The Charity Read Free

flecked with pity and a brand of loathing that sent chills down Jim’s back, making him instantly regret his disclosure. Without a word, Gus turned and walked down the corridor of the barn.
    Jessica bounded over to Jim as soon as he walked through the kitchen door. “Daddy! Erin loves the trophy! Come see her!” she said, grabbing the edge of his sleeve. Jim feigned reluctance as she dragged him forward to the small den. Their home was smaller than most people expected on a farm the size of his, but Jim liked it that way. It had started as a modest sized farmhouse over one hundred years ago and had been added on to with each generation or new owner. Now its first floor rambled from a huge kitchen and pantry to a dining room, living room and a smaller den they used as a family room. Another addition jutted off to one side away from the main living areas functioned as Jim’s office. Brick hearths graced the less formal rooms with more ornate tile hearths in the living and dining rooms. Their mantels of wood were simple and unadorned but of obvious fine craftsmanship. The furnishings were rich and functional for an active family.
    On this warm spring night, the hearth in the den was filled only with ashes of the past winter’s fires and heavy drapes were drawn across locked windows. Jim’s wife, Margaret, and his six-year-old daughter sat cuddled together in the oversized leather chair, heads bowed over a book. Margaret raised her head when he entered the room. Their eyes met and then quickly flinched away.
    A taut smile forced its way to Margaret’s face. “Everyone’s been calling to talk about the race. Where’ve you been?”
    Jim bent down and enveloped his wife and daughter in a lasting hug, kissing Margaret on the forehead and brushing a black curl from her cheek. Her soft fragrance somehow beckoned him to enfold her, to cloister her away. The ache to do so was almost more than he could bear. If he had told her then how she stirred him, she would have flushed and looked nervously at the girls. Passion was something private to her. Well, almost sacred. It was a part of her that she saved only for him. Outsiders saw her as someone strong, upright and someone they could lean on. Jim saw her as the other half of his soul. Their relationship was the cornerstone of his strength.
    Now, with all of his heart, he wanted to protect her and to bring her back to the safety they had been so ignorant of when they married. “I love you.”
    Margaret took his hand and held it against her. He looked down at Jessica as she placed the trophy on the chair next to her sister. The mockery of his home life pressed against him, making him take an uncomfortable step backward.
    “Erin? Erin? C’mon. Look! The trophy! D’ya see how shiny it is?” Jessica took her hands and guided the gaze of her sister to the object. Erin’s head seemed too heavy for her, lagging to one side. “That’s right. Now feel. Cold, huh?” She dragged her sister’s listless hand along the golden garland which made a noose around the lip of the prize. After a few minutes, her efforts were rewarded. Erin tilted her head back and gave a huge lopsided grin.
    “There! You see? She loves it!” Jessica sat back on her heels and raised her chin with a triumphant thrust. “I knew I could make her see it.”
    Margaret tugged at a strand of Jessica’s hair and smiled. Jim could see the strain of love etched into the lines of his wife’s face as she asked, “You just never give up, do you?”
    “She’s my best friend, Mom.” The young girl squirmed and hugged her knees to her chest. “Sometimes she looks at me and I can see all the clouds move away. She’s in there, but she just doesn’t know how to come out. But I’m gonna teach her. Just you see!”
    Jim and Margaret exchanged glances over Jessica’s head. He motioned with a flick of his eyes for Margaret to join him in his office.
    He closed the door quietly behind them and turned on the radio. Loud