Theodore Dreiser in "The Lost Phoebe" wrote:

Old Henry...and his wife Phoebe were a loving couple. You perhaps know how it is with simple natures that fasten themselves like lichens on the stones of circumstance and weather their days to a crumbling conclusion. The great world sounds widely, but it has no call for them...

Old Henry and his wife Phoebe were as fond of each other as it is possible for two old people who have nothing else in this life to be fond of...

Old Henry, who knew his wife would never leave him in any circumstance, used to speculate at times as to what he would do if she were to die. That was the one leaving that he
really feared...






photo by prakhar