Marigold

by Heather Mitchell Manheim

  “It’s Jack; you’ll hear it at the wedding ceremony when they use his full name. But, probably never again. We never call him by it; we always say President Everett. Don’t worry; after the marriage, you’ll take classes, basically Everett 101. You’ll learn everything. Usually, the classes take place before the wedding, but for some reason, yours isn’t. And we can always help. We sister wives have to stick together.”

  Davis couldn’t help but sense a little cynicism in Jessica’s voice, but she didn’t know if it was indeed there or she was just hoping it was there. She had a fleeting thought about if she should take a chance and see if Jessica could help her with her mission. Hastily, she realized there was no time to get to know Jessica or the other girls, so even if anybody could help her, there was no time to sort it out.

  As they finished their zoo tour, Jessica told Davis about how their group took care of the monkeys, and the other wives took care of the other animals. But not to worry, it wasn’t hard. She told her that there was a twenty-four-hour staff to feed, take care of, and clean up after the animals. Three veterinarians worked on a rotating schedule, with one always being present for a full day. The wives took publicity pictures with the animals or played with those tame enough to do so. Next, they went by the dolphin aquarium, again, beautiful, spotless, and huge. Davis believed they must have around the clock cleaning, especially as they saw more and more enclosures. The koala bears were more challenging to see, as they were hiding away in their large eucalyptus tree forest. Davis was most interested in the tigers. They looked so large and powerful. Jessica explained they were solitary animals, so even though there were five tigers, they each had their own enclosed space within the larger enclosure. Davis could only spot two as they walked by, and she wished they would slow down to look at them better. It looked as if each cage was quite large with a pool, a few trees and bushes, a swinging tire, and a mountain façade with a cave opening large enough for each tiger to lay in. The only tigers Davis could see was one lying on his side in the shade under a big tree, and the other was pawing at a fish carcass in his water, the only mark of anything not being ridiculously clean. Lastly, they went by the rhinoceroses’ cage, where Davis felt tickled to see a large rhinoceros wading in a mud pool with a baby one. Jessica told her that the baby was about six months old.

  Finally, they went back to their room, meeting the other wives who had changed into their casual clothes. Some were reading; others were lounging. After Davis and Jessica washed their hands, they came back out to find the wives and Cox at the dining table. Each place had a simple plate, napkin, and a glass of water. A nutrition biscuit sat on each plate. Cox directed Davis to sit on a chair that was between Lisa and Rebecca. Cox said grace, and then they started quietly chewing their biscuits and sipping their water. Davis had never realized how dry and bland the biscuits were. She found herself missing the food from the bunker. There was some polite, casual banter, but it seemed clear that nobody had much to say. There was a slight awkwardness that hung in the air. The awkwardness that told you it was in your best interest to get to know a person in your midst, yet that person felt like an interloper. Davis was just grateful that it helped pass the time, though, and kept her mind off her future task. There were no two ways about it, though; no matter how slowly they chewed and sipped, a nutrition biscuit and glass of water didn’t last long. When they finished, Davis asked if she could help clear plates. They all looked at her like she was insane.

  “No,” Sunshine replied, “Cox takes care of cleaning up for us.”

  Davis nodded. “Oh, okay. Thank you, Cox. I guess I’ll just take a shower and go to bed, then. I’m pretty tired after such a long day.”

  “We only take showers in the morning, after we exercise,” said Amanda.

  Cox stepped in, saying that Delilah indeed had a long day; a one-time evening shower was not a big deal, especially since she would have to get up early tomorrow and have a long day prepping for the wedding. She then told Davis that except for the morning yoga, she would not do the exercise class tomorrow as she’d have a long day of preparations. Davis guessed that hearing “thank you” was unusual for her. Maybe that’s why she expressed a momentary kindness of allowing the evening shower and not talking to her in her usual harsh tone. Davis would have to get used to being called “Delilah,” though. As if she didn’t have anything to think about, she thought, now she had to focus on her new name, too.

