When the Good Times Don't Roll (a short Gothic story)

When the Good Times Don’t Roll

    I guess life is predetermined.  I suppose the things that are thrown your way don’t result from accidents.  Maybe that’s why I’m dying of hypothermia right now.

    I used to be happy.  I worked as the housekeeper for a wealthy man James, his wife Clarice, and his two baby children.  Day in, day out, I cooked breakfast, lunch, and dinner for his family, washed and ironed their clothes, changed diapers, and cleaned their room.  It wasn’t so bad, really, since I stayed in their huge and luxurious mansion.  I lived in the moment, not stopping to think about what I would do in the future if I ever lost my job as housekeeper.  In this way I passed my time for so many years that I’ve lost count.

    People change.  I didn’t change, but James and his wife did.  With each passing year, the man and his wife grew increasingly more irritable towards each other, especially as the two children grew up and moved out of the house. They didn’t sleep in the same room anymore, they didn’t eat their meals together, and every day, each of them drove off somewhere to do their own things.  When they came home at night, the fought, usually in the privacy of the basement.  I was glad of this; I didn’t have to hear them screaming and swearing at each other, and it was possible for me to forget that anything was wrong at all.  During the day, I went on with my usual life, cooking and cleaning for them, and in the night, I just tuned out the faint voices coming from below the house.

    After one unusually bad night, James and Clarice came up from the basement, went to their separate rooms, and stayed quiet.  I felt somewhat afraid, but I didn’t know why, so I ignored the feeling and just kept on quietly eating my dinner at the kitchen table (I always ate after James and Clarice to show respect).  Suddenly, Clarice burst out of her room, screaming.

    “Where is my topaz pendant necklace?” She asked me.  Well, actually, it was more of a demand than a question.

    “I’m not sure, Ms. Clarice, shouldn’t it be where you keep the rest of your jewelry?”

    “Don’t get smart with me, you filthy liar!”

    I drew back, stunned.

    “I-I would never, Ms. Clarice!”

    “Oh really now, then where has my topaz necklace disappeared off to?  Oh, I’m not sure, Ms. Clarice, check to see where the rest of your jewelry is.  As if I haven’t done that already, you stupid woman!”

    I was completely shocked.  After all my years working for Clarice, I had never, and I mean, never, seen her get like this.

    “Ms. Clarice…”

    “Don’t you ‘Ms. Clarice’ me! I know why you’ve stayed here for all these years.  You get a nice place to sleep, good food to eat, expensive things to steal while James and I are gone, everything you could possibly want is in our house, and you’ve been taking them!”

    “No, I haven’t, I wouldn’t never take anything that didn’t belong to me, Ms. Clarice, never! Don’t I have all these years of service to prove it?”

    “Of course you do, all these years to sneak in and steal things from me!”

    “Ms. Clarice-“

    “By God, can’t you two women keep it quiet for once?”

    James stuck his head out of his bedroom door.

    “James, this lying woman stole my topaz pendant and God knows what else from me!”

    I silently shook my head no, willing him to help me.

    “Mr. James, I really-“

    “Be quiet.”

    I fell silent.

    “Clarice, how many times have I told you? I’m not involved in your affairs, do what you want, just don’t interrupt my sleep. If you want to get rid of her, get rid of her. I don’t care.”

    He slammed the door and locked it.

    Clarice turned to me.

    “You.  Pack your belongings, or my things that you’ve stolen, and get out of this house.  I never want to see your face again.”

    I moved slowly, but I did as I was told.  I felt like a wooden doll as I took a purse and filled it with my most beloved things: the earrings my mother gave me, a tiny wood-carved mouse, and the watch my parents had given me a long, long time ago.

    Clarice opened the front door, and I walked out into the biting cold wind.  I heard the doors slam shut behind me, and I knew I wasn’t going to be let back in.  It suddenly occurred to me that I had nowhere to go.  I’d never planned for the day of my expulsion.  I’d always assumed that I would stay with James and Clarice as their housekeeper until I died.  Guess that didn’t work out so well.

    I started walking, to where, I didn’t now; James’ land spanned a total of 27 acres in an isolated area.  My feet took me to a clump of bushes, I think.  I sat down against a tree trunk in knee high snow.  It was cold.  I hadn’t needed anything more than a light jacket during the winter while living with James and Clarice.  Well, that was okay, because I’d just die all the more quickly.  I closed my eyes and waited to fall asleep.  I could feel my nose, toes, and fingers numbing from the freezing temperature.  Just a few minutes, and I would fall asleep.

    I wondered if Clarice knew today was Christmas.

-Maria, your Ultimate Decepticon! >.<

P.S. I hoped you like it; I'm not the best at writing stories.