Maggie lay awake for a long time as well, alternating between feeling bad for how she was treating her husband and feeling that he deserved worse. Eventually she fell asleep.

She awoke when the clock struck five and got up quickly. The children were still quiet for the moment, not more than a few blissful minutes, she supposed. In the dark, she quickly and expertly put on her clothes, before making her way downstairs. She began to clean the cooking range, so that she could get a fire started.