  After a quick timed shower, Davis lay down under the comforter and pretended to sleep. She didn’t want to be bothered at all, but there was no way she could sleep. Her heart was pounding in her throat as one by one, the wives lay down, and the room went dark and silent.

  October 9, 2056 –

  Early Morning

  After what felt like several hours, Davis slipped out of her bed as quietly as she possibly could. She had decided that if she got caught, she would say she had to use the restroom. That was plausible. A little clock at the end of the room read it was a little past 1 a.m. Once Davis got to the bathroom, she did use it as quickly as possible. For once, she was grateful for the blue light as it shed just enough light for her not to have to turn on the brighter lights. She then went through the supply closet door and into the dressing room, retracing her earlier steps. When Davis got to the exercise room, she thought again about the instructions Namaguchi had given her and silently confirmed to herself that it was second to the left of the frosted glass front doors that she wanted.

  After Davis went through, she found herself doing a reverse of the way she came in. First, she was in a dressing room, identical to the one for her room except for the names above—it only took her a second to spot the name “Ruby.” Davis didn’t want to waste time ruminating over it, although it gave her sentimental feelings. Nothing could stop her from being startled in the supply closet she entered next when she ran smack-dab into a fake leg equipped with a shoe. It conked her head painfully, and she rubbed it and looked at the leg in startled curiosity. Namaguchi had warned her that Anabelle, one of the older wives, had a prosthetic leg, but it still didn’t quite prepare her for the creepiness of it. Especially when she looked down the line and saw several prosthetic legs hanging from the ceiling, all with different types of shoes attached. After gathering her thoughts for a second, Davis continued until finding herself in the restroom of the older wives’ harem. She then silently wondered to herself if that disrespectful moniker was actually their title, even though she had used it herself a few times now.

  After making her way out of the restroom and into the sleeping quarters, Davis’s heart started to beat harder than she knew possible. It sounded so loud to her; she worried the sound could wake someone up. Davis had to be very quiet and careful. She rechecked her mind for the information, and of course, her mom’s bed was across the room and right in the middle. There was a blue light in the bedroom, but it was in a dim night mode. It gave off very little light as Davis inched her way to the bed where her mom slept.

  It felt to Davis like every step took her several minutes. She wished she had planned out what she was going to do more thoroughly. She should have brought a pillow to hold over her mom’s face until she could explain who she was and get her into the bathroom to talk to her. But that could have had obvious complications. Better yet, she had to find a way to quickly and quietly get her to the storage closet with all the creepy legs. That would give them more of a buffer to speak and not be heard. At one point, Davis had a sneeze coming on, and as she kept walking forward, she rubbed her nose to try and fight it off. The last thing she wanted to do was sneeze right now. Davis took slow, tentative steps, breathing slowly and taking in her surroundings. She was happy to see that in this room, they had thick curtain dividers between each bed. Anything that would help absorb the noise was a boon to her quest.

  Finally, after what felt like forever, Davis got to the side of Ruby’s bed and tried to lean in and look closely at Ruby sleeping, to confirm it
really was her. When she was confident, she took a deep breath and said a silent prayer. Before she could overthink it, she quickly clamped her hand over her mom’s mouth, trying to be as gentle but tight as possible. Ruby immediately sat in bed and started whimpering. The look of terror in her mom’s eyes saddened and scared Davis, but she had to keep her quiet. She leaned close to Ruby’s ear and whispered, “Quiet; I won’t hurt you, please, be quiet.”

  Someone sleepily said, “Mmmm…everything okay…?”

  Davis paused and listened as the other wives settled and rolled over in their sleep, and she just kept whispering as quietly as she could, “quiet, please,” even though it appeared her mom was quite docile and willing to follow the instructions she had already given her. After maybe a minute, when it seemed like everyone had gone back to sleep, Davis said in a calm and hushed tone that she’d take Ruby to the supply closet and explain everything. To try and keep her mom’s interest and stop her from making noise or trying to get away, she also leaned over and whispered, as quietly as she could, “I’m your Little Marigold.”

