Mary Anne Gruen - The House of Red

Topaz believed readily that Virginia wanted to stay on at her mother’s in an attempt to help mend things between them. She had gotten a very warm feeling from Virginia the first time they’d met. And now that she knew her husband was also a wolf, she felt a strong bond between them.

“That’s so nice of her,” Topaz told Tony. “I was going to go there tomorrow. Virginia’s being there will give me strength.”

True to her word, Topaz left the next morning after the breakfast things had been washed and put away.

Aesophocles tried to be supportive of her desire to heal the rift with her mother. But he wasn’t hopeful. “I wouldn’t tell her this,” he said to Wolf and Tony after she’d gone. “But I think there’s a limit to how much certain people can love someone else. From what I know of Emerald, I think she has a very limited ability to love.”

“Virginia thinks she loves Opal’s daughter quite a lot,” Tony said.

Wolf gave him a sharp look of warning.

“Yes,” Aesophocles said. “Her feelings for Pearl are different. Before Topaz came to live with me, she used to talk about Emerald’s obsession with the child, almost from birth. But I suspect it’s because she has dreams of building a dynasty and Pearl is the means to that end. I don’t think she’ll ever think of our little unborn daughter in the same way.”

When Topaz walked down the path just in front of her mother’s house, the goats were already in the yard grazing on their own. Topaz’s hands started shaking as she approached the front door, not from the cold but from nervousness. She tried to make her knock sound confident and strong. But it still came out hesitant.

“Coming,” Virginia’s voice sounded from inside. She was getting a class on spinning that morning and was glad for the interruption.

“Now who could that be?” Emerald said.

Virginia opened the door and said, “Topaz! Please come in.”

“No!” Emerald said, rising to her feet. “Get out! I don’t want you in my house. And you!” She turned sharply on Virginia. “How dare you let her in. I told you, my daughter is dead!”

“But, I’m not dead, Mama,” Topaz said. “And pretending I am won’t make any difference.”

“I told you when you left here never to come back. From now on, as far as I’m concerned, you’re dead.”

“Emerald!” Virginia stepped in-between them and stretched her hands out imploringly toward the older woman. “She’s your daughter. Can’t you see how much she loves you?”

“If she loved me she wouldn’t have gone off with that filthy animal.” Emerald sat down at her spinning wheel again and began working feverishly.

“He’s not an animal, Mama. He’s good and kind and loving and intelligent.”

“He’s a seducer and a liar and he used trickery to get you to go off with him.”

“That’s not true.”

“He a predator, cruel and calculating.”

“No more than you are,” Topaz said bravely.

“What?”

“You heard me. I’ve seen the way you twist all the locals around your finger. I’ve seen you calculate and threaten and seduce.”

“How dare you.” Emerald stopped spinning. Her hands were shaking too hard with anger. “Get out of my house!” she said gesturing toward the door with her fist.

Topaz crossed her arms over her chest and refused to move. “It’s my house too. I grew up in it. I starved with you in the bad times and worked beside you doing the chores when Opal was too young to help. Do you remember that, Mama?”

“Of course, I remember. That’s when you were a good daughter. I loved you then. But not anymore.”

“Let me get this straight,” Virginia said. “You stopped loving her because she married someone you didn’t like?”

“It’s not that simple,” Emerald said. “You don’t understand. Obviously she’s been here and talked to you while I was out. She got your sympathy. But I’ll bet she didn’t tell you who or what she married. Did she? Well, I will. She ran off with a wolf, a dirty disgusting animal! It’s an insult to the entire human race.”

“He’s not an animal,” Topaz said.

“Then what would you call him?”

“Sasha, your Billy goat is an animal, spending his whole day with nary a thought in his head. But Aesophocles is intelligent and thoughtful.”

“So you say. He’s seduced you to his side, that’s clear enough. Is that the intelligence you’re talking about?”

“Please,” Virginia said to Emerald. “Maybe you’ll never be able to agree with what Topaz did. But she’s your daughter. Don’t you love her enough to get past this.”

“Maybe I loved her once.” Emerald turned away and started spinning again. “But no more.”

“Mama. Can’t you at least try and patch things up between us.”

“No. Not unless you leave that filthy animal and come back here at once like an obedient daughter. I only want obedient daughters.”

“You know I can’t do that.”

“Then I want nothing to do with you.”

“Mama.” Topaz didn’t know if this was the right time to tell her. But she didn’t know when or if she’d have another chance. “Mama, I think you should know. I’m going to be giving you another grandchild.”

Emerald stopped spinning again. “What?” As she took in the meaning of her daughter’s words, her green eyes burned brighter and brighter till they flashed with fury. “What did you say?”

“I know you won’t love our daughter as much as you love Pearl. But it would mean so much to me if you would at least give her a chance.”

“Get out of my house!” Emerald screamed. “I’ll never accept any wolf as my grandchild. It’s an abomination. A dirty disgusting animal!”

“Mama, please.”

“If you won’t go, I will!”

With that, Emerald stepped out from behind her spinning wheel and strode out the door of the cabin, leaving it wide open behind her. Topaz tried to pull her back, but Emerald shoved her aside roughly.

“Mama?” Topaz yelled after her. “Mama!”

Emerald never looked back. She marched single-mindedly to the barn and secured the heavy door behind her.

As the tears started to fall, Virginia put her arms around Topaz and let her cry for as long as she wanted. They were long racking sobs full all of the heartbreak of a daughter who would never really know her mother’s love.

“I know,” Virginia said. “I’ve been there. Get it out. Get it all out.”

“I’m sorry you got involved in all this,” Topaz said at last.

“Not at all. I just wish I could have said or done more.”

“There wasn’t anything you could have done.” Topaz dabbed at her eyes with the end of her rust colored shawl.

“Well, I haven’t given up yet. Maybe after your mother gets used to the idea, she’ll come around.”

“I wouldn’t bet on it. I think I was wrong to even mention the name of her precious Pearl in the same breath with my little daughter. An animal. That’s what she called her.”

“You’re little girl isn’t going to be an animal, anymore than my little boy will be.”

Topaz put her arms around Virginia and hugged her gratefully. “I’m so glad I met you. I don’t feel so alone anymore. It’s been really hard.”

“I know. Believe me, I know. True love takes some strange turns sometimes, doesn’t it?”

“It certainly did for me.”

“Well,” Virginia said, “I don’t think there’s any point in your staying here and waiting for round two with your mother. She’s probably going to stay in the barn for a long time.”

“I’ll go. Aesophocles will be worried about me. You sure you don’t want to come?”

“No. I haven’t given up yet. Your mother’s supposed to have a big meeting here tonight. Your sister’s coming. Maybe I can get her to help.”

Topaz pushed back a dampened lock of her red hair from her face. “I don’t think Opal will want to get involved. Mama broke her spirit a long time ago. Now for the first time in Opal’s life, Mama’s happy with her. She won’t want to jeopardize that, for her or Pearl.”

“Well, I can try.”

“All right. But whatever you do, don’t tell her about you and Wolf. I’m afraid it wouldn’t be safe for you if you did.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell her. Now you go on home.”

Topaz hugged Virginia once more and returned to the forest.

Emerald didn’t come out of the barn till almost dark. Her manner was gruff toward Virginia, but not unkind. Evidently she’d decided the girl was an innocent dupe who just didn’t know any better. “I know you meant well, Virginia,” she said. “But you don’t know these wolves like I do. I’ve lived with them and fought against them all my life. And things are just getting worse.”

“But she’s your daughter,” Virginia said.

“Not anymore. What she is now is dirty.”