Blood and Silver: First Bite

No Rent

As far as Abigail was concerned, the move was a sure thing. She was too young to understand her mother’s hesitation, or notice her stress over the decision.

All she had heard was ‘not paying rent’, and to her, that meant something big. As far back as she could remember, her mother would always say things like ‘no honey, if we buy that, I won’t be able to afford rent’ and ‘sorry baby, mommy has to go to work; I can’t play with you right now. If I don’t work, I can’t pay rent.’ Rent was a bad word in Abigail’s books, and a world without it sounded like a world better off.

No rent equals more time with her mother and more food. Abigail ran to her room and started to shove her belongings into her school bag. She didn’t have much by way of toys—a few broken nicknacks, a tattered and pilled old teddy bear, which was the last thing Laura had left from her childhood, and a few items of clothing that she had. Laura walked in to see what she was up to.

‘What are you doing, honey?’ She asked.

‘I’m packing, mom!’ Abigail replied with an air of sass that only a seven-year-old could pull off.

‘Oh, Abbie,’ Laura said, sitting on the bed beside her. ‘It’s not that easy. We can’t just move. I have a job here, and your school is here. Our whole life is here!’

Abigail stood up, tears starting to form in her eyes. ‘You don’t need to work, mommy! You said no rent! I can go to a new school and finally make friends! You can play with me and not be at that stinky diner all the time!’

Laura sighed and put her hand out to rub Abigail’s shoulder. Abigail pulled away.‘You never have time for me! You just want to work! You don’t want me!’ She shouted, running to the corner of the room. She sat on the floor, holding her legs and sobbing into her knees. Laura, too, was heartbroken.

Of course she wanted her; that was why she worked so hard to keep a roof over her head. It was the reason why she had insisted on keeping her baby, resulting in her losing her home, when she could have just as easily taken the pills from the doctor she visited back in Aunt Hazel’s town. But she understood how it would seem to a child, and her heart broke.

‘We can talk about it later," she said, glancing up at the clock on the wall. It was 10 minutes before her shift start time, and if she was late, she would be docked an hour's pay.

‘I have to work, honey," she said, and she grabbed Abigail’s hand and dragged her next door, Abigail protesting and whining the entire way.

Mrs. Smirnova opened the door, and Abigail dutifully walked inside and sat on the couch, arms crossed and an angry pout on her face.

‘I love you, baby!’ I called Laura with no response. ‘We’ll talk later, I promise.’

Mrs. Smirnova closed the door, and Abigail sobbed while Laura drove to work, trying her best to hold it together. Abigail sat on Mrs. Smirnova’s couch, trying to cry as quietly as she could. Mrs. Smirnova wasn’t used to her in this state. She always seemed so happy and grateful for everything.

‘Why do you cry, child?" she asked in her thick Russian accent. ‘I thought today was your birthday?’ Abigail cried harder, partly because it was a shock to have Mrs. Smirnova say more than ‘eat’, ‘quiet," or ‘don’t touch’. Between sobs, she cried out, "My mommy doesn’t love me! She only wants to work! Her aunt died and gave her a house with no rent, but she just wants to stay here and work!’

Mrs. Smirnova was taken aback. She realized there must be more to the story, but also that she saw more of Abigail than her own mother did, and how that must feel to a child.

‘Come, child, your mother loves you very much. That is why she works, so that she can provide for you. It is not so easy to move; take it from an old lady who has moved around her whole life.’

Abigail looked up at Mrs. Smirnova and, for the first time since she’d met her, saw a glint of kindness in the old woman’s eyes.

She spent the rest of the day at Mrs. Smirnova’s, as she always did, but things felt different—as if everything was going to be alright. Mrs. Smirnova gave her an extra toffee and, for half an hour, allowed her to watch a children’s channel with cartoons. After half an hour, she chuckled, ‘I can’t watch this nonsense; put back on the game show channel," and secretly, Abigail was as relieved as she was to change back to the familiar programming. It was definitely strange for Mrs. Smirnova to be so kind to her; up until this point, Abigail had not realized that it was possible. For the first time, she felt like the old woman might actually care for her.

Just after 9 p.m., as always, there was a knock at the door as her mother came to collect her. Usually, Abigail would thank Mrs. Smirnova and leave the house, but today Mrs. Smirnova looked at her and said,

‘Sit, child. I will speak to your mother.’

Abigail did as she was told, and Mrs. Smirnova went to the door and took Laura outside to speak, closing the door behind her. Abigail could hear muffled voices from outside the door but couldn’t make out what they were saying. After what seemed forever, Mrs. Smirnova opened the door and motioned for Abigail to leave.

‘Thank you for looking after me,’ she said, just as she had so many times before.

‘You are welcome, child,’ said Mrs. Smirnova with a smile. She usually just grunted when Abigail thanked her.

Abigail left with her mother, and when they got into the house, she looked at Abigail and said, ‘Okay, baby, we’re going to do it. We’re moving to Aunt Hazel’s old house. It’s what’s best for you, and we will make a better life there, I promise.’

Abigail looked up at her, wide-eyed. ‘No rent?’

‘Yes, Abbie, no rent.’