I glanced at the clock. Seven thirty. Seven thirty? Either I’d just been transported to the Arctic Circle or I’d slept around the clock, nothing I’d ever done before. My mouth felt dry, but otherwise every part of me felt better than I had in weeks, relaxed, rested, and definitely energized. I recognized this—this was my normal, something that had been missing for too long. Neil was already showered, dressed, and making breakfast. Smatterings of small talk and some decent scrambled eggs filled half an hour, fueling me with enough energy to look forward to finishing up the dreaded co-payment and deductible sections of the health benefits booklet I had to turn in by Monday. “Gotta get to work.” I danced over to my brother and planted a kiss on his forehead. “Beard’s looking great. You trim it?” Grinning, he said, “You didn’t even notice. Melissa trimmed it two days ago. She stopped by to see if you wanted to go to the movies and we got to talking and she found your scissors in the bathroom, and voila!
