Divorce, Halloween Style
LHOP inspired fan
fiction by Cheryl C. Malandrinos
Disclaimer:
I do not own the Little House on the Prairie television series, book series, or
any of the characters.
Laura awoke, blinking several times to adjust her eyes to the
darkness. The ground was damp and cold underneath her and the smell of moist
dirt filled her nostrils. The root cellar,
she thought. How did I get down here?
She sat up. Ouch!
She lifted her hands to cradle her throbbing head. Last thing she remembered
was talking to Manly as he came in from doing the evening chores. The fall
night had a bite to it now that the last day of October was here. His cheeks
were a rosy red and his wavy mane a squashed mess from the Stetson hat he
always wore. She had turned to finish cutting up the ham for supper when…she
felt the large bump on the back of her head. No wonder the room was spinning.
Carefully Laura brought herself onto both knees, planting
both hands in front to steady her. Still a bit dizzy, she waited a few moments
before squatting and then standing up. Luckily a shelf filled with jars of
pickled beets was nearby when she tottered.
This made no sense. Where was Manly? Had something happened
to him? Laura raced up the ladder as quickly as she could. She pounded with the
palm of her hand against the trap door but it wouldn’t budge. “Manly! Manly!”
She kept pounding. Where was Manly? Oh,
my gosh, Rose! Laura’s heart thudded in her chest. She was stuck in this stupid
root cellar and her family might be in danger. I have to get out of here.
Laura climbed down the ladder and looked for something,
anything she could use to break open the door. Jars, baskets, fruits,
vegetables…NOTHING! Rushing back up she pounded as hard as she could bear, the vibration
making her head hurt even worse. “Manly! Can you hear me?” Tears sprang from
her eyes. “Help me.”
The trap door flew open and Laura squinted to shield her
eyes from the light flooding the opening. A tall figure stepped into the
opening and blocked out some of the light. She backed down, unable to recognize
who it was. As the figure descended, Laura recognized the familiar step of
Almanzo’s boots on the ladder. She clutched her chest and exhaled.
“Oh, Manly! Thank God.” She ran to him and tossed her arms
around his neck. “I was so scared—”
He didn’t embrace her. He stood with his arms by his sides,
saying nothing at all. Laura couldn’t stop the chill that raced down her spine.
Equally afraid to look as not to look, she raised her chin and gazed upon his
face. Almanzo’s blue eyes flashed with anger and his teeth were clenched
tightly as he glared at her.
“Be quiet,” he seethed.
Laura stepped back but Almanzo gripped her arm and squeezed
her wrist. “Stop it,” she said. “You’re hurting me.” She slapped his hand over
and over, pulled her arm until it felt like it would rip right out of the
socket, but still he held tight. “Let go of me, Almanzo,”
He yanked her into him. “I said ‘be quiet’.”
Her mind reeled. What is
wrong with him? This was the man who loved her so much he said he would “wait
two years or twenty years” to marry her when Pa would not allow her to marry
before turning eighteen. The same man had come back from a horrible stroke and
paralysis to make a home for his family. She didn’t even know the person
standing in front of her, his face snarled in anger.
She stopped pulling away from him. Maybe if she didn’t fight
him he would calm down. “Manly, please, tell me what is going on. How can I
help you if I don’t know why you’re so angry?” She laid her free hand on top of
his and caressed it.
He pushed her away so hard she tripped over a basket of
apples and landed on her backside. Afraid, she quickly stood and shifted her
weight to be better balanced in case he lunged at her. How could this be happening?
“Help me?” he said with a snort. “Help me? Oh, I think you’ve
helped enough.”
Now, totally confused, Laura raced through her recent
memories to see if she could recall anything she could have said or done to
upset him. Coming up with nothing, she figured keeping him talking would occupy
him long enough for her to think of how to get out of the cellar. Rose must be sleeping. I need to find her.
“Manly, I really don’t understand what’s going on. I can’t
think of anything I’ve done to upset you.” She took a few baby steps to the
left. “If you only tell me what I’ve done, I’m sure we can work it out.” Two
more steps to the left.
Almanzo planted his hands on his hips. “After all this time
together, you still don’t know me very well, do you?”
Laura shrugged. “I thought I did. We’ve had our ups and
downs, but I thought we were happy here in our new home.”
“Happy?” He shook his head. “How could I be happy when all
these years I’ve been separated from my one true love?”
Laura’s eyes widened. Where
is this coming from? “What are you talking about?”
“She came here, but you made sure she left real quick.”
Who could he be talking about? Three steps to the left, the
ladder getting closer and closer. “I honestly don’t know who you are talking
about. Came here? When?”
