Scent of Roses Read Online Free PDF Page B

wouldn’t have called without good reason.
    â€œIt must be hard being alone all day this far from town,” Elizabeth began cautiously.
    â€œThere is always work to do. Before it got so hot, I worked in my garden. Now, with the baby getting bigger, I cannot stay out in the sun for so long. But I have clothes to mend and food to prepare for Miguel. Since we moved into the house, he comes home for lunch. He works very hard. I like to make sure he has something good to eat.”
    â€œSo the two of you are getting along all right?”
    â€œ Sí. We get along very well. My husband is a good man. He is a very good provider.”
    â€œI’m sure he is. Still, I imagine he often works late, which means you are home by yourself. Is that the reason you aren’t sleeping well?” It was a risk. She was guessing and a wrong guess might bring the young woman’s guard up even more.
    â€œWhat…what makes you think I am not sleeping?”
    â€œYou look tired, Maria.” Elizabeth reached across the kitchen table and clasped the girl’s hand. “What is it, Maria? Tell me what’s wrong.”
    The girl shook her head and Elizabeth caught the sheen of tears. “I am not certain. Something is happening, but I do not know what it is.”
    â€œSomething? Like what?”
    â€œSomething very bad, and I am afraid to tell Miguel.” She drew her hand away. “I think…I think I might be getting sick like my mother.”
    Elizabeth frowned. “Your mother had a tumor, didn’t she? Is that what you mean?”
    â€œ Sí, a tumor, yes. In her brain. Before she died, she started to see things that were not there, to hear voices calling out to her. I think maybe that is happening to me.” Leaning over, she hugged her swollen belly and burst into tears.
    Elizabeth sat back in her chair. It was possible, she supposed but there could be any number of explanations. “It’s all right, Maria. You know I’ll help you in any way I can. Tell me why you think you might have a tumor like your mother.”
    Maria looked up, her hand shaking as she brushed away the wetness on her cheeks. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “In the night…when Miguel is working, sometimes I hear noises. They are very frightening sounds, creaking and groaning, moaning that sounds like the wind but the night is still. The air in the bedroom grows thick, and so heavy I can hardly breathe.” She swallowed. “And then there is the smell.”
    â€œThe smell?”
    â€œ Sí. Like roses, only so strong I think I will suffocate right there in the bed.”
    â€œSan Pico is famous for its roses. They’ve been growing them here for more than forty years. Occasionally, you are bound to smell them.” She clasped the young woman’s hand once more, felt how cold it was, felt it trembling. “You’re pregnant, Maria. When a woman is carrying a baby, sometimes her emotions get mixed up.”
    â€œThey do?”
    â€œYes, sometimes they do.”
    Maria glanced away. “I am not sure what is happening. Sometimes…sometimes it seems real. Sometimes I think…”
    â€œYou think what, Maria?”
    â€œThat mi casa es encantada. ”
    Elizabeth spoke passable Spanish, had to in order to do her job. “You think your house is haunted? Surely you don’t believe that.”
    Maria shook her head, fresh tears welling in her eyes. “I do not know what to believe. I only know that at night I am very afraid.”
    Frightened enough that she had been unable to sleep. “But you aren’t saying that you’ve actually seen a ghost.”
    She shook her head. “I have not seen it. I have only heard its voice in my head.”
    â€œListen to me, Maria. Your house is not haunted. There are no such things as ghosts.”
    â€œWhat about Jesus? Jesus came back from the dead. He is called the Holy