Chapter 7
Conversation in front of the preacher's house caused Melinda to look out her window. In the gathering dusk of evening, a group consisting of two men in overalls and three women in plain cotton dresses approached the front door.
Perkins answered their knock. Moments later Melinda heard the callers talking to Perkins in his living room, but she couldn't make out what was said.
After the group had departed, a knock sounded at Melinda's door. She opened it to face Perkins and his wife, wearing stern expressions.
"I'll attend to this, Sarah," the preacher announced. "You go see to the dinner dishes."
"Be firm with her, Clem," his plump wife admonished. "I'll have no perverts living in my house."
Melinda caught her breath, and a sickening dread came over her.
"Yes, dear," Perkins said dutifully to his wife.
"Now run along."
He entered Melinda's room and closed the door behind him. His dark eyes glinted in his scrawny face, and he worked his lips thoughtfully as he studied Melinda.
"Those people who were just here ..." he began, "no doubt you saw them through your window."
"Yes. What did they want?" Melinda's voice quavered tensely.
"They had a shocking story to relate. It concerned your visit to Lucy Banes yesterday."
"What they said was a lie," Melinda declared too quickly.
The preacher took a flask from his hip pocket and sat down, spreading his long legs across the rug. He uncorked the bottle and tilted it to his lips.
"That woman told me what she was going to say," Melinda explained. "But there's no truth to it. I didn't seduce her."
"Care for a drink, my dear?" Perkins asked, offering the bottle.
"Certainly not."
"Well, you needn't be snooty about it." Perkins's eyes swept over her. "You're in real trouble now. Lucy's story might explain a number of things--such as the cold way you've treated me, for instance."
He took another drink and kept the uncorked bottle in his hand.
"All right!" Melinda exclaimed. She continued to stand and look down at the preacher. "I'll tell you exactly what happened at Lucy's house. There's no reason why I should protect her now that she's trying to ruin me."
"By all means, my dear. Tell me everything." Perkins chuckled lewdly and took another sip from his flask.
Melinda backed up and sat on the edge of the bed. Her short skirt crawled high on her thighs, but she kept her knees primly together. The preacher's evil eyes caressed her golden legs.
"I went over to the Banes house," Melinda began, "to talk with Jasper's parents about his deplorable conduct in school. Mr. Banes was drunk. When I tried to talk with him, he insulted me and stomped out. Lucy Banes seemed nice. At least, she was friendly. She invited me into the house and we talked."
Perkins was watching Melinda closely. She noted that his eyes had clouded a bit and his cheeks were becoming flushed. He took another drink.
"Lucy told me about her troubles," Melinda continued. "She must have gotten the idea from the way I had talked to her husband, and the way I'd handled the men who came to the schoolhouse the other day, that I didn't like men. Anyway, she made a pass at me. I was so shocked that I. . . well, I couldn't seem to do anything to stop her. She pushed me over onto the bed."
Perkins chortled. He was enjoying the story a great deal.
"She pulled my skirt up," Melinda went on, "and before I knew what was happening, she had taken off all my clothes."
The preacher laughed loudly. "Oh, my dear, you tell a delightful lie."
"I'm not lying!" Melinda said vehemently. "This is the truth. Lucy Banes forced herself on me. And I didn't enjoy it! When I told her that, she got angry and said she was going to tell her husband I tried to make her commit an unnatural act. I guess she was afraid I would tell someone the truth."
Perkins tilted his bottle again. He wiped his thin lips as he brought it down.
"Perhaps you are telling the truth," he said slowly. "I'm willing to accept it. But the rest of the town won't, unless I tell them to." His tongue was thick, and he started slurring his words. "If you want me to do that, little lady, you are going to have to be very nice to me. I believe you know what I mean."
The preacher stood and swayed drunkenly. He lifted the bottle again and drained it.
Melinda was afraid of him. She cast a quick glance at the door and tried to estimate whether she could get past him to reach it. Perkins dropped his empty bottle on the rug and laughed as it rolled away.
"The townspeople want me to eject you from my house," Perkins said, approaching Melinda unsteadily. "Sarah insists on the same thing. You heard her. But I still like you, provided you're really not queer and will prove it to me." He smirked. "I can convince the townsfolk. I could make them eat shit out of my hand."