Crossing his arms over his chest he continued shaking his
head, as if amazed she could be so stupid. “She came here with her music,” He
sniffled, as if trying not to cry. “Beautiful music. But you didn’t want that
here. You didn’t want her here.”
Laura inched closer and closer to the ladder as she thought
on what he was saying. When it came to her, she couldn’t stop her mouth from
dropping. “You mean Brenda Sue Longworth?” That’s
a person I haven’t thought about in years.
“Of course I mean Brenda Sue.”
This should have made things clearer, but they really were
just as muddy as the dress she rolled around in when she got in that dreadful
fight with Nellie Oleson at the watering hole over failing her teaching exam.
Now Laura was angry. Still scared, but really angry. She
felt the heat rising in her cheeks. “What does Brenda Sue have to do with
anything?”
“As if you don’t know,” screamed Almanzo lessening the gap
between them.
“I really don’t
know.” Laura took a big step left. Pretty soon she would be close enough to
make a run for the ladder. If only she wasn’t wearing a dress, she could climb
up faster. “Back then you told me it was all a misunderstanding. You told Pa
you never really like her in the first place.”
“Well, I liked her…a lot. Maybe not when we first met, but
when she returned to Walnut Grove I remembered how much we had in common and
how she understood my love of music.” Almanzo smiled and looked far off, as if
recalling a sweet memory.
Laura shrunk her eyes into slits. She had never been so
furious. But she knew she had to focus on getting to safety and finding Rose.
They had to get out this house. Almanzo wasn’t who she thought he was and who
knew what he would do. He was pondering his next steps. She could tell by the
curve of his partially opened mouth.
“What were you planning to do, Almanzo?” A few more steps
and she could make a run for it. “Were
you going to run away with Brenda Sue leaving me trapped in the cellar and Rose
all alone upstairs?”
He straightened his back to show how indignant he was at the suggestion. “Of course not. I am going to take Rose with me. Brenda Sue can’t have children so we will raise her together.”
Laura clenched her fists at her side. As if I would let that woman raise my daughter. She couldn’t
believe what she was hearing. His plan was preposterous. “And you were just
going to leave me down here forever?”
“Your family would have come looking for you if you didn’t
show up in town. By then I would already be in Sleepy Eye and on a train back
East.” He gave her a satisfied grin.
Laura took three more steps as he spoke. She knew she should
just make a dash for the ladder, but she had to give him a piece of her mind.
He had put her and their daughter in danger for some ridiculous fantasy that
would never work. Even if she gave up trying to find them, Pa would never rest
until he brought Rose back home safely…and gave Almanzo a huge piece of his
mind.
“Manly, I have never been so disappointed in someone as I am
in you right now. We built a wonderful life together and you’re willing to just
toss it away as if it didn’t mean anything. How can you do such a thing?”
Almanzo rocked back and forth on his heels, arms crossed
over his chest. Had she really made him realize how ludicrous his plan was?
What if he changed his mind and this was the end of it? Could she ever trust
him again? Deep in her heart she knew the answer was no. This was something she
could never forgive. It made her heart ache just thinking about it. Blinking
back tears, she knew she had to make a move now.
Taking a deep breath, she shoved him and tore up the ladder.
Her petticoat caught on a nail. She yanked hard and heard the fabric tear. Her hands
touched the top of the ladder and she was about to lift her leg up to the floor
when, suddenly, a hand pulled on her right boot. She looked down to see Almanzo
hanging onto the ladder with one of his hands and her boot in the other.
“Get back here,” he said through clenched teeth.
Laura shook her leg trying to release her foot, but he was
too strong. Tears stung her eyes. I need
to find Rose. We have to get out of here. “Let me go! Let me go!”
“Beth? Beth? Wake up.”
Laura sat up in bed. Drenched in sweat, her heart racing so
loudly it pounded in her ears, she rubbed her eyes to clear her head. After
several deep breaths, she lay back down on the pillow.
Almanzo laid on his side, leaning on his arm for balance. “That
must have been some dream.”
Not able to talk yet, Laura simply nodded.
He touched her arm and she flinched. “You okay, sweetheart?”
It took her a few more seconds but she finally managed, “Yes,
just a silly dream.”
“Is it okay for me to blow out the lamp? I just finished the
newspaper.”
“Sure.” Her voice sounded like she swallowed a frog.
As he brought his hand up toward the lamp, she grabbed at
him. “Do you still have that music book with that song by Brenda Sue Longworth?”
Almanzo crinkled his forehead. She knew it was a strange question.
“No, I tossed it. After playing it on the guitar a few times I decided I didn’t
really like it.”
Laura breathed a sigh of relief. “Good.”
Copyright Cheryl C. Malandrinos - All Rights Reserved.
