The Sway and Slide of Love

Noelle immediately turned around with panic written all over her face.

Irene narrowed her eyes. "What were you doing outside so late in the night?"

"I-I thought I heard a cat meowing, so I went to check."

"A cat?" Irene frowned. "What's so strange about a few cats in the village?"

Noelle fell silent.

Irene didn't press further, simply telling her to go to bed early before turning and heading back to her own room.

Noelle followed behind her. The window in her room faced the house across the street-the one with the lit window, where Hendrix was staying.

The broken glass in the window had been repaired earlier that day. The warm yellow light shining through matched the glow in her room. Noelle stared at it for a while before finally lying down to sleep.

The night passed quickly.

Irene didn't need much sleep. Before dawn even broke, she had already taken her hoe and headed out to work in the field.

After making her bed, Noelle started preparing breakfast. Just as she was beating some eggs, she heard footsteps coming from outside. They didn't sound like they belonged to Irene.

Noelle paused, then set down the bowl and fork to go investigate. When she saw it was, the hope in her eyes dimmed slightly. But just as quickly, she put on a

smile and said, "Mrs. Hodge, what brings you here?"

"Where's your mom? I need to talk to her." Joanne Cooley's face was expressionless, giving no hint of her mood.

"My mom is out in the fields. Should I go call her back?"

"Yes, go ahead." As Joanne spoke, she had already pulled out a chair and sat

down. Then, she gave Noelle a once-over before pursing her lips.

Noelle didn't know what to make of it but headed outside anyway.

As luck would have it, Irene was already on her way back, and the two met at the end of the street.

Noelle quickly approached. "Mom, Sid's mom is at our house. She wants to talk to you."

"What do you mean 'Sid's mom'? That's your future mother-in-law we're talking about," Irene corrected Noelle but didn't say much else, simply continuing forward with her hoe on her shoulder.

Joanne had been looking around the house. But when she saw Irene return, she straightened up a bit and said, "Hello, Irene."

"Hello, Joanne. How can I help you?" Irene greeted her with a smile and told Noelle to pour some water for their guest.

Joanne, who had been somewhat

uneasy, suddenly gained confidence

saw Irene's friendly

when she's

demeanor. She got straight to the point. Here's the thing, Irene. Before, you told me your daughter had been working out of town and just came back, and I believed you.

"So yesterday, how did a simple trip to get their marriage license end up with them

at the police station?"

"No, Joanne. That was all a misunderstand-"noveldrama

"What misunderstanding? The police don't just arrest people over misunderstandings! And listen. Someone saw it yesterday-did that wild man move in right across from your house? I gotta hand it to you, Irene.

"Your daughter's out there messing around with someone else, and you still have the gall to arrange a marriage with our family? That's just plain wrong! I'm here today to make things clear. We don't want this marriage anymore, so you need to return the wedding gift we gave you!"

Hendrix had only fallen asleep in the early hours of the morning. Although the house had been cleaned up, the dampness and gloom were impossible to get rid of. And every time he closed his eyes, he could swear he heard something scurrying across the ceiling.