blame pretty. Honey, it’s just like medicine to me,” he continued, “to lie here, quiet like this, with the lights low, and have my dear girl play those old, old tunes. My old governor, Laura, used to play that ‘Open the Lattice to me,’ that and ‘Father, oh, Father, Come Home with me Now’⁠—used to play ’em on his fiddle.” His arm under his head, he went on, looking vaguely at the opposite wall. “Lord love me, I can see that kitchen in the old farmhouse as plain! The walls were just logs and plaster, and there were upright supports in each corner, where we used to measure our heights⁠—we children. And the fireplace was there,” he added, gesturing with his arm, “and there was the wood box, and over here was an old kind of dresser with drawers, and the torty-shell cat always had her kittens under there. Honey, I was happy then. Of course I’ve got you now, and that’s all the difference in the world. But you’re the only thing that does make a difference. We’ve got a fine place and a mint of money I suppose⁠—and I’m proud of it. But I don’t know.⁠ ⁠… If they’d let me be and put us two⁠—just you and me⁠—back in the old house with the bare floors and the rawhide chairs and the shuck beds, I guess we’d manage. If you’re happy, you’re happy; that’s about the size of it.

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