Leah could hear her sister’s long lacquered nails against the bottom and sides of the glass bowl, and they made a grating sound, like chalk on a blackboard. Leah watched the hand movements in absentminded fascination, her thoughts actually focused on the fact that she had not seen Jason in two weeks. She had been trying to analyze if the separation meant anything, but had only succeeded to making herself anxious and irritable. She grabbed a carrot and, munching it, went to have a look at the roast in the oven. Leah frowned as she noticed that it was cooking too fast, but refrained from mentioning it. She and Gail were spending far too much time lately dickering over nonsense. Leah had come to believe that the less said about anything, the better. She nonetheless turned the oven temperature down and went back to her chair at the table. The preparations were for dinner with Allen and two of his co-workers. Leah had offered to help with the cooking, but the offer had been brusquely declined.