Melinda was appalled. She began to edge along the bed. As Perkins lunged, Melinda sprang to her feet and tried to run for the door. But the wiry preacher grasped her arm in an iron-like grip and spun her around, pitching her headlong across the bed. He dropped onto the mattress beside her.
"You won't scream," he whispered urgently. "You know that would make matters worse for you." He twisted her onto her back.
Melinda stared at his whiskey-flushed face. His eyes were hot with lust. The frightened girl reluctantly decided that the moment had come when she would have to give in to Perkins's lascivious demands. If she were to fight him off, he would be convinced that the lies about her were true. He would have little interest in her after that and would throw her out in order to appease the townspeople. Melinda felt she couldn't permit herself to be forced out of town, especially now that she had good reasons for staying.
"Let me fuck you, my precious child," Perkins said huskily, his breath saturated with alcohol. He ran his hand across Melinda's breasts and down over her belly.
"All right," she murmured, closing her eyes. She was overwhelmed by revulsion.
An insane gurgle escaped the preacher's lips, and he began feverishly to remove Melinda's clothing. She kept her eyes closed and fought the urge to shudder as his lewd hands moved over her.
Oh, Ed. . . Ed! she thought. Please forgive me.
When Melinda was stripped to bra and panties, Perkins drew her to a sitting position. Her eyes remained closed, and her head lolled. She felt Perkins's fingers clawing at the clasp of her brassiere, finally fumbling it open, then pulling the bra away.
"What marvelous titties!" he husked, gassing her with his foul breath. "So fresh and firm!" His bony hands surrounded the satiny, thrusting orbs and squeezed them hard.
Melinda felt no excitement. The pressure only hurt. "Please ..." she murmured helplessly.
Perkins bent his bald head and caught a jutting pink nipple between his lips. He chewed and tugged on the rubbery nub. Melinda gasped. His hand punished her other shapely young boob.
Perkins raised his head and swayed, jostling Melinda and pitching her onto her back. Her eyes popped open. Perkins's eyes were very glassy, and Melinda realized that he was terribly drunk. She concluded that he must have been hitting the bottle all day.
The lascivious preacher caught the elastic waistband of Melinda's delicate pants, and stripped the silken garment down.
"So blonde and beautiful!" he wheezed as he stared at her defenseless pussy.
Get it over with, damn you! Melinda thought.
Perkins lifted her panties to his face and breathed in their erotic fragrance. He took the crotch of the dainty garment in his mouth. Melinda shut her eyes against the obscene spectacle.
Perkins pushed her legs wide apart.
"So lovely ... lovely ..." he husked.
He leaned forward to kiss her between the legs. Suddenly he gave a groan and became a limp weight against Melinda's belly.
She sat up and looked at him. He wasn't moving. But he wasn't dead. Melinda felt his deep, even breaths tickling her skin.
Tensing herself, she slowly slid out from under the repulsive man, and he collapsed against the bed. Filled with gratitude over her sudden good fortune, Melinda hurried about, gathering her clothes and putting them on. When she was fully dressed, she checked her appearance in the dresser mirror. A few swipes of a comb through her honey-blonde hair made her presentable.
She walked to the door, opened it, and called, "Mrs. Perkins! Will you come here, please?"
The frowning little woman appeared from the kitchen.
"Mrs. Perkins, I'm afraid your husband passed out while we were talking. Will you help me carry him out of my room?"
Sarah didn't seem surprised, doubtless because the preacher frequently drank himself into oblivion. "I'll get Matt," she said.
In a few moments she reappeared with the youth. He glanced at Melinda appraisingly but said nothing as he edged past her and entered her bedroom. Sarah followed, giving Melinda a stony look.
Matt turned his father over. Sarah lifted the preacher's feet while Matt took hold under his armpits. Together they carried the lanky man from the room.
Melinda immediately shut her door and breathed a heartfelt sigh. She wasn't concerned about Perkins returning that night. From the way he had looked, she knew he wouldn't regain consciousness until morning.
But Melinda knew she would likely face a recurrence of his evil lust tomorrow. He probably wouldn't be as drunk then, she feared, and there would be nothing to save her from submitting to him. With a feeling of bitter resignation, she prepared for bed.
The next morning, at breakfast, Perkins seemed as alert as ever. He watched Melinda constantly, a glimmer in his beady eyes. Melinda's skin crawled as she thought about what he had in mind for her.
