So gradually, she pressed her teeth together and
learned to hush. The spirit of the marriage left the
bedroom and took to living in the parlor. It was there
to shake hands whenever company came to visit, but
it never went back inside the bedroom again. So she
put something in there to represent the spirit like a
Mary image in a church. The bed was no
longer a daisy-field for her and Joe to play in. It was a
place where she went and laid down when she was
sleepy and tired.
She wasn't petal-open anymore with him. She was
married when she knew.
twenty-four and
seven years
The effect of the quotation of the reader?