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

Years ago, when you were born, I trusted my gut. It led you to me after all these years. So, I am trusting my gut again. I don’t know what is wrong, but I don’t think you can trust Namaguchi.”

Davis was surprised that her mom had a feeling something was off but pinpointed it on the wrong person. Davis almost wondered if Brookshire had said something to Ruby about Namaguchi since he planned to make Namaguchi the scapegoat. As if answering, Ruby reluctantly added that Brookshire had come to see her that morning and said that she should keep an eye on Namaguchi because Brookshire feared he was up to something.

Ruby then pulled out an oddly shaped knife, the blade shiny and almost two inches long, with a slight curve to the right at the tip. There were rubies embedded into the short, thin silver handle that curved slightly to the left at its end. “President Everett gave this to me on our wedding night. I doubt you’ll need it. Brookshire doesn’t know I’m giving you this; I’m sure he’d be appalled. But, in case you need to protect yourself from Namaguchi. If anyone finds it, just say I let you borrow it as a good luck gift for your wedding. As I said, I doubt you’ll need it, but just in case, for protection.”

Davis thought it was so sweet that her mom was trying to protect her. She was trusting her instincts that her daughter needed help. Perhaps she’d misplaced her help, but it was still kind of her mom to put herself at risk to protect her. Davis had only wished her mom could bring her a bee or two instead of a weird old knife.

Ruby quickly tucked the knife into the wide band on Davis’s dress. She whispered, “Luckily, President Everett always likes these elaborate belted skirts, so it will hide well until you can get back to your room and find a place for safekeeping. And, on second thought, if you get caught with this, I could get in trouble; it’s my knife…”

“Say no more, mom. I will say I found it and was holding it for safekeeping until I located the owner. And mom, you know I love you. No matter what the situation, I’d always protect you and keep you safe. That’s a promise.”

After Ruby got the knife tucked in safely and securely, she gave Davis a quick hug and mentioned she should get going. And as if on cue, right after the hug, Cox annoyingly rapped on the door and called through it, “That’s enough, I’m coming in.”

Davis felt the knife hidden in the waistband belt. It was an odd belt, broad and made of a thick satin and studded with crystals. It tied into an elaborate bow at the back. The ends that hung down from the bow eventually became wider, then trailed onto the floor, creating a train four feet long. It was a lot of fabric to pull, and she would have never said she wanted more weight. She was happy to see that the knife made her feel lighter.

Cox and Davis sat in the room a while longer. Cox was looking disgruntled; Davis was pondering her fate. After about thirty minutes, the music Davis was supposed to walk down the aisle to began. She knew now that it was only a matter of seconds before she would have to walk down a long aisle and marry Everett.

The moment when Cox pulled her arm to get her up came too quickly. Davis clumsily got to her feet. Cox told her she would not go down the aisle with her, that when she got her to the door, they would open automatically, and she would depart. Then, Davis would be on her own. They walked out of the room, and Cox got her up to the doors. Then, as she mentioned, Cox stepped away, and the doors opened up.

~

Davis took a deep breath and started her walk down the aisle. She felt like she was in a dream and that it wasn’t really happening. She walked so slowly to gather her thoughts and put off what was about to happen as long as she could. Even though she was trying to linger, she ignored her surroundings. She was vaguely aware the wives from her shared room were standing at the front, looking at her, and that people were sitting in the pews. More of the crane candleholders were at every other row of pews. There was some kind of showy tulle bow decorations in the blush color. No flowers, as predicted. Davis didn’t even hold a bouquet. President Everett was not in the church yet. He would make his grand entrance when Davis was already up at the front; she didn’t know what his grand entrance would be but heard they could be elaborate. Amanda had told her he rode in on a white horse with a long-braided tail and mane for their wedding.

It felt to Davis that it took her an hour to get to the front. But she was aware it was probably closer to two or three minutes. She heard a noise above her and looked up to see President Everett, seemingly diving from a ledge in the ceiling but wound up in the same kind of aerial fabric that was pointed out to her in the exercise room. He did some sort of complicated twist and descended in the material as it unfolded. Please let him break his neck doing this, thought Davis. But, before she knew it, he was down safely. Unbelievably, his tuxedo wasn’t even wrinkled. She realized the other wives hadn’t said his entrance would be “elaborate.” That was her word. If she remembered correctly, they had said “beautiful” and “amazing.”

Davis’s knees were shaking. She felt like she could pass out at any moment. She felt the coolness of the hardened steel of the blade pressing against her skin. She felt comforted by it;