Mable fiddled with the hem of her dress as she walked with Francis and listened to him.  He suggested they they talk to each other as if it were the easiest thing in the world, as if Mable hadn't been trying to talk the whole time.  True, they had a lot going on in their life, but when had they not?  The farm was static and lonely, but that didn't make it any less dangerous than where they were now.

"I'll try," she said lightly, not wanting to get in a bad mood again now that she had just started to feel better.  "And you try too.  Talk to him if you can, and maybe then he'll talk to me."