Desert Heat

Joa

“And the gun,” Maria

Joa

“You mean no one’s told you about that?”

“Maria

“It’s a rumor, too. I heard it from Deena O’Toole, and she heard it from her former mother-in-law. According to Gertrude, the federales are requesting ballistics tests on Andy’s.357.”

“Why?”

Maria

Joa

“So what are we going to do about it?” Maria

“Do?”

“That’s right-do. Jeff and I talked about it this afternoon while je

Joa

Maria

She got up then, picked up her glass, and carried it into the kitchen. “I’m going home now,” she said, gathering her purse and keys. “You’ve got to be dead on your feet. We’ll thrash this all out tomorrow. In the meantime, try to get some sleep.”

Coming back to Joa

“Go on home,” Joa

For some time after Maria

Tired as she was, she couldn’t bring herself to step inside the room that had once been her haven from the rest of the world. How could she possibly lie down on her side of that double bed, the one she and Andy had slept in all their married life? How could she put her head down on a pillow when the one next to hers would still be laden with Andy’s distinctive scent? How could she go near a closet where his dirty clothes would still be lying in a haphazard pile on the floor and where his freshly ironed shirts and pants would still be hanging on his side of the closet waiting for him to come put them on?

No. The bedroom was definitely off limits, but Maria

As soon as she lay down, she knew it had been a mistake to turn out the lights. In the darkness, the house seemed oppressively quiet. Joa

That night Joa

TEN

Je

Lying on the couch, it took Joa

Fighting off despair, Joa

“But it’ll be boring,” Je

Joa

“If you really want to go, I suppose it’ll be all right,” Joa

“Not yet,” Je

Joa

Alter another quick shower to subdue her hair, Joa

She found Je

Joa

“Are you mad because I’m going to school?” she asked.

Joa

“Something like this never happened to me before,” Je

Joa

“Fine,” Je

Joa

“While you were in the shower. He said he’d be out in the barn getting hay for the cattle.”

Joa

Je

“Well, he shouldn’t!” Joa

“Maybe it seems right to him,” Je

Joa

“Maybe you’re right,” Joa

By the time Joa