Ten Thousand Charms Read Online Free PDF Page B

closer. He loved to hear her laugh. Treasured it, really, like any other rare thing.

he first pain surprised her. She'd felt contractions on and off for weeks, but Sadie had assured her that they were nothing. Just her body practicing for the real thing.
    “How will I know when it's real?” Gloria had asked.
    “You will know.”
    And with that first pain, she did.
    It wasn't particularly strong. It didn't bring her to her knees or make her cry out. It simply tugged at her back, like a child with an apron string, and told her, “It's time, mama. It's time.”
    She had been in Jewell's kitchen, a rare visit these days. March was a fickle time in Wyoming. One day the snow would be so deep, Gloria's pregnant stomach prevented her from stepping high enough to get through it. Then would come days where slush and mud made walking a treacherous path for a woman who couldn't see her feet. For weeks now, Gloria stayed mostly to the bed in her cabin.
    But today the air was crisp, the wind reasonable, and the path a perfect surface of shallow crunchy snow
    The women sat around their familiar table, sipping their familiar coffee. The difference was that now Gloria was so big she could hardly reach her cup.
    “Ach! Why don't you move in? Upstairs?” Sadie asked, just as she had countless times.
    Jewell never offered such an invitation, and this evening was no exception. She simply looked at Gloria and waited for an answer.
    “I've told you. I like the little house. I like to be alone. I've never been alone before.”
    “You're spendin’ a lot of time here for someone who likes to be alone so much,” Jewell said.
    Gloria made a face. “Besides, I think it might be better if—if the baby isn't born in a whorehouse.”
    Jewell laughed out loud. “Darlin', what do you think you're livin’ in now? Just because I'm not sendin’ men out there don't mean that I put up that shack to be a guest room.”
    “It's just that, it's never been—I've never had—”
    “And don't be thinkin’ that you're gonna take up residence in the Taj Mahal permanent. Once that baby's out, I expect to get some work outta you.”
    “Of course,” Gloria said, soothing. “But for now, I think of it as a home. My home.”
    They'd finished an early supper and Gloria stood to clear the table.
    “Let me do that,” Biddy said, taking the plate from Gloria's hand. “You should rest a bit. You look tired.”
    ’ “Don't be silly,” Gloria said. “I'm fine. Besides, if I don't do the clearing, I'll have to do the cooking.”
    Mae, Sadie, and Jewell all assumed an expression of mock horror and urged Biddy to please, please, let Gloria do the dishes.
    “I'd waste away to no thin’ if I had to eat your cookin',” Mae said.
    “Wouldn't do you no harm,” Jewell said. “Frankly, I don't care who cleans up the mess, just get it done. It's a nice day, gonna be a nice night. You girls all look a bit haggard. Finish the kitchen, then get yourselves ready.”
    When the door finished swinging behind Jewell, the atmosphere in the room changed to one of light, lively fun. Sadie poured steaming water from the kettle into the washbasin. Mae scraped the plates into a slop can before handing them to Gloria, who submerged them in the hot, soapy water. Once clean, they were handed to Biddy, who dried and stacked them on the table to be put away later.
    “I like doing dishes,” Gloria said. “It makes me feel like I'm putting everything back in order again. A new beginning.”
    “Listen to her,” Sadie said, scrubbing a heavy cast-iron skillet, “a regular philosopher. Too bad your mama didn't work back East—you could have gone to college.”
    “Might have to learn to read first.” Gloria's voice held all the humor of Sadie's, and there was the familiar layer of laughter that accompanied much of the women's conversation. Although she'd been a part of it for nearly five months, it still managed to warm Gloria's soul in a way she never could have