The Tryst

Return to Harmony Chapter 4

It took them four days to clean and paint their new apartment a mild gray that Uly had on sale, and an hour to move their bed, nightstands, and clothing, using Uly’s pickup truck. They did that on a Saturday morning, then drove to the furniture store in Cartersburg and bought a couch, a recliner and wing chair, two end tables, a coffee table and a kitchen table and chairs, arranging for the delivery later that day. They had a hundred dollars left over, so bought a copy of The Gleaners by Millet, to hang over the couch. Three stooped women working the fields, collecting the stray grain. Sam had wanted a painting of dogs playing poker, but Barbara had said that living over a hardware store was bad enough. Refinement was what they needed, she argued, not dogs playing poker.