PEARL
I couldn"t seem to get warm. I sat on the floor in front of the fire in my too-empty bedroom. It had been such a cold day on the line. It felt as if the bitter temperature had wormed its way into my bones. As kindling fed a fire, his silence fed the cold within me.
Mary slept peacefully in her room. Perhaps I could make money as an actress for she seemed to believe the hopeful persona I played whenever we were together. Or perhaps she was the consummate actress.
Only when she was asleep did I indulge. I did not want her to see me doing so.
From the pocket of the thick dressing gown I wore over my flannel nightgown, I pulled the letter, the last letter I had received from him four months ago. His letters had never arrived more than a month apart. But that was before. The lack of m
