novelnext Chapter 2: Marry Her Off
Chapter 2: Marry Her Off
Leslie almost yelled, "Jim gets to go to college, but I’m getting married off?"
Since she’d sprinted through the smoldering heat on the streets, she was somewhat out of breath, but the real reason she was so tired was because of her mother.
Mrs. Sabbith walked over and said, "Yes. Since you’ve heard everything, I don’t need to hide it from you anymore. You know our financial situation very well: only one of you can go to college. Jim is a boy, so he has to marry when he grows up… and you know how difficult it is to find a good wife these days. If he’s only a high-school graduate, what will others think of him? But you’re different. You’re a girl, and girls only need to marry into a good family. The groom’s side has seen your photos and they’re very satisfied with you. Even if you go to college and spend all that money on education, you might not be able to find a decent job when you graduate. Think about it, they have two houses in Denver! Do you know the current real-estate prices? Our family can’t afford a house even if we struggle our entire lives.”
"But I'm only eighteen!" Leslie didn't know whether to cry or laugh when she heard her mother's words.
Two houses for her life and future... Could it be that, to her mother, she was no more than goods to be traded around?
Mrs. Sabbith glared at her. "Eighteen years old? You’ll be twenty in October. Leslie, there's nothing wrong with getting married early. You’ll be enjoying life by the time you’re forty, while everyone else is still struggling to make ends meet. I’m doing this for your own good, don’t you think?"
"I want to go to college!" Leslie knew that her family was on the bread line, but she firmly believed that a college education was the only way to change her life.
Unlike her younger brother, she didn’t have any particular goals. Her only dream was to receive a proper college education, because it was the only road to success she knew of.
Seeing that Leslie was being defiant, Mrs. Sabbith became angry. "After all I’ve told you, do you still not understand? Let me make it very clear, there’s no way we can send you to college! Just look at Sloan from next door. He started working after finishing junior high, and now he can send thousands of dollars back home every month. What about you? Look at you, what else can you do besides studying hard?"
"What about Jim then?" Leslie glanced at her mediocre younger brother. "You’re going to force him to go to college when he doesn’t want to?"
"Are you sick in the head? Your brother’s still a kid! He’s only sixteen, if you ever checked his ID! What can he even do out there? Even if he applies for a part-time job, will anyone want him?"
"But he’s only one year younger than me." Leslie glared at her mother. "You’re my real mother, sure, but don't you think you’re being too partial?"
"What's wrong with me being partial? You're going to marry into someone else’s family sooner or later. Spending money on you is an utter waste. You probably won't even remember me anymore when you get married."
…
Leslie stood before the gates of Tess Westin's beautiful villa, thinking of the quarrel she had with her mother two days ago as tears fell uncontrollably from her eyes.
She wiped away her tears and adjusted her emotions before knocking on the gates. Tess emerged soon enough, and upon seeing Leslie, she said affectionately, "There you are, Leslie! Come in and make yourself at home!"
Tess was a good friend and classmate.
Leslie would visit her occasionally throughout high school, so she got to know the Westin family pretty well.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of this sudden visit? Did anything happen?" Tess asked as she led Leslie through the door.
She knew her good friend lived in Cherry Creek, a small neighborhood in Denver about a three-hour drive away.
Leslie said, "I need your help with something."