In the Land of Sweetwater by anna.who.was.mad
Summer. 1957. Sixteen-year-old Isabella is unexpectedly thrown into the unforgiving hive of wealth and excess that is Sweetwater, Virginia. When she befriends a beautiful boy with shadows of his own, the two uncover a shocking web of lies that irrevocably tie them together.
Okay ... so this is a fic I’ve been reading since the first day.
I love the ‘old soul’ vibe it has. It’s filled with mystery for sure, but set in the 50s the description is there, you can almost see it in black and white.
I love the ‘old soul’ vibe it has. It’s filled with mystery for sure, but set in the 50s the description is there, you can almost see it in black and white.
June of 1957 came in with a heat wave as bad as any I could remember. I had just turned sixteen and instead of preparing to finish high school, I found a job at the general store in town running the cash register for Frank Walters. I was quick with numbers and always had a smile, so he stuck me up front. At least, that's what he said. Truth is, I was never one to smile much.
I wore poverty like a scarlet letter across my chest and I hated every second of it. Instead of moving us in town to a nicer place, Mama spent all the money she made on new dresses, cosmetics, and her running tab at the tavern. Everyone knew Renee Higginbotham was a loose war widow, much to my embarrassment.
Mama looked an awful lot like Grace Kelly, and at the age of thirty-two, she still had youth on her side. She always told me to stay out of the sun so I wouldn't lose my complexion, but I never listened. It wasn't quite summer yet and I already had a glow from my bicycle rides to work and back
"Where are you going?"
"I'm meeting up with Trudy."
It was completely normal for Mama to be on the go and meeting up with someone, but I felt so awkward with secret information tumbling around in my head. "Alright. Will you be home tonight?" Since I was in grade school, Mama sometimes wouldn't make it home until the next day.
"I'll be home when I get home. You're my daughter, not my mother."
"I wish," she started to say, but her voice cracked. I was too afraid to move, too shocked by her touch. After a deep breath, she began again. "I wish I knew how to love you."
Everything looked the same, but everything was different. I could feel it somehow, like what little life was in the house was sucked out, never to return.
I sat down at the table so I could rest my pounding head on my folded arms. At least I didn't have to wonder where I stood with Mama anymore. That's what I told myself before I noticed the pink envelope sitting on the table with my name written across it. It was stationary I saved up to buy her for her birthday last February. That was a good day. We ate cake she brought home from the bakery and she was a happy drunk that night as if eating all that sugar made her sweeter.
My fingers felt stiff as I opened up the envelope and pulled out a letter along with two dollar bills.
Izzy,
I was your age when I had you and I think I did a good job raising you up. It's my time now to live the life I always wanted to before you were born. Things happen sometimes beyond our control and we have to make do with what we are left.
When I was fifteen years old, I went into Sweetwater with my daddy while he was on a job. That's where I met Charles Swan. I'll spare you the details, but before I knew it Charles was off to Harvard and I found out I was going to be a mother. Phil worked with my daddy and was sweet on me, so I took the opportunity that was available and married him. He loved you despite knowing you were not his child.
Charles wants you. I don't know how he figured it out. His mama was the only one who knew about me and Charles and she hated me with a passion. I was alone and terrified, so I took her for her word when she offered money to me as long as I didn't ever come back with my bastard child. And I didn't.
Take a bus to Sweetwater and go to Swan House. It's the largest plantation in all of Sweetwater, maybe all of Virginia, so you won't be able to miss it. I suppose it is your birthright. I never considered Charles would want anything to do with his illegitimate child. We all make mistakes.
He wants you and you go ahead and tell him that he has my full permission to take you in. It's for the best.
Regards,
Renee
I was certain I was going to throw up as the word "regards" bounced around inside my skull. There it was in writing, everything she'd never say to me directly.
She was making her getaway.
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