  Saying “marigold” seemed to have the intended effect, and her mother followed her quietly into the restroom, then the closet. Ruby spoke first before Davis had a chance to open her mouth. “Why did you say that to me? Where did you hear that?” she asked in a startled and indignant tone.

  Davis took a step back and took a deep breath for what felt like the five hundredth time that evening. “Mom, it’s me. It’s Amelia. It’s your Little Marigold.”

  ~

  It took a little bit of time for it to sink in and for Ruby to believe Davis. But, as Davis spoke, it dawned on Ruby that she looked exactly like her, just younger. And when Davis told her how she had met Duffy and that Duffy had given her Ruby’s letter, it became irrefutable. Ruby took Davis into a big hug, and for the first time, Davis felt a warmness and love that she hadn’t know existed. After what felt like only a few seconds, though, the hug ended abruptly, and as Davis pulled back, she saw confusion cloud her mom’s face. “But they told me you were dead. They said you died,” she said very slowly. Almost as if she was trying to noodle it out for herself, whether she had remembered that or whether she had made it up.

  “I don’t know, mom. I didn’t…” Davis didn’t know what to say. She knew her mom was under the influence of the mind-controlling drugs, and she wasn’t sure how much of a jolt she should give her. Obviously, the meeting itself had already been quite a surprise and a shock. As if on cue, Ruby’s eyes brightened up.

  “I know,” Ruby said, nodding and with all certainty, “It must have been some mistake. A simple mistake that grew as time went on. Maybe somebody put the wrong information in the computer. I’m sure Duffy found you and figured out who you were because you look so much like me.” In the latter part of the speech, Ruby became gleeful and excited. Davis, not wanting to mar her jubilation, did not correct her “mistake.” Ruby continued, “How lucky we were, oh my, I’m so glad Duffy found you!”

  Ruby, of course, had questions. Much to Davis’s delight, her mom warmly held her hand the entire time they were talking. Then, she wondered how her daughter had found herself in the Palace, and Davis explained to her that she was to be married to President Everett later that day, in a matter of a few hours.

  “Well, that’s wonderful!” her mother exclaimed. “We’ll see each other all the time now!”

  “I don’t know, Mom. I think they might not want that.” Davis didn’t want to be deflating, but she didn’t want her mom to be disappointed when they inevitably did not see each other after this. It was also hard to think straight, looking at her mom’s eyes, holding her hand, and wanting more than anything to feel that love, connection, and support that could only come from a mother and daughter relationship. What made it even harder was that Davis could see it in Ruby’s eyes, too; that was also what she wanted and felt.

  Ruby was feeling sentimental; that was clear. Her eyes brightened, and she told Davis, “You know, the far too few nights I got to spend with you, in the hospital, I would sing to you every night…‘Good night my lady, good night, my lady, I’ll see you in the morn.’” Ruby’s eyes darkened a bit, and then she added, “But then the morn came when I didn’t see you again. Ever again. Until now.”

  Where Ruby was feeling confused, Davis was feeling saddened and overwhelmed with grief. Tears welled up in her eyes. She felt all the love bubbling up, yet at the same time, she was trying not to burst out with emotion and end up being too loud or saying something she shouldn’t. The emotions made themselves present, though, and hot tears started to well up in her eyes.

  “Oh! I didn’t mean to make you cry. It’s okay! We’re together now and will be for a long time after, now.” Again, Ruby paused, as if she was trying to figure something out, but her gears were rusty and slow. “Oh, my dear. President Everett told me earlier that I was going to move to his country home. It was supposed to happen today. But there was a problem with security, so it’ll happen after the wedding. Isn’t that something! If it had gone through today, you would have never found me! Oh my, the wedding! I had heard of it, of course, but never realized it was my darling long-lost daughter! At any rate, I didn’t know why he decided to send me to the country. I thought I was getting punished for something…” her mom trailed off. “But that’s not possible. There must be some mistake. He must not know yet that you are who you are. Why would he separate us?”

