I sat in that restaurant until eight, then packed up an entire table of food and brought it home. When I walked through the door, he'd just gotten out of the shower, hair still dripping.
"Where were you this afternoon?"
"Working late."
I stared at him, and then I laughed. Something about that laugh must have been unsettling, because he flinched. "What's wrong?"
"Clay, did you know that when someone lies, their eyes wander?"
He said nothing.
Silence.
"Fine. Don't want to talk? Forget it." I walked into the bedroom and shut the door.
He followed me in, grabbing my arm. "Juliana's in the hospital. I went to see her. She had an appendectomy. She's all alone in Graystone City with no one to take care of her. What was I supposed to do, just ignore that?"
I turned to look at him.
"Your birthday comes every year. She's only having this surgery once."
He said it like it was the most reasonable thing in the world.
All at once, I didn't want to fight anymore. I was tired. So goddamn tired.
"Okay." I nodded. "Go take care of her. You should."
He hadn't expected me to say that. He just stood there, frozen.
That night I slept like the dead. No dreams.