The Hawkins Place
by Philip Johnson Chapter One I had lived in the Midwest for all of my thirty-seven years, and a good number of those years were shared with Pat. We never married but we had been inseparable. Now, all of a sudden the Midwest and Pat seemed out to get me. It started with me coming home from work one day to find a note from Pat saying goodbye. It seemed she had a sudden need for California sun. Were there warning signs? Probably. Did I see them? Apparently not. Her leaving caused a big hole in...