excerpt
Sarah asked no more questions as she got up to clear the table of
their wedding feast. When she had washed the dishes and tidied the
pantry, she sat down in the front room and picked up an old magazine.
After a few minutes she became aware she had turned several
pages without knowing a word she read. She glanced at the mantel
clock on the buffet. Only half past nine. She wondered how long he
would sit tonight reading the paper, and if she should just bid him
good night and go to her room as she had done every other night
since arriving here.
The clock struck ten. The unexpected sound, and Ben’s sudden
movement as he reached to turn on the radio, made Sarah jump.
He glanced at her without comment.
She tried to focus on the news, but only an occasional word or
phrase reached her. “Grain prices rising …. Hail south of Saskatoon
…. Prime Minister Mackenzie King ….”
She sat until the news was over, then closed her magazine and
stood up. “I’m going to bed, Ben. Good night.” She started towards
the kitchen.
He snapped off the radio. “Where you goin’?”
She half turned. “To my bedroom.”
“Your bedroom is over there now.” He indicated his own room
with a nod of his head.
She swung completely around to face him. “Oh, is it? Did our saying
a few words in front of a minister change everything so quickly
then?”
“You’re my wife, ain’t you?” He flung his newspaper to the floor
and stood up, his dark face glowering even darker.
“Then why don’t you treat me like a wife? You never even call me
by name. Have you forgotten what it is? Where’s the man who wrote
those nice letters? If he’s here, I certainly don’t recognize him.”
Ben took a step towards her, his eyes narrowing. “Oh, he’s here,
Sar…ah,” he said, drawing out her name slowly and deliberately,
“he’s here all right and he plans to treat you like a wife, don’t worry
about that.”
She opened her mouth, but before she could speak he had covered
the distance between them. Scooping her up in his arms, he
strode to his bedroom.
Libros Libertad 