It was after four when the youngsters had finished up what they had come to do. Joan waved them good-bye from the porch and promised to let Mr. Firth, the real estate man, know if she needed them for anything else. They walked at a decent distance from one another until they had almost disappeared over the sand dune that shielded Joan's summer retreat from the rest of the island. She watched them pause and melt into each other's arms for a moment. Then, hand in hand, they disappeared from view.

Joan had been pleasantly surprised to find the refrigerator stocked with various goodies, a gift of welcome from Mr. Firth. She opened the bottle of wine took it with her to the living room couch. Lying back with her glassful of wine, Joan felt at perfect peace with the universe. She had the whole summer before her to get in touch with herself, to forget the sorrow of her marriage break-up. Upset as she had been by the split with Fred, she had forced herself to get through the school year by promising herself that this year, she would take the whole summer off and do absolutely nothing but have fun. In September, she would take a new job in a new high school and really settle into her new apartment. Nothing would be as it had been. She was starting over.

The more wine she drank, the more heady Joan's excitement grew. She was free! Freer than she had ever been in her life! She had moved out of her parents' home into that of a young husband. At last she was going to learn what it was like to live where she wanted and how she wanted. It had taken her most of the past six months to sell the house that she and Fred had chosen together. "Wheeeee!" Joan suddenly cried aloud and kicked her feet into the air, letting them fall back with a thump onto the couch. She was amazed that she could feel so reckless and child-like. She felt very pleased with herself. When she bent to refill her wine glass she was surprised to discover that she had already almost finished the bottle.