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THE NEXT MORNING, ELSA ell before dawn and found Rafe’s side of the bed eain Lately he preferred it to being with her With a sigh, she got dressed and left her room

In the dark kitchen, Rose stood at the dry sink, her hands deep in water that she’d hauled fro bowl lay drying on towels on the counter beside her Towels Elsa had eht, in Rafe’s favorite colors She had thought that e happy Clean sheets scented with lavender, embroidered pillowcases, hand-knit scarves She’d filled hours with such tasks, poured her heart and soul into the thread to say the words she could not utter

A pot of coffee sat on the woodstove, pu

aroular chickpea panelle was on the table and a tablespoon of olive oil popped in a cast-iron pan on the stove Beside it, oatmeal bubbled in a pot

“Morning,” Elsa said She removed a spatula from the drawer and lowered two of the panelle into the hot oil These would be the midday meal, eaten like a sandwich, squeezed with precious drops of preserved lemon

“You look tired,” Rose said, not unkindly

“Rafe isn’t sleeping well”

“If he’d stop drinking in the barn at night it ht help”

Elsa poured herself a cup of coffee and leaned against the cabbage-rose-papered wall She noticed the corner of the flooring where the linoleu up Then she went to turn the panelle over, seeing a nice brown crust on them

Rose

Elsa began to take apart the butter churn The parts needed to be washed and scalded and put back together in a precise, numbered order and then stacked for the next use It was the perfect chore to keep one’s mind occupied

A centipede crawled out of its hiding place and plopped onto the counter Elsa took out a pair of knives and chopped it into pieces Sharing the house with centipedes and spiders and other insects had becoht safety from the dust storms

The tomen worked in companionable silence until the sun came up and the children stumbled out of their bedrooms

“I’ll feed them,” Rose said “Why don’t you take Rafe some coffee?”

Elsa was grateful for her , Elsa said, “Thank you,” poured her husband a cup of coffee, and went outside