Laurey

Her eyes flew open at the sound of thunder, accompanied by a steady beat of rain against the window. Before she could roll over and try to ignore the storm, a lightening bolt illuminated the sky. She shrank back, unable to shake off the image of the burning farmhouse she'd seen in Missouri, one of the many images that would stay with her as long as she lived, one of the things she'd never forget. Another bolt made her back away further from the window, until her body was pressed against Jud's.

"You okay? I know you get scared" he mumbled, his voice hazy with sleep.

"'M fine."

"Lemme hold you."

She hesitated.

"C'mon, it don't mean you forgive me, it'd just be because you're scared."

"Okay." She reasoned that it didn't have to mean anything, that a woman had every right to be held and comforted by her husband when she was frightened. It would be silly not to. She always slept so much better wrapped in his arms; she tossed and turned at night ever since they stopped sleeping like that.

He wrapped his arms around her, and she noticed he was careful to avoid her breasts. She'd almost forgotten how safe she felt in his embrace, how warm and comforting his body was against hers.

"Thank you"

"You're welcome" he chuckled, tightening his grip before they both fell asleep, heedless of the storm outside.

"I don't understand." He put down the book. "Words don't make sense."

"That's alright. It's confusin', I know. D'you wanna…" she struggled to think what to do, briefly wondering how schoolteachers got any teaching done at all. "All right, do you want me to tell you what the story's about before you start readin'? Would that make it easier?" He was advanced enough to read Shakespeare alone, he didn't need her help reading it aloud with him anymore, but he had always enjoyed it before when she'd tell him the story of each play. Telling him beforehand would get him excited, make him less likely to bother her while she was trying to read on her own.

"Yeah, I'd like that." He sat next to her on the sofa, staring at her like he was trying to count her freckles.

"Right, so there's Othello, who's a General, and he secretly got married to Desdemona, even though her father'd get mad about it."

"How come, 'f he's a General?"

"'Cause he's a Moor."

Jud furrowed his eyebrows.

"A Negro"

"There was Negros back then?"

"'Course. Ain't like someone invented them."

He laughed, then leaned back, waiting for her to continue.

"But this other man, Iago, he's mad that Othello didn't make him a Lieutenant. So, he gets Othello to think Desdemona's cheatin' on him with Cassio, the one he did make a Lieutenant."

"Oh, that's terrible" he proclaimed, as though no one had commented on Othello before. "Is it gonna be okay, like in Much Ado About Nothin'?"

"Ain't gonna give it away" she giggled, charmed by his enthusiasm over such an old story. "But, uh, Much Ado was a comedy and this one's a tragedy, so…"

"Don't sound so good."

"You like the tragedies better, though. Reckon you'll like this one, too"

She opened the book and held it out to him. "Here, you can read aloud and I'll help with hard words, or anythin' confusin'."

"Yeah, I'd like that." He struggled over the words and she was the one who looked at him. She knew he wasn't handsome at all, even though she had fooled herself into thinking he was when they were happy. But even now she could recognize there was something attractive about his thick, dark hair, the way his brown eyes seemed to burn when he was concentrating, his big arms, his large hands, his…"

"What's this word?"

"'Arithmetician'? Uh, means he's just good with numbers, not real life things. Hey, wanna go upstairs? Gettin' a little cold."

"I'll put the kettle on. You head on up."

She obliged and got under the covers, scooting to her side of the bed. He opened the door a few minutes later, slipping her hot water bottle under the covers before getting into bed next to her, mindful of the space between them. They mumbled their goodnights, and she drifted into sleep, knowing she'd find her way back to his arms like she had every night the last few weeks.