"Not yet, Elena," he would say when she spoke of marriage. "First, I must finish the new barn. First, I must save enough for the winter cattle. We have time. We are young."
Andrei turned his clouded eyes toward the boy. His voice was a dry rasp, like autumn leaves. Cine-n tinerete n-o iubit destul
He treated his youth as an infinite well, pouring his days into labor and his nights into exhausted sleep, always pushing Elena’s hand away when she reached for him to dance. He thought he was being responsible; he didn't realize he was being hollow. "Not yet, Elena," he would say when she spoke of marriage