Her spoon tapped rapidly against the edge of the coffee cup, the gentle noise almost as constant as the ticking of the clock upon the wall. “I wonder which one it will be,” she said dreamily. Anna glanced up from where she sat on the bench, encouraging Cris Junior to eat his toast. His fever was gone, but he had not yet regained his energy or his appetite. He sat next to her at the kitchen table, his head pressed against his cheek, and shook his head at Anna’s patient attempts. Walter still slept, for which Anna was thankful. With Mary in such a dreamy state, Anna knew that it would fall to her to tend to Walter’s needs when he awoke. “Which one what will be, Mary?” “Not ‘what’! Who!” Mary laughed, a childish sound of delight. “I have no idea what you are talking about,” Anna replied. With a quick rolling of her eyes, Mary leaned forward and said, “Why, which girl has caught Freman’s eye!”
