn’t see any harm that could come from simply responding to an ad.

  “Okay, Leila, if you say so.” Emily took another bite of her Danish and then looked out the window. Most of the snow that had fallen the week before was now sitting in an icy heap outside. The plows had moved it all to the corners of the street, and all of the exhaust from the motorists had colored it a smoky gray color. Emily figured that it wouldn’t hurt her to simply humor Leila’s request.

  “Thanks, Emily. Who knows? Maybe we’ll get the break that we’ve both been hoping for.” Leila smiled and then had a sip of her tea. It was the first time that she had ever hinted toward wanting something other than tedious textile work. Emily was both surprised and pleased. She looked out the window once more and then picked up the paper, ready to respond to the ad.

  “His postal address is 3532 Running River Road, in Lubbock, Texas. If you get me an envelope and a stamp, I’ll write the letter.” Emily smiled at Leila. Just then Martha appeared form behind her counter. She sat down next to Emily and patted her on the shoulder.

  “Don’t you two go worrying yourselves sick over this.” She looked at both cousins and then sighed. “I’m sure that you’ll both be able to put your heads together and find a new way to support yourself. Besides, the textile industry is slowly losing ground in this part of England.” Martha spoke with a nostalgic tone and then got up from the table to wait on more customers. Emily tapped her pen on the t
able and Leila took her cue.

  “I’ll be back in a little while with a stamped envelope.” She winked at Emily and then put on her coat. Martha went on chatting with her customers and Emily gazed out the window. What would happen if this man really did respond to their letter? What if he decided to accept their offer? Who would become the bride? How would they even get out to Texas with no money? Where would they stay? Her mind buzzed with possibility and uncertainty.

  Leila walked in silence through the town and toward the post office. Along the way, she passed one of her co-workers who trudged along the icy streets with a child in tow. “Hi, Leila.” Amber spoke through her thick scarf and Leila stopped to greet her.

  “Amber. How are you?” Seeing another Lancashire Textile employee filled her with emotion and she immediately threw her arms around her friend. “Are you oaky?” She stood back to look at amber’s son had hidden behind her legs.

  “I’m okay, but I’m very worried. We still can’t find work. I just left the post office because I thought they might have a few options, but they are closed for hiring. I just don’t know what I’m going to do. Ethan was laid off three months ago, and then he hurt his back doing odd jobs, so all of our income depends on me now.” Amber looked down to the ground and Leila felt a tear come other eye.

  “I’m so sorry, Amber.” Leila wanted to offer a solution but she didn’t have one. She thought about Emily’s prediction about the post office not being a viable option. “Maybe you can try to sell some of your knitting work.” Leila tried to offer a helpful suggestion. She had seen many of Amber’s pieces and she thought that there must be someone, somewhere, who would like to buy some of them. Amber shook her head.