Agnes's name was like a bucket of cold water, instantly dousing their passion.
Matthew went out to answer a phone call. Emma, Grandma Angela, and her aunt took care of the children's dinner, getting them all tucked into bed.
Over an hour passed in this flurry of activity. Night had completely taken over the sky, but Matthew still hadn't returned. Facing Grandma Angela's worried inquiries, Emma simply said Matthew had work to do.
She went outside to look for him and found him sitting under the grapevine, smoking. His expression was utterly somber, the flickering flame of his cigarette illuminating and then obscuring his face in the darkness. He seemed to have been sitting there for a long time.
Cigarette butts littered the ground, and the smell of smoke was so thick it was almost suffo
