**The silence in this house is really beginning to get on my nerves. It was never like this when Bill was here.** Frustrated and angry and unsure of how to express it, she empties the laundry hamper on the linoleum of the bathroom. The dirty socks, underwear, and T-shirts cover almost all of the tiny floor. She sorts whites into the machine and takes off her bra and puts it in the sink with the few hand-washables she does herself. The smell of Woollite fills the air. She checks her watch after hanging the clean, wet bras over the shower curtain rod. **It's almost time. I'd better hurry.** Once in the living room, cat curled in her lap, she switches on the TV and calls her children. Seinfeld is one of the few shows they still watch together.