January 7, 2024:
"After all," she sneered, in her habitual tone of sarcastic superiority. "We don't have our own well."
In as neutral a tone as he could summon he replied, "Actually, we do. That's the big green tank standing next to the driveway. An electric pump fills that tank from the well underneath. Then gravity feeds water from the tank into the house."
Weeks later she wept, saying, "You make me feel stupid." Even then, after months of nearly nonstop verbal aggression, his heart went out to her.