Ree stood at the sink rinsing dishes, looking out the window onto the sharp slope of bare trees, looming rock ledges and a thin mud trail. Storm wind shoved limbs around and whistled past the window frame, hooted down the stovepipe. The sky came into the valley low, glum and blustery, about to bust open and snow.
They contemplate the photos. Ashlee arranges her horse on the table in front of her. Ree turns over a small portrait photo of a woman and reads aloud the inscription on the back. “I don’t know how I ever latched on to someone like you, but I sure hope I can keep you interested in me forever. I love you and will always be true.”
Celine: Did you ever keep a journal when you were a kid?
Jesse: Um, yeah… On and off, I guess.
Celine: It’s funny, I read one of mine from ‘83 the other day. And what really surprised me is that I was feeling with life the same way am now. I was much more hopeful and naive, but the core, and the way I was feeling things, is exactly the same. It made me realize I haven’t changed much at all.
Jesse: Yeah, I don’t think anybody does. People don’t want to admit it, but it’s like we just… we have these innate set points. You know, it’s like nothing much that happens to us changes our disposition.