Marigold by Heather Manheim (best books for 8th graders .TXT) 📕

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