“The soup was kept simmering on the stove. When it grew too thick, I added water and left it to warm. Sister, brother, and I cleaned the water from the floors. We mopped what we could. We dragged dirty clothing through the puddles. We shivered as we worked. We paused often to drink more soup. We finished the pot. I made more soup. We pushed the dining room chairs in, pulled them out, mopped around the couches. We pulled the curtains down to use them as towels. The curtains turned brown upon contact with the water. Sister threw the saturated curtains down the basement stairs. We left all the fabric in large heaps at the bottom.”