Since it was Saturday and there was no school, Melinda could have remained at home. But that would have made her a sitting duck for Perkins, and she decided to get away, even if it meant going to the schoolhouse on her day off. She could use the time to catch up on her reading.
She entertained a hope, though she realized it was a slender one, that Perkins might be well-soused again by evening and she might again be saved by his overindulgence.
Just as Melinda was leaving the house, two paperback books in her hand, Ed's pickup truck came up the hill and pulled to a stop. Overjoyed, Melinda ran to him.
Ed grinned. "Got any plans for the day?"
Melinda returned his smile. "Not a one."
"Then get in. I'd like to show you my farm."
Happily she climbed into the truck beside Ed. He turned it around and they moved down the hill to the main road. Though Melinda was sitting close to him, Ed made no move to kiss her, and she wondered why.
They drove up the road for about a mile, then turned onto an even narrower way, which was hardly more than a pair of tire tracks. As soon as they were out of sight of the main road, Ed stopped the truck. Letting the motor idle, he wrapped his arms around Melinda.
"I didn't figure it would be a good idea to let the townsfolk see us smooching," he said, then gave her a passionate kiss.
Melinda stroked her tongue against his, and her hand moved naturally to Ed's lap. She fondled his prick through his jeans, coaxing it to hardness. Ed's hand lit between her bare thighs and scooted up between them. He gently pinched and fondled the warm lips of Melinda's pussy through her thin pants.
"Oh, darling, I want to go to bed with you right now!" she exclaimed. "Isn't that awful of me?"
"The hell it is," Ed said. "It's the way you ought to feel, seeing as how we love each other."
"Say it again. Say you love me."
"I love you, Melinda."
She couldn't doubt his sincerity, and she felt like the luckiest girl in the world as she pressed her lips to his. Her tongue slid eagerly into Ed's mouth and he sucked it as he fingered her panty crotch aside and teased her hair-bordered slit with the tips of his fingers.
"Is your brother at home?" Melinda asked breathlessly as she broke the kiss.
"Yeah. But he's out working in the fields."
"That's good," Melinda said. "Then we can fuck as soon as we get to your house." She felt shameless, but sublimely happy.
Ed chuckled. "You've turned into a great little fuck-bunny, you know that?"
"I want to be your fuck-bunny forever," she said.
Ed resumed driving, moving the pickup faster than before. He kept his right hand on Melinda's warm box, caressing it through her panties. She held the sizable lump at his crotch, every once in a while giving it a little squeeze.
The road wound through the woods, passing several clearings where corn grew. Ed removed his hand from Melinda's cunt to wave at a farmer in straw hat and overalls. The white-bearded man waved back.
"My place is just ahead," Ed told Melinda, replacing his hand between her thighs. "Don't expect too much."
"I know I'll like it," she said, smiling, "because it's yours."
They rounded a bald, rocky knob and looked out over a small valley where several farms were clustered.
"There it is," Ed said, pointing.
It was the second place on the right. The house was modest but recently painted a pale yellow. The grounds were neatly kept. A large barn was located not far from the house. Behind it, long rows of corn sparkled bright green in the morning light. Next to the corn, a sizable field was devoted to smaller plants. A youth was driving a mule between the rows, cultivating. The boy was too far away for Melinda to see him clearly.
Ed turned the truck into his driveway and brought it to a stop in front of the house. Ed and Melinda hurried inside. The living room was cheaply furnished but clean. There was a thin rug on the floor, a simple sofa, and two upholstered chairs which were worn but serviceable. An open doorway led into a kitchen where a wood-burning stove could be seen. Another door stood open, and Melinda assumed it led to the bedroom. A coal oil lamp stood on the living room mantle above a stone fireplace.
Ed drew Melinda into his arms and they shared another soulful kiss. Their tongues made love liquidly while his hands moved up and down her back and sides. Melinda was waiting for him to pull her skirt up, and Ed didn't disappoint her. He drew her skirt waist high and filled his hands with the spongy, panty-sheathed cheeks of her bottom.
Melinda slid her mouth off his and moved it moistly to his ear. "Ooh, darling . . . darling ..." she breathed. "I love you so much!"
She writhed pleasurably against him as he rolled and patted her pliant ass. Ed's cock pressed urgently against her belly. She could hardly wait to get his rigid prick inside her, hoping this would wipe out the memory of Preacher Perkins's lascivious mauling last night and make her better able to face a renewed threat from him if need be.
