aspinallposc

@@@@@Joe Colleton had dug the hole for the cellar of the first house, but repeated rains made it impossible to pour the concrete foundationsWilkes would smell a rat if I bought lumber before I'm ready to frame," he said reasonably, and Scarlett knew he was rightBut it made the delay no less frustratingMaybe the whole building idea was a mistakeDay after day the newspaper reported more disasters in the business worldThere were soup kitchens and bread lines now in America's big cities because thousands more people lost their jobs every week when companies went bankruptWhy was she risking her money now, at the worst possible time? Why had she made that fool promise to Melly? If only the cold rain would stop And the days would stop getting shorterShe could keep busy in the daytime, but darkness closed her in the empty house with only her thoughts for companionsAnd she didn't want to think, because she could find no answers to anythingHow had she gotten into this mess? She'd never deliberately done anything to turn people against her, why were they all being so hateful? Why was it taking Rhett so long to come home? What could she do to make things better? There had to be something, she couldn't go on forever walking from room to room in the big house like a pea rattling around in an empty washtubShe'd be glad to have Wade and Ella come home to keep her company, but Suellen had written that they were all under quarantine while one child after another went through the long itchy torture of chicken poxShe could take up with the Barts and all their friends againIt didn't matter that she'd called Mamie a sow, her skin was as thick as a brick wallOne reason Scarlett had enjoyed having "the dregs" for friends was that she could use the rough side of her tongue on them any time she liked and they'd always come crawling back for moreI haven't sunk to that level, thank GodI'm not going to go crawling back to them now that I know what low things they areIt's just that it gets dark so early and the nights are so long and I can't sleep like I oughtThings will get better when the rain stops when winter's over when Rhett comes home At last the weather turned to bright, cold, sunny days with high wisps of cloud in brilliant blue skiesColleton pumped the standing water out of the hole he'd dug, and the sharp wind dried the red Georgia clay to the hardness of brickHe ordered concrete then, and lumber to make the forms for casting the footingsScarlett plunged into a celebration of shopping for gift