“Margaret, I love the way the crimson in this fox fur jacket compliments my strawberry blonde hair, don’t you think?” spoke Anne-Marie while she twisted her riglet  around her pointer finger.

“I look stunning as well. We are two beautiful wealthy young ladies,” screeched Margaret.

Both Margaret and Anne-Marie were upper class ladies living in the 1930’s. Both were arrogant, spoiled rotten, not giving a care in the world when others could barely eat. This was the Great Depression.

            Both of the girls stridded out of Monices furs. Their stride was very pretentious. Margaret flaunted the LV on her Louis Vuitton; it was as though  she wanted the whole world to see it. The store was screaming  money. From the perfect landscape, exactly the same amount of petunias, to  lillis, to the sales woman who had costume fitted uniforms. A few blocks away from the store the ladies traveled down  Manor street. The street was home to the extremely poor and reeked of the sewer.  It smelled as though 200 toilets had overflowed into the street. Margaret insisted that they go down that street, for she said it was quicker, and yet it was, but why that street? It was mainly because Margaret felt better when she flaunted her luxurious items at lesser people; this was an action that made her feel superior. Later, the ladies stumbled into the path of wretched filthy animal-like people begging for money. They spotted a man that looked a little over fifty. The man looked horrendous; he only had two front teeth in his whole mouth and they were as black as charcoal.

            “Ladies, will you please give me some money, I have four young children at home? I beg you.”

“I’ll give you something,’’ said Margaret in a genuine way.

            “Thank you, Ma'am. Your generosity is very appreciated,” said the man. A moment of hope shot through the man's eyes, thinking of all the things he could buy, and they were not fit for children.

Margaret reached into her purse, reaching for her wristlet. She pulled out her Louis Vuitton wristlet. The wristlet and the bag were both from the spring collection, imported from Venice, Italy.

Margaret pulled out a five dollar bill. The bill looked as though it was just printed; it had the crisp fresh look and not a speck of dirt. The man looked as though he saw the most precious thing in the world. For most people it would be. He reached up for the five dollars when Margaret spat on him.

“Happy Holidays!” spoke Margaret in a sarcastic way. When she said this her teeth glimmered in the sunlight. The way the sun hit her teeth made them look as though they were thousands of dollars, which they were. Her father spared no expense for his daughter.

“I actually thought you were going to give that animal money. If that man begged for money, I would have told him to get himself off  that ground and get a damn job. I wonder how some people can be so lazy? All they do is terrorize the upper class,” Anne Marie spoke in an aggravated way. While she did this she dug her nails into her palms.

“I put that piece of crap in his place,” Margaret said in a dignified manner.

“John and I will be out for dinner at the Grand Sea, would Gerold and you like to come?’’ asked Margaret.

“Your offer is very gracious. I will ask Gerold if he can attend. However, I am not sure if he will, due to the fact that his bedridden father is at the cusp of being taken into God's hands,” spoke Anne-Marie in a sincere manner. Anne-Marie couldn’t have cared less about the man. She thought of him as the one obstacle that was keeping her away from her fortune.

Gerold and John were the two men Anne-Mary and Margaret were dating. John was in his early 30’s and a very successful lawyer that defended the big businesses in lawsuits. He was notorious for being a ladies’ man. As for Gerold, his family came from wealth. Gerold’s father was  a big businessman. He always seemed to know the stocks to invest in. Many envied how successful he was. As for his son, he was wise but could not predict the future like his father, which he needed to do since the business would be passed on to him.

Margaret waited at the door of her parents’ estate, waiting for Garrett to come open the door. The estate was set back a little over a mile from the main road, and it was very rural yet not warm and welcoming like an average country house. Nothing in the house was designed for comfort, only to impress anyone who shall see it. “Finally, you open the door. What took your repulsive self so long?”

“I thank you for the generous compliment, my lady,” spoke Garrett in a flattered childish way.

“You are a complete imbecile,” spoke Margaret in a playful manner. Sometimes  she thought it was hysterical that Garrett was such an idiot. But other times she was merely maddened by how idiotically he acted.

“Garrett, call or ride into town to tell Lucinda I would like to make an appointment for another custom gown,” spoke Margaret in a demanding order. As Garrett looked  at her, he looked like a child playing dress up. The way the clothes hit the obese man made himself look revolting.

“My lady, you have just ordered one yesterday,” spoke Garret in a seemingly humble way.

“I have some grand news! Your wages will be cut in half for insulting me like this. Anne-Marie was right, all the lower class do is pester and terrorizer the upper class. If you insult me one more time you will be fired in an instant, ” spoke Margaret  while flicking her hair away.

“Yes, my lady.’’

“You better shut your homely animal-like mouth right now,” screamed Margaret in an infuriated tone as her eyes widened. The blood vessels in her eyes were a fiery red; they looked like they would burst at any moment.

A few hours later, Anne- Marie telephoned the house.