Ed was as anxious as she. He swept her up in his arms, holding the bare backs of her thighs as her short skirt bunched at her middle. He glanced down at the white triangle of her sleek panties, where her thighs met her belly.
Laughing, Ed carried Melinda into the bedroom and placed her on a twin bed. She didn't bother to push her skirt down as he stood beside the bed and began removing his clothes. Melinda's snowy briefs were opaque, but they clung with revealing snugness to the ripe curve at the base of her belly. A bit of the nylon was caught in the crack of her ass. Ed's eyes remained on her all the time, and a smile of anticipation lighted his face.
When he removed his undershorts, his virile cock sprang up, revealing the fine large balls at its base, brown hairs curling around them.
"I like to look at you with your pants off," Melinda blurted. "Is that a shocking thing to say?"
"It sounds great to me," Ed told her, grinning, and moved to climb onto the bed.
But Melinda stopped him by reaching out and grasping his upthrust prick. She propped herself on an elbow as she drew him to her face.
"I want a taste of this," she said boldly.
Ed thrilled as he watched her tilt his cock slightly downward and take the end of it into her warm, moist mouth. Melinda gave his prick a suck with the foreskin still sheathing the glans. But when she failed to derive the full burst of flavor she had expected, she widened her lips and used her hand to slide the foreskin back. Her saliva bathed the naked head of Ed's cock as she fastened her lips behind its rim, sucking eagerly.
Ed groaned and caressed Melinda's soft golden hair while she fellated him, bobbing her head a bit but mostly just licking his meaty glans and contracting her lips rhythmically behind the head. Melinda loved the flavor of his big, juicy dick. As she enjoyed it to her heart's content, she marveled over the change that had taken place in her: With Harry she had considered sucking to be a sin and highly unappetizing, and she had refused to do it or let him do it to her; but with Ed it seemed like the most natural, and certainly one of the most enjoyable activities in the world.
You 're a cocksucker, girl! Melinda thought, and laughed inwardly as she went on enjoying Ed's delicious lollipop. With him she felt wonderfully free. Everything was right; there was no reservations.
Again Ed had to be the one to halt the fellatio in order to save himself. He gently eased Melinda backward, and his cock bobbed free. He dropped to his knees on the bed and opened the buttons which ran down the front of Melinda's dress. After unbuttoning her to the waist, he stretched out beside her and gave her a kiss on the mouth, while running his hand inside her dress, petting her breasts through her snug brassiere.
Their mouths fused hotly, tongues circling and gliding. Melinda clamped her thighs around one of Ed's naked legs and rubbed the crotch of her panties against him. Her clitoris tingled wildly.
If he doesn't fuck me pretty soon, she thought, I'm going to die!
Ed released her and backed up. Melinda helped him pull her dress off. She sat up and removed her bra, letting her lovely tits fall into his open hands. He squeezed and rolled the firm, pliant mounds, sending glorious sensations rushing through her.
"Your hands are wonderful!" she exclaimed. "Oh, I love every part of you!"
To emphasize the point, she grasped his upthrust cock again. As she squeezed the thick shaft, a drop of clear lubricant oozed out of its tip. Melinda quickly bent and swiped her caressing tongue over the rosy crown, licking up the juice.
"Baby, let me take your pants off," Ed husked, and grasped the thin elastic band which crossed her gently curved belly.
Melinda lay back as Ed pulled her panties down. He lifted her shapely legs in the air as he took the cute garment away. When her legs dropped, Melinda moved them wide apart, keeping her knees steepled. The outer, hair-adorned lips of her pussy parted, and the pale-pink inner labia were unfurled. The tempting flesh was awash with the love-juice she had generated.
Ed bowed, sticking out his tongue, and slurped up a taste of her luscious nectar. He stretched her cunt even wider and looked at her red-rimmed, inviting hole. Ed inserted his tongue into the delightful passage and pressed his face fully against her crotch. As her pubic hair tickled his nose, he wormed his tongue deeper into her cunt, thrilling Melinda so intensely that she feared she was about to climax.
But she didn't want to climax with him this way. She wanted his strong shaft deep in her pussy, linking their bodies in the most meaningful sense.
"Hurry, darling!" Melinda implored. "Take me!"
