Towards evening we encountered a broad-minded; warmhearted Southern woman who seemed to take to us immediately. It was a stunning place she had to rent; but far beyond our means. Mona; of course; was determined to have it; it was just the sort of place she had always dreamed of living in. The fact that the rent was twice what we had intended to pay didn’t disturb her. I was to leave everything to her—she would “manage” it. The truth is I wanted the place just as much as she did; but I had no illusions about “managing” the rent. I was convinced that if we took it we would be sunk.
