Saving Water in a Drought

By Carolyn White

The ranch guest—I think her name was Millicent—stared at me with her mouth open. Her jaw grazed the elegant silk scarf that was draped around her neck. “The what?” she asked, wrinkling her nose.

“The outhouse,” I repeated. “We’re in the middle of a drought. It will help if everyone uses it. At least during the day,” I added hastily.      

Millicent, who’d flown to Idaho from Boston, made a snorting sound. “I don’t think so,” she replied firmly, squaring her shoulders.    

“Would you rather run out of water in the middle of a shower?”

Unable to come up with a response, she spun and went searching for her husband.