Ellie's children were finished shelling peas and brought them in bowls to the kitchen. The visiting children were fighting again, and the three Eash children watched in amazement.
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"If all you little beasts are going to do is fight," their mother exclaimed, "we are leaving." She grabbed her little boy by the arm none too gently and, leaving scattered toys on the floor, headed for the door.
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"Mommy, I want a drink," begged her little girl.
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"Well, hurry up, then. Where is your faucet?" she asked Ellie.
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"Oh, here, I'll get you a glass. We get the water from the pump here at the kitchen sink."
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"How quaint," Missy remarked again. She filled the glass and handed it to her little girl. The boy decided he wanted it and grabbed it from his little sister's hand. The glass fell to the kitchen floor and shattered.
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"That's it, that's it," Missy said. "We are leaving right now." And with two screaming children, she headed for the car. "My nerves are just shot," she said. "I've got to have a smoke to calm them." She reached into her purse, took out a cigarette, and lit it. "I know you don't approve, Ellie, but trying to cope with these two kids alone is more than I can bear.''
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"Oh, I'm sorry," Ellie said. "I didn't know your husband wasn't living."
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"Oh, he's living, alright," Missy said, "but not with me. He is in the army. He has it easy, I'd say. Well, I'd better be going."
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