Ed raised his smiling face, and his mouth gleamed with her honey. "If you're so anxious," he teased, "why don't you get on top of me this time?"
"I'd like to," Melinda said.
Anticipating the new thrill, she waited while Ed stretched out on his back, his erection swaying. He guided Melinda astride him, and she held the base of his rigid cock, pointing its head into her moist slit. The bulging glans stretched the mouth of Melinda's pussy, and she gasped pleasurably as the fist-like knob sank deeper and deeper into her while she slowly let herself down. When she came to rest against Ed's loins, she felt utterly stuffed by him. His prick was pressing against her womb, and she could feel his balls against the lower edges of her buttocks.
"Now fuck me, baby," Ed said. "Wiggle and squirm all you like."
Harry had never let Melinda get on top of him. He had to be the big man always, dominating her with his body. She had felt used by him, and that was part of the trouble between them. With Ed there was a mutual giving and receiving.
Melinda sat straight up, straddling Ed's hips, supporting herself on her knees. She gently rotated her prick-packed pussy, causing his hardness to rub all the nerve ends in her cuntal walls and to massage her clitoral tip in a delightful way. Melinda began to raise and lower her crotch as she rotated, and this made the friction even more intense. She leaned forward slightly, pressing her entire clit against Ed's rod. When she fucked him in this position, it was sheer heaven.
It was great for Ed, also. Not only was his bone-hard cock being massaged from root to tip by Melinda's swirling, pumping cunt, but her titties hung suspended directly above his face. He clutched them loosely, pushing them against her body, then letting them drop. He held the smooth, pliant masses around their sides and patted them together, making a soft slapping sound.
"Hey, these are great playthings," he said.
"I love you to play with them," Melinda told him.
She kept grinding her cunt, reveling in the wonderful sensations her lover transmitted to her. Ed pulled one of her titties to his lips, took a moist suck at the projecting pink nipple, then waggled his wet tongue back and forth across it. Each stroke of Ed's flogging tongue gave Melinda added pleasure. She moaned and shook her titty against his mouth, causing her nipple to slap against the tongue that was striking it.
As Melinda squirmed and bounced atop Ed, she discovered she could extend the length of his strokes within her by rising off her knees while leaning on an arm propped against his shoulder. In that way she was able to lift her crotch until his prick nearly popped out of her lathered pussy. She could circle her cunt while holding the fatness of his cockhead between her sensitive labia, then drop quickly, causing his rod to glide all the way up inside her. Melinda did this several times, bringing intense pleasure to them both.
She found it great fun to control the action for a change. As the need moved her, she increased the tempo of her screwing until at last she was wriggling and bobbing like an Oriental dancer gone berserk, her lush tits swaying and leaping before Ed's eyes. He jabbed upward into her swirling, stroking vagina. She cried out. Again. Then suddenly a blissful burst of warmth spread through Melinda, and Ed's lust geysered hotly in her cunt.
She lay fully forward against him, and Ed wrapped his arms around her. Without warning, he rolled her over onto her back while his cock remained sunk in her pussy. Ed loomed above her, grinning.
"This time I'm not going to let you go so quick," he explained.
"What if your little brother comes in?" Melinda asked.
"Then I reckon he'll get an eyeful of us screwing."
"Oh, Ed! That would be awful."
"It wouldn't be so bad," Ed replied. "Andy's old enough to get wised up. But don't worry. I told him I was fixing to have a friend over. I didn't mention your name, of course, but Andy figured I was talking about a girl. He'll stay out in the field until I give him the high sign."
Melinda was vexed. "You mean, Andy's used to having you bring girls here?"
"I haven't exactly been a monk," Ed confessed. "But there won't be any other girls for me from now on, provided you're willing."
Melinda smiled. "Kiss me," she ordered.
Their lips met and clung tenderly. Their tongues began a slow swirling and stroking. The oral stimulation re-stiffened Ed's virile prick, and in moments he was screwing Melinda again.
This session lasted for a long time, yielding deep satisfaction to them both.
When Ed returned Melinda to town, she asked him to drop her at the school. Her purpose was to stay away from Preacher Perkins as long as possible. If she eventually was forced to give in to him, she would be better able to face the ordeal as a result of the time she had spent with Ed. He was the best thing that had ever come into her life. He gave her a sense of security and happiness which not even Perkins or her troubles in the town could dent.
