"We're short, love. Don't wait up."
And I believed him.
And when he finally did get into bed he looked so finished that I swallowed everything I had been saving up to say.
One night I woke up and he was sitting on the edge of the mattress with his shoulders going.
"Laurie?"
And he wiped his face fast. "Bad night. Go back to sleep."
I should have asked.
What I did was put my hand out.
And he moved his away, gently, and stood up.
So on the Tuesday, after I watched him go out with the badge clipped to his pocket, I decided to surprise him.
Turkey on rye. The crisps he likes. A slice of apple pie.
And a note under the fork.
You don't have to look after everybody. Let me have a go.
And I drove to that hospital grinning like an idiot.
And the second I came through those doors something was wrong.
