Landine

Landine was asleep with some covers fallen off.Her skin was chilled in that strange way of sleepers, in that oblivion that prevents the simplest solution to the plainest need.She was dreaming of a parade. She sat on a float in driving rain in a flimsy gown held down to a bench of roses by sewing pins.She seemed to have been somehow stitched into the display, a maze of flowers and girls, where not all were visible to the crowds, as they would have been on a real float on a real day.As Milo woke up and tossed the blankets back over her, she dreamed of the sun bursting out. Its' heat caused the girls and flowers on the float to swoon with relief.

Her eyes opened with her nose still below the blanket. Milo was heating water and rolling up his long johns, just about to soak his feet. He was going about his business, and she was peeking at him. Well she knew he wouldn't lie back down once he was up. Her best bet was to get up and start acting productive, doing the chores, while still wearing nothing but a her nightgown. Of course, she then might herself realize that the things of the day were calling. For this cabin not to look like a robbers den of iniquity, she'd have to work steadily 'til afternoon. It looked like it might be a good day to air things out, like the winter was giving a little. The thaw was seeping through. She'd feel like a queen by noon. The cabin would be straitened up and the sun would be streaming in.