"Ibeganwashingherquickly,anxioustogetitoverwith,whenTroylaidhishandonmyarm。Giveheramomenttogetusedtothewater。heasked。ThenhebegantalkingsoftlyinRussian。Afterafewmomentsshebecamecalmandseemedtolistentohim。Verygently,hetooktheclothandsoafrommeandwashedeachofherhands。Thenslowlyandcarefully,hewashedherarmsandshoulders,workinghiswayoverthewrinkled,sallowskin。Eachtouchwasacaress,eachmovementwasaromise。Afterawhile,sheclosedhereyesandrelaxedintothewarmwater。MybeautifulNadja,theoldmanmurmured。Youaresobeautiful。Tomysurrise,Mrs。Svobodaoenedhereyesandmurmuredback,
"MybeautifulTroy。Evenmoreastonishing,shehadtearsinhereyes!
"
Helentookadeebreathandcontinuedherstory。
"Mrs。Svobodastayedcalmthatwholeafternoon。Herhusbandheledmedressherandfeedherlunch。Shecomlainedaboutthefoodandatoneointknockedoverhersou。Mr。Svobodaatientlycleanedituandwaiteduntilhertantrumwasover。Thenheslowlyfedhertherestofhermealandtalkedtoheruntilshewasreadytogotobed。Iwasconcernedaboutthatoldman。Helookedcomletelyexhausted。Iaskedhimwhyheinsistedondoingsomuchbyhimselfwhenwewereaidtodoit。Heturnedtomeandsaidsimly,BecauseIloveher。Youdontunderstand。
"hecontinued。
"Wevebeenmarriedforalmostforty-nineyears。Whenwestartedout,lifeonthefarmwasharderthanyoucanimagine。Thedroughtkilledourcros,andtherewasntenoughastureforthecattle。Ourchildrenweresmall,andIdidntknowhowweweregoingtosurvivethewinter。Iwasveryhardtolivewiththatyear。Nadjautuwithmymoods,andleftmealone,butonenightIblewuatthesuertable。Shedmadeourfavoritetreat,riceudding,andallIcouldthinkaboutwashowmuchsugarandmilkshedused。
"
Suddenly。Ijustcouldnttakeit。Iickedumybowlandthrewitagainstthewall,andstormedouttothebarn。IdontknowhowlongIstayedthere,butaroundsundown,Nadjacameouttofindme。
"Troy
",shesaid,
"youarenotaloneinyourtroubles。Iromisedtostandbyyouthrougheverythinglifebroughtourway。Butifyouwontletme,thenyouhavetogo。
"Shehadtearsinhereyes,buthervoicewasfirm。
"whenyouarereadytobewithusagain,wearehere。
"Thenshekissedmycheekandwalkedbacktothehouse。
"Istayedinthebarnthatnight,andthenextdayIheadedintotowntolookforajob。Therewasnothing,ofcourse,butIkeelooking。Afteraboutaweek,Iwasreadytogiveu。Ifeltacomletefailure,atfarming,asaman。Istartedforhome,notknowingifIdbewelcome,butIdidnthaveanywhereelsetogo。Whenshesawmecomingdownthelane,Nadjacameoutrunning,heraronstringsriving。ShethrewherarmsaroundmeandIbegantowee。Iclungtoherlikeanewbornbaby。
"Ifshecouldstaycommittedtomeduringmyworsttimes,duringthehardesttimeofourlife,theleastIcandoistocomforthernow。Andremindherofthegoodtimeswehad。Wealwayssmiledateachotherwhenweatericeudding,anditsoneofthefewthingsshestillremembers。
"
Helenwasquiet。SuddenlySheilaushedbackherchair,
"Mybreakisover,
"shesaid,dabbingatthetearsthatrolleddownhercheeks,
"AndIknowanoldladywhoneedsanotherdinner。
"ShesmiledatHelen。
"IfIaskthemnicely,Illbetthekitchencanrustleuadishofriceuddingforher,too。
"