RUTH—I've taken a holiday in honor of your arrival—from work in the kitchen. [Laughing excitedly.] I feel so free I'd like to have wings and fly over the sea. You're a man. You can't know how awful and stupid it is—cooking and washing dishes all the time.

ANDREW—[Making a wry face.] I can guess.

RUTH—Besides, your mother just insisted on getting your first dinner to home, she's that happy at having you back. You'd think I was planning to poison you the flurried way she shooed me out of the kitchen.

ANDREW—That's just like Ma, bless her!

RUTH—She's missed you terrible. We all have. And you can't deny the farm has, after what I showed you and told you when we was looking over the place this morning.

ANDREW—[With a frown.] Things are run down, that's a fact! It's too darn hard on poor old