Dear Dusty,
No sooner had I dropped the last letter to you in the mail box had I received a call from my boss on my cell phone. The current head of our homeland terrorism unit slipped on an ice cube and broke his hip. To make a long story short, I have been given the job until he recovers, with the added bonus that I'll be his assistant when he is able to come back.
The good news is that I'll be remaining in town. The bad news is that I'll be out of the unit of conforming those like my lovely Dusty who harbor undomesticated animals, so I won't be able to assist your friends.
I would like to see you again and I will call on you soon.
Affectionately,
Augusta
Dusty was overjoyed to say the least. What had appeared to be a tragedy was now a wish come true. She went back to the house and decided to prepare herself for Augusta's return.
First she decided to iron her clothes. This was a little difficult without electricity, but she built a fire in the fireplace and heated up the iron. It worked fairly well except it left some odd soot shapes on her white blouse.
Next she decide to wash up. She had a pail of rain water that she had collected and a bar of coat saved from when Softy used to do a lot of traveling. She scrubbed her hands and face, but left one finger dirty so that her friends would recognize her.
Then see went back to her waiting routine: pacing, sleeping, dreaming, and then meditating. When would Augusta come? What would it be like to see him now that she had decided to give him her heart?
