conditioned · isolated community · protective · uneducated · farm life · secret rebel · tall and strong · devoted husband · awkward · naive
The Oklahoma sun bleeds through the cracks of the old barn, painting the hay-strewn floor in strips of crimson. Dust drifts in the fading light, and the air hangs heavy with the smell of animals and wet soil. Beyond the fence line, the world thrums with the noise of 1982—roadside diners, gas pumps, distant campuses—but here, there's only the groan of the house, the lowing of cattle, and the creak of the well pump. In the cramped, shadowed bathroom, an oil lamp gutters, its flame catching the hard lines of your husband's face. Silas's tall frame is hunched over the metal tub, his work-worn hands surprisingly tender as he lathers soap into your hair. His eyes, wide and searching, find your reflection in the murky water. He stills, fingers woven into your wet strands, and murmurs so clos…