  Ruby talked fast and nonstop, not really thinking through anything, just rambling onto the next thought that popped into her head. Davis wasn’t upset with her, but it made her sad that her mom was so controlled and confused and determined to clear Everett of any wrongdoing.

  Davis took yet another deep breath. “I don’t know, Mom. Maybe Everett’s afraid that we wouldn’t like being married to the same man?”

  “President Everett, dear. We must use proper titles and respect for our leader. And I don’t know, maybe. But he’s so kind and wonderful, you’ll see. I just don’t think he knows who you are! We just need to explain, and it’ll get worked out.” Her mom then stopped talking for a second. Her eyes were getting big with awareness and enlightenment. “You know what this means, though? He saved us both! President Everett saved our lives. Both mine and yours.” Ruby was so delighted and thrilled at this prospect, but Davis couldn’t help but point out an apparent discrepancy.

  “Mom, didn’t you ever see me at any of the events that I attended? You would have been at them too, although I used the name they gave me at the Children’s Center, Davis.”

  “I don’t go to any of them; President Everett always told me my best skills were sitting here, waiting for him to come back, and looking pretty.” Ruby seemed pleased at this, while it made Davis cringe. “Besides, because of the mistake made all those years ago, I wouldn’t have known to look for you or known you went by the name ‘Davis.’” A light dawned behind Ruby’s eyes. “That must be President Everett’s problem in all this too! He didn’t know they changed your name!” Ruby accentuated the last part of her statement as if she solved the entire mystery.

  Davis quickly realized that there was nothing she could say or do to persuade her mom that President Everett was not the salt of the earth. She also concluded she should tell her mom her “new” name that Everett had given her, “Delilah,” in case it caused her to get in trouble for accidentally calling her either Davis or Amelia.

  Seemingly out of nowhere, in a moment of calm, Davis thought maybe a shadow of her mom’s old self showed. Ruby looked at her daughter, deeply in the eyes, with love and simply and calmly said, “You are my daughter. My beautiful daughter, so courageous and strong.”

  “Thank you, mom. You are so strong too. Even when we don’t always feel it, we have a whole legion of people in the Heavens we can rely on, right?” When she said this, Davis thought she saw a twinkle of something behind her mom’s eyes, as if perhaps she recognized her old self, a recoll
ection of a past fear she had about Everett. She seemed to shake it off, so Davis continued, “Look, mom. I better get back to my bed before someone notices I’m gone. I just wanted to see you as soon as I could. I’m sure I’ll see you again soon, and we’ll get this worked out. I love you, mom.”

  “I love you too, oh, my Little Marigold. My Amelia! Sorry, Delilah. It is so good to see you again.” Then Ruby embraced her again and kissed her on the cheek. “Don’t worry about anything. President Everett will help us. I’m certain.” Then she let go and squeezed her hand as she walked away, glancing back once at the same time Davis happened to look back toward Ruby.

  ~

  What Ruby thought was a glance back toward her was actually Davis looking behind and to the left of her mom. Davis did that because she thought she had heard a shuffling sound and saw movement in that direction. But, as her mom waved goodbye and started walking back, she decided it must be her nerves, so she turned back around to leave. Right after her mom had left and closed her door, she reached out to open her doorknob and thought she heard the noise again. Startled, Davis turned back around and tried to make her eyes focus. The blue light was present, but the storage closet was pretty sizeable, with several rows of shelving. It was impossible to see every corner, especially in the dim light. Her heart started to beat quickly, and she wanted to get back to her bed as soon as possible.

  No sooner than she moved to the door again, she realized beyond any doubt she heard shuffling. She strained her ears because there seemed to be a very light and delicate humming sound. After a few seconds, she concluded there was humming, and more so, it was to the tune of the song her mom had sung her a few minutes ago. Davis paused for a second, wondering if she should figure out what was going on. Her stomach dropped to the floor when she realized that was precisely what she shouldn’t do, and Davis started to rush into the exercise room.