Jud

Jud woke up, the bed colder than usual, especially for summer. Without even opening his eyes, he could tell that the bed was empty. It was the first time his bed had been empty in over a year, and it felt unspeakably wrong. He sat up, seeing no trace of Laurey. Her brushes and hair bows were gone from her little nightstand, and a quick glance told him that her side of the dresser was empty. Even the hot water bottle was gone.

"Laurey? Laurey?" Heart pounding, he threw on his clothes and ran downstairs, sighing in relief when he saw her. "There you are, I was worried, I…"

The gratitude he felt at finding her was replaced by a sense of fear, a fear he couldn't disguise in his voice. She stood in the kitchen, her parents' old leather trunk by her side. "I was gonna wake you if you slept much longer" she said, as if that were any explanation. The way she pointedly avoided his eyes made him doubt she was even telling the truth.

He walked down the rest of the stairs until he was standing with her. "You, uh, you goin' someplace?" There was probably some reasonable explanation. Some trip she was taking that he'd forgotten about, probably had some friends or kin to visit, and he wasn't invited because he had to take care of the farm.

"I'm goin' to Kansas City for a while."

"How long?" He felt dizzy, knowing what her answer was going to be.

"Dunno just yet. Couple months, maybe. Might—might stay there. 'f I can get a job. Could be a teacher or work in a store. Aunt Eller gave me some money, and I got a place to stay for a while." She fished a piece of paper out of her pocket. "Here's the address. It's a hotel for ladies, so I'll be safe. You can write me."

He took the slip of paper and put it in his pocket, not bothering to look at it. "You don't have to go. Please don't go, I can leave, no one'd think it was strange if I took off. You could tell them whatever you wanted, but you shouldn't have to leave."

"You don't understand; I want to go, Jud. I wanna see new places, be on my own a while."

He turned away, unable to look at her. "I'll be back down. Wait for me."

Once he was in their room, out of earshot, he slammed his fist into his hand. He knew it would happen, knew she would leave him, it was inevitable. No love that started off that way could survive. But he was still caught by surprise, wished he could have prepared somehow, wished he could have told her he loved her more often or done more things for her or hired El Gallo again to—no. Before he could let himself think about everything he'd done wrong, he grabbed the small bag in the bedside drawer and went back downstairs.

"Here" he thrust his hand out.

"I can't take your money. You saved that."

"It's yours. Saved it for you to buy things."

"Jud, no, I don't feel right about that."

"Just take it!" Anger overtaking him, he shoved it closer to her startled face. Leaving him was one thing, but he wouldn't let her reject his money like that; she was his wife, and so she was going to buy herself things with the money he made for her. She complied, slipping the bag into her duffel, since her trunk was no longer in the kitchen.

Embarrassed by his outburst, he tried to soften his facial expression. "You, uh, takin' the cat?"

"Nah, he always liked you better anyhow. Take care of him for me?"

"Yeah. 'Course."

"Left you the books, too. Keep up with your readin', okay?"

"Yeah, I-I will. When's your train?"

"Hour-fifteen minutes. Aunt Eller's packin' up the wagon, so we're gonna leave soon as…soon as you and me say goodbye, I guess."

"No, I'm takin' you to the station."

"You don't have to."

"It's what husbands do."

She hesitated, fear flickering across her eyes, then she nodded. "That's fine." They walked outside, Aunt Eller staring at him in that suspicious way he was used to.

"Jud's takin' me to the station."

"You sure? 'Cause I'm happy to take you, it really ain't no kinda trouble."

"I'll be alright." Laurey reassured her, before climbing into the cart. Jud got in beside her, and they started off.

"She thought I was gonna hurt you. Aunt Eller, I mean." Jud pointed out

"She don't know what kind of man you are." She slipped her hand in his. "But I know. And I know I'm safe."