“So what, now she’s queen of camp?”
Audra’s face changed.
Reed stepped closer.
“This isn't about her being queen.”
“It’s about you deciding a woman feeding you, working beside you, and asking nothing from you still deserves contempt because of the size of her body.”
Boyd looked toward others.
“None of you think it?”
Nobody answered.
That silence was not agreement.
Boyd mistook it anyway.
“You're all saints now?”
Jasper spoke first.
“No.”
Boyd looked.
Jasper shrugged.
“I thought she’d last a week.”
Audra stared.
Jasper looked embarrassed.
“I did.”
“I’m sorry.”
Saul lifted one hand.
“Same.”
Another man from doorway:
“Me too.”
Finn:
“Christmas.”
Audra almost laughed.
Boyd stared.
Jasper continued:
“Difference is, she proved I was an idiot and I adjusted.”
Audra immediately looked at him.
“Careful.”
Jasper frowned.
“What?”
“I did not have to prove my worth to you.”
His face fell.
Then he nodded.
“You're right.”
“That’s what I mean.”
He corrected:
“I was an idiot before you cooked anything.”
Audra smiled faintly.
“Better.”
Boyd looked around room.
Something shifted in his face.
For one second Audra saw shame.
Then pride closed over it.
He grabbed the telegram.
“Fine.”
He walked out.
The door slammed.
For several seconds nobody moved.
Then Audra picked up the butcher knife.
Reed watched.
“You okay?”
“No.”
The honesty surprised everyone.
Audra looked at meat.
“My hands are shaking.”
She set knife down again.
Jasper stepped toward table.
“What can I do?”
She pointed.
“Finish potatoes.”
He nodded.
Saul:
“Me?”
“Onions.”
Finn:
“I can—”
“You can stop stealing pastry.”
He looked offended.
“That seems unrelated.”
The room slowly began moving again.
Reed remained.
Audra looked toward him.
“What?”
“I should have stopped him sooner.”
“You stopped him when he said it.”
“I mean before.”
She frowned.
“Before what?”
“I’ve heard the way he talks.”
“Not about you.”
“About other people.”
Audra studied him.
“That sounds like your problem to solve.”
“Yes.”
He nodded once.
Then stepped back.
Audra said:
“Reed.”
He paused.
“Thank you.”
He did not make a speech.
Simply:
“You’re welcome.”
Then he left.