“My lady, it is Anne-Marie. She has some urgent news,” spoke Garrett in an obedient manor.  Margaret snached  the telephone out of Garrett’s hand.

“Gerold and I will be able to attend. What time shall be arrive?’’

“I had Garrett make a reservation for 7:30 pm. I wonder if that stupid imbecile could ever figure out how to do that. I wonder why my mother and father don’t fire that piece of crap?”

“He is not very smart. I’ll see you there.”

At that very instant, Anne-Marie hung up. Margaret could go on and on about her life problems.

Margaret daintily stood up out of the Bentley, having John hold her hand as she did so. When she did so, she made sure she didn’t step on the tiniest piece of dirt. Margaret had a dazzling silk dress that was from China, the hand painted flowers glistened in the moon’s light. “You look as beautiful as always,” spoke John in a flirty manor.

“Oww stop.”

Even though Margaret had said this, she never wanted the compliments to stop; for any man she was tempting. Slender body, a little over 5’4’’, she looked as though she stepped right out of a magazine. She was covered in small freckles from head to toe. Her jet black hair didn’t have the slightest highlight of brown, and her pin straight hair didn’t have the slightest wave. Even though she had these dark features, she still looked so warm and gracious, which she was not.

The dinner constituted of roasted king crab and prestigious Italian clams. The dinner mainly consisted of the men boasting about their success, which adored the ladies with  the things they could possibly have if they were to wed these millionaire men.

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“Margaret, it is Anne-Marie. She says this news is crucial,” spoke Garrett humbly as always.

Margaret walked over in a happy way. She gently took the telephone out of  Garrett's hand, which was surprising for her.

“Margaret, guess what? Yesterday night Gerold proposed to me. The ring is stunning . It is a 24-carat diamond ring, which is surrounded by sapphires, my birth stone,” screeched Anne-Marie. You would have thought she would kill herself doing this. The ring was custom designed by Gerold and William Grett. William was a flamboyant jeweler from London England.

“I am very glad for you,” spoke Margaret, pretending to be joyous. If anything, this upset Margaret very much. Having Anne-Marie do something before her was unheard of.  Margaret was the first one of them to be courting someone. Anne-Marie was always the follower until now. Now Margaret was the follower, which upset her of the most.

The rest of the day, Margaret lay in her canopy bed, the turquoise and baby blue curtains draped effortlessly over the bed frame. She was wondering if there was something she had done to make John despise her. But really there was nothing she did.

“Margaret, please come down to the parlor. There is an urgent matter we must attend to,” spoke Mr. Mattler in  a nervous voice.

“Yes, Father, I will attend. I don’t think anything could be as urgent as what just occurred to me,” spoke Margaret in an upset tone.

“Margaret, will you just come down to the parlor and stop all this nonsense!” Mr. Mattler said this in a furious tone. This was very unusual for Mr. Mattler, for he was a happy go lucky type of person.

“I have made a decision that will cost us greatly. A few weeks ago I invested in this stock that seemed to be booming, and yet a few weeks later it abruptly crashed. I invested more than I should have in this, which I feel remorseful about. This impulsive decision will cause us to sell the house. Bills are due in a few weeks; I don’t have anywhere enough money to pay for this. I need you to begin packing your stuff up. If you need help, Garrett will help you.”

“Father, I don’t know what to say about this. There is no single word to describe what I feel. What about John and Anne-Marie? I won’t be able to see them. They may not even want to have a relationship with me. I will just be this formerly rich broke girl. I hate you, I mean this sincerely,” screamed Margaret.

Margaret knocked on the wooden carved door of John’s house. The door had carved angels and and roses on it.  The angels had such a warm welcoming face, which was ironic for John’s house.  Margaret hoped that John would be her angel.

“Margaret, what are you doing here at this hour?’’ asked John, looking sleep-deprived.

“My father made this stock investment that backfired. To say this bluntly, my family and I are all but broke. I guess we can either elope or I will leave you, to move wherever it is best for my family.”

John stood there in shock. He didn’t know how to respond to this unexpected advent.

“Margaret, I am sorry to say this, however I do not want to marry a less valuable human. Margaret, I can’t humiliate myself like this. I could just see it, the front page of the newspaper; well known lawyer John McCormick saves formerly rich girls from the sweatshops. Now will you please leave.  I don’t want to be seen with this sweatshop animal!” Spoke John very sternly; you could hear his voice echo off the acoustic ceiling of his townhouse.

Margaret decided not to even tell her best friend Anne-Marie. The way that John reacted was irrational and surprising for her. She did not want to be pushed around again, for who knew how irrational Anne-Marie would behave?

“Father, I can’t believe that John threw me out like a piece of paper. He heard that I had only myself to offer. I would have no dowry to give him, and then he rejects me like I am nothing to him,’’ spoke Margaret in a enraged tone. After all, a swipe of a pen can be your fate.

-Maeve Segrue