“Areyoumarried，Howard？“
“No，Mother；andthereain’tanyexcuseforme-notabit，“hesaid，droppingbackintohercolloquialisms。“I’mashamedwhenIthinkofhowlongit’sbeensinceIsawyou。Icouldhavecome。“
“Itdon’tmatternow，“sheinterruptedgently。“It’sthewaythingsgo。Ourboysgrowupandleaveus。“
“Well，comeintosupper，“saidGrant’sungraciousvoicefromthedoorway。“Come，Mother。“
Mrs。McLanemovedwithdifficulty。Howardsprangtoheraid，andleaningonhisarmshewentthroughthelittlesittingroom，whichwasunlighted，outintothekitchen，wherethesuppertablestoodnearthecookstove。