The Calling of Emily Evans by Janette Oke

hair was pulled back tightly to form an odd kind of roll at the top of her head, her ample frame was shrouded in a cotton dress covered by a stiff dark apron, and her lined face looked as if it had long since forgotten how to smile.
    But it was her eyes that drew Emily’s attention. They were intense and piercing. Perhaps at one time they had danced with merriment or glowed with understanding.
    “Oh … oh,” Emily’s voice faltered. Then she continued nervously.
    “I need some—some coverings for my windows. I have—”
    “Yer right,” said the woman briskly.“I chased them kids off the fence three times this morning’.”
    Emily flushed.
    “Oh, it—it was you. I—heard a voice—I … Thank you,” she finished lamely.
    The woman just waved an arm and advanced toward a shelf at the rear of the store.“Jest curious—like kids always are.” Then she went on.“Whatcha wantin’?” she asked.
    “Well, I—I don’t wish to spend too much. I would like curtains for the—the hominess, but I might have to settle for shades—if you have them.”
    “We do,” the woman responded curtly.“Both. An’ not too expensive either.”
    Emily was relieved. She followed the woman to the corner counter and waited for her to produce her merchandise.
    Emily still felt as if she could not see clearly enough. She wasn’t sure if the bolt of material the woman pushed toward her was blue or green.
    “Could I—do you mind if I take it nearer the window?” asked Emily hesitantly.“I’m having trouble telling just what color—”
    “Thet’s John. He won’t let us have the light on here in the daytime. Can scarcely see to get around. Says it’s bright’nough without it. Might be—if the place had some decent windows. Jest a waste of good money, he says. And besides, he says thet the light would jest heat the buildin’ up more, and it’s hot enough in here as it is in the summertime. Won’t let no doors be open. Says the flies will come in—an’ nobody wants flies in their molasses or pickles.” She finished with a “humpf ” and passed the bolt to Emily.
    The material was green. Emily hated to say so, but she didn’t like the color.
    “Then we have these here blinds,” the woman continued when Emily laid the bolt back on the counter top.“Not expensive. You could maybe make some light curtains to go with’em for the same price as thet there heavier material.”
    Emily brightened. She looked at the light material. It had a soft ivory background and a small flower print, and Emily much preferred it to the rather sickly green.
    Emily pulled out her measurement calculations.“How much would it be,” she asked, “for the blinds and the curtain material?”
    The woman did some quick figuring on a piece of paper and quoted Emily a price. It would cost more than she had hoped, but she did need to have some protection from curious eyes.
    She nodded.“And I will need a spool of thread,” she added.“I wasn’t planning on sewing the curtains.”
    The woman added the spool to the list, and Emily drew out the required cash. It cut deeply into her meager finances, and she fidgeted as the woman cut the cloth and bundled her purchases. Emily was glad to escape the dark shop and head for home.
    The remainder of her day was spent in putting up her blinds and hand sewing her curtains. In spite of the cost, when she was finally finished, she was pleased with the results.
    But in some ways the clean, bright little curtains made the rest of the room look shabbier than ever. Emily sighed. She did wish that there was some way to cheer things up a bit.

    The next morning Emily was back in the dark mercantile again.
    “Do you have calcimine?” she asked the woman behind the counter, and the woman nodded her head and moved to a shelf behind her.
    “Ya want tinted or white?”
    Emily hadn’t thought of getting tinted.
    “White, I guess.”
    “How much ya need?” the clerk asked.
    “Well, I—I don’t really know,”