3
1 held Peter’s arm and smiled sweetly.
“Donuts are too sweet. Peter says apple
fritters are better, so he got them for me.”
My sister had always been spoiled.
The Johnson family had a lot of people, so
she was in for a hard time.
My sister looked at Peter, then leaned in and
whispered, “Did Peter touch you last night?
He probably didn’t want to, right?”
She pulled down her shirt to show me the
bruises on her neck.
“See, we love each other. You’re just wasting
く
your life!”
1 grabbed Peter and kissed his neck.
“Love isn’t just about that. It’s in our hearts.
Right, honey?”
Peter hugged me tighter and kissed my head.
“My wife is right!”
He glared at my sister.
“Ashley, if you have time to gossip, go help
your mom with the firewood. Now that
Jenny’s married, your family lost a good
worker.”
“My dad works at the store, he makes more
money than you…”
<
I cut her off, “I hope your dad keeps his job,
or your family will be in trouble!”
My sister pointed at me.
“Jenny, you’re shameless!”
She threw the donuts on the ground and
stormed off.
Billy sadly picked up the donuts, using his
shirt to carry them.
On the bus, I didn’t say anything for a long
time.
My sister said Peter didn’t touch me. How did
she know? Maybe Peter didn’t touch her
either?
Was Peter a weirdo? Had he not liked either
of his wives?
Or did he have a secret? Did he not like
women?
I was scared. Was I married to a gay guy?
“Are you okay?” Peter asked, feeling my
forehead.
Before I could answer, he said, “You’re
amazing, Jenny. You can handle Ashley!”
Since he complimented me, I didn’t say
anything.
Back home, Peter’s mom had made dinner.
She was a hundred times better than Billy’s
mom.
Before, on my first day of marriage, Billy’s
mom had me get up before dawn to feed the
pigs.
Even though it was winter and there was no
work, she had me get up at 3 am. She
wouldn’t eat the food, letting it get cold.
She thought she was a rich lady, and I was
her servant.
If I hadn’t been able to make money, she
would have killed me.
Peter’s mom kept giving me food. She said
Peter was quiet and I should be patient with
him.
I nodded and smiled.
After dinner, Peter started building the drying
rack.
He was strong and had a lot of charm.
Before, with Billy, he acted like a rich boy. He
couldn’t even chop wood. I had to do it
myself. It took me a week to build a rack.
But with Peter, he did everything in one night.
I was tired, so I went to bed early.
The next day, we cut firewood.
The day after, Peter was going back to base.
That night, he took out his savings from his
<
bag and gave it to me.
“This is all my money. Use it if you need it.
Put my paychecks into this account. Take
care of my mom.”
His voice was soft, “I know you can take care
of yourself, even without a man.”
My heart sank.
Why was he talking like he was dying?
I teared up.
After thinking, I took out a silver charm.
It had complex patterns.
I gave it to him.
L
“Wear this. I saved an old man who gave it to
- me. He said it would bring good luck.”
That night, I hugged Peter tightly, telling him
to be careful and think of his mom and me.
We waited for him to come home.
Two months later, my sister came with white
flowers and fake money.
She was smiling.
“My dear sister, didn’t you know Peter died? I
came to bring you some burning money!”
Chapter 2
