Dover Beach

Mrs. Phelps returned home quickly after the incident at Mr. Montag's house that evening.
"Pete. Pete? I've got something not very nice to tell you. Not very nice." she said as soon as she got in the door. She then remembered that Pete was still in the war, so she went to the kitchen to start preparing supper. Her brother planned to visit to talk about political stuff with her, but that usually resulted in multiple episodes of her family.
Mrs. Phelps paced the floor trying to remember what she had to do. "Start dinner. Got to start dinner. Boil potatoes, mash potatoes. Boil potatoes, mash potatoes. Mash. Mash. Mash. Time to start dinner" she repeated.
"Michelle? I'm here?" her brother Max walked in the door.
"Hi Max. It's wonderful to see you, I missed you."
"So are we watching your family today." He missed yesterdays episode.
"Yes Max. We'll catch up tonight, but I have got to tell you something not very nice. I tried to tell Pete but he is at war. The Army said so. Quick war. He'll be back next week."
"Yes I know, you told me yesterday. What were you going to say?" her brother never has real conversations with her, so this is new to him.
"Mr. Montag had a book today. He read from it. I still remember the title, Dover Beach. Dover Beach was the title of the poem. What should I do?"
Mrs. Phelps never asked anything of her brother, but this poem really stuck to her. Most things go through one ear and out the other, therefore Mrs. Phelps started to cry after Mr. Montag read the poem. It touched her heart, even though she didn't know what it meant.
"Well, do you remember it?" her brother has never heard her say anything like this.
"Yes, I do. Only a little bit."
"Say it." Max is confused, she never remembers anything. He has to remind her that Pete is her husband sometimes.
"Ah, love let us be true
To one another! for the world which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams." Mrs. Phelps started to cry again. "Isn't that pretty? It sounds really nice. It feels like the writer wrote it just for me. Me and Pete. Just for us."
"Michelle, you need to forget that. That is going to rot your brain and you will never be able to read again." Max said. He wouldn't let his sister have that garbage stuck up there.
"Forget what? Hey Max. What are you doing here? I'm supposed to go Mildred and Mr. Montag's soon. We are gonna watch the family. Why I am I crying. Gotta go fix my makeup. I'm leaving for Mildred and Mr. Montag's soon, to watch my family."