From Part I, A Rare Find (Thanksgiving in Kansas)

“No plate for Dad. I looked over at his college graduation picture on the buffet. His dark eyes, under heavy brows and set in a young, smooth face, stared fixedly into a future now spent. ‘Just look at that handsome rascal,’ my mother liked to say, as she gazed at the picture. ‘Is there any wonder why I married him?'”