Vivienne

Golden rays of the sun in the late autumn marked the end of the work day on the Crow farm.  The few people who worked hard bringing in the soybeans, corn and bundles of cotton put away their tools and tractors before racing off to use what was left of the cooling day to attend to their own needs.

Things worked a little differently for the single daughter of Herman and Lorraine Crow.  Denise had always been expected to lead by example and keep working until dusk had settled across the cool fields.  Spotting that fog was already slowly creeping its way from the edges of the woods and across the barren cornfields, Denise knew that she was in a race to get to class before the mist settled across the area.  Quickly spreading the feed for the flock of ducks that lived by the natural pond close to the family farmhouse, Denise wiped the excess on her dirty jean overalls and approached her father.

“Dad?”  Denise lightly inquired and retied her hair in a bandana. “Dad.  I finished everything for the day.”

“MM?”  Herman Crow looked up from his work on a stubborn tractor. “Denise, what is it girl?”

Humbly standing beside her father, Denise repeated her statement and added a question. “Father, I said I had finished all my chores for the day.  Can I go a little earlier to get ready for school?  I mean I would like to drive without fog both ways.”

“Mmmm, fog you say?”  Herman mindlessly responded as he clamped an oil hose in place. “Give me forty-five minutes and I’ll take you to school.”  He snorted and wiped his hands on a rag. “You don’t have no reason to be driv’n no ways.  School even less’m.”

Denise gave a light laugh, “I like driving, dad.”  She ignored the comment about school and pressed politely once again. “Mind if I go get ready for school?”

“Naw, you go on eh-head.  Tell your mother I’m almost done.”  He picked up a wrench and looked at his daughter, “You be home afore ten.”

“Yes, Daddy.”  Denise giggled and gave her father a kiss on the cheek. “You worry too much.”

“I guess’m.  Get along now an’lemme get this done.”  Her father sternly and flatly commented.

Darting out of the barn, Denise found herself changing the words to an old nursery rhyme in her head.

-One, two…Denise who are you?
Three, four…footsteps by the seashore.
Five, six…artists magic…tricks..
seven, eight…oh the power to annihilate!
nine, ten…by my hand be born again.-

Denise hastily jumped out of her boots and sprang through the door, quickly talking as she passed her mother. “Dadsaidhewouldbeanotherforty-fiveminutes.”

Lorraine stood up from where she’d just checked the oven and her meatloaf. “Denise, what?  I can’t understand when you do…” Picking up her old wooden spoon, Lorraine stirred a pot on the stove with a half smile, “..and she’s gone.”  She tilted her head into the living room in time to see the blur of her daughter bounding up the stairs. “I will make you a sandwich!”

“Thank you Mom!”  Denise yelled back down the stairs before she closed the door to her room.  With a sigh and a smile on her face, Denise peeked at herself in her vanity mirror. “This simply will not do.  It is one thing to be covered in colors from a palette, another with dirt.” Giggling as she spun away from the mirror, her thin little farmers hand twisted the knob on her radio and she heard the fast talking announcer praising Elvis. “That’s better.”

Making her way over to her closet, Denise pulled out a sleek olive green tulip dress with perfectly ironed creases to accent the flair of the small frame of the garment.  Scrolling through the few belts she had, Denise picked out a cream cloth belt and set it beside the dress now laying on her bed. “I will have a smock over this anyway.”  Using one hand, Denise started sliding the few cardigans she owned one by one to pick the perfect sweater to match the dress. “Yes!”  She exclaimed happily as she pulled a burnt-yellow knitted sweater with six fashionable buttons and placed it beside the rest of her outfit. “Alright.  Shower time.”

Denise turned down the volume on her radio and donned her bathrobe, cinching it tightly to her waist.  With a light creak and soft padded footsteps, Denise made her way to the family bathroom and closed the door firmly behind her with a solid click of the door and a metallic slide of the lock.  “Secure.”  Denise commented to herself as she walked over to open the small bathroom window, allowing the cool October air to circulate.   Crossing back to the mirror that hung silently over the ceramic pedestal sink, Denise pulled the wide array of bobby pins from her hair, neatly stacking them neatly where she could use them again later.  Grabbing a set of her long dusty-blonde hair, Denise wrapped it around to her imperfect bulbous nose and took a light whiff. “Just as I guessed.  I smell like farm animals.”  She sighed and flicked her half-curly hair across her shoulder.  Twisting the four handled knob with the tiny ‘H’ on it, Denise yelped and jumped as the water bumped and squealed through the line then out of the tub spout. “Mercy me!  You’d think I would be used to that by now.”  Denise glimpsed the curtains from the window billowing lightly along with the shades of puffy clouds in the sky, holding her attention. “No…veil..”  Denise mindlessly muttered just as the water started to burn her hand. “Ow!  Come on, get your head out of the clouds!”  Sighing to herself, Denise twisted the matching cold knob and balanced the water temperature. “There we go.”

Twisting the center dial, Denise shivered for a moment as a long rusty squeak echoed and finally diverted water to the stainless steel shower that was carefully curved over the porcelain tub.  Sputtering for a brief moment, Denise looked up at the nozzles of the shower and tapped the pipe to finally get the soft stream flowing properly. “What’s going on tonight?”  Denise laughed to calm herself.

Finally able to step into the stream of the steamy shower, Denise finally felt all of her anxiety leave her body.  Content to let the heavy lines of water bounce off of her shoulders, Denise lost track of time when she closed her eyes and let the relief of the day meld its way through her muscles. 

-BANG-

High pitched and sudden, Denise screamed when the bar of soap slipped from her hands and made a loud thud in the tub.

“Everything alright up there?”  Lorraine hollered over her head so Denise could hear.

“Silly me.”  Denise muttered before she responded to her mother. “Yes, Mother.  I dropped something and it scared me. I'm fine, thank you.” Quickly washing her body, Denise placed the dented soap in the dish where she’d gotten it and picked up the small tube of shampoo labeled ‘Prell’.  

Viscous and green, Denise pressed the quarter sized dab into her right hand.  Tingling to the point of a cool burn, Denise looked down at her hand and spotted the shampoo filling in a set of creases that she’d never seen before. “Hummm…it’s almost like I have grass growing from my hand.”  Darting her eyes to the shampoo container, Denise read the tag line. “Radiantly alive.”  Denise squished the soap into her hair and pushed the paranoid feeling she’d developed to the back of her mind. “Maybe I’ll make a nice grass hill scene tonight.”  Denise commented quietly as she rinsed her hair clean.  “The Crater.”  Hastily squeaking the water off, Denise yanked back the shower curtain and pulled her two towels free of the rack where her mother had aligned them perfectly.  

Content that she was dry enough, Denise wrapped her long stringy hair into the second towel and pulled her bathrobe back on before reaching for the door.

-Slip…bam.-  Denise landed squarely on her butt, “Ow!”

“Everything alright?  Be careful the tile is slippery when wet.” Lorraine shook her head, “Just slow down.”

Getting to her feet and gently rubbing her backside, Denise knew that the only thing injured was her pride. “Thanks, mom.”  She whispered to herself.  Using her body towel, Denise wiped down the floor of excess water so the others wouldn’t slip and headed for her room.