I had not solved the crimes in my sleep, but Joe was in bed, snoring beside me.
CHAPTER 8
I KISSED MY husband.
He opened his blue eyes and asked, “What day is it?”
I told him and he fell back asleep.
I woke him up.
“What day is it?” he asked. Again.
“Hey. It’s Tuesday, six forty-five a.m. Did you get any phone calls from me, like about six of them?”
“Oh, geez. I’m sorry,” he said. “My phone was off.”
“You’re in the doghouse, buddy.”
I swung my legs over the bed. Joe’s arm snaked out and he grabbed me and pulled me down next to him.
“Some people on the watch list came up on our passenger manifest,” he said. “And that’s all I can tell you.”
“Fine.”
I made another break for the side of the bed, but he didn’t let me get up.
“I’m sorry.”
“OK. But I worry when I don’t hear from you, Joe.”
“I know. Same here.”
We nuzzled and wrestled around and I relented a little. Then I relented a lot. I shut down the hideous pictures in my mind of dead people, and I even tried to keep from listening for Julie. Martha hung her muzzle on the edge of the bed, and Joe pushed her away without losing a beat.
It was glorious lovemaking. Not fancy, but good wholesome friskiness when I hadn’t even thought kisses were in order.
I collapsed with my arm over Joe’s chest and my head under his chin.
“That was nice,” I said.
“Nice? At my age? With no sleep? I’m wondering how I pulled that off at all.”
He got me laughing. I said, “It was the best ever, Joe. God. You’re amazing.”
“Want to go another round?”
“Save something for tonight,” I said, laughing again.
I dressed, took Martha for a run along Lake Street, stretched my legs, and watched sunrise and early-morning traffic and other people out for a run with their dogs.
When doggy and I returned, Julie was in her high chair and I smelled pancakes. I went to my sweet girl and kissed and squeezed her a little bit.
“You’re sooo cute,” I told her. “Did you tell Daddy thank you for the pancakes?”
“Nooooo,” she said, slapping her hands on the tray.
“Oh, you like that word too much,” I said. So she said it again, laughing and burbling at the same time.