She woke up as thirsty as she'd ever been, her mouth as dry as sandpaper. Where was she? She didn't recognize this room, so small, dark, and dank. One small window adorned the room on the far wall, away from the bed. The window had no covering on it and the Sun from the east made an awful glare on her face. She sat up in bed and with a lurch to her stomach realized she had a hangover. She also realized she was naked and, embarrassed by being unclothed in a strange room, she clasped the strange sheets and blankets to her chest and cried. What had she done?
She'd gotten married last night, that's what she'd done. This must be Norman's bedroom. They'd drunk a lot of wine at dinner afterwards, she realized, not even remembering the walk home -- to Norman's home. Her home, now? Could it be otherwise? She saw a robe strewn across the bottom of the bed -- green, wool, very heavy for the cold March days. She didn't recognize it. It must be Mrs. Balmoral's. Norman's mother. Was she in the house now? She grabbed for the robe and put it on, zipping it to the collar and breathing a sigh of modest relief. She went to the window -- looked out, saw the backs of two two houses fifteen feet away, one red-bricked, one gray-bricked. Each had bedroom windows parallel to her tiny peekhole of a window. A toothless lady with wild gray hair stared out the window. Agnes darted away from the window, sure she'd been spotted.
She didn't feel well, walking back to the bed, dizzy and unsteady on her feet. She sat down on the bed and knew she would be sick. Of course, she'd be sick. She'd been sick every morning now for nearly two weeks. That was the price for getting pregnant. And now she was married to the father of her baby. And now she was living in his house -- his three rooms above his parents' pharmacy in West Philadelphia. So that's where she was. Of course! She heard plates and pots clanging outside her door. That must be Norman's mother. And with a lurch, her stomach seized her and she vomited right onto her new mother-in-law's robe.
Where was Norman on the morning after their wedding? Why had he disappeared?
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