Melinda sat at her desk and began reading a book. After about twenty minutes, a knock sounded at the door.
"Come in," Melinda called.
The door opened and a somber middle-aged woman entered the room. She was followed by a female who was younger and better-looking, but equally serious. She obviously wore no brassiere, and the nipples of her large breasts made dents in the printed fabric of her dress. A third woman with white hair and a weather-beaten face brought up the rear. They advanced on Melinda, forming a semi-circle around her desk.
They could have been part of the delegation that had called on Reverend Perkins the night before. Melinda hadn't been able to make out the features of the callers in the evening gloom. The young teacher braced herself to face a direct demand that she leave town.
"Miss Johnson," began the middle-aged woman, whose graying dark hair was pulled into a shapeless knot, "my name's Clara Tucker. This here's Mary Lou Simmons." She pointed to the younger woman who had blonde braids. The oldest member of the group was introduced as Maud Lackey.
"We've heard the talk about you that's been going around," Clara said bluntly. "The men-folk believe the gossip. Some of the ladies do, too. But we three have our doubts. Lucy Banes has been having a bad time with her mean-mouthing husband. If he's turned her into a man-hater, we wouldn't be surprised."
The other women nodded in agreement.
Melinda was encouraged, but she remained edgy. "I appreciate your confidence in me," she said.
"That ain't really what we came to talk about," the dour-faced woman continued. "Our young'uns told us about the show you put on for them yesterday. I'm talking about that whiskey filtering thing. Know what I mean?"
Melinda beamed. "Yes, I do."
"I lost a growed-up son to bad whiskey last winter," Maud said. "And Clara here-she had her husband get mighty sick."
Clara nodded.
"We'd like to see how that filter gadget works," Mary Lou spoke up. A hesitant smile flitted across her youthful face.
"I'd be happy to show you," Melinda said, quickly getting up. She walked to the table where the components of her experiment were spread out, covered by a plain white sheet.
The visiting women gathered around as Melinda removed the sheet from the array of bottles and jars and the small-scale filtration unit she had constructed. As she readied the various chemicals, she explained what they represented, going into more detail than she had with the children yesterday. Her audience was attentive.
After the demonstration was completed, the women looked at one another. None of them spoke.
"Naturally, you'll have to use your imaginations to understand how this could be adapted to a whiskey still," Melinda said. "But the principle is sound. It will work. If the local whiskey makers were to use it, the lead that's been making your sons and husbands sick wouldn't be in the whiskey any more."
"We'll be going now," Clara announced, still unsmiling. "We're grateful for your time and trouble."
Melinda felt a sinking sensation. They weren't convinced, she concluded. It's because I'm an outsider. They don't trust me.
Mary Lou hesitated as her two friends turned toward the door. She gave Melinda another quick, uneasy smile.
"You know, if I was you," she said in a voice so soft that the others couldn't hear, "I'd do something about all the mean talk that's going around. If it ain't true, you could prove it by screwing a couple of the local guys. They're all blabbermouths. The whole town would know about it mighty soon."
Melinda was startled and didn't quite know what to say. She settled on a simple "thank you" accompanied by a slight smile.
After the women had left, Melinda thought the suggestion over. She appreciated it, in that it indicated someone was concerned about her. That was a small step forward. Also, the idea might work. But feeling about Ed as she did, Melinda knew she wouldn't be able to carry it out.
Screwing the preacher would be the limit to which she was prepared to go. But as she reconsidered that, she questioned whether even it would be necessary. The visit from the three ladies had demonstrated that there were some in the town who doubted the gossip which was being circulated against her. Also, the women had witnessed her filter demonstration, which meant the idea was getting a hearing. That was all Melinda had wanted. If the logic of the demonstration didn't convince the local people, Melinda felt she wouldn't have much of a future in Horner's Hollow, anyway. If the demonstration did convince them, the nasty gossip wouldn't be important.
Melinda decided to stand her ground until she received a definite reaction. As for Perkins, she would wedge a chair under her bedroom doorknob as soon as she got home. If necessary, she could stay holed-up in her room all day tomorrow.
She expected to know by Monday, one way or the other, what the townspeople thought about her scheme to protect their lives. On the basis of the women's attitude as they left, Melinda wasn't hopeful.
If it weren't for Ed, she would have been depressed. Only her love for him gave her the strength to go on.