Brian asked Alice. He’d been back to work for a full week now and was in desperate need of something to take his mind off his negative feelings toward the school. Alice pushed the dishwasher door shut and turned it on. It started with a deep rumble and a hiss of spraying water. “I think I’ll take a rain check. Louisa had me do the hyperal hook-up today and my nerves have been shot ever since. I don’t know how you stay so calm.” He wasn’t sure either. There were theories that men could compartmentalize things easier. Emotions went in one box while action was pulled from another. It was either that or he had missed his calling as a home nurse. “It’s all about practice,” he answered. “You’ll see. A week from now you’ll be just as good as me or even Louisa.” “I don’t know about that.” She pulled a dishtowel from her shoulder and plopped it on the draining board. “But I do know that a bath is calling. See you tomorrow, kiddo.” She came over to the couch where he was resting with his feet up on the recliner and kissed the top of his head. “I’m going to look for carpets tomorrow,”
