“This is Brenda.”
“It’s Connie. I’m not coming in today.”
“Are you okay? Wait, is it something about Don?”
“No, nothing like that. I just… I need some time.”
“You have lots of vacation time. Just let me know, okay?”
“Thanks, Brenda.” Connie hung up, aware that her exhilaration had vanished. Her abrupt freedom left her shocked.
Singing softly about how many times a man must look up to see the sky, she reflected that she was a blank slate now: free from work, hardly a wife, the kids long grown. She could do anything she wanted.
Of course, if freedom was just another word for nothing left to lose, her life today was empty after all.
*****
Ahead of young Tod and his new companion, the sun blazed red, low on the horizon. Mosquitoes buzzed around them. The evening rush from St. Louis ha
