127722.fb2
: I’m so sorry. I’ve been kind of shaky lately.
EMMA
: It’s all right. It’s probably all that static shock.
HAYNES
: Well, no—it’s not that so much. It’s just a whole accumulation of things.
EMMA
: (
cleaning up
) Well, don’t worry.
HAYNES
: Things piling up.
EMMA
: I understand.
HAYNES
: That’s why I thought it would be good to get away for a while. Come out here and—just get away.
EMMA
: Sure.
HAYNES
: I hope you don’t mind. I mean—
EMMA
: It’s fine. Really. Wisconsin is the perfect getaway. Nothing ever happens here. People have been coming here for a hundred years because nothing ever happens. Every once in a while someone falls through the ice or gets beheaded on their snowmobile, but other than that—
HAYNES
: Beheaded?
EMMA
: On their snowmobile. You know—going so darn fast they don’t see the barbed-wire fence and—(
draws a line across her neck
)
HAYNES
: Oh—I’m very sorry about the spill. Is it going to ruin the sofa?
EMMA
: Oh, don’t worry about that. It’s beyond ruin. It’s seen way worse than coffee spills. Premature calves. Afterbirth. Blood all over the place. You can’t wreck it. More coffee?
HAYNES
: Yes—well, no—well, yes, I guess I will. Yes.
EMMA
: That’s a yes?
HAYNES
: Yes. Thanks.
EMMA
: Good.
(She gets him another cup of coffee. Pause.)
HAYNES
: How long have you lived out here? You and Frank?
EMMA
: Well, I’ve lived here all my life.
HAYNES
: Oh—a native? I didn’t know that.
EMMA
: Yes. I was born in this house, as a matter of fact. Right in this room. Right on the spot you’re standing, actually.
HAYNES