Unleavened Bread

Selma White, a recent widow and schoolteacher in the modest town of Westfield, finds herself lingering on a moonlit carriage ride after a neighbor’s wedding. The night air is crisp, the countryside quiet, and beside her sits Babcock, a young man from the bustling city of Benham whose buoyant confidence sets him apart from the other guests. Their conversation drifts from the recent festivities to the unspoken possibilities of a future that seems both familiar and suddenly open. As the carriage rolls seven miles toward home, Selma feels a rare stirring of excitement she has not known since her youth.

But the comfort of Westfield also binds her. She has taken the teaching post after her father's death, yet the routine of small‑town life feels increasingly limiting. The idea of moving to Benham—a growing western city promising new ideas and broader horizons—beckons as a chance to fulfill the larger notion of an American woman she holds dear. As she gazes at the moon, Selma must decide whether to remain rooted in familiar soil or step toward an uncertain, yet potentially transformative, future.