On the porch, Papa sat like a penned bull, moaning and snorting as thoughts passed through his mind. I had never seen him so agitated, even worse than yesterday when he told me to leave town and gave me money. Was he thinking of the day that he gave in to my pleadings and told me I could marry Elias, or the day Mama died, or the day I returned home to Elias? As I told people good night, I watched Papa and looked past him at the windows blazing in candlelight, as if the house were on fire.
