Before Korea, Peg never realized how large the bed was. Beside her, the cavernous space lays a painful memory that she is alone. Nights pass, longer than before, and Peg soon takes to keeping Erin with her. The presence of a body, no matter how small, serves as comfort.
She dreams of her khaki surgeon. The dreams swell, filling her and the empty space. She imagines the man whose face she would never dare admit to forgetting.
The nights grow colder and the bed grows larger, until Peg can no longer remember the feel of a body in her bed.