The knocking from outside the door stopped. Julia walked over, pulled up a chair, and sat down across from Adele Horne. She closed her work laptop and set it aside.
With the laptop put away, Adele had to stop what she was doing. She immediately stood up again, walked to the window, and pushed it open once more. The chilly wind blew in, seeming to freeze the tears on her face into beads of ice.
"Adele," Julia said tenderly as she came up beside her, closing the window again before turning to face her. "What are you doing? In such cold weather, you'll really catch a cold if you keep letting the wind blow on you like this."
"I don't want this child! I want to catch a cold, a severe cold. A severe cold might make me miscarry!" Adele's voice was hoarse, filled with desperation and pain, tears streaming down her face like pearls from